H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

6 crushed to death under boulder 
Shimla, November 19
Six persons were crushed to death and two others injured when a boulder came rolling down over them near Chionta in Rampur tehsil of the district, about 150 km from here, this morning.

Shamlat land allotment to be probed
Shimla, November 19
The Himachal Government has decided to order an inquiry into the bungling in allotment of shamlat land in Kasuali tehsil during the previous Dhumal regime.

Criteria for ‘bona fide Himachali’ certificate revised
Shimla, November 19
The state government has decided to revise the criteria for the grant of ‘bona fide Himachali’ certificate.

Man commits suicide
Solan, November 19
Satish Kumar (36) committed suicide by hanging himself from a fan hook in his room at Deonghat, near here, yesterday. The deceased, who had lost his right limb in an accident in 1995, had an artificial limb.

People indebted to Indira, says Virbhadra
Shimla, November 19
Glowing tributes were paid to former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi on her 87th birth anniversary by senior Congress leaders and party workers.

6 crushed to death under boulder

Shamlat land allotment to be probed
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 19
The Himachal Government has decided to order an inquiry into the bungling in allotment of shamlat land in Kasuali tehsil during the previous Dhumal regime.

Stating this at a press conference here today, Mr Sat Mahajan, Revenue Minister, said gross irregularities were committed in allotment to benefit favourites. It was, in fact, a land-grab operation carried out in the name of restoring shamlat land to people under the Village Common Land Act. While only 4 hectares were available for allotment, the officers concerned gave away 196 hectares at the instance of those at the helm of affairs.

He said the irregularly allotted land would be reverted to the government and the inquiry would fix responsibility for wrongful allotments so that action could be taken against the guilty officers. Similar irregularities elsewhere would also be looked into.

He said the government had set up four committees and taken a number of decisions to tone up the revenue administration. The committee on survey, settlement and consolidation would be headed by Mr K. S. Narang, Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, the committee on reforms in revenue administration and computerisation of records by Mr S.K. Baldi, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, the committee on prevention and removal of encroachments by Mr Ali Raza, Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, and the committee on disposal of court cases and redressal of public grievances by Mr Sushil Negi, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla.

An exercise would be undertaken to rationalise the patwar circles and as many as 250 posts of patwari would be filled over the next two years. As per norms, one patwar circle should have 4,040 khasras, but in some circles the number was as high as 9,000 and as such rationalisation was required.

The government was also considering to revive and strengthen the institution of revenue chowkidars, strengthen the institution and set up panel of retired revenue officials for expediting cases of demarcation and other matters. The Rs 80-crore pilot project for promoting horticulture would be integrated with watershed projects, with Deputy Commissioners as coordinating officers.

Henceforth, consolidation would not be thrust on landowners and carried out only on their request and sites would be identified to settle migratory Gaddis and Gujjars over the next year.

Criteria for ‘bona fide Himachali’ certificate revised
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 19
The state government has decided to revise the criteria for the grant of ‘bona fide Himachali’ certificate.

Henceforth the certificate will be issued by the authorities on the basis of certificates issued by the respective pradhan of gram panchayat, patwari, president of the municipal committee, notified area committee executive officer, councillors of the municipal corporation to the effect that the person concerned is having his permanent home in the state or is a government employee residing in the state for 20 years or more.

Those residing in the state for 25 years or above or having permanent home in Himachal Pradesh, but living outside the state on account of occupation, will also be eligible.

Other conditions for the grant of certificate would remain unchanged, according to a notification issued here today.

Man commits suicide
Our Correspondent

Solan, November 19
Satish Kumar (36) committed suicide by hanging himself from a fan hook in his room at Deonghat, near here, yesterday. The deceased, who had lost his right limb in an accident in 1995, had an artificial limb.

The fact that his left leg was also not functioning normally and had been injured after a road accident, he was totally dependent on his family members for performing his day-to-day activities.

A suicide note recovered from the room, while ruling out a foul play, states his helplessness as the cause of the suicide. A diary recovered from his room further lends credence to his having committed suicide as he had written that he was fed up with his dependent lifestyle and wished to end his life soon.

He is survived by his wife, two children and parents.

Satish had bolted the room from inside before ending his life. He had also tried to immolate himself in 1999.

A case under Section 174 of the Cr PC was registered and the body was sent for a post-mortem to the local district hospital.

Exemption for IT services in Himachal
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 19
The Himachal Government has decided to exempt all the establishments of Information Technology (IT) software and IT services in the state from the operation of Section-29 of the Shops and Commercial Establishment Act.

A notification issued here today said no women workers would be allowed to work in the establishments from 10 pm to 5 am and no women worker would be engaged alone to work in the second shift. The notification also said the concerned establishment would provide transport facilities to the women workers from the place of work to their residence.

Further, lady escort would be provided along with the vehicle for transporting the women workers from residence to work place. Arrangement for meal would also be made by the establishment.

People indebted to Indira, says Virbhadra
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 19
Glowing tributes were paid to former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi on her 87th birth anniversary by senior Congress leaders and party workers.

The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Pradesh Congress Committee Chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes, ministers and party MLAs paid floral tributes at the statue of Indira Gandhi on The Ridge. The Chief Minister also administered the pledge of national integration to the people on the occasion.

Later, addressing party workers at the Congress office, Mr Virbhadra Singh, said the people of Himachal would always remain indebted to the Nehru-Gandhi family which helped the state get its independent identity. “It was due to the special attachment that Indira Gandhi had for Himachal that it was given the status of a full-fledged state by making it the 18th state of the Union of India on January, 25, 1971,” he said.

He said that the development and prosperity of Himachal always remained the top priority for both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. “India is today counted as one of the front running nations of the world due to the progressive and visionary policies and programmes launched during the tenure of Indira Gandhi,” he said.