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CM favours middle slab of VAT
Delay in election of Cong chief ‘inevitable’
Land scam in Sundernagar
Illegal construction: department wants more time
No teacher for IT course
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Industrialists await refund from power board
2 families wait for return of PoWs
CJM, wife injured in accident
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CM favours middle slab of VAT
Shimla, April 25 Talking to media persons here today, the Chief Minister said that unlike the sales tax which had four slabs, the VAT did not have the middle slab of 8 per cent. “We have already written to the Centre to introduce the 8 per cent slab as this will bring many commodities out of the 12 per cent slab,” he explained. He said the government would start helplines at the state and district headquarters so that people could register complaints of overcharging by traders in the name of VAT. He said such matters could also be taken up with the district authorities, including the Deputy Commissioners concerned. The Chief Minister warned that the government would take stern action against all those who were found guilty of overcharging in the name of VAT. Mr Virbhadra Singh said there were traders who had hiked the prices of commodities like sugar, which had in no way been affected by the VAT. “The government will take action against traders' organisations for getting advertisements published in newspapers, which were very misleading, about the proposed hike in prices of commodities,” he said. He said that the government was considering keeping all those having a gross income of less than Rs 1 lakh out of the purview of the professional tax. |
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Delay in election of Cong chief ‘inevitable’
Shimla, April 25 Mr Lenka left for Delhi after some party workers from the Shimla (Urban) and Mewa blocks misbehaved with him outside the party office here last evening. Senior party men here felt that the rough behaviour of the party workers with Mr Lenka was likely to be discussed with senior AICC leaders. Loyalists of the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, who tried to pacify Mr Lenka after the incident, tried damage control measures so that the election process could be completed peacefully. Mr Lenka held discussions with senior leaders, including Mr Virbhadra Singh, the HPCC chief, Mr Kuldeep Kumar, Mrs Vidya Stokes, Mr Sat Mahajan, Mr G.S. Bali, Mr K.D. Sultanpuri and Mrs Viplove Thakur, about evolving a consensus on the issue of elections yesterday. As a result of the unscheduled departure of Mr Lenka to Delhi, the meeting of the District Returning Officers (DROs) convened for today had to be put off. The elections of the District Congress Committees which were to be held on April 30 have been put off indefinitely. It is also not certain as to when Mr Lenka would be returning here so that the election process can be completed. There is also talk of identifying and taking disciplinary action against those who misbehaved with Mr Lenka in the party circles here. The Chief Minister, while terming the incident as unfortunate, said the issue had been magnified unnecessarily and during party elections such incidents did take place. He added that a meeting of all senior party leaders with Mr Lenka had been very peaceful and lasted almost an hour. “Some people who had made election appeals were keen to meet Mr Lenka to air their grievances and in the process he was jostled as even I was pushed around by agitated party workers in the crowd,” he said. He added that had the situation been handled more diplomatically like a seasoned politician, such a situation would not have arisen. |
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Land scam in Sundernagar
Mandi, April 25 According to documents, which are in possession of The Tribune, Mr Shiv Dev Sen, the draughtsman, now promoted as secretary, Nadaun Nagar Panchayat in Hamirpur district, got a “no objection certificate” (NOC) from the council for a land exchange, measuring 211 square metres. Though he claimed that the council had acquired his land for widening the road in Ward No. 4, but residents revealed that the road had existed as it was about 10 years ago. “Why only the council acquired his land only, not others’, whose land also fall along the road,” the residents disclosed, informing that Sen was also a property dealer and enjoyed clout in the SMC as his wife is a councillor from the Ward No. 4. The then Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, acted on reports of the tehsildar and the SDO, Sundernagar, and granted his approval on June 20, 2002. The DC, however, sanctioned 207 sqm, the documents showed. On March 3, 2003, the Sundernagar SDO forwarded the case of Mr Sen to DC stating that the SMC had acquired 211 sqm of land of Mr Sen and had constructed the road and proposed to give 207 sqm of land in exchange. He also mentioned that the tehsildar had investigated the case. The letter also attached the copies of the no objection certificate from the SMC under the Municipality Alienation Act, 1971. On the basis the report submitted by the SDO the DC approved the land on June 20, 2002, stating that the government had sanctioned the land to Sen. The SMC’s Executive Officer Urveshi Walia said the council had never granted the NOC to Sen. “The land has not been registered in his name. I have joined three years ago and do not know how the case was moved in the council”, she added. SDO Pankaj Rai said the person who was rendered landless by the act of acquisition of his land was only entitled for the exchange in lieu of the acquired land from the government land. “But the case has been dealt in March, 2000, but I joined here recently”, he added. The Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Mr Ali Raza Rizvi said the government had banned the land exchange in the state. “But this case is older. I will look into the matter how the whole case was moved and approved”, he added.
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Illegal construction: department wants more time
Shimla, April 25 The matter for extending the deadline is likely to be placed before the state Cabinet, which meets here tomorrow. Earlier, March 31, 2005, had been set as the deadline for deciding and disposing of all these cases of unauthorised constructions falling under the five SADAs of Shoghi, Kufri, Dhalli, New Shimla and Tuttu in the vicinity of the state capital. “Since it is an arduous task where spot inspection of each site needs to be done, we will seek more time and the matter will be placed before the state Cabinet, which meets tomorrow,” said a senior official. Sources said with almost 1,400 cases to be compounded under the retention policy offered by the state government, the department with its limited staff and resources had sought some more time before each case could be taken up individually and decided on merit. The number of cases in Dhalli was 425, 400 in New Shimla, 325 in Kufri and 125 each in Tuttu and Shoghi. The task of the department becomes all the more difficult as old cases falling in New Shimla, Dhalli and Tuttu, when all three were Nagar Panchayats, are also pending. Added to this are the new cases of violations in the newly formed SADAs of Kufri and Shoghi. “One thing which needs to be clarified is that it is not the time period for applying under the retention policy which is being extended but it is the time being sought by the department to dispose of the cases pending with the department,” said an official. He added that only those cases of illegal constructions would be regularised which qualified the criteria laid down in the retention policy. The sources said in case of encroachment on private or government land, the case for being compounded would be considered only after the unauthorised structure was dismantled. As part of the government drive against encroachments and unauthorised constructions, directions had been issued that water and electricity supply of violators be disconnected. Being strictly opposed to such soft policies of retention, environmentalists say it will further aggravate the problem as it amounts to encouraging violators and encroachers. They say that the town has already turned into a concrete jungle and now by regularising unauthorised constructions in SADAs, the situation will become more or less the same. “On the one hand there is talk of undertaking conservative surgery in extremely congested colonies like Jiunu Colony, Cemetery and Sanjauli to decongest them and at the same time the government is offering retention policy,” lament officials. |
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No teacher for IT course
Dharamsala, April 25 The future of over 150 teachers appointed in various schools also hangs in the balance as their services were terminated on March 31 even though they had been assured the job till 2007. Talking to The Tribune, the principal of a government senior secondary school said though students for Classes XI and XII were still taking admissions, studies of Classes X and IX were being affected. “The agreement with a private company went haywire when the teachers were not paid salaries in December last year and the government had to intervene. Since then, the salaries of the teachers were being paid out of the fee of Rs 70 per month charged from each student. But after March 31, there is no intimation about the fate of the teachers,” he said. Another government school principal said with the popularity of the course had also taken a dip, especially in the rural areas, the private company and the
government had turned indifferent towards the IT programme. “It being an optional subject, most students prefer physical education over it as for that they have to pay only Rs 60 for the entire session,” he said. An IT teacher said they had been promised a secure job till 2007 but the termination of the contract had come as a bolt from the blue for them. “We have called a meeting on May 8 to take up the issue with the authorities so that our future is not jeopardised,” she said. “Most of us have a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Application (PGDCA) but have been working for Rs 3,000 per month out of the fee raised from the students. There are more than 80 teachers working in the Kangra district and the government should intervene,” added another teacher. A Class X student of a local school said since the subject involved practical work, the absence of a teacher was affecting their studies. |
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Industrialists await refund from power board
Solan, April 25 Though the 66-kv line was installed in 2003, no bills of the industrialists have been adjusted against the amount given to the board. It was reliably learnt that about Rs 1.96 crore, Rs 35 lakh, Rs 24 lakh was pooled in by Vardhman Spinning Mills, Birla Textiles and Dabur India Limited, respectively, besides others. A sum of Rs 4,08,730 was given to the board by Birla Textiles as the cost of land for the construction of towers for the line up to its premises in 2003. Yet another sum of Rs 85.62 lakh was given for the construction of the line and its terminal equipment in 2002 by it. The board has neither furnished the details of the cost incurred on the installation of the line, nor has made any refund or adjustment against the balance amount. The industrialists lamented that despite communicating with the board on a regular basis, nothing was being done to repay the interest-free loan to them. Agreeing that the industrialists have been writing to the board for the settlement of the loan, highly placed officials of the board said a dedicated feeder had been provided to them as promised. They were required to deposit certain charges after which the refunds would be made. The officials said cost-sharing guidelines for future participation of industrialists in infrastructure development was now being worked out by the Electricity Regulatory Commission. |
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2 families wait for return of PoWs
Dharamsala, April 25 More than three decades after the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971, relatives of these PoWs are still waiting for their return. Two such families in Dharamsala say the string of CBMs has brought a ray of hope for them and the two Army officers from the city might soon be back. Lieut-Col J.C. Sharma (retd) says his younger brother, Capt K.C. Sharma, was taken prisoner during the 1971 war and he is in Pakistan’s custody. “After three decades of torture, we apprehend most PoWs might have turned insane. Nevertheless, we are waiting for them anxiously.” “After all these years, my sister and I are the only family members left who can identify him.” “We appeal to President Musharraf to allow us to visit the jails in Pakistan to look for our dear ones. Also, their pictures and profiles should be telecast on local channels there so that people can report about them in case they are out of jail,” suggests Lieut-Col Sharma. “Over these years, we have repeatedly taken up matter with the offices of the Defence Minister, the President the Prime Minister and also a host of organisations in Pakistan, including the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, but to no avail,” he says. Mr Vivek Guleri, a lawyer, says he last saw his Uncle, Maj S.C. Guleri, of 9 Jat Regiment, when he was in Class XI. “He had been married for only a month when he went for the 1971 war and now his wife has passed away,” he says. “First they declared him dead, but later his name figured in the list of 54 PoWs released by the Governemnt of India. We are hoping that the way both sides are taking initiatives, our people might finally come home,” he says.
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CJM, wife injured in accident
Chamba, April 25 According to police sources, the CJM received minor injuries, while his wife was seriously wounded. They were transferred to Ludhiana hospital for treatment. In another Maruti car accident near Banikhet late last enening, one person, Roshan Lal, a resident of Dharwala village, died on the spot, while another person, Hem Raj, was injured. The police has registered cases.
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