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Pandemonium in Assembly
Extend House session: Dhumal
Bill to help arrest groundwater decline
HC awards compensation for illegal confinement
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Dental students cry foul
Mistaken identity: cops assaulted
Government to stamp out drug menace
Poor infrastructure in Parwanoo
Kasauli TV centre to attract pvt service providers
Wanted criminal arrested
Protest outside school board office
List of promoted lecturers released
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Pandemonium in Assembly
Shimla, August 10 Mr Ramesh Dhawala, a BJP legislator from Kangra district where the event was held , set the ball rolling by raising the issue soon after question hour. He said he had given notice for discussion on the issue but it was not accepted. He said it was the biggest financial scam in which crores of rupees were collected by selling un-numbered tickets. He said the Tourism Minister, Mr G.S. Bali, had misused his position and government officers were forced to sell tickets for the event. The Tourism Department was one of the sponsors of the show. He also waived the brochure publicising the event to substantiate his charge. The speaker said he was not blocking discussion on the issue and a question in this regard was listed for tomorrow. But Mr Dhawala insisted on discussion and other party members also joined him and started raising slogans. In the meantime, Mr Dhawala, Mr K.D. Dharmani, Mr Ravinder Ravi and Mr H.S. Rana entered the well of the House. The Speaker asked them to restore order and urged them not to disrupt the proceedings. Intervening in the matter, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said the agenda was decided by the business advisory committee and one could not force issues on the House by making noise. He said Mr Dhawala was upset because of the criminal case registered against him and other BJP members and said by using such tactics he could not get a reprieve. The law would take its own course. He said the BJP members could ask for discussion under the appropriate rule if they were not satisfied with the reply of the government to the question. This again led to slogan shouting. Mr P.K. Dhumal, leader of the BJP group, said the Congress promised to provide a transparent government but it was avoiding discussion on important issue like corruption. He said besides Mr Dhawala, he and other party members had also given notices for discussion on issues concerning scams and corruption which had not been accepted. The Government was already looking into the issue and if required, further inquiry would be conducted to probe the allegations and if irregularities were found it would not hesitate to take action. The CM said the government would also inquire into the affairs of the Vivekanand Hospital, Palampur. He said once the chair had given its decision the matter ended and there was no reason to agitate. This further infuriated Mr Dhumal and other BJP members who were on their legs again raising slogans against the government. As the speaker continued with the proceedings they trooped into the well of the House. The bills listed for the day were introduced and passed amidst slogan shouting by BJP members. The Speaker adjourned the House after the business for the day was completed. |
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Extend House session: Dhumal
Shimla, August 10 Addressing a press conference here today, he said the government was deliberately avoiding discussing issues like corruption and functioning of the Subordinate Services Selection Board and the state board of school education. Besides, there were other issues like a sharp increase in the fees for dental colleges which could not be taken up. Tomorrow was the last day of the session and it was earmarked for private member’s business. He said while the fees for private dental colleges had been fixed at a uniform rate of Rs 55,000 per student per annum, in Himachal Pradesh it was not very high but it also differed from college to college. For instance for DAV College, Solan, and Bhojia College, Baddi, it was Rs 84,000, Sundernagar Dental College Rs 63,000 and Paonta Dental College Rs 65,000. Not only that the fees had been revised retrospectively with effect from the 2003-04 session and the students had been warned that they would not be allowed to appear in the examination if they failed to do so. He said it was an important issue which concerned the students and must be discussed in the House. He said the Subordinate Services Selection Board was in complete disarray and it was finding difficult to declare the results of the TGT non-medical group after it came to the notice that 60 students in a row at the Chamba centre had passed the examination. Obviously there was mass copying which indicated how the board had been conducting examinations. Earlier, it released two lists of selected candidates for the TGT medical group which raised serious doubts over the fairness of selections. He demanded that both the Chief Minister and the tourism minister should resign and the inquiry into the Mumbai musical blast be handed over to the CBI. Mr Dhumal maintained that the Forest Minister had misled the House by stating that the forest cover had increased.
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Bill to help arrest groundwater decline
Shimla, August 10 The minister said the Bill provided for the establishment of a groundwater authority, which would advise the government to regulate the extraction of groundwater in any form in any area in public interest. If the availability of the groundwater improved in a notified area, the authority could advise the government to denotify the area. The authority would take steps to ensure that exploitation of groundwater did not exceed the natural replenishment of the aquifers and wherever there was a mismatch, steps to ensure augmentation would be taken in addition to regulation. Every rig owner would have to register his machinery with the authority and every user of groundwater would pay royalty to the state at the prescribed rates. A user of groundwater who irrigated less than one hectare of land would be exempted from such payment. The authority would have powers to inspect any well sunk and the soil and other material excavated and take specimens. It would be empowered to seize any equipment of device utilised for illegal sinking of well and destroy the work executed. The authority could issue directions for construction of rainwater harvesting structures and in residential, commercial and other premises. If a groundwater user fails to supply information required under the Act he could be fined up to Rs 1,000 at the first instance and up to Rs 2,000 at second and subsequent offences. If a user constructs or uses a well in contravention of the Act, he could be punished with imprisoned up to three months or a fined up to Rs 5,000 or both at the first instance and imprisonment up to six months or fine up to Rs 10,000 or both at the second and subsequent offences. Mr Kaul Singh also introduced the Himachal Pradesh Municipal (Amendment) Bill to make it mandatory for the households to have a sewerage connection as people in several places were still continuing with septic tanks which did not ensure proper disposal of waste water, leading to unhygienic conditions. It also had penal provisions like the disconnection of water and power supply of those who refused to comply with the provision of the Act. The amendment Bill also provides for deletion of the Clause debarring those having more than two children from contesting elections to the local bodies.
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HC awards compensation for illegal confinement
Shimla, August 10 While passing the directions a division Bench comprising the Chief Justice V.K. Gupta and Mr Justice K.C. Sood observed that the order passed by the SDM on May 13, 2005, was illegal and the students had been detained unconstitutional and
patently illegal. This order was passed in ignorance of statutory provisions or in gross abuse of powers exercised by the SDM concerned and the students, were detained in illegal custody and were deprived of their personal liberty without any procedure established by law. On the basis of interim direction of the high court they were released on May 17, 2005. The state of Himachal Pradesh filed an affidavit whereby the Secretary (home) had admitted that the order of the SDM was against the settled procedure and law. While regretting for this act the court was assured that remedial measures to avoid
reoccurrence of such instances in future. The court directed to complete proposed remedial measures by December 31, 2005. |
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Dental students cry foul over fee hike
Solan, August 10 As many as 240 students who had took admission on free seats in the four private colleges by paying merely Rs 20,000 have now been directed to deposit fee at the rate of Rs 84,000 per year. Not only this they have to deposit this fee before August 28, before the commencement of the semester examinations. This would entail an expenditure of lakhs per student. A section of students told The Tribune today that the new fee structure should not be applicable to them as the provisional fee structure did not exist when they took admission. They had taken admission against free government seats and now it was difficult for them to shell out lakhs of rupees. The second year students who, had paid 50 per cent of last year’s fee, have also been directed to pay this year’s fee plus 50 per cent of last year’s fee in one go. The harassed students, while condemning the new fee structure, said they had apprised the Chief Minister of their problem and he had assured them of putting on hold this fee structure but nothing had been done in reality. The students resented that they had been left in the lurch as many of them were not in a position to either deposit lakhs or leave the course mid-way. Students pointed out that when a prosperous state like Punjab has a nominal fee ranging from Rs 47,000 to Rs 80,000 then how students in Himachal were expected to pay more? Questioning the notification they wondered why the management seats and free seats had been notified to pay the same fee. The students said they would soon meet the Chief Minister to seek his intervention in the matter. |
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Mistaken identity: cops assaulted
Kangra, August 10 The Kangra district police chief, Mr S.P. Singh, told The Tribune today that a Punjab Police party in civil dress along with an arrested criminal from Punjab had come here looking for 12 members of Kale Kachche wale gang. The police party nabbed six persons of Bengali community at Dhamata today after they were identified by the arrested criminal. The villagers took the policemen to be kidnappers and attacked them injuring one of them. Mr S.P. Singh said during the scuffle three of the nabbed criminals — Delar, Ashok and Ravi — managed to give a slip to the police. The policemen showed their identity cards to the angry villagers and saved themselves from further assault but by that time three criminals had escaped. Mr S.P. Singh said Punjab Police had already arrested 23 members of the gang and were looking for 12 more gang members. Mr S.P. Singh informed that additional police force was deployed immediately under the supervision of the DSP Mr Vimukt Ranjan, to control the situation in the area. He said after reaching the spot the HP Police authorities explained the situation to the villagers and sought their help in nabbing the absconding three criminals. Meanwhile the police has registered a case against eight persons under Sections 353, 147 and 149 for assaulting the police party and arrested seven of them. One person was absconding. |
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Government to stamp out drug menace
Shimla, August 10 Replying to a question of Maj Vijay Singh Mankotia of the Congress in this regard, he said poppy plants were destroyed over 1342 bighas in the Chuhar valley in 2003 in a joint operation with the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Mandi police, but no case was registered. Some wild growths of cannabis were found in the Rohru, Theog, Chopal and Kotkhai areas of Shimla district. The Superintendent of Police concerned had issued the necessary directions for destroying the plants. He said the Governor was determined to stamp out the drug menace so that the young generation did not fell prey to it. Answering a question of Mr Jai Ram over the acid-throwing case in Mandi, he said the government had issued instructions that all outsiders, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, who come to the state for work
should be registered and issued identity cards after police verification. Referring to the assertions of the BJP members that Maoists were also trying to gain roots in the state, he said there were some reports of some procession being taken out in support of Maoists of Nepal but the government was keeping a close watch and it would not allow any illegal activities. Answering a question of Mr Ravinder Ravi regarding a dance party organised at a private hotel in Dharamsala, the Chief Minister said the government did not intend to impose restrictions on the thought and way of life of citizens. It would only interfere in such matters if some complaints of violations of law came to light. In a written reply to a question of Capt Atma Ram, Mr Sat Mahajan, Revenue Minister, informed the House that a proposal for creating 339 more gram sabhas was received from the directorate concerned and the creation of 210 gram sabhas had been notified under the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act for inviting objections. |
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Poor infrastructure in Parwanoo
Solan, August 10 A visit to the area by Chandigarh Tribune team today revealed the pitiable state of roads. With little space for dumping the debris collected after clearing several bighas it has been conveniently thrown across the road. Debris have piled up below the A.V. electronics and Him Biotech units. The downpour took the debris from one side of the road and dumped it on the other side. It also found its way in houses and fields of local residents. Not only were the paddy and maize plantations destroyed but a local resident Prabha, had to break open her kitchen’s door to save her belongings from getting damaged as her house got submerged in 5-feet debris. Equally appalling is the state of the nearby shops where timely help by neighbourers helped in saving furniture and other goods from the debris which flowed down from the hill side. Yashpal, a local shopkeeper, while lamenting the carelessness of those dumping debris said the poor upkeep of the roads added to their woes. The villagers said the practice of dumping debris had been going on unchecked in the area. A visit to the road ahead revealed that due to poor maintenance of side drains the rain water had damaged the road at several places. Ridiculing the lack of maintenance Mr R.P. Joshi, a resident of Khreen village, said even the electricity poles got damaged. As a stop gap arrangement a low voltage power supply had been temporarily made available to him. With the debris flowing down at several places the road remained blocked for several days. Though the PWD workers were found working round-the-clock to clear the debris but residents said due to proper maintenance the road had shrinked by a few metres at six places. A retaining wall was now being erected to give some support to the road at few places. The officials of the Industries Department said little had been done to develop infrastructure in the upcoming industrial area. Failure of the government to provide proper road had exposed its tall claims. |
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Kasauli TV centre to attract pvt service providers
Parwanoo, August 10 The main reason behind move was to make available the state of the art infrastructure at kendra for private players at reasonable rates. This would also help in enhancing the revenue of Doordarshan, Mr Duhan said. The three platforms (40 mts, 65 mts and 75 mts height) have been set up on the tower having total height of 128 mts. He said Rs 1.25 lakh annual rental had been fixed for mounting an antenna at 40 mts platform. The annul rental would be Rs 2 lakh for setting up an antenna at 65 mts and 71 mts platforms. The space inside kendra would be made available at 1000 sq mts to set up office for backhand functions, said Mr Duhan. These rates were for mounting one set of GSM/CDMA antenna and up to two number of grid/ semi grid parabolic antenna or Yagi/dish type antenna by the same operator. The total weight should not exceed 75 kg, he added. The line of site was clear between TV tower, Chandigarh and Shimla thus link could be established easily between Shimla-Kasauli-Chandigarh, said Mr. Duhan.
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Wanted criminal arrested
Solan, August 10 The SP, Mr Gianeshwar Singh, while giving details of the arrest said a team led by the SHO, Mr Babita Pal, was regularly conducting raids at his several hideouts in Haryana, Punjab and Uttaranchal. He was arrested by the SHO last evening from Pinjore, where he was working as a cleaner. Several cases of attempt to murder, murder, Excise Act and road accidents have been registered against him. He said the police was now hopeful of arresting his accomplices soon. The gang which is active in Solan and Sirmaur districts is a major headache for the police departments of both districts. The gang was involved in incidents of looting and assault along the highways, including Nalagarh and Raipur Rani areas. |
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Protest outside school board office
Kangra, August 10 The ABVP leaders said they were protesting against wrong selection of JBT teachers by the board. The protesting students also resented the payment of Rs 15 crore to the Chief Minister and described it as ‘misuse’ of the board funds. They also demanded that 450 posts lying vacant in the board should be filled immediately. When contacted the chairman of the board, Mr B.R. Rahi told The Tribune that the board had not effected any fee hike and therefore the demand was illogical. |
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List of promoted lecturers released
Kangra, August 10 Mr Ashok Sharma, district president, Himachal Pradesh Promotee School Lecturers Association, in a statement here yesterday said previously the promotion list of 102 trained graduates was released after deleting the names of lecturers forcing them to move the tribunal. |
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