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Monday,
July 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Cong going
soft on Hindutva?
Congress
misusing govt machinery: BJP Poor
ground work on Ayodhya: Cong Sukh Ram:
HVC to stay as third force |
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Ex-employee
leader flays HP Government Overloaded
trucks damage HP roads Mining
poses threat to Bundla resort Society
to preserve heritage property Support
price for potatoes demanded Market
Intervention Scheme for mango
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Cong going soft
on Hindutva? Shimla, July 6 The Congress, which was in power in three states when Ms Sonia Gandhi assumed office of party President, now has 15 Chief Ministers. It shares power in two more states. This has given the Congress, which has lost three successive Lok Sabha elections, hope. Even as the party disagrees with suggestions of following soft-Hindutva, the party leadership has done nothing to stop its Chief Ministers from following steps normally expected of the practitioners of Hindutva politics. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has been urging people to join Ram Katha as the state party unit has planned to start and end its rallies from temple towns. The Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are
associating themselves with religious functions as the elections approach. The party would discuss at Shimla the extent to which this idea of “like-cuts-like” will help electorally and the impact it will have on its “secular politics.” The recent proposal by two party Chief Ministers of increasing reservations is also being seen as an attempt by the party to take on the “casteist forces” on their own turf. The discussion paper prepared for the Shimla meet on social empowerment suggests providing reservation in the private sector also. |
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Congress
misusing govt machinery: BJP Shimla, July 6 Mr Baldev Sharma, the party spokesperson, said that government officers and employees had been working over time to make arrangements for the meet and crores of rupees were being spent on the renovation of the buildings being used for the
“shivir”. He urged the government to give the details of expenditure incurred by various departments in connection with the conclave. He asked Mrs Sonia Gandhi to clarify if she had given her nod to the party Chief Minister to misuse the government machinery for party functions. He said the government was under a huge debt and it could not afford to waste funds on such political events. He also warned the officers who were actively associated in making arrangements for the conclave to desist from indulging in political activity. |
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Poor ground work on Ayodhya: Cong Shimla, July 6 “The Prime Minister wanted to solve the issue by involving religious leaders but it failed. He should have first sorted out inhouse problems,” senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said. Mr Mukherjee, who is in Shimla for the AICC brianstorming session, said the recent developments about finding a solution were aimed at deriving political mileage. He said the Prime Minister should have gauged the extreme reactions of the Sangh Parivar. “What has happened is their own creation,” Mr Mukherjee said. He said the Congress had said earlier that the dispute should be settled through courts. “Any out-of-court settlement should also have legal sanction,” he said. To a question about the recent happenings causing a setback in efforts to find a solution to the dispute, Mr Mukherjee said, “One will have to wait and see.” Asked about the VHP demands concerning Mathura and Kashi, he said status quo should be maintained at these places. |
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Sukh Ram: HVC to stay as third force Mandi, July 6 Mr Sukh Ram said while he supported the progressive policies of the government he was totally against the large-scale transfers which amounted to victimisation of the employees, as they were politically motivated. He criticised the leaders who harped on Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin. He said, “ I am indebted to Rajiv Gandhi who made me a minister for the first time in his Cabinet.” He said the HVC would continue to maintain its existence as a third force and strive for the development of the state. Earlier the HVC leader and a former minister, Mr Ram Lal Markanda, in a hard-hitting speech, attributed his defeat in the recent Assembly elections to the indifferent attitude of the leadership. Apparently he was pointing at the party supremo who had gone abroad during elections in the tribal belt. He said confusion prevailing in the party about its merger with the Congress should be set at rest by the party supremo, who should make a declaration that the HVC would remain an independent party. Mr Dhan Ram Shandil, MP, and a former Minister, Mr Vijay Joshi, also stressed the need to strengthen the party as an independent entity. In a resolution, the HVC expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for a grant Rs 533 crore to Himachal Pradesh and for a green signal to the construction of Rohtang Tunnel which would boost tourism, besides opening an all-weather road to strategic border areas. |
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Ex-employee leader flays HP Government Shimla, July 6 Addressing a press conference here today, he said no doubt action for violation of conduct rules was justified as they were debarred from indulging in political activities, but the government must apply the same yardstick to all errant employees. He said while the employee leaders who came out in favour of the BJP had been suspended, no action had been taken against those who supported the Congress. He referred to leaders like Mr Laxmi Singh Machan, Mr Chander Singh Mandyal, Mr Vinod Chauhan, Mr Chatranta, Mr K.L. Gautam who, he alleged, openly supported the Congress but escaped the whip. Mr Verma said that 2.50 lakh government employees and workers of the state played a crucial role in making and breaking the government and if the government failed to deal with the different employee leaders and organisations it could lead to widespread resentment and unrest. He termed the elections of the Shimla District
Non-gazetted Services Federation by the Rajinder Chauhan faction a farce. He said out of the total 45 affiliated employee associations, the representatives of 35 organisations had stayed away. |
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Overloaded
trucks damage HP roads Palampur: The state government is planning to bring forward legislation to check the overloading of trucks which are not only causing damage to roads but also resulting in fatal accidents. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, a truck cannot carry more than nine tonnes. The damage is maximum to the Kalka-Shimla (Hindustan Tibet Road), Kiratpur-Manali, Shimla-Kangra and Pathankot-Mandi national highways owing to the overloading of trucks. Most weighing bridges installed at different entry points have been out of order for the past many years. In the absence of proper checks , 90 per cent of the trucks have been carrying goods more than the prescribed limit. The two cement plants in Bilaspur and Solan districts have aggravated the situation as there is no check on the overloading of trucks carrying cement, clinker and other raw material from these factories to retail outlets. These trucks have also caused a heavy damage to internal link roads used by them to avoid sales tax barriers. Official sources say over 5,000 trucks and dumpers belonging to the Gujarat Ambuja Cement Plant, Darlaghat, and the ACC Cement Plant, Barmana, use the national and state highways daily. Most of these trucks carry between 10 and 14 tonnes of load. Owing to the excessive use of the road by these cement laden trucks, the Kiratpur-Manali national highway between Bilaspur and Kiratpur Sahib has become prone to landslides and soil erosion. Over 24 small and big culverts have been badly damaged by such trucks. During the past two rainy seasons, the highway remained closed for days together as a long portion of the highway had developed major cracks and a number of culverts were damaged. The total loss caused to the highways in the state has been estimated at over Rs 250 crore. On the other hand, the state transport authorities and the traffic police have failed to perform their duties. Inaction on their part has worsened the situation. Official figures reveal that only 3 per cent of the challans pertain to overloading. Widespread corruption in the traffic police has encouraged the defaulters to violate the limit on overloading with impunity. In Maharashtra and Karnataka there is a blanket ban on overloading of trucks. If any overloaded vehicle is detected a minimum fine of Rs 5,000 is imposed. All inter-state barriers are equipped with latest weighing machines and it is mandatory for every vehicle to pass through these machines. All such inter-state barriers are manned by an officer of the rank of District Transport Officer. As a result the condition of roads is much better in these two states. If Himachal also enacts laws in this regard, the situation can be improved and the state can save crore of rupees being spent on the repair of roads year after year. At present the state government spends over Rs 300 crore every year on the maintenance of the national and state highways. |
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Mining poses threat to Bundla resort Palampur, July 6 Former Union Minister said the tourist resort, built on the right bank of the Neugal river, was facing serious threat because of the reckless and unscientific mining. If efforts was not made to check the mining the resort would be washed away in the coming rainy season. He said the water level in the Neugal river had already gone down in the past three years because of the large-scale mining. He said till today the government had spent Rs 1 crore on it and the first phase of this project had already been commissioned. He said he had given Rs 30 lakh from the MP constituency development funds and had also managed Rs 30 lakh from the Union Minister of Tourism for the construction of a lake in the resort. The project was being executed in the memory of Captain Sorabh
Kalia, who sacrificed his life in the Kargil conflict. The total cost of the project had been estimated at Rs 10 crore when completed. |
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Society
to preserve heritage property Shimla, July 6 This was stated here yesterday by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, while presiding over the meeting of senior officers to discuss the proposal of restoration of Gaiety Theatre and the Town Hall building. The Chief Minister said the society would be headed by Mr Vijay Singh
Mankotia, Tourism Minister, as its Chairman and Chief Secretary, Secretary,
PWD, Secretary, Tourism and prominent citizens of the state would be its members. The Chief Minister said the necessary amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act would also be made to preserve heritage property of the state. He said the restoration work of landmark of Shimla Town, Gaiety Theatre and Town Hall would be started from the middle of September, 2003. |
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Support
price for potatoes demanded Palampur, July 6 In a press statement issued here today, Mr Katoch said despite repeated reminders and their meetings with various ministers, the state government had not declared the support price for potatoes in Kangra district. He said potato was the only cash crop of Kangra valley and it played a significant role in the economy of the district, but the farmers were not getting remunerative prices for their produce. He criticised the indifferent attitude of the state government towards the problems of farmers of Kangra. He said tonnes of potatoes were piling up in the district, but no arrangements had been made by the government for its disposal. On the other hand, in the absence of buyers, middlemen were exploiting growers by paying them low price. He asked the government to open potato purchase centre at the
panchayat level without delay. |
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Market
Intervention Scheme for mango Shimla, July 6 The procurement price will be Rs 3.33 for seedling variety and Rs 4 per kg for grafted variety. The handling charges to the procurement agencies will be allowed at Re 1 per kg as per last year. The procurement agencies will be the
HPMC, HIMFED and H.P. AIC Ltd. The total procurement quantity would be 600 tonnes of seedling varieties and 400 tonnes of grafted mango varieties. |
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