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Land for Industry
‘Govt concealing facts on PTA teachers’ issue’
Ministers’ segments get FRUs, rural masses continue to suffer
BSP MLA induction: BJP targets OBC vote bank
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Judge’s appointment strictly as per rules, clarifies HC
Brand Himachal to be promoted at foreign fairs
HAS officer’s sentence suspended
Financial benefit for HPTDC staff
Narco Test
100 sewing machines distributed
Free legal aid for the poor
Recruitment Policy
Agriculture backbone of economy: MLA
Thakur rejects BJP leader’s statement
Defamation cases filed by CM adjourned
Dak sewaks withdraw strike
Objection over return of conventional bulbs
Over 6 kg charas seized
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Land for Industry
Shimla, December 20 It is reliably learnt that the Law Department has already given the go ahead for the amendment, which is basically aimed to simplify the procedure for non-Himachalis to purchase land in the state for setting up industrial units. The Revenue Department has already fulfilled the formalities and the public objections with regard to the proposed amendment have already been received on December 18. Aimed at simplifying the procedural wrangles coming in the way of industrial investment, the state government has completed all formalities for bringing about an amendment in the rules, which bars non-Himachalis from purchasing land in the state. Prior permission has to be obtained by outsiders before they can purchase land even if it is for industrial purpose. “The approval for purchase of land will be given by the revenue authorities to the investor within 10 days once the Industries Department recommends their case,” a senior official said. Even though the approval will be conveyed to the entrepreneur within 10 days after the Industry Department recommends their case, he will have to complete all formalities with regard to purchase of land in the office of the SDM under whose jurisdiction the area falls. However, amendment in Section 38-A will only provide relief for setting up of industrial units anywhere in the state. “The amendment in the rule will in no way simplify the procedure for tourism projects, educational or health institutes or any other project,” officials said. All those keen to set up such projects will have to follow the earlier procedure which does not set any time frame for granting approval. The amendment is being brought about to address the grievance of various industrial organisations like the PHD Chamber of Commerce that completing the formalities with regard to purchase of land led to inordinate delay in setting up of industrial units. Various organisations and individuals had urged the Chief Minister to simplify the procedure for land purchase in the state. Certain cases were cited where the entrepreneurs after facing problems in purchase of land had decided against setting up their units in Himachal. “The entrepreneurs will only get the approval in principle from the Revenue Department so that they can start work, but they have in no way been given relaxation as even after the amendment they will have to complete the formalities,” he said. |
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‘Govt concealing facts on PTA teachers’ issue’
Dharamsala, December 20 Though the question could not come for discussion in a written reply filed to it, the government had maintained that it had not removed any PTA teacher till November. In another supplementary question it was asked that till March 2008 how many
PTA teachers were working in the government schools and what policy is framed by the government regarding recruiting
such teachers. To this the government in a written reply had stated that till March 31, 2008, there were 6,658 PTA teachers working in various government schools in the state and there was no policy regarding recruiting such teachers. Kaul Singh said the government is hiding true data regarding the PTA teachers recruited by the previous Congress government. The previous government had recruited about 13,000 PTA teachers. These teachers were recruited by the PTA bodies of people following the policy framed by the government. These teachers were paid salaries by the government. The government used to release grant to schools for paying salaries to the recruited PTA teachers. The PTA teachers were given salaries ranging from Rs 6,600 to 7,800 per month. However, it is strange that the present government had hidden information regarding the PTA teachers recruited by the previous government. The 6,658 PTA teachers that the government had referred to in reply to query from him were part-time teachers recruited by individual school PTAs at salaries of just Rs 1,000 per month, Kaul Singh alleged. He further alleged that the present government had ousted thousands of PTA teachers recruited by the previous government. It had also not framed any policy to recruit teachers in place of ousted PTA teachers. The result is that many schools are now facing acute shortage of teachers. Kaul Singh said despite the fact that the PTA teachers were organising rallies across the state, it is surprising that the present government is maintaining that no teacher had been ousted. The government should come clean on the issue of PTA teachers, he said. He also admitted that the Congress would make ouster of PTA teachers an issue in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. |
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Ministers’ segments get FRUs, rural masses continue to suffer
Mandi, December 20 Enquiries by The Tribune revealed that six FRUs have been opened in the home segments of various ministers, ignoring the rural remote pockets that actually needed these. The result: The rural masses are not getting medical care under the NRHM. Except for the FRU at Sarkaghat, the other five (at Paddar, Baldwara, Bakshiad, Karsog and Jogindernagar) are as good as non-functional as none of these has any gynaecologist and physician as required under the NRHM. The FRUs at Paddar, Baldawara, Sarkaghat, Karsog and Bakshiad were opened during the Congress regime. The first three are located in the home segments of former excise and taxation minister Rangila Ram Rao (Gopalpur) and former IPH minister Kaul Singh Thakur. The newly opened FRU at Jogindernagar has been opened in the assembly segment of PWD minister Gulab Singh Thakur. Investigation showed that FRUs were being opened as per terms and recommendation finalised by the respective minister, and not as per the NRHM norms. While the segments represented by various ministers are getting FRUs, people living in remote rural pockets like Thachi-Balichowki in Chachiot, Chauhar valley in Drang, Ladbharol-Sandhol in Sarkaghat subdivision continue to cry for health facilities. They have to travel long distances to reach the Mandi zonal hospital for treatment. The Baldawara and Sarkaghat FRUs are situated at a distance of around 15 km only. Similar is the case with Paddar and Jogindernagar FRUs, which are located at a distance of around 20 km from each other on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar-Mandi highway. Even the Mandi zonal hospital is situated at a distance of around 60 km from these FRUs. Most of the FRUs in the state do not have specialists to conduct surgeries. There are over 10 FRUs in the state and now district hospitals are also being strengthened as FRUs, health officials say. Mandi CMO D.K. Arora said there were just three gynaecologists for the entire district. “As six FRUs have no specialists to perform surgeries, patients are referred to the zonal hospital. A gynaecologist has been sent to Kullu hospital on deputation recently,” he added. Director (health services) Sulakshna Puri admitted that there was an acute shortage of specialists in the state to make the FRUs fully functional. “We are trying to provide services at the district hospitals under the NRHM as all these hospitals cater to rural masses,” she said. “We observe NHRM norms as spelled by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) before starting any FRU,” she claimed. |
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BSP MLA induction: BJP targets OBC vote bank
Dharamsala, December 20 The sources available here said the BJP by inducting Sanjay Chaudhary into the party was targeting considerable OBC vote bank in the district. The OBC vote bank in the district is considered to be the strength of Congress MP from Kangra parliamentary seat Chander Kumar. Chander Kumar in the previous Lok Sabha elections had defeated the BJP strong man from Kangra and former chief minister Shanta Kumar. However, Shanta Kumar now is the Rajya Sabha member. He has already announced that he had no intention to contest parliamentary elections this time. In the absence of Shanta Kumar the BJP is finding it hard to find formidable rival to Congress candidate Chander Kumar. The desperation of the BJP is showing with the party president Jai Ram Thakur in the press conference held here recently saying that if capability to win Kangra parliamentary seat is considered, Shanta Kumar is the most suitable candidate. He also indicated that the party might force Shanta Kumar to contest from Kangra parliamentary constituency. The sources here also said that the BJP was considering fielding its elected representatives from the district from Kangra parliamentary constituency. Two BJP ministers from the district, Sarveen Chaudhary and Ramesh Kumar Dhawala are being considered by the BJP as likely candidates. Both the ministers are, however, not willing to contest. The party might also consider a MLA from the district for contesting. However, for winning the Kangra parliamentary seat the party needs to encroach upon into OBC vote bank of Congress MP Chander Kumar. The BJP state leadership has absorbed Sanjay Chaudhary into party to achieve that objective. The sources here also said that the BSP MLA might be awarded with some chairmanship for joining the BJP. However, the absorption of BSP MLA into the BJP has ruffled feathers of many local party leaders from the Kangra area. They are of the view that induction of BSP MLA into party might be detrimental to their interests. They might resort to anti-party activities, so that might neutralise the benefits the BJP was aiming at by welcoming Sanjay Chaudhary into party. |
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Judge’s appointment strictly as per rules, clarifies HC
Shimla, December 20 In a detailed clarification in response to the news item “RTI exposes gaffe in recruitments” published in these columns, additional registrar A.K. Vaidya said 84 candidates were called for the main examination on the basis of merit in the preliminary examination. The regulation 7(ii) nowhere provides for minimum marks in the individual papers so as to qualify and as such the merit was not dependent on the performance of some individual paper, but on overall performance. Though regulation provides that candidates 35 times the number of vacancies be called for the main examination, there was a provision that minimum number of candidates be called should be 75. Obviously, the objective was to have a wider choice. Further, the regulation 7(iii) provides that candidates who scored 50 per cent marks in each individual paper and 55 per cent in aggregate would be considered to have qualified the examination. As per the standard only one candidate qualified, but another candidate Pramod Goyal who could secure only 47 per cent marks in constitutional law filed a petition in the high court which ordered re-evaluation, as a result of which his marks were increased to 100 on the report of the examiner and he was declared qualified for viva voce. On the basis of the merit obtained by both the candidates in the main examination and the viva voce Chirag Bhanu was finally selected. The news item was based on information given by the high court under the RTI Act to Dev Ashish Bhattacharya. It said, “No such detail of first five candidates has been prepared in response to the query which sought names and marks obtained by the selected candidates and the remaining first five candidates in the merit list in preliminary, main
and viva voce test.” |
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Brand Himachal to be promoted at foreign fairs
Shimla, December 20 This was stated by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal while presiding over the 142nd meeting of the board of directors of the Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation here today. “The state has a rich and vast variety of handicraft items which have yet to be introduced in international
markets,” he said. He said concerted efforts required to be made to take the handmade products of the state to international and national markets. “The participation in the international fair at Toronto in January and at Birmingham in February would offer an ideal opportunity for introducing the products to foreigners,” he said. He added maximum possible participation would be ensured at national and international fairs so that orders can be taken from foreign clients. “A Chamba ‘rumaal’ would be presented to Queen Elizabeth when she inaugurates the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010,” he said. He said efforts would be made to use the platform of Commonwealth Games for popularising Himachal handicraft products by including them as gift items and souvenirs during the international event. “The Kullu shawl, Chamba rumaal and Kangra tea have already been patented to ensure that there is no copying and imitations are not sold in the market,” he stated. He said efforts were on to get the Kinnauri
shawl patented. The managing director of the corporation, H.S. Kingra, said 73 skill upgradation training programmes had been organised to benefit the rural artisans and to keep the traditional art alive. |
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Snow disrupts traffic on Rohtang road
Manali, December 20 After the season’s first snowfall in Solang valley, 13km from Manali, the Solang ski slopes has become the biggest winter attraction with hundreds of tourists flock to see the fresh snow. Tourists are enjoying in the snow which has come as a special gift to them . The snow on the Solang ski slopes brought cheers and smiles on the faces of ski lovers. The high reaches in Kullu-Manali region, including Pir Panjal range, Rohtang Pass , Marhi, Gulaba, Kothi, Dhundi, besides Hamta ski slopes, Bhrigu slopes and Chanderkhani pass also had moderate to heavy snow.The entire upper Manali region remained in the grip of a severe cold wave following a further decline in the temperature. The people shivered in cold wave-like conditions in the region . The worst-hit were the school-going children. Vehicular traffic on Manali-Rohtang road was disrupted at several points beyond Palchan, 9 km
from here. |
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Rain in Kangra valley
Kangra, December 20 The cold wave conditions forced most of the people to be indoors and the normal life was affected. The rains have given a respite to farmers as the long spell of draught ended due to rains today. The snowfall was experienced on the lower hills of the valley too. |
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HAS officer’s sentence suspended
Shimla, December 20 The allegations against him were that he had demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a person for a favour and was caught red-handed by the raiding party. As such, a case
was registered against him under Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The challan was filed before the trial court and he was convicted and sentenced for the aforesaid offences to undergo imprisonment for a period of two years and to pay a fine of Rs 10,000. Kapoor challenged this order before the court. It is pertinent to mention here that at present he is posted as the assistant commissioner to the deputy commissioner, Shimla. While suspending the sentence awarded to him, Justice Surinder Singh observed that the appeal filed by him had already been admitted for hearing as it involves debatable questions of law and facts. There is no likelihood of this appeal being taken up at the earliest and may take some time in its disposal. And, moreover, he is a government servant posted against a responsible post and there is no apprehension of his fleeing
from justice. |
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Financial benefit for HPTDC staff
Shimla, December 20 Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal stated this while chairing the 120th meeting of the board of directors of the corporation here today. “The employees have been given two dearness allowance instalments and 10 per cent interim relief at par with the government employees and pensioners,” he said. He added that the employees were also given bonus worth Rs 64.75 lakh. Dhumal informed that the corporation had already achieved the target of Rs 39.46 crore business up to November this year as compared to Rs 48 crore during the last year. “The occupancy rate has also increased during the current financial year and is likely to go up in the coming season,” he said. |
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Narco Test
Shimla, December 20 This order was passed by special judge J.L. Gupta on an application moved by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau for seeking the permission of the court for undertaking narco test of the suspended IAS officer, Subhash Ahluwalia, who is facing a disproportionate assets case. The matter will now come up for hearing on January 8. Ahluwalia, who had remained principal private secretary to the former Chief Minister during the Congress regime, had been in trouble since the BJP assumed power. The Vigilance Bureau filed a case against him after they detected that he along with his family members had more than Rs 1.34 crore in
16 bank accounts. |
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100 sewing machines distributed
Hamirpur, December 20 Addressing the gathering, the MP turned into election mode and sought support from the people, especially women, in the next parliament election for himself and NDA for installing L.K. Advani as the next Prime Minister of the country. Criticising the Central Government he said, “The UPA government has not only failed to control terrorist’s attacks in the country, it has even failed to punish Afzal Guru, which has created a sense of insecurity among the people.” He said, “The Centre has also not been able to deal firmly with the situation arising out of economic recession which has led to heavy job cut due to its faulty policies.” “With efforts of the state government rail links in the state are being expanded and rail line from Una to Amb would be extended and a project to connect rail to Leh is also being pursued,” he added. Praising the state government for several benefits given to common people he said, “The state government has taken several steps to benefit weaker sections by giving them relief through many schemes.” Chairman of the media advisory committee Rajinder Rana also addressed the function. |
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Free legal aid for the poor
Bilaspur, December 20 Baldev Singh Thakur said any person, who has annual income less than Rs 50,000 and widows and helpless women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, poor and destitute people etc., can take the advantage of this facility and get justice from the court of law as entire expenditure of this litigation is borne by the Authority. Deputy district attorney Naresh Ghai gave details regarding rights of arrested persons and said they have to be presented to a court of law within 24 hours and have a right to seek help of an advocate of their choice to defend them. Such persons can get even free legal assistance if they cannot afford it. Many senior advocates also addressed the camp. |
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Recruitment Policy
Shimla, December 20 The EC meeting was chaired by vice-chancellor Prof Sunil Kumar Gupta here today. The Students Federation of India (SFI) and the SCA of the HPU gave memorandums to the EC members opposing any move to bring about amendment in the Recruitment Policy formulated by earlier vice-chancellor Anil Wilson. They also held protest in the campus to express their resentment against the move of the authorities. The Himachal Pradesh University Teacher’s Association (HPUTA) also expressed concern over the proposed changes in the Recruitment Policy framed during the Congress tenure. They said the policy was appreciated by everyone, as it would have given a fair deal to the meritorious candidates. The EC also decided to adopt the extraordinary leave pattern followed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) rather than the system being followed in the HPU till now. The EC approved grant of honorarium to all chairpersons at par with the deans of faculties. The promotion of nine lecturers to the post of reader was also approved. This includes Nagesh Thakur, Vir Singh Rangra (physics), Nain Singh, Krishna Pal, Prabha Jistu, Ranjana Bhan, Sudarshana Rana and Pushpa Gautam from Education Department and Dr Duni
Chand. |
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Agriculture backbone of economy: MLA
Bilaspur, December 20 Kaundal said our entire progress and development was dependent on the progress in these fields and horticulture and agriculture officers should not only hold more such camps in all parts of district but also ensure that they print and distribute their latest techniques in posters and pamphlets which can be consulted from time to time. |
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Thakur rejects BJP leader’s statement
Kullu, December 20 The Congress leader said the BJP press note claimed that Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had visited Kullu 11 times during the past one year. He alleged that the Chief Minister might have visited Kullu 11 times, but he had not announced even Rs 11 for any developmental work in the district. He said Dhumal had visited Solang village and announced the relief to the fire victims as per the government manual. He ridiculed the claim of the BJP leaders for that announcement and said the relief as per the manual was mandatory for the government to release, but asked why the Chief Minister remained silent for additional relief. He referred the special relief given to the fire victims of village Mohini by the then Chief Minister while he announced Rs 30 lakh from the CM’s Relief Fund, besides 30 sleepers each to the victims. Budhi Singh further alleged that the present government had withheld the already sanctioned amount of Mohini village fire victims. |
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Defamation cases filed by CM adjourned
Shimla, December 20 The matter was listed for recording the statements of witnesses, but they did not turn up for recording their statements. They were to appear as witnesses in favour of the Congress leaders in this case. The court fixed March 23 for recording their statements. In another defamation complaint filed by Dhumal against the minister of state for external affairs, Anand Sharma, was also adjourned for March 23. Dhumal filed both the cases on the ground that during the campaigning for previous Assembly elections in 2003, these Congress leaders levelled false allegations
against him. |
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Dak sewaks withdraw strike
Bilaspur, December 20 District president of the Union of dak sewaks Nand Lal Sharma and general secretary Buta Ram said here today afternoon that the decision was taken after an urgent message was received from their organisation- All-India Postal E.D. Employees Union, which said their most of the demands had been accepted by the Central government .They said the details of the agreement would be released tomorrow after the actual agreement signed between the two parties. These leaders expressed their gratitude towards all NGO’s and teachers’ leaders for their active and moral support for their agitation and demands and also the media for highlighting their genuine grievances. They have been demanding regularisation of their services and also the benefits of pension and gratuity after retirement and were sternly opposing the Natraj Murty report. |
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Objection over return of conventional bulbs
Bilaspur, December 20 Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, association general secretary R.L. Sharma said the board plans to distribute some 64 lakh CFLs in the state to 16 lakh families. It would collect 64 lakh conventional bulbs which would require a great effort and expenditure in collecting, keeping and storing them in serviceable condition and a lot of effort and attention of large number of employees would be wasted in this process for months together, apart from storage problem of such a huge quantity of bulbs. Sharma said the board had not given any convincing reason for the return of conventional bulbs in lieu of new variety lights while these old bulbs would carry a cost of Rs 6.40 crore at normal price of Rs 10 each. If these old bulbs are to be destroyed, then it would be a national loss of this amount. |
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Over 6 kg charas seized
Kangra, December 20 The SSP said Arjun Singh had been arrested under the NDPS Act and investigation was started. He said the link of the smuggling was yet to be investigated. |
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