The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Himachal Pradesh Edition

IT raids unearth black money
Our Correspondent

Palampur, September 26
The Income Tax Department has unearthed black money worth crores of rupees in six raids conducted in Jangra, Hamirpur, Una and Mandi districts. According to official sources, these raids were conducted on shops of marble dealers in these districts, where number of incriminating documents was seized and stocks worth lakh of rupees were also found.

The documents seized revealed that these dealers were importing marble from Rajasthan and the cost was deliberately shown less in the bills.

In one of the case, the value of a truck was shown as Rs 63,000, evading income tax as wells as VAT on these purchases. In all these cases, over 100 such consignments were brought from Rajasthan in the past one year.

After these raids, the functioning of the Sales Tax Department had also come under scanner, as how these dealers managed to cross the interstate barriers installed by the Excise and Taxation Department at Mehatpur and Swarghat.

It was also revealed that most of the marble dealers were filing their income tax returns on no accounts basis and were paying income tax between Rs 3,000 to 10,000 per year.

It is also learnt that the rampant corruption in the Sales Tax Department had made the matter worse resulting in a large-scale evasion of VAT and sales tax in the state, particularly in Kangra district. Despite the fact, the state government had deployed officers in the State Excise Department but the situation was no better and state was loosing revenue worth crore of rupees every year.

It is further learnt that matter was already in the notice of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who also holds the portfolio of the Excise and Taxation Department. Akhlesh Ranjan, commissioner of income tax, Shimla, who was monitoring these raids, had directed the income tax officials to make a deep scrutiny of these cases and also go through the records of previous years to check the evasion of tax.

The Income Tax Department was also approaching the state excise and taxation commissioner in this regard. It would pass on the information gathered to the state government so that necessary action under VAT law was also taken against the culprits.

4 killed, 43 hurt in road mishap
Our Correspondents

Kullu/Manali, September 26
Four persons were killed and 43 injured when a tourist bus in which they were travelling fell down the road and rolled down into a 200 feet-deep gorge at Dolu Nallah on the Kullu-Manali National Highway, about 16 km from here, today.

The injured were rushed to a local hospital here, where condition of three was stated to be serious and critically injured Barman Charbat has been referred to PGI, Chandigarh. As many as 12 persons were admitted to the hospital here and others having minor injuries were discharged after first aid.

The bus carrying as many as 51 employees of the Pune Nagar Palika, who were on an educational and familiarisation tour, was on its way from Manali to Delhi.

The deceased were identified as Ankush Ram Chand, Chintmani Joshi, Anil Narsafa and Vithal Jagratha. The cause of the accident was yet to be ascertained. However, eyewitnesses blamed the bus driver for rash driving.

The DC, the SP and other officials reached the spot and took stock of the accident. The administration has given Rs 10,000 each to the next of kin of the deceased, 5,000 each to the seriously injured and Rs 2,000 each to the injured. The bodies of the deceased would be handed over to their relatives, who were reportedly on way to Kullu from Pune.

Medical College
CM should clear his stand: Samiti
Tribune News Service

Mandi, September 26
The Mandi Medical Sangharsh Samiti (MMCSS), supported by the Congress, the CPM, the CPI and other organisations here, has pushed the state BJP government on the defensive on the issue of medical college, demanding that Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal should issue notification and clear his stand on the issue.

Reacting to Dhumal’s statement on the medical college during his Gohar meal closing ceremony on Wednesday, MMSS convener Sunder Lohia today said the Chief Minister’s statement that he would open two medical colleges in Mandi was misleading. He did not clarify whether he would open the two medical colleges in government sector or private sector, he charged.

MMCSS member P.C. Bisht said the Chief Minister’s statement on the medical college had clouded the issue as the Chief Minister was not clear whether he wanted to open a government medical college or a private one in Mandi.

Referring to the government notification dated July 15, in which government has offered district hospitals of Mandi, Una and Hamirpur to be attached to the proposed private institutions, the MMCSS warned that they would never allow the government to attach the zonal hospital to private institution. “The government will face consequences if government does not issue a fresh notification for government medical college here”, they cautioned.

They claimed that resentment among people had spread to village level. “The Shimla zone has IGMC and Dharamsala zone has Tanda Medical College, but central Mandi zone has no medical college in the government sector”, they pointed out.

30 foreigners still stranded in Kaza
Manali-Kaza road remains blocked
Our Correspondent

Manali , September 26
As many as 30 foreigners are still stranded in Kaza and 80 foreigners have been issued inner line permits from Kaza, they have now started trekking towards Kinnaur on the way to Shimla since the roads from Kaza to Manali and Kaza to Kinnaur are still blocked due to landslde since 19 September 19. Six have foreigners also started trekking towards Manali from Kaza.

In Tabo 2 Americans, 1 Italian and 2 more foreigners are still stranded, not only this 25 domestic tourists are also stranded in Kaza, 17 Nepalese are still in Kaza waiting for the road to get cleared.

Jamie Amerson(48) from England was airlifted from Jispa region in the Lahaul valley by two Air Force helicopters today and bought to Manali with a dislocated shoulder he suffered during the expedition.

Sources said he was a member of the climbing expedition to an unnamed peak of 6000 mts, east of Jispa region .

Vikas Shukla, tehsildar, Kaza, said of the 30 foreigners most of them were Israelis, Germans, French, Dutch, Spanish and Polish waiting for the road from Kaza to Manali, to get cleared who wanted to come to Manali. He said just in case if the road did not get cleared between Batal and ChotaDhara, then the stranded tourists will have to walk the 5 km stretch between Batal and ChotaDhara and then drive from ChotaDhara to Manali.

He further said that the PWD was making massive efforts to open the road from Kaza to Manali by tomorrow. The road from Kaza to Kinnaur is also blocked between Schilling and Poh towards Kinnaur and Shimla .

Three American tourists also reached Kaza. Shukla said there was daily medical check-up of the stranded tourists in Spiti valley.

Spandex project cleared
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 26
The Himachal Government today gave approval to two hi-tech mega projects involving an investment of Rs 3100 crore for manufacturing spandex and solar grade silicon which are not produced in the country so far.

The global petrochemicals giant Indorama SPL Group has been given nod for setting up a Rs 400 crore spandex manufacturing unit in the Baddi area in Solan district. It will be the first manufacturing unit of its kind in India as spandex , which is used for making a host of textiles like dress material, swimwear, sportswear, lingerie, shoe soles and upholstery , is not produced in the country. The plant with an annual capacity of 6000 tonnes will help meet half of the country’s requirement. The plant will have an annual turnover of $ 70 million. It will provide direct employment to 180 to 200 persons.

Solaryan Tech Private Limited will set up a $ 600 million facility for manufacturing solar panels of 200 MW capacity annually in two phases.

The approval was granted by the state-level Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority which met here today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. In all 18 proposals involving an investment of Rs 3400 crore which will provide jobs to 6,438 persons
were cleared.

Indorama is the second largest producer of polyester in the world.

The company has a polyester yarns and fibres manufacturing unit in Nagpur.

The project is to be set up over 25 acres of land and requires 8 MW of power and 1000 cubic metre of water for operation.

The project will put Baddi, the largest textile hub in Asia, firmly on the international textile industry map. The various tax benefits and inceptives available under the special industrial package given by the Centre has encouraged the company to invest in the hill state. A unique feature of the plant is that it will not generate any effluent.

Dhumal said that the state government would consider authorising the Director of Industries to apply for permission to purchase land in the state under Section 118 of the land reforms and tenancy act on behalf of the approved industrial units for the convenience of the investors. He said that the state government would be issued cancellation notices to non-serious investors who had not taken any steps to set up the approved units.

Cabinet approves new timber policy
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 26
In a major step to check misuse of the trees allotted to the right-holders under the Timber Distribution (TD) rules, the government has proposed to rationalise the rates fixed 136 years ago and make legal provision for prosecution against those who abused the facility.

The right-holders, who were hitherto being allotted precious trees virtually free of cost, are proposed to be charged 20 to 30 per cent of the market value of the tree depending on the species. The new rules also have provisions to restrict the facility to only the original right-holders.The families, which have agriculture, are entitled to trees from the forest for bonafide use like construction and repair of house and cowshed under the TD rules. Under the proposed rules, in case the original right-holders sells the land, the TD right will not be passed on to the new owner of the land.

The new rules are being framed on the direction of the high court that has imposed a ban on the TD rights on public interest litigation. The new timber policy was approved by the state Cabinet, which met here today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal. It consented to recommend the case of premature release of the life convicts, Swaran Singh and Jodha Singh, to the Governor for consideration. It sanctioned 60 posts of different categories for the state High Court.

Narcotics Control Bureau alerts police
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 26
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has alerted the police about the narcotic substances like opium and hashish being sent abroad through parcels from various parts of the state, including Kullu and Mandi districts.

The state police has received a communication from the NCB two days ago about the details of the foreign parcels that contained drugs. The NCB has a special foreign mail office in Delhi that checks all foreign-bound packets from the entire country for narcotic substances. The NCB has informed the police to establish the identity of such persons or mafia, who are behind this illegal act, so that their activities can be checked.

“We will take up each case individually and in case the address mentioned on the parcel is genuine and not fake, cases will certainly be registered against the guilty under the NDPS Act,” said Puneeta Bhardwaj, SP (crime) in the CID wing of the police. She added that the police would shortly get down to identify such elements.

“We are seeking the help of the National Remote Sensing Agency at Hyderabad, along with Forest Survey of India, so that with the help of the satellite imagery we can pint point the areas under such narcotic plants,” said Bhardwaj. Despite destroying cannabis and poppy plants, which are being grown by locals on vast tracts of forest land in some cases on private land, various agencies, including the NCB, has so far not succeeded in their attempt to contain the illegal act. Kullu-Manali and parts of Mandi district have gained notoriety at the international level for cultivation of cannabis and poppy and trafficking of high quality of narcotic substances.

Apollo’s pact with 3 pvt hospitals
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 26
The Apollo Hospitals Group has entered into a tie-up with three private hospitals in the state for providing specialised medical services in selected disciplines.

Giving details of the arrangement, president of the corporate development of the group Anil K. Maini said here yesterday that top medical specialists from New Delhi would make regular monthly visits to the local Tara hospital, the Apna Hospital at Bilaspur and NRI hospital at Baddi for the convenience of the patients.

The experts would not examine routine cases, which could be treated at the two medical colleges in the state.

They would only provide services to those patients, who needed advanced medical care.

In case of seriously ill patients, air ambulance service would also be made available at affordable rates.

The group has also planned to open 25 new hospitals in two and three tier cities to extend its reach in the rural areas during the current year.

It had plans to set up 250 such hospitals across the country. Dr N.L. Kaundal, who owns the three hospitals, said the tie-up would enable the people of the state to avail advanced medical care at their doorsteps at affordable cost.

More security sought during Navratras
Our Correspondent

Kangra, September 26
In view of the threat of a militant-strike during ensuing Navratras in the country, the state should make foolproof security arrangements for the pilgrims visiting the Shakti Peeths of Kangra, Jawalamukhi, Chintpurni and Naina Devi so that Ashwani Navratras falling from September 30 to October 9 pass off peacefully.

President of the Maath Mandir Sureksha Samiti Swami Virendranand Giri raised the demand in a letter addressed to the Governor of the state. He said besides adequate security arrangements, other needed facilities should be made available to the pilgrims.

Company told to stop construction of ropeway
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 26
The district court today told Jagson International Limited to stop construction of the Jakhu aerial ropeway till remedial measures were taken for protection of the trees and the houses at the construction site.

A police case was also registered against Jagson International Limited for causing damage to trees and threatening the safety of houses in the adjoining areas. The case has been registered under Section 336 of the IPC today on the complaint of the range officer.

The issue of damage to trees and houses in the vicinity of the construction site had been highlighted in these columns on Wednesday.

A case has also been registered against the company by the local SDM under Section 133. The court in its injunction said no excavation or digging work should be undertaken at the site till remedial measures to protect the trees and erection of a retaining wall was not competed for the safety of the houses in the area.

The Forest Department today issued notice to Jagson International Limited to stop work immediately.

They have asked the construction company to erect a retaining wall around the construction site so that no damage is caused to the tree, hill site and the houses.

Forest authorities have also asked the company to appear for compounding of the nine trees, which were fallen because of the damage caused by the company during the construction.

Institute granted recognition
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 26
The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, has been granted recognition as the National Sports Institute by the Centre.

Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, while disclosing this here yesterday, said a communication from union minister for youth services and sports M.S. Gill had been received in this regard.

“The institute has been holding international and national-level winter games, along with other sports and allied activities,” he said.

The Chief Minister said with recognition of the institute, more mountaineering and allied sports activities would be held here.

CM to inaugurate job fair today
Our Correspondent

Kangra, September 26
About 35 Himachal-based companies would offer 2,500 jobs under various categories on the spot and the appointment letters would be issued during a two-day job fair here on September 27 and 28. Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal would inaugurate the first such job fair here on Saturday.

Disclosing this here today, Chander Shekhar Gupta, chairman, CII Himachal Pradesh State Council, said, “The initiative has been launched to meet the requirement of employing 70 per cent of the Himachalis in the state’s industries and to encourage the youth to opt for technical and professional education.”

He said the job fair aims at providing a platform for the industry to recruit quality workforce as well as to offer avenues to the educated unemployed Himachali youth. He said after the success of job fairs in Solan and Mandi, respectively, CII Himachal Pradesh State Council in association with BBNIA was organising this two-day fair here at the local Government Polytechnic on September 27 and 28.

He said on September 27, interviews would be held for V, VIII, X, and XII class candidates and on September 28, the interviews would be held for ITI/Polytechnic, BA, BSc, BCom, BE, MSc, and MCA courses.

Registration was essential for all candidates and it would start at 10 am and close by 1 pm on both days. Interviews would be conducted till 5 pm.

Health dept to train anganwadi workers
Our Correspondent

Solan, September 26
After refusing to appoint ASHA as laid down in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the state Health Department will now train anganwadi workers to fulfil the task. The state government, which had drawn flak for its refusal to appoint ASHA, has got its approval from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the project implementation plan and they will be called link workers.

However, the delayed decision has slowed down the pace of the ambitious health mission as ASHA was supposed to act as a guide to create awareness among women and counsel them to assess health-related facilities. ASHA was also supposed to play an active role in assisting expecting mothers by escorting them for deliveries to Public Health Centre and First Referral Units.

Since the mission is an integration of various health programmes, its success is measured by various indices relating to child and mother healthcare. ASHA was to perform key functions like mobilisation of community facilities for accessing health related services, and one such worker was supposed to be appointed for a rural population of 500.

Launched in April 2005, the state government would now train 18,248 anganwadi workers. Confirming this, deputy director health B.S. Negi said, “ We have identified these link workers and they would be imparted training for a period of one week from November this year.”

“These link workers have been selected from among the anganwadi workers and the proposal has been duly cleared by the health ministry. Their trainers have already received training and they will further train these link workers.” Justifying the non-appointment of ASHA Dr Negi said this would have created a parallel work force which was not required in the state. With as estimated budget of Rs 80 crore already earmarked for them there was no dearth of funds for the purpose.

Residents resent indifferent attitude
Our Correspondent

Una, September 26
Residents of the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (Himuda), Una, are against the indifferent attitude of the Himuda for allowing a government office to run in its colony.

M.S. Bir, president of the Residents’ Welfare Association, Rakkar Colony here, said number of representations had been sent to the Himuda and also to Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary regarding the running of an office of senior hydrologist in the colony.

The office is running in a residential house in contravention of the Himachal Pradesh Allotment/Sale of Plots rules framed by the Himuda. The office is running in this residential house for the past so many years.

As per the rules, no residential house can be used for commercial purposes.

Bir said numerous representations were sent to the Himuda during the past four years. But no action was taken.

16 cow smugglers held
Our Correspondent

Nahan, September 26
The police today arrested 16 smugglers of cows in the Paonta area, along with 40 oxen. Paonta DSP said today that following a tip-off yesterday that some cow smugglers of Uttar Pradesh had reached the Paonta area, along with three trucks of oxen.

Nakas were laid at different places to nab the smugglers. One truck loaded with oxen entered Uttrakhand after breaking the Yamuna barrier when the staff deputed at the barrier tried to stop the truck yesterday.

The Uttrakhand police was informed immediately and the truck was nabbed. A case was registered after arresting the smugglers.

The DSP said the smugglers changed their modus operandi to take the oxen to the slaughterhouses in the Uttar Pradesh. Oxen were unloaded in the forests near Kolar village and fictitious persons were hired from Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh) assuring Rs 2,000 each to take the oxen on foot to the boundaries of Uttar Pradesh.

The police, however, arrested the 16 persons along with 40 oxen.

Thakur said the arrested persons were booked under the Sections of Cruelty to Animal Act. After providing fodder and proper treatment to the injured oxen, process was on to sent them to the gowshala.

He said assistance of the police of neighbouring states would be taken to bring the agents of the slaughterhouses to books.

Four arrested for murder
Our Correspondent

Una, September 26
The police has arrested four persons identified as Ravi Kumar, Rohit Dhingra, Brij Mohan and Deepak Rai, all residents of Noormehal district, Jalandhar, and is still searching for three more persons who were responsible for a murder.

The Una SP today said a body was found lying on the Una-Hoshiarpur road, 1 km away from the Hardanwala Forest on September 13. The police reached the spot and found a driver licence and an election commission ID. The deceased was identified as Dilbag Singh of Sarai Khas, Jalandhar.

The information gathered by the police led them to believe that it could be a case of murder and robbery. After 10-day raids, the police arrested four persons involved in the murder. However, the vehicle stolen by the gang has not been recovered so far and raids are being conducted to arrest the remaining accused.