Shimla, July 29
Having already served a show-cause notice on the Brakel Corporation with regard to allotment of 960 MW Jangi Thopan and Thopan Powari power projects, the government may shortly register a vigilance case against the company for misrepresenting facts.

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had sought the permission of the government to register a case against the company which is in trouble over the allotment of power projects ever since the BJP came to power. Sources said that the government had made up its mind for the registering of a vigilance case as during investigation certain facts had come to light.

Principal Secretary, Home, P.C. Kapoor, said that the government was still examining the matter. Police sources said all aspects of the case would be examined minutely and legally as the government had asked them to investigate the matter thoroughly.

It was almost a fortnight back that the Vigilance Bureau had sought the permission from the government to register a case. However, all legal aspects are being examined thoroughly to fix the responsibility. “Even though the company could be booked under Section 420 for cheating by misrepresenting facts but the government could also book government officials who were involved in the allotment of the project to Brakel,” said a senior official.

The power department has already served a show-cause notice on the government as to why the allotment of project should not be cancelled since facts regarding the company’s financial and technical status had been misrepresented. It was the cabinet which took the decision of serving show-cause notice to the government.

A rival company, Reliance Energy, has moved the High Court, challenging the allotment of the projects to the Brakel Corporation. The projects had been allotted during the tenure of the Congress regime in December, 2006. On assuming power the BJP issued a show-cause notice to the Brakel asking them to deposit the upfront money of Rs 173 crores with interest.

The show cause notice was withdrawn after Brakel deposited the amount and accepted the fresh conditions. However after taking a fresh look at the matter at the highest level the government decided to issue a show cause notice to Brake 
Corporation.

The chief minister. P.K. Dhumal has in the past said that there appeared to be some lapses on the part of the Brakel Corporation which had come to light in the Vigilance inquiry and there was a possibility that the government could cancel the allotment of the two projects in Kinnaur district.

Under such circumstances the government is likely to invite fresh tenders so that there can be open bidding. 

Shimla, July 29
The government will grant permission to the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) to extract limestone in the Arki area of Solan district with an estimated investment of Rs 500 crore.

This was stated by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal during a meeting with Rana Som, chairman-cum-managing director of the NMDC, here today. “The activity is likely to generate direct and indirect employment for 5,000 persons in the area,” he said.

Dhumal said the limestone extracted by the NDMC would be supplied to Ambuja Cements till a permanent buyer, a steel industry, is found as the mineral extract contained vital ingredient for manufacturing steel. “The supply will be made to Ambuja Cements that will pay a royalty of Rs 55 per tonne. This will generate an annual revenue of Rs 11 crore to the state exchequer.”

He said the NMDC had been given the lease for extraction till 2011. The corporation would have to deposit security with the government. “The corporation has been asked to strictly follow the environmental norms while carrying out limestone extraction,” he said.

He added the government was concerned about the environmental safeguards and no activity causing damage to the fragile ecology would be permitted.

“Providing employment to the locals is the top priority of the government and the condition of providing 70 per cent employment to the locals has been made mandatory,” Dhumal said.

Rana Som assured the Chief Minister that the company would adhere to the government guidelines and start work at the earliest in the allotted area.

Dinesh Sharma, general manager, Ambuja Cements, said the company had entered into an agreement with the NMDC to buy the extracted limestone for use in cement manufacturing. 

Shimla, July 29
All roads of industrial importance in the state will be improved and upgraded so as to ensure smooth plying of vehicles and overcoming the problem of traffic congestion.

This was stated by public works minister Thakur Gulab Singh while presiding over a meeting of senior official of the PWD here today. “The government has approved the setting up of six cement projects. As this will entail huge traffic movement, the existing road infrastructure needs to be strengthened,” he said.

In order to facilitate the movement of clinker and cement from the proposed Sundernagar cement plant, a bypass would be constructed shortly, he added. “Fifty per cent of the cost of the bypass would be borne by the company executing the cement plant,” he said. The company setting up the cement plant at Chopal had also agreed to share 50 per cent of the cost for widening of the road. The detailed project report for the same had already been prepared.

The minister said the designated industrial areas also require better roads. “The four-km stretch of the road from Kala Amb to Trilokpur would be improved to ease out traffic congestion,” he said. He said the Road Infrastructure Development Corporation would carry out a detailed survey of the road from Salappar to Alsundi, where a cement plant was proposed, and submit the report to the government.

Thakur said it had already been decided to declare the Lal Dhang-Paonta-Rajban road a national highway and the approval of the Planning Commission had already been taken.

The minister said the stress would also be on upgrading and ensuring proper maintenance of roads of tourist and pilgrimage importance for the convenience of tourists.

Nurpur, July 29
The Kangra Herbs Society, a non-government organisation recognised by the Ayurvedic Council of India (ACI), has claimed for having identified as many as 43 unique herbs in the state.

Talking to The Tribune yesterday, chairman of the society R.S. Guleria informed that the society had undertaken in depth research with the assistance of a team of ayurvedic experts and scientists by examining numerous herbs available in the hill state.

“These herbs are useful in curing incurable cancer and AIDS,” he added.

He said unlike radiation and chemotherapy, the use of herbal medicines would not damage body cells, despite form red blood cells in the body. He said some of these distinct herbs nurseries were prepared in green house to save them from diminishing.

Guleria said the growing of these herbs could also create self-employment opportunities in the state. He said the government had recently earmarked Rs 4.75 crore to the society for undertaking hi-tech research on herbs and assist farmers in producing herbs in the state.

Dharamsala, July 29
The monsoon in the lower regions of the state has taken a heavy toll on the roads. Sources in the PWD said the damage caused to roads in Kangra, Chamba, Hamirpur and Una after the offset of monsoon in June was Rs 7 crore. However, the damage to the national highways in the region was much more.

The losses are likely to increase as the monsoon may continue in the region till September. PWD authorities have sent the report of damages to the roads to the government.

N.L. Sharma, chief engineer, PWD, North Zone, Dharamsala, said loss was caused due landslides. Damage to edges of roads, bridges and culverts were due to the change in courses of the seasonal rivulets. These losses were draining the state’s precious funds. Though climatic reasons were one of the major factors for the damage to bridges and culverts, poor quality of construction was a substantial reason for damage to roads, the sources said here.

In Kangra district many roads, including Yol-Chanmunda, Dharamsala-Mator and some of the rural roads built under the Prime Ministers Gramin Sarak Yojna, have been washed away within days or even weeks after they were laid. The condition of the Nadaun-Una road that was also constructed last year has also worsened.

The chief engineer said the payments of contractors, whose roads have given up with weeks or months of construction were stopped. They would have to repair the roads at their own costs before their payments were released.

The sources in the department said due to lobbies of contractors the department had failed to penalise those who were responsible for the poor construction of roads.

Shimla, July 29
HIMURJA, the nodal agency for mini and micro-hydel projects, will undertake reinvestigation of all projects in its jurisdiction to ascertain their exact potential.

Stating this at the annual general meeting of the agency, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said reports had been received regarding underrating of the generation potential of some projects. He said it would be in the best interest of the executor and the government to get such projects re-investigated and allot the same on the basis of their revised capacity.

He said the government was completing all codal formalities to allot the entire identified hydropower potential for speedy execution. There were a number of areas where the said potential needed to be reassessed and made available to the IPPs for harnessing.

He emphasised the need to motivate various institutions to adopt solar-passive modes for meeting their energy requirements. He said solar technology was safe and environment friendly and was gradually becoming popular with every section of society. HIMURJA needed to gear up its awareness campaign to motivate people to go eco-friendly in the energy sector. He also underlined the need to train the rural youth in solar energy equipment to make maintenance services available to the people locally and generate employment for the youth at their doorsteps.

He said the state government would monitor the release of a minimum 15 per cent discharge downstream through out the year, besides ensuring 70 per cent employment to bona fide Himachalis at all level in the projects. He said the release of water was vital for the survival of aquatic life and feeding various irrigation and drinking water schemes.

He also stressed the need to identify locations where potential for wind energy was available. He said the government had decided to explore the possibilities of generating solar and wind energy in addition to hydropower. He directed the HIMURJA authorities to associate schoolchildren and youth in its endeavour to conserve energy.

Solan, July 29
Annoyed with the scrapping of the four area offices of the State Cooperative Marketing and Consumer Federation (Himfed) across the state, its employees’ union has served a notice on the MD to either withdraw this notification by August 5 or face a strike on August 7.

The union’s executive members, including its president Pardeep Patial and general secretary Rajinder Thakur, who convened a meeting, presented a seven-point demand charter to the MD.

It included the measures to curtail wasteful expenditure in the federation. According to the union, these measures could reduce some expenditures and help the federation to recover from its present financial mess.

The four area offices were scrapped following a July 22 notification issued by the MD. Earlier, the joint secretary had also issued a notification on July 9 for the closure of the four area offices at Una, Bilaspur, Nahan and Chamba.

Union’s general secretary Rajinder Thakur said two officials, including a junior engineer and a deputy controller of finance and accounts, who are presently on deputation, should be repatriated back to their parent department.

Even an undue entertainment allowance of Rs 350, which is being provided to the officers, should be immediately stopped.

The union also demanded the immediate discontinuation of the medical reimbursement to the spouses of those officers who were employed in other government departments.

Hamirpur, July 29
The present and the former chairmen of the Kangra Central Cooperative bank (KCCB) have revolted against the BJP leadership’s decision not to give them nod to contest the ensuing election for the bank director’s posts from Hamirpur and Nadaun wards.

Revolting against the party’s decision of fielding Raseel Singh Mankotia and Jaidnath from Hamirpur and Nadaun wards, respectively, present chairman Prithvi Singh Thakur and former chairman Babu Ram Mandial have decided to contest the election to be held on September 10.

The development is significant because Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had declined a go-ahead for the election to both Prithvi Singh Thakur and Babu Ram Mandial when some groups met him during his tour to Gasota temple on Saturday. He instead gave nod to Raseel Singh Mankotia and Jaidnath for the election.

Dhumal had reportedly hinted that keeping in view the age of Thakur and Mandial and the fact that both of them had been on the board of directors of the KCCB for a very long time, new faces should be given an opportunity this time.

District BJP president Baldev Sharma announced the candidature of Mankotia and Jaidnath on Monday.

Prithvi Singh Thakur and Babu Ram Mandial are veteran BJP leaders; while Mandial has been party MLA from Nadaun, Thakur is the most senior leader from the Bamsan constituency represented by Dhumal and was elected chairman of the bank a few months back on the Dhumal’s recommendation.

Prithvi Singh Thakur said, “Contesting an election is a democratic right. I will exercise that right, as I have been doing since 1987.” Babu Ram Mandial said, “Contesting an election is an individual’s decision and the party has little role to play in that. I will contest the election.”

Bilaspur, July 29
Kaul Singh Thakur, HPCC president, has said that the Congress would not only win the three parliamentary seats, which it is holding, but also snatch the fourth Hamirpur parliamentary seat from the BJP in the next election.

Addressing mediapersons at circuit house here yesterday, Thakur said the polling booth committees would be organised. He urged the party leaders to fight the ‘forces of communalism and regionalism’ to strengthen the party.

He said union finance minister P. Chidambram had announced on October 2 in Shimla that government would set up an IIT and a central university in the state. The Congress then decided at a Cabinet meeting that the IIT would be set up in Mandi and the central university in Dharamsala.

But now the BJP leaders were claiming that these two institutions were the achievements of Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal. The BJP had also changed the location of the university to Dehra.

He said the BJP was trying to mislead the people on this issue.

Thakur flayed the BJP for closing regional offices of the Himfed at Bilaspur, Nahan, Chamba and Una. He criticised the BJP leaders of these districts and said they were trying to serve their personal interests and had failed to protect the interests of the people.

He warned the BJP against its campaign of harassing the Congress workers and panchayat representatives, who were being threatened and suspended and even framed in false and fabricated cases.

He said the BJP had lost its credibility within six months. Thakur said the rural health services had collapsed within six months and people were left to suffer, as there were no doctors and other supporting staff in these health institutions. 

Sundernagar/Mandi, July 29
A highly decomposed body was fished out from the Sundernagar canal today. The deceased was identified as Tek Chand of Bari, a missing moneylender-cum-contractor. His brother Dharam Singh identified the body by recognising the rings and the dress that Tek Chand was wearing when he was allegedly kidnapped from Mandi on July 2.

Family of the deceased and Bari panchayat pradhan Ramesh Thakur alleged Tek Chand was kidnapped, murdered and the body thrown into the canal by his detractors to whom he had lent money. “The exact cause of the death will be known only after a post-mortem examination,” SP M. Chandra Sekhar said.

Shimla, July 29
The senior authorities of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) here today discussed ways and means to ensure that the campus remained peaceful and the academic atmosphere there was not vitiated.

Vice-chancellor Prof Sunil Kumar Gupta chaired the meeting. He stressed the need to ensure that the academic atmosphere was not vitiated on the campus. He said the directives of the high court with regard to strict implementation of the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee report should be followed.

With the starting of the new academic session and the student body elections due anytime now, the HPU authorities are ensuring that the campus remains peaceful. There have been incidents of violence and vandalism on the campus recently.

As such, a decision was taken at the meeting to undertake regular checking of the boys’ hostel to check against illegal occupants and outsiders. It was decided to deal with all such elements sternly so that outsiders were not able to create trouble on the campus.

The issue of punctuality and regularity of class teachers also came up for discussion. Those who attended the meeting included V.P. Sharma (dean of studies), Prof J.C. Sharma (dean students welfare), Dr Kulwant Pathania (chief warden), Dr Mohan Jharta (HPUTA president) and Dr Vidya Sharda (HPUWTA president).

Shimla, July 29
The BJP today demanded that the compact disc showing ‘cash for vote’ during the no confidence motion in Parliament be made public to reveal the truth.

Addressing a press conference here today, Satya Pal Jain, in charge of the BJP affairs in the state, said the CD that is with Somnath Chatterjee, speaker of Parliament, be made public so that the truth is unveiled and those responsible for the shameful act be exposed.

Jain said the people of the country had a right to know the conduct of their elected representatives.