Shimla, April 6
Despite a ban on transfers, the state government has ordered transfers of 25,781 employees in various departments since May last year.

This information was provided by the Irrigation and Public Health minister, Mr Kaul Singh Thakur, in response to a question by Mr I.D. Dhiman, during question hour in the assembly today. He said the ban on transfer was imposed on May 10, 2004, and these transfers had been made till January 31 this year.

As per information provided by the government the highest number of 9,717 transfers had been made in the Secondary Education Department, followed by 3,517 in the Primary Education Department, 2,198 transfers in the Health Department, 1,531 in PWD, 1,185 in the Police and 1,119 in the Ayurveda Department.

Mr Thakur clarified that a ban did not mean that no transfers could be ordered. “During the ban period it is only with the orders of the Chief Minister that an employee can be shifted, which is unavoidable due to filling of vacancies resulting due to retirement, promotions and other administrative reasons,” he stated.

Mr I.D. Dhiman of the BJP also raised the issue of appointment of five persons as lecturers in the Law Department in Himachal Pradesh University on contract basis without advertising the posts properly.

Mr Kaul Singh, while admitting there had been lapses on the part of the university authorities in not advertising the posts properly, informed the House that this was purely a temporary arrangement so that there was no delay in starting the Law course at Solan, Dharamshala and Kala Amb. “Today interviews have been held for regular appointment, following which the services of these five lecturers appointed on stop gap basis will be terminated unless and until they are selected on a regular basis,” he said. He clarified the permanent selections would be made purely on merit and a chance had been given to all to compete for it.

In reply to a question by Mr Rakesh Verma, the Tourism Minister, Mr G.S. Bali, informed that further expansion of the Shimla airport at Jubbar Hatti did not seem to be feasible. “The airstrip is 3,800 feet long and its further expansion by another 10 feet will incur an expenditure of Rs 100 crore. This does not seem to be feasible,” he stated.

He also informed that a sum of Rs 4 crore had been provided for infrastructure development and Rs 5 crore for the Taradevi-Jubbar Hatti road by the 10th Finance Commission. The Shimla airport had been constructed in 1987 at a cost of Rs 7.28 crore, he stated.

Mr Vijai Singh Mankotia of the Congress sought details about the policy and criteria adopted by the HP Board of School Education in opening an examination centre in a private school, which is adjoining a government school. He referred to a specific case in Dhugiari village in Kangra district.

Dharamsala, April 6
Private medical practitioners practicing allopathy without recognised degrees are in for trouble. The state Health Department has decided to crack the whip against them and they may be forced to close shop soon.

Taking note of the increasing number of unqualified medical practitioners storing and prescribing allopathic drugs, the Directorate of Health Services, Shimla, ordered a survey across the state. In consequence thereof, the Block Development Officers (BDOs), in coordination with the drug inspectors and Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) conducted checks and found a large number of such practitioners with unrecognised degrees doing practice.

The tags of MD and MS that they boasted of as qualifications were enough to lure gullible masses.

Mr R. N. Mahanta, Director Health Services, told The Tribune that several day-care clinics were doing brisk business across the state without recognised degrees. “We are in the process of finalising a crackdown on all these practitioners. Their number is not static. For instance, the number of many such Bengali clinics keeps swelling and diminishing,” he said.

“Even though we still do not have a Nursing Homes Act in the state, action would be taken under other Acts, such as Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the PNDT Act,” he informed.

Mr Deepak Sharma, Block Development Officer, Raja ka Talab, said besides unauthorised doctors, they also came across nursing institutes awarding degrees without any recognised affiliation. “There was a doctor running a full-fledged hospital with the degree of MS (EH) on his board. The EH stood for Electro Homoeopathy, a degree not recognised for prescribing allopathic drugs. When we raided his premised he hurriedly put a coat of paint on the words MS,” he said.

Then there were institutes charging nearly Rs 3 lakh for a nursing degree and even promising jobs to students. They were also running courses for lab technicians. Most of these claimed to be affiliated to the Rajkiya Ayurvedic Avam Unani Chikitsa Parishad, Bihar, or the National Electro Homeopathy of India.

We have confiscated the records of all these clinics and institutes and forwarded to the Health Department. Although they are still running, we are expecting action against them soon,” said Mr Sharma.

Shimla, April 6
The former Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, said today that despite a 26-day-long session the government had avoided discussion on serious issues, which the BJP legislators had sought to raise in the House.

Talking to mediapersons, Mr Dhumal, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the House, said that notices had been given by BJP legislators for holding of discussion on law and order situation, fertiliser scam, functioning of the HP Board of School Education, damage to crops due to rain and snow, increase in prices due to government policy and VAT and the unemployment scenario.

Mr Dhumal, who also raised the issue in the House today, made a request before the Speaker, Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, that the sittings of the Assembly be extended to enable discussion on these important issues. Making special mention of the alleged irregularities in the counselling for vocational training course, he said that the government was avoiding discussion by taking the plea that the matter was sub- judice.

The Speaker said that only two notices given by MLAs on law and order situation and the fertiliser issue were pending and he felt that ample time had been given to all members of the House.

“On at least seven days no business was conducted by the House after lunch whereas notices have been given by MLAs on very serious issues, which need to be discussed,” he said. On one hand the ruling party accused the Opposition of wasting public money and time by staging walkouts and when we were keen on discussion time was not given to us, he added.

Responding to Mr Dhumal’s statement in the House that time was not being given for holding discussion, the IPH Minister, Mr Kaul Singh, who is also in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, said that ample time had been given to the Opposition members as well and there was no need to extend the session. “The sittings during the Budget session are generally spent on discussing Budget and other issues could be raised during monsoon and winter sessions,” he said.

Regarding avoiding discussion on alleged irregularities in the State Council for Vocational Training (SCVT), Mr Thakur clarified that the matter could not be discussed as one of the student, who was not selected during counselling, had filed a writ petition in the court.

Dharamsala, April 6
The community “kuhls”, which are the only source of irrigation in the region, are slowly dying out.

While farmers blame the government for neglecting the “kuhls”, officials of the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department say most channels don’t fulfil criterion laid down by the Centre for receiving grants.

Nevertheless, the annual spring cleaning exercise of “kuhls” is being revived at many places in and around Kangra district for maintenance and repair work. One such exercise is under way at the Kathul “kuhl”, which feeds the fields in Kharot and Paror villages.

Mr Lakshman Das, president of the Kathul Kuhl Committee, said “kuhls” were the only source of irrigation for them and the government needs to be more generous in funding their maintenance and upkeep. “We are trying to involve more and more youngsters in the exercise so that they too understand importance of the channels,” he said.

Mr Mark Baker, who is doing research on the kuhls of Kangra, said the whole “kuhls” system was very unique, as it was an example of community participation. “There are nearly 750 major ‘kuhls’ in Kangra district, which irrigate more than one village. Also, there are nearly 2,500 smaller ones, fed by snow and rain in the Dhauladhar range,” he said.

Only 10 per cent of the total “kuhls” have been taken over by the government and the local “kuhl” committees maintain the rest. In fact, people would rather seek financial help from the government than want it to entirely take over the “kuhls”, added Mr Baker. But even for the “kuhl” committees, it is no longer easy to mobilise labour for the maintenance and repair of the channels.

“Although some “kuhls” have gone defunct, many have adapted with time and in the absence of major canals in the state due to its peculiar terrain, it is very significant to keep this sole system of irrigation going,” he said.

Mr P.V. Vaidya, Executive Engineer, IPH, said each MLA had the right to recommend three “kuhls” every year that need to be taken over by the department under NABARD with the consent of local public representatives. “Otherwise, we cannot take over ‘kuhls’ on our own. Even for the Central Government aids, the conditions like a minimum area of Rs 40 hectares, are not fulfilled by most ‘kuhls’,” he said.

Another official said that some of the major “kuhls” in the area were up to 15 km long and have been feeding villages for nearly 300 years.

Shimla, April 6
Made wiser by the timber-grading scam which led to the suspension of six senior officers, the State Forest Corporation has adopted a new system for classification of timber.

The number of grades have been increased from three to five. The superior quality timber which was earlier classified as “A” grade will be now be divided into two categories.

The best quality timber, which meets the ISI standard, will be placed in the “samuda” category. The timber of this category is not only free from defects but also the quality of sawing is good. The timber of slightly inferior quality with few knots will be placed in the “A” grade.

Similarly, timber with defects like too many knots and cracks, which was earlier put in the “B” grade, has also been split into two categories. The timber with minor defects will be classified as grade “B-1” and the one partially rotten but could still yield at least one plant or a “kari” will be put in the “B-2” category.

There will be no “C” grade and the poor quality produce will be sold as rotten timber.

The government set up a high-level committee to review the instruction manual of the corporation soon after the timber-grading scam. Though the committee headed by Principal Secretary, Forests, has finalised its recommendations, it is yet to formally submit its report.

The corporation has adopted the new system as sale of timber was being affected due to ambiguity in the earlier system.

Besides change in grading system, it has been decided that the Divisional Manager of the field unit which works in the forest a lot will also be present at the auctions. The Divisional Manager of the sale depot will personally inspect and certify the rotten category timber.

This has been done to avoid disputes over the classification of timber between field units and sale depots. In fact, it was one such dispute which led to the unearthing of the scam.

An inquiry conducted by the corporation subsequently revealed that 40 on 60 per cent of timber, which had been classified as “B” grade, was put in the “C” grade.

Grading plays an important role in determining the market price of timber. In case of superior species like deodar the grade “A” timber fetches up to Rs 33,000 per cubic metre, grade “B” Rs 26,000 and the grade “C” Rs 14,000.

The difference in the prices of various grades is quite huge.

Shimla, April 6
Even as the State Youth Services and Sports Department is in the process of finalising the design of the proposed all-weather ice-skating rink, a Delhi-based private company has offered to prepare the local ice-skating rink for ice-skating during the ensuing summer for two or three months.

Polo Amusement Park, which has the largest snow park spread over 60,000 sq ft in Delhi, will make the local ice-skating rink functional from May 1, 2005. The Ice-Skating Club has agreed to rent out the rink at Rs 2,400 per day. The company plans to cover the entire area (about 1,700 sqm) of the club.

The company will use Japanese technology to freeze water. It has collaborated with Tatini, a Japanese company that specialises in the technology. Experts of the company will arrive here with the entire required equipment next week.

Hangers of black canvas will be put up at the rink so that temperature there does not exceed 22 degrees Celsius. The refrigeration plant will require only 100 KW of power.

Mr Bhuvanesh Banga, secretary of the club, said the project for setting up an all-weather rink was at the design stage.

The State Sports Department had assigned the task of designing the all-weather rink to the State Urban Development Authority.

He said until a permanent rink was set up, the temporary ice-skating rink would not only an added attraction to the tourists but also enable the local enthusiasts to enjoy the thrill of ice-skating.

There was hardly any ice-skating activity during the winter because of persistent bad weather and the temporary facility would make for the lost season, Mr Banga added.

Sundernagar, April 6
Following a call by the Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh, advocates of the state today went on a two-day strike in protest against the increase in the court fees and the decision of the government to levy professional tax on the advocates.

The Advocates of the District Bar association today called an emergency meeting. They did not attend work in various courts and took out a procession raising slogans against the government.

While addressing the members, president of the District Bar Association, Mandi, Mr S.P. Parmar, urged the government to withdraw the decision of imposing professional tax on advocates as the government was not providing any facility to them. Due to the absence of the advocates from the courts the litigants have to suffer a lot. Now a days the Circuit Bench of the HP Administrative Tribunal is at Mandi and no effective work in the tribunal was done today, according to a spokesman for the District Bar Association, Mandi. And similar reports were received from various parts of the district.

The advocates at Sundernagar, Sarkaghat, Jogindernagar and Karsog also went on strike.