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Cabinet approves new industrial policy
HC notice to Education Secy
MC demolishes unauthorised houses
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Privilege motion against Dhumal dropped
BJP seeks disqualification of Sukh Ram
Manali fire station in dire straits
Residents pin hopes on Virbhadra’s visit
Brief but stormy Assembly session
Lakes freeze in high altitudes
Gang of vehicle thieves busted
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Cabinet approves new industrial policy
Shimla, December 24 The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, presided over the meeting, which approved the new industrial policy. The policy lays emphasis on the creation of high quality infrastructure, simple and transparent procedures promoting rural based allied activities creating market for raw material and generating more employment. The policy guidelines and incentive packages have been designed and approved after consultation with various departments and the Industrial Association at the national and regional level to meet the requirements of the stakeholders while keeping the financial burden on the state minimum. Issues of concern like infrastructure, rationalising incentives, streamlining rules and procedures, technology upgradation and quality improvement have been dealt with to keep pace with the global standards. It also focuses on the uniform growth of industry and service sector with special emphasis on its dispersal throughout the state so that the maximum employment opportunities can be generated. The policy also focuses on the strategy and approach to address issues related to infrastructure sectors like power, telecom, human resources development and vocational education, transportation, housing social infrastructure development and tourism so as to create a congenial investment climate for the existing industry. A new category of activities called “Specified Category of Activities” has been introduced so as to focus on the value addition of the agricultural and horticultural produce, tourism and allied sectors in the state so that this activity can act as an engine of industrial growth especially in the rural areas of the state. Emphasis has also been laid on the importance of encouraging productivity, quality, exports, research and development modernisation by the use of IT. To operationalise the incentives, concessions and facilities proposed in the industrial policy, the “Rules regarding grant of incentives, concessions and facilities to industrial units in Himachal Pradesh, 2004” have also been approved, which will be effective from December 31, 2004. To check the spurious branding of products, not produced in Himachal, especially in the handloom and handicraft sector, a new scheme called the “Himachali Utpaad Scheme- A product of Himachal Pradesh” has also been introduced for the first time. The state has now been categorised into three categories, category “A” industrial blocks are those blocks, which are developing from the industrial point of view in the state. This includes the industrial areas of Paonta Sahib, Kala-Amb, Baddi, Barotiwala, Nalagarh and Parwanoo. Land bank will be created by the Department of Industries, the SIDC and HP Housing and Urban Development Authority. In addition to industry, permission for the purchase of land, allotment from the land bank will be given expeditiously for dedicated industrial estates.
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HC notice to Education Secy
Shimla, December 24 Issuing the directions, the court further directed the Secretary, Education, to file an affidavit of compliance in the court. The court also condemned the working of Rameshwari Teachers Training Institute, Kulu, and directed the institute to apply for affiliation to the board within one week and the School Education Board would decide their application within one month. Students of the above said institutions had, in a petition, alleged that they had not been allowed to appear in the examination by the board on the ground that the institute was not affiliated to the board. It transpired during the hearing of the petition that the institute had caused delay in applying for affiliation. The students were suffering a huge loss due to negligence of the administration of the institution. |
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MC demolishes unauthorised houses
Shimla, December 24 The MC, as part of its drive to remove almost 5,000 unauthorised constructions in the town, demolished more than two dozen structures in Lal Bagh and some residential quarters below the railway station. The Chief Minister Mr Virbhadra Singh had, some time back, directed the authorities to remove encroachments on forest, MC and other government land in the town within a fortnight. Hundreds of protestors from Krishnanagar, Lal Bagh, near, Tara Hall School and Lepers Colony, took out a protest march against the action of the local MC. “It is wrong to break the houses of poor people without any prior notice or making any alternate arrangement, especially in this biting cold,” said Mr Nirmal Kumar, president of the Valmiki Sabha. The agitated residents blocked traffic on the Circular Road, in front of Tara Hall School, for almost one hour. The police bundled away some of the protestors, who tried to stop the MC staff from doing their work, to the Boileauganj police station. The MC staff today disconnected electricity and water connections of the large number of unauthorised houses in the Krishnanagar area, where there are maximum number of illegal structures. “We have given a 24-hour notice to the MC Commissioner to stop this demolition drive or else we will intensify our agitation,” warned Mr Nirmal. He said the MC was likely to undertake demolition in the Krishnanagar area on Monday. The Municipal
Commissioner, Mr Mohan Chauhan, said 24 structures had been demolished in Lal Bagh, while electricity connections of six houses in the Lepers Colony, below railway station, had been disconnected. “The Divisional Forest Officer has identified these encroachments on forest land and the MC shall continue with its drive to remove these unauthorised structures,” he said. |
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Privilege motion against Dhumal dropped
Shimla, December 24 Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, Speaker, said that the five members who had given the notice for a breach of the privilege had reconsidered the matter and decided to withdraw the notice. Accordingly, the motion had been withdrawn. Earlier, the Speaker had referred the matter to the Privilege Committee of the House. The notice for a breach of the privilege against Mr Dhumal was given by Mrs Asha Kumari, Mr Rangila Ram Rao, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, Mr Harsh Mahajan and Mr Mukesh Agnihotri who maintained that the BJP leader had cast aspersion on the Deputy Speaker by stating that “I will not speak when you are in the Chair” during discussion on the law and order situation. The BJP members had not taken any further part in the discussion thereafter and left the House. The House was adjourned sine die after lunch without taking up the private members business because of the death of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Obituary references were made by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, Mr Dhumal and other leaders before adjournment. |
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BJP seeks disqualification of Sukh Ram
Shimla, December 24 The petition, filed under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, Rule 6 of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on the ground of defection) Rules 1986, was presented to the Speaker by Mr Harbans Singh Rana, Mr Jai Ram Thakur, Mr Baldev Sharma and Mr Vikram Thakur through their legal counsel. The petition states that Mr Sukh Ram, who was elected to the Assembly from the Mandi Sadar constituency on the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) party symbol, has incurred automatic disqualification for voluntarily joining the Indian National Congress (INC) from April 22. The HVC has not merged with the INC and the candidate of the HVC contested the Guler Assembly byelection in October, 2004. The matter regarding the merger is pending with the Election Commission of India. As such Mr Sukh Ram should be disqualified from being a member of the state Assembly, says the petition. The BJP had filed similar petitions before the Speaker seeking disqualification of Mr Kuldeep Pathania, Mr Subhash Manglete, Mr Rakesh Verma, Mr Biru Ram and Mr Sohan Lal for joining the Congress after being elected as Independent. An application was also placed before the Speaker seeking information regarding action of those five petitions. |
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Manali fire station in dire straits
Manali, December 24 As the fire station has no proper building, its fire engines have to be parked in the open and are thus subject to the vagaries to weather. During the winter, these vehicles are subject to a heavy snowfall which has to be cleared regularly to keep them ready for an emergency. Moreover, those get rusted and are often in a state of disrepair. Even though the fire station has already been reportedly sanctioned one post of Station Fire Officer, the post has not been filled so far. There are three leading firemen and five regular firemen against the sanctioned strength of 16 regular firemen. As a result, 11 firemen from the Himachal Home Guards are working in shifts to make up for this deficiency. There are two regular drivers, besides three part-time ones from the Home Guards although the sanctioned strength of drivers is eight. The staff work in four shifts. According to Mr Sant Ram, Sub Fire Officer, Manali, the Manali fire station possesses three water tenders with a capacity of 4,500 litres and one jeep fire engine. Except for one water tender, which was procured in 2001, the others are more than 18 years old. They also have two portable pumps. These pumps are heavy and difficult to carry through the difficult hill terrain. He said if the station was given more staff and lighter portable pumps, it would help them fight fires more effectively. The Manali and Kulu fire stations serve a vast area and often have to reach far-flung and remote villages to douse fires. According to residents of Patlikuhl and the adjacent villages located in the centre of the valley, it would be more convenient if a fire station was set up there. If a fire station was not possible, at least a jeep fire engine could be deployed there. The modernisation of this fire station would not only be beneficial to residents of the upper Kulu valley but also help fight fires more effectively. A proper structure for parking the vehicles will save them from rust and vagaries of weather.
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Four occupants of truck buried alive
Mandi, December 24 All four occupants of a truck were buried alive when a huge boulder caved in at Dwada village, 30 km from here, on the Mandi-Manali national highway. Two of the killed were identified as Gurpreet (12) and Gursharan Sachdeva (58) from Jalandhar. They were going to visit their relatives at Bhuntar. In the second accident a Maruti car (HP-33-6012) skidded off road and plunged about 500 ft in a nullah, killing three persons and injuring one near Kangu on the Bilaspur-Sundernagar stretch of the highway last night. The killed have been indentified as Dhiraj Mahajan, Sunil Saini and Anshuman Gupta. All of them belonged to Mandi. Mr Vineet Mudgil, who got injured in the accident and is reported to be out of danger at the Sundernagar hospital, told the police that the driver lost control of the car after he failed to negotiate a sharp turn, resulting in the fall of the vehicle into the khud. Meanwhile, traffic on the main highway remained suspended near Dwada for nearly 15 hours and was restored this afternoon after the blockade caused by the rock was removed. Efforts were being made to retrieve the bodies trapped under the rock.
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Residents pin hopes on Virbhadra’s visit
Mandi, December 24 Members of the Citizens Council, Mandi, said that they would request the Chief Minister to promote Mandi as a centre for religious tourism and a central town in the state as it was not getting its due from the state governments over the years. The town has emerged as a nerve-centre not only for state politics, but also for business activity for the auto majors like Maruti Suzuki , TATA Motors, Hyundai, TVC, Bajaj and others, who have opened their showrooms here. “The town has over 80 temples of historic fame and as such has potential to develop as a major centre for religious tourism”, said Mr P.C. Bisht, President, Citizens Council. “It has no infrastructure. Roads are narrow and in a poor condition, giving nightmares to the elderly and others”, he added. Pinning their hopes on Mr Virbhadra’s visit, residents expect that the Chief Minister expedite half a dozen projects, including new bus stand, Saketi bridge, the new building of the zonal hospital, which had been hanging fire forso long. They also expect that their grievances like poor condition of roads and poor health and hygiene in the town would also be looked into. Mr Virbhadra Singh would preside over the closing ceremony of the mini Olympics here on December 29, lay the foundation stone for the Rati bridge and the press club building in the town and would listen to public grievances at the Circuit House. On December 30 he would address the public rally at Ghaghal in Nachan constituency, disclosed the sources.
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Brief but stormy Assembly session
Shimla, December 24 Though the session lasted for only five days, animated discussions on a number of issues took place as the opposition BJP adopted an aggressive stance. It was not just the BJP which effectively played the role of Opposition but Mr Vijai Singh Mankotia from the ruling party, too, did not miss out an opportunities to embarrass the government by raising awkward questions. It was perhaps for the first time in the history of the state that a motion for breach of privilege was moved against a former Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal. The motion was moved by four ministers and was referred to the Privilege Committee of the House by the Speaker, Mr Gangu Ram Musafir. However, on the last day, the motion was dropped, which was on account of remarks made by Mr Dhumal regarding the conduct of the Deputy Speaker in the House. Heated exchanges took place between the treasury benches and the BJP members on issues like law and order and price rise. The discussion on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state was initiated by Mr Ravinder Ravi, BJP MLA from Thural, after which the opposition legislators left the House. The discussion on the issue took place in their absence. Another issue which raised some heat was pertaining to the sale of women from the Trans-Giri and some other parts of Sirmaur district. Mr Mankotia and Dr Rajiv Bindal of the BJP raised the issue. The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, said stray cases had been brought to the notice of the government and in two specific cases a compromise between the two parties had been worked out. He was, however, of the opinion that such issues should not be sensationalised as it tarnished the image of the state. Being the first session after the Guler byelection and the downsizing of the Cabinet, it was being expected that the three dropped ministers, all from Kangra, would be very active. However, Mrs Chandresh Kumari and Mr B.B.L. Butail, two of the dropped ministers, did not raise any embarrassing questions. Seven Bills were passed during the Assembly session, which concluded yesterday. These included the one making feeding of monkeys and stray animals and throwing litter on the streets a cognisable offence through an amendment in the HP Municipal Corporation Act. Mr Virbhadra Singh also said that the opposition BJP would be taken into confidence while seeking a financial package for the state.
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Lakes freeze in high altitudes
Shimla, December 24 The twin tribal valleys of Lahaul and Spiti and Pangi valley in Chamba groaned under a bitting cold wave conditions as the minimum temperature ranged from minus 10 and minus 22°C. All natural lakes and streams in high altitude tribal areas and a large stretch of the Chandrabhaga river were frozen, reducing the discharge of water in the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers. Normal life was affected in tribal areas which were already cut off from rest of the state due to heavy snow on mountain passes like Rohtang, Kunzam and Gaach. Shimla and its surrounding areas were lashed by icy winds and the minimum temperature dipped to 2°C.
— PTI |
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Gang of vehicle thieves busted
Solan, December 24 The Barotiwala police had recovered a Tata Sumo stolen from the Totu area of Shimla on December 14, during a routine check after its occupants attempted to flee. The interrogation of these two men then revealed their involvement in a number of vehicle theft cases. The police recovered a Santro car (HP-13-8003) from Tundla in Rajasthan after interrogating Mahender, another accomplice, hailing from Palwal in Rajasthan. A police party, led by SHO Bhisham Thakur, revealed that the gang used to hand over the stolen cars to two other members of the gang —Pramod, hailing from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, and Babu Ram, hailing from Ramshehar — either at Kurukshetra, Pipli or in Delhi. These two then sold them further in Rajasthan. The gang, which targeted new cars, had stolen at least three pick-up vans, one each from Garkhal, Parwanoo and Barotiwala, two Tata Sumos, one Tata Specio and one Maruti 800 both from Arki and another Tata Sumo from Shimla in the past less than a year. |
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