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Power commission announces fresh rates
UPA regime in doldrums, says Jaitley
8 arrested for Rs 2 cr coop bank fraud
Tribune Impact
Alarming fall in leopard population
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Woman, paramour held for murder
Lawyers intensify stir against profession tax
Protest rally by CITU
Workshop on ‘draft forest sector policy’
Reliance mobile services in Kangra
Two held for forcible
marriage, rape
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Power commission announces fresh rates
Solan, April 18 The credit rating will also help identify the poorly rated consumers who have an outstanding amount exceeding Rs 10,000. The list of such consumers would be published in newspapers and put on the website to instill some sense of embarrassment among them. While making the security deposit for procuring power mandatory, the commission has pointed out that the consumer will at all times maintain with the electricity board an amount equivalent to the consumption charges for the billing cycle. Further, if the supply is sought through a pre-payment meter, the security deposit was not required and if deposited, it could be refunded. The initial security deposit, payable at the time of supplying power, would be at flat rates notified by the commission which differ from category to category. The small and medium industries having power supply up to 20KW and above 20KW to 100 KW, respectively, would have to deposit a monthly security deposit of Rs 500 and Rs 750. Large industries having a power supply above 100 KW, those requiring bulk supply and temporary metered supply for all areas would be charged Rs 1,000, Rs 850 and Rs 850 per month, respectively. The other areas, including tribal areas, rural areas, urban areas, etc., would be charged between Rs 330 to Rs 700 per month. The orders have also laid down the condition that based on the review, the demand for additional security deposit will be made by the board. If the shortfall is less than 10 per cent of the existing security deposit, no such demand will be made. Thirty days would be given to pay additional security deposit, but a surcharge of 12 per cent (simple interest per annum) will be charged for any delay. With a view to discipline habitual defaulters, the commission has pointed out that the supply can be disconnected without any further notice, if additional security deposit is not paid. While safeguarding the interest of consumer, the commission has also laid the condition of giving a 12 per cent simple interest on the security deposit to the consumer. This will however, not be applicable to security amount of less than Rs 100 or if the connection is disconnected within a year. The board will show the amounts due to the consumer towards interest on the security deposit in the bills after June 30. The board will also be liable to pay penal interest at twice the rate specified if any delay is made in making adjustments for interest. In case of load being reduced by the consumer, the board will reduce the amount of security on pro-rata basis and refund the excess amount. |
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UPA regime in doldrums, says Jaitley Shimla, May 18 Talking to mediapersons, Mr Jaitley, who appeared as counsel in a court matter here today, said the first year of the UPA government was a “year of vendetta and tainted ministers”. “It is not the policies and programmes of the UPA government which saw them through their first year, but the anti-BJP stand,” he remarked. Regretting attempts by the government to “taint” Mr Arun Shourie, the BJP leader said the government was leaving no stone unturned to shield tainted ministers like Laloo Prasad Yadav. “It is very unfortunate that a man like Mr Shourie, known for his honesty, is being hounded by the government while ministers facing serious charges are all-powerful,” he said. Mr Jaitley said within a year of the rule of the UPA, many of its alliance partners had distanced themselves from the government. “The UPA regime is virtually in the doldrums as the BSP has moved away from it and the Left parties are reluctant to join the one-year celebrations,” he said. “One of the most unfortunate features of the UPA rule is the lowering of the prestige of the post of the Prime Minister as an extra-constitutional power centre has been promoted and is all-powerful,” he said. It is for this very reason that the government was constantly under pressure, he added. Mr Jaitley said the Left parties continued to “sabotage” economic reforms, mainly for the reason that it was a very weak government. “The Left parties are brow-beating the government, which is constantly bowing to their dictates,” he lamented. He said the government could not take credit for the economic growth as it was entrepreneur-driven growth and not due to the policies of the government. On the boycott of the Lok Sabha by the BJP, he said this was for only one session but the strategy of his party would depend on how the government treated the Opposition in future. “This reminds me of the Emergency days during the time of Indira Gandhi when all possible attempts were made to gag the political set-up,” he opined.
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8 arrested for Rs 2 cr coop bank fraud
Mandi, May 18 The arrested persons were today produced in a court here which remanded them in judicial custody for one day. The case will be taken up tomorrow. Invetigation revealed that the BoD sanctioned unsecured loans to their relatives and family members then waved interest, and principal amount a breach of trust under the Cooperative Act and RBI rules. The BoDs sanctioned loans to their relatives and family members at 8 per cent rate interest when lending rate was 12 per cent in the end of 1990, sources disclosed. The members sanctioned loans to the relatives against fixed deposits (FDs) and granted the same amount of loan to them. But the BoDs waved interest and principal in some cases, through mutual adjustment, police sources revealed. “The BoD members worked in collusion with the bank clerks, who also managed loans for their family members and relatives”, revealed the investigation. Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav said that BoDs were running the bank just like a “liberal money lender’s shop”, Violating the Cooperative Act and RBI banking norms. “We are investigating four cases involving the BoD members. Even defaulters will be booked and recovery fixed individually under the act”, he said. Bank sources revealed that the BoDs approval of unsecured loans and waving interest on the loans resulted in a loss of over 1.73 crore to the bank for the past seven years. In four cases amounting to Rs 24 lakh the bank staff tampered with record using fluids and unsecured loan was waved under the One Time Settlement (OTS)”, he said. Investigation revealed that the BoD members not only sanctioned unsecured loans for machinery, house construction, purchase of vehicles, they also sanctioned loans without pledging any property under the Cash Credit Limit (CCL). Chairman, Action Committee, Citizens’ Council Mandi, P.C. Bisht said that the defaulters should return loans to the bank to help revive the bank. Administrator, MUCBL M.R. Bhardwaj said that over 400 cases amounting Rs five crore had been fixed for arbitration. “Out of these, 200 cases relate to the OTS, which was misused by the BoD members under the act”, he said. On financial position of the bank, Mr Bhardwaj said the new audit is being conducted. “The Non-Performing Assets (NPA) have almost touched 50 per cent amounting to Rs 10 crore”, he informed. The MUCBL’s former Chairman of the defunct BoD M.P. Sehgal, who was also arrested last night said that the FIR is of general nature and police had acted under political pressure. |
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Illegal felling of trees stopped
Our Correspondent
Sundernagar, May 18 The site at Jughan village was selected for extracting clay to be used for the 88 MW Kol Dam Project by the NTPC. The local resident had felled hundreds of trees without permission of the Forest Department. The Conservator of Forest, Mandi Circle, Mr C.S Singh, has mentioned the news item that appeared in The Tribune in his official communication addressed to the DFO Sundernagar. Its copies have been also sent to the General Manager, Kol Dam Hydro Project (NTPC) and the Mining Officer, Mandi. He has ordered immediate spot inspection besides ensuring that no violation of the Forest Conservation Act and the Indian Forest Act were made. He has asked the General Manager, Kol Dam Hydro Electric Project (NTPC), not to fell trees without permission from the Forest Department. The day the news item was published, a team under the supervision of the RO Suket, Mr Rajeev Sharma visited the site and caught six persons felling trees. It impounded their saws and axes. According to the RO, the team has been visiting the site regularly since the publication of news. The team is estimating the number of trees felled and soon a detailed report will be submitted to the Conservator (Forest), Mandi, through the DFO Suket, and necessary action will be initiated against those responsible for felling trees. Interestingly, the NTPC was given temporary permission to extract clay from the place by the State Geologist and a condition was imposed that “No tree should be felled without prior permission from the Forest Department”. The Mining Deppartment has also imposed a condition that there should be no violation of the Forest Conservation Act. Officials of the Forest and Mining Departments have been trying to shift the burden on each other. A recent visit to the spot revealed that the felling of trees had stopped since May 16. Local residents said the felling had been going on for the past many days. They said residents got involved in felling of trees as NTPC officials had asked them to do so. They were not aware that no permission had been taken for it from the Forest Department. They said residents of adjoining areas had given information to the Mining Department, and the Forest Department, but no action was taken.
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Alarming fall in leopard population
Kangra, May 18 According to Mr D.P. Chandra, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), today said during a survey conducted by the Forest Department in May 1997, in this forest range, including the forest areas of Kangra, Dharamsala, Mallan, Shahpur and Lipyiana, 110 leopards had been identified. He said during a census conducted by the Wildlife Department in June last year, only 37 leopards could be identified. As many as 73 leopards had perished in seven years. People killed eight leopards after entrapping them and the same number died natural deaths during 1997-2003. He said during 1993-97, seven leopards were killed by the people. However, 57 leopards were neither traced in the forests nor figured in official files. He said every year, three to four leopards were born but on the ground level, the number was not increasing. Mr Chandra was, however, evasive about the number of killings during 2004-2005 which had further reduced the number of leopards. The number of leopards had considerably declined in the Kangra forest area wherein 1997, 32 leopards were detected during a survey but had gone down to five in last year’s census. The same was the situation in the Shahpur forests where the number had gone down from 15 to four. In the Lipyiana forests, there was 90 per cent reduction in the number of leopards. The number was reduced from 10 to one. In the Mallan area, it had gone down from 22 to eight and in Dharamsala forest area, the leopard number had come down from 31 to 18. |
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Woman, paramour held for murder
Nurpur, May 18 The police has also arrested two co-accused, Ramesh alias Bindu of Bathu Tipri in Dehra sub-division, and Prem Singh of Jaunta village, alongwith Sat Pal at Ludhiana on Tuesday where they had fled after committing the crime. A case under Sections 302 and 120 (B) of the IPC had been booked against them. All accused were produced in the judicial court this afternoon at Jawali and were remanded in the police custody till May 25. According to the Jawali police, the accused Rekha and Sat Pal were having illicit relations before the marriage of the former which took place in December, 2004. The deceased Ram Singh was upset over the extra-marital relations of his wife which strained relations between them. The police revealed that Rekha had confessed the crime having been committed with the assistance of her paramour and two other co-accused on the night of May 15 when the deceased was strangulated after giving him a sedative. His body was then hanged from the house ceiling.
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Lawyers intensify stir against profession tax
Nurpur, May 18 According to Mr S.K. Sharma, president of the Bar, the strikers would continue the fast till May 21 and join the demonstration scheduled on May 26 in front of the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat in Shimla to demand revocation of the professional tax. Nahan: Members’ of the District Bar Association of Sirmaur today started relay fast in protest against the imposition of profession tax on the advocates and increase in the court fee by the state government. Mr
J.R. Sharma, president, District Bar Association, announced that the fast would continue till May 21. |
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Protest rally by CITU
Shimla, May 18 The secretary of the Shimla district unit of CITU, Mr Jagat Ram, said that instead of fulfilling its promise of regularising all daily-wagers who had completed seven years of service, the government was resorting to retrenchment. “The only justification that we can see in retrenching these daily-wagers is to appease the contractors who have made the workers victims of political retrenchment,” he remarked. He regretted that instead of framing a policy for creating employment opportunities, the government was acting under pressure of the IMF and the World Bank. The government was now even proposing to privatise the health sector and the construction of the roads which was carried out by the PWD. He said CITU would continue its struggle against the illegal retrenchment till the government reversed its decision and regularised the services of all those who had completed seven years of service. |
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Workshop on ‘draft forest sector policy’
Chamba, May 18 In a workshop held here today under the chairmanship of Mr Avtar Singh, Conservator of Forests, Chamba, on the “draft forest sector policy”, suggestions and views from the people working in various fields and from different related departments, besides public representatives, have been invited, thereby ensuring the people’s participation in the project. In the workshop, group discussions were conducted on institutional issues, its framework and on what should be the policy measures for rights and responsibilities, eco-tourism and forestry.
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Reliance mobile services in Kangra
Kangra, May 18 Mr Himanshu Kapania, CEO of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, Reliance India Mobile, said the company was carrying out network expansion which would cover 56 towns in the state. The network expansion is a part of the company's nationwide expansion programme to cover over 5,700 towns and 4 lakh villages, which is scheduled to be completed in the state by the year-end. He said in the first phase three towns — Parwanoo, Shimla and Solan — were covered and added that 10 districts out of 12 in the state would be covered under the expansion programme. Kangra is 21st town in the state which was covered under the Reliance network today. He said after the completion of this expansion programme, a total of 8,000 villages, more than 1,000 km of national highway and 800 km of state highway would be covered in the state.
Two held for forcible
marriage, rape Nalagarh, May 18 The trio kidnapped her and took her to village Mehara in Hamirpur district in a Tata Sumo. She was forced to marry Surinder on April 5. Surinder later raped her but she somehow managed to return back to Nalagarh on April 6. The police registered a case under Sections 376, 506, 120-B of the IPC on the complaint of the girl yesterday and sent a police team to Mehara to arrest the accused. Further investigations were being conducted.
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