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BJP misleading people on MoU issue, says CM Implement decision,
says dam oustees Tibetans pin hopes on delegation’s visit Dhaulasidh power project a distant dream Army divers sought to search for bodies Probe
sought into monkeys’ deaths |
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Baddi institute gets 60
more seats Remove ‘tainted’
ministers: BJP Bharoli getting unfiltered water
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BJP misleading people on MoU issue, says CM Shimla, June 16 Replying to a debate on budget proposals for 2004-05, he said the MoU was signed by the Chief Secretary in April, 1999, and the Dhumal government kept implementing it clandestinely. The worst part was that even the Council of Ministers was not taken into confidence on such an important matter. Various steps, like a ban on the creation of new posts, suspending the leave travel concession facility for employees and hike in user charges were taken and progress report duly sent to the Centre. He said a medium-term fiscal restructuring plan had also been submitted. He said now when the Congress government had signed the MoU in pursuance of the policy followed by the Dhumal government, the BJP was making a hue and cry, which was not justified. The party had been harping on the likely adverse impact of the MoU and repeatedly saying that the budget had been influenced by it, but this was not based on facts. He said the government would ensure that the interests of employees were not harmed and their welfare was its top priority. The government would fill all functional posts to shock the BJP which had been telling people that employment in the government sector would be banned. Regarding the outstanding loans, he said the amount had increased from Rs 6,557 crore in 1998-99 to Rs 12,393 in 2002-03 and the average increase came to Rs 1,459 crore. The trend indicated that debt was fuelling itself and during 2002-03 Rs 2,196 crore was raised as loan. The government had resorted to debt swapping to replace old expensive loans to the tune of Rs 2,780 crore with cheaper ones to reduce the annual interests liability by Rs 111.75 crore. Not only that, the government also pre-paid the Nabard loans amounting to Rs 295 crore. Referring to the efforts of the government to improve the financial health of the state, he said the case filed by the state regarding its share in the BBMB projects in the Supreme Court was at an advanced stage. The government had forcefully put forward its case for more devolution before the 12th Finance Commission. He clarified that the allocation for the state electricity board had not been reduced as alleged by the BJP. In fact it had been increased from last year’s Rs 65.70 crore to Rs 87 crore. The Local Area Development Fund of the MLAs had been increased to Rs 25 lakh. The Chief Minister asserted that the government would open need-based institutions but it would also undertake a comprehensive exercise to rationalise the distribution of existing schools and staff. At present there were certain institutions which either did not have adequate number of students or were overstaffed. There were also schools which did not have adequate staff. Undertaking the rationalisation exercise would rectify the aberrations, he said. The Speaker, Mr Gangu Ram, adjourned the House for a seven-day recess during which various standing committees would scrutinise the demands for grants of various departments and submit their reports. |
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Implement decision,
says dam oustees Dalhousie, June 16 The Punjab Government has decided to provide a job to one member of each ousted family belonging to Dalhousie tehsil of Chamba district in Himachal near Dhar tehsil of Gurdaspur district in Punjab .The Ranjit Sagar Dam (earlier Thein Dam) project is in operation in Dhar tehsil of Gurdaspur district. In a press note issued here today, members of the association urged the Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, to tell the Punjab Government to implement its decision in letter and spirit and provide employment to the remaining persons. According to official sources, as many as 322 youths were provided jobs out a of total 537 affected families while the remaining are running from pillar to post. An understanding was reached between the Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh on July 13, 1998 ,and the Punjab Government had agreed to provide jobs to one member of each affected family irrespective of eligibility, sex, age and qualifications. In this regard, the General Manager of Ranjit Sagar Dam project was asked to provide jobs to one member of each ousted family as per the list submitted by the Deputy Commissioner of Chamba. left-out members. |
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Tibetans pin hopes on delegation’s visit Dharamsala, June 16 Confirming that a visit of the delegation was on the cards, Thubten
Samphel, secretary, Department of Information and International Relations, said the modalities would be worked out only after getting the green light from Beijing. “The issues of seeking full autonomy for the three Tibetan provinces tops the agenda so that we could protect and promote Tibetan cultural and religious heritage. With more and more people taking interest in Buddhism across the world, we should have the freedom to promote Buddhism,” he said. He said China today was going through a transitional phase where the young generation was caught between Marxism and emerging market forces. “So, they, too, are turning to Buddhism for peace of mind and to get rid of emotional restlessness,’’ he said. During the past two years — in September, 2002, and May-June 2003 — the same envoys, Logi Gyari and Kesang
Gyaltsen, visited China. Gyari is the Dalai Lama’s envoy in Washington. Earlier, he served as the Minister for Information and International Relations, Gyaltsen has been representing the Dalai Lama in the European Union. “The government is looking forward to the visit and we expect that after the initial rounds of rebuilding contact, this time the talks will deal with all issues concerning the people of Tibet and something concrete will come out . We are also anticipating that the talks will be held at a higher level so that some decisions could be taken. But the exact date of the visit will be finalised only after getting some response from the Chinese Government,” said Mr
Samphel. Asked if the Chinese had expressed a wish to come to McLeodganj to see things for themselves, he said, “We have nothing to hide. We are functioning here in an absolutely transparent way out of our own country.” Mr Samphel said the institutions of the Dalai Lama would also undergo a change once their demands are met. “Instead of being the spiritual and temporal head, he will then be only the religious head so that the Tibetan democratic set-up can blossom,” he said. |
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Dhaulasidh power project a distant dream Hamirpur, June 16 This project was to start on the Beas between the Nadaun and Sujanpur Tihra areas. A big lake about 20 Km long was also likely to come up. The HPSEB had drawn up an ambitious Rs 500-crore project to harness about 80 MW of hydel power from the Beas near the Daulasidh area of Hamirpur district. This will be the first project of this kind in Hamirpur district. Under the project,the state government was to get 12 per cent of free power for 12 years from the date of its execution and 18 per cent between 13 years to 40 years, when the agreement between the government and the company would expire. Accordingly, the project was sanctioned to GVK Company. The company submitted its Detailed Project Report to the HPSEB authorities for approval. Official sources in the HPSEB say that the DPR is under scrutiny of the board. Official sources say there is a natural fall of about 40 to 50 meters near Daulasidh where a 40-metre- high dam would be constructed. After erecting a dam, a tunnel measuring 200 metre would be constructed and water discharged with a speed of 1000 cft per second to harness about 80 MW of power. This project will help residents of the Jeehan area of Hamirpur district that has huge forests of various species. Various types of wild animals like leopards, sambhars, pigs are found in this forest. There is also a proposal to convert this forest into a mini sanctuary. If this area is converted into a sanctuary and the power project comes into being in the nearby area, this area can be developed from the tourism point of view. Senior BJP leader and former HP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was the pioneer of the Daulasidh project, says that he is still trying his best to make this project a reality. However, with the change of the government at the Center and in the state, this project is likely to suffer as no one in the government is taking pains for speedier approval of the DPR so that a final agreement was reached between the HP Government and the GVK Company. |
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Army divers sought to search for bodies Shimla, June 16 The rescue teams could do little because of the fast-flowing water of the Satluj and its high level. The submerged bus was pulled out of the river with the help of the Army but no bodies were found inside, indicating that the victims have been washed down stream by the strong current. However, one more body was fished out from the dam at Naptha, 18 km downstream. The Army authorities have been requested to send expert divers to search for the bodies in the extremely turbulent river. While one of the seriously injured person, Mr Jeewan Lal of Kilwa village, succumbed to injuries last night, the other two injured were shifted to Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital, here. Mr Gianeshwar Singh, district police chief, said the police had been able to confirm that there were at least 28 persons on board the bus at the time of the accident. It was a 32-seater bus and the number could go up. With the recovery of five bodies and two injured persons, as many as 21 persons were on the missing list. The state Assembly mourned the death of over 40 persons in the two accidents at Sundernagar and Ralli. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, made a suo motu statement to inform the members about the details of the relief and rescue operations being undertaken by the administration.
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Probe sought into monkeys’ deaths Shimla, June 16 Mr Rajeshwar Negi, convener of the NWI, said the treatment, diagnosis and action taken by the government agencies concerned had been flawed and delayed. He claimed that the reports of the samples taken by experts from the Agriculture University, Palampur, and the Indian Veterinary Institute were not received till June 10, which cast doubt on the method of treatment being pursued. The infected animals had not responded to the treatment for suspected gastroenteritis. He said monkeys were dying even 15 days after the authorities started the treatment. He maintained that tourist trade had been flourishing of late around the Jakhoo temple and there was likelihood of mischief by unscrupulous elements to eliminate the monkeys. He also alleged that quarantined monkeys were being used as guinea pigs for experimentation in violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. He demanded the release of the monkeys. |
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Baddi institute gets 60
more seats Chandigarh, June 16 Now total seats in electronics and communication engineering has now gone up to 120. All other streams have 60 seats each. According to Dr. R.C. Bahl, Principal of the institute, 60 seats for two year master of business administration (MBA) have also been granted by the AICTE making it the only institute in Himachal Pradesh to offer MBA approved by the AICTE. To cater to the increase in student intake and to further upgrade the facilities, an additional block has been added for the new academic session. This would have world class laboratory facilities and classrooms with LCD projectors and all other modern technologies. |
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Remove ‘tainted’
ministers: BJP Shimla, June 16 A delegation of the party led by Mr P.K. Dhumal, former Chief Minster, and Mr Suresh Bharadwaj, state BJP chief, submitted the memorandum at Raj Bhavan. |
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Bharoli getting unfiltered water Kangra, June 16 They have demanded that a central groundwater scheme be installed for their benefit and proper utilisation of funds. The residents of the area are suffering hardships due to the supply of muddy water. The water of the Beas river gets mixed with sewage in Nadaun town. The situation gets worse during the monsoons as the carcasses floating in the water pose a health hazard. The villagers rue that the Health Department has not bothered to even check the water samples even though they have repeatedly made requests to the authorities concerned. |
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