Shimla, March 12
Readymade garments, hosiery items, computers and other IT products, utensils, imitation jewellery, washing soaps, tractor, steel, used cars, industrial cables and a host of other consumer goods will become dearer with the government proposing to raise VAT on all items currently taxed at 4 per cent, except foodgrains and edible oil, by 1 per cent in the Budget for 2010-11.

It also proposes to impose entry tax on petrol, diesel, cement, steel and other such goods being imported for various projects, which will not affect the common man and local dealers, and items like pan masala, tobacco and items to mop up additional resources to the tune of over Rs 100 crore.

However, resources gap in a budget of Rs 15,078.92 crore will be bridged by raising loans to the tune of Rs 2,272.80 crore and compression of expenditure. However, there will be no non-SLR borrowings.

While presenting the proposals, Chief Minister PK Dhumal also announced some important policy decisions and new schemes for the welfare of various sections of the society.

There will be no middle examination of the school board from the ensuing academic session and students would be evaluated in-house under continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system to help reduce stress on account of studies. An open school will also be set up for the convenience of drop outs.

The government also proposed to hold direct elections of up-pradhans in panchayats, president and vice-presidents in municipal councils and nagar panchayats and mayor and deputy mayor in municipal corporation.

To improve female sex ratio, “Beti Hai Anmol” scheme, under which Rs 5,100 will be credited to the account of two girls of BPL families at birth, will be introduced and BPL girls will be given a scholarship of Rs 1,500 per annum for plus two classes. Annual income ceiling for social security pension will be enhanced from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000 in case of sole beneficiary and from Rs 11,000 to Rs 15,000 for extended family. Financial assistance under the Atal Awas Yojna and the Indira Awas Yojna has been increased from Rs 38,500 to Rs 48,500 per unit. Honorarium for gram vidya upasak, para-teachers and PTA teachers will be enhanced.

Under a new “Mukhya Mantri Arogya Pashudhan” scheme, all 1,150 panchayats, which did not have any veterinary dispensary, will be provided the facility. A Rs 85 crore project for rejuvenation of aged apple orchards, Himachal Haat, will be established. A geo-fossil gallery will be established at Kasauli and reputed hotel chains will be invited to invest in the state. In a move to reduce non-productive government spending, a new policy for taking private buildings on long-term lease will be formulated. A state policy for persons with disabilities will also be framed.

According to the Budget estimates, for every Rs 100 spent, the state will receive only Rs 77 in revenue receipts, including transfers from the Centre.

The gap of Rs 23 will be met by borrowing and expenditure compression. Out of every Rs 100 of state revenue receipts, Rs 26 will accrue from own tax revenues, Rs 15 from non-tax revenues, Rs 14 from share in central taxes and Rs 45 from central grants.

Dharamsala, March 12
Against the wishes of the Himachal government, the Union government might increase the industrial package for the state by just one year. Highly placed sources told The Tribune that according to information pouring in, the Centre is likely to increase the industrial package by just one year.

The Himachal Vidhan Sabha, in a resolution passed in the last Winter Session, had urged the Union government to increase the industrial package till 2020. State Congress leaders had, however, termed the resolution as a political move. They were sure that the Union government would increase the industrial package till 2013.

However, in case the industrial package is increase by just one year, it would give political ammunition to the state government to level allegations of bias against the UPA government.

The Chief Minister had already stated that increase in industrial package in tits and bits was of no use to the state. He had alleged that the industrial package for the state was announced for a period of 10 years by the NDA government in 2003. However, the UPA government had added spoke to it many times, leaving doubts in the minds of investors.

Any industrial unit coming to the state needs a couple of years to establish itself. In case the industrial package is increased by just one year, it would discourage big investors.

The Chief Minister had also announced that the state might move the Supreme Court in case the industrial package was not increased.

The increase in industrial package for Himachal has become a tug of war between Himachal and neighbouring states.

The Himachal government is relying on two Union Ministers from the state---Virbhadra Singh and Anand Sharma---to help in increase of industrial package. Neighbouring states leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to lobby against the increase in industrial package to Himachal. The announcement for increase in industrial package was getting delayed as the Prime Minister had expressed reservations over the issue, the sources added.

The industrial package had helped mushrooming of industries in border districts of the state, including Solan, Una and Sirmour. During its last stint in power, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had maintained that the Union government was losing Rs 1,000 crore in taxes due to industrial package to hill states.

Mandi, March 12
Chief Minister PK Dhumal’s announcement to hold direct elections of the president and vice-president of municipal bodies and mayor and deputy mayor of the Shimla municipal corporation has evoked positive response from the common man while the councillors have taken it with a pinch of salt. This would cut down political clout of parties and can promote right thinking people who have a zeal to serve people.

Residents hailed the decision as a step in the direction of promoting continuity of works and schemes in each town and nagar panchayat in the state.

Mandi RTI Bureau president Lawan Thakur said the step was in the right direction if judged by the performance of the Mandi council as heads were changed without rhymes and reasons.

Meanwhile, councillors opined that though direct elections would give a measure of stability to the bodies, it could make the heads as autocrats considering that councillors would have no say in ousting them.

“If the heads of bodies are directly elected, they can become uncontrollable as no one can remove them for the entire term,” said Gagan Kashayap, a councillor in the Mandi municipal council.

However, it can prove to be a boon for the common man as he would be able to elect the right man who has a vision for the town and can deliver the goods.

Shimla, March 12
The state election committee (SEC) of the BJP today shortlisted five names from a total of 24 for being considered for the Rajya Sabha (RS) seat falling vacant on April 2.

Th SEC of the BJP, which met at Chandigarh today, shortlisted the names of Chandermohan Thakur from Sirmour, Vimla Kashyap from Shimla, Lt-Gen HS Kanwar (retd) from Una, Ashok Kapatia and former Speaker Radha Raman Shastri.

However, the SEC authorised Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Kumar and state BJP chief Khimi Ram to finalise one name or more for being forwarded to the BJP parliamentary board which is scheduled to hold its meeting in Delhi on March 15.

It is on the recommendation of the SEC that the board will take the final decision as to who is to be fielded for the seat.

Khimi Ram said the three leaders who had been authorised to take the final decision would meet on March 14 so that one or more names could be forwarded to the board for the final decision.

Most of the members of the SEC, including Dhumal, Shanta Kumar, Khimi Ram, in charge of BJP affairs in Himachal Satya Pal Jain and state organisation secretary Mahender Pandey attended the meeting.

While the Chief Minister backed the candidature of Chandermohan Thakur vociferously, Shanta threw his might behind Shastri.

The former chief minister was also open to the idea of giving the seat to either Vimla Kashyap or Ashok Kapatia, the state BJP spokesperson. Efforts to arrive at a concensus and finalsie the names today itself could not happen as both Dhumal and Shanta had diferent opinion as to who should be selected for the Rajya Sabha seat.

Shimla, March 12
Terming the Budget as anti-inclusive growth, the Congress said today that it was the farmers who would be hit severely by increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) on all items except foodgrains and edible oil from 4 to 5 per cent.

In her reaction to the Budget presented by the Chief Minister, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vidya Stokes said the Budget was anti-farmer on account of negative growth rate in agriculture. She said it did not offer any relief to the common man who was already reeling under the impact of price rise.

“Rather than offering some relief, the increase in VAT by 1 per cent on items being taxed at the rate of 4 per cent will increase the prices of practically all products,” she said.

She said the BJP regime had already put burden on the common man by increasing bus fares in which there had been a total increase by 49 per cent over the past two years, since the BJP assumed power.

Terming the Budget a failure of fiscal discipline, she said the state government should not blame the Centre as even during the Congress regime, the 12th Finance Commission had recommended only Rs 14,450 crore against the demand of Rs 31,500 crore.

As such, the recommendations by the 13th Finance Commission were proportionate and along expected lines, she added.

Congress MLA from Bhattiyat Kuldeep Pathania said the Budget was very disappointing as it had nothing new to offer.

Shimla, March 12
State BJP chief Khimi Ram today said the budget was very ‘progressive’ as all sections of society had been benefited despite the step-motherly treatment meted out to the hill state by the Centre.

He said seeing the grave financial crisis it was not possible to present a better budget in which all sectors, including social, rural, power and road construction, had been adequately taken care of. “The report of the Finance Commission and the unfair treatment meted out to Himachal in the union budget has only worsened the financial position but it is due to efficient financial management that the budget has something for all,” he remarked.

The BJP leaders said it was under BJP rule that Himachal had been ranked at the top in many areas like health and education. ”Against a GDP of 7.2 per cent at the national level, Himachal is expected to touch 7.5 per cent GDP for the year 2009-10,” he said. He said huge financial benefits had already been given to employees and pensioners during the past two years.

Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the chief minister had provided a budget which had something for practically all sections of society without burdening the common man. 

Hamirpur, March 12
Chief adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chairman of the National Knowledge Commission Dr Sam Pitroda stressed on the potential of new knowledge and its magnitude for sustenance of industry in today’s competitive world.

Delivering a lecture on the second day of the ongoing technical festival NIMBUS-2010 at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur, today, Dr Pitorda, known for his ability to predict economic and development future of India, focused his lecture on the knowledge economy.

Talking about the importance of ideas, Dr Pitroda, who is also considered as the founder of modern IT revolution in India, said, “The present experience of 550 million mobile phone users in India is a living example how ideas revolutionise technology.”

He also talked about the importance of quality education and the efforts Government of India was making to provide quality education in the country.

Replying to a question asked by student Ajay Kumar as to what did he visualise while starting an IT revolution in the country in 1981 and how it has succeeded, Dr Pitroda said, “IT has been successful in bringing a knowledge boom, but India still has to focus on health, primary education, sanitation, water and such other basic problems, which remain a challenge before the country and India has to take a tougher journey in accomplishing this goal.”

Earlier, Dr TP Shashikumar delivered a lecture enumerating numerous shlokas and explaining their significance in the modern scientific era and talked about importance 
of hard work, honesty and dedication.

A marathon race, several technical workshops, a workshop on ethical hacking and web designing was also organised during the festival.

Mandi, March 12
The state government’s decision of abolishing HP board examinations for class VIII from the next academic session, as Chief Minister PK Dhumal announced in his Budget speech presented in the Vidhan Sabha today, have been welcomed by teachers, students and parents.

In keeping with the recent decision of HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to switchover from the board examinations to the grading system, the CM said the state board would abolish board examinations for class VIII from the next academic session in 2011. “It will destress students and new grading and comprehensive evaluation system will be adopted for the students,” he stated.

Commenting on the budget, students, teachers and educationists said they welcome the decision of abolishing the board examinations as it would check corruption in the present system right from paper setting to evaluation.

Spokesperson of the HP lecturers’ association Sachin Kumar said they have been always pleading the case that all board examinations and system of streamlining of subjects for students be abolished in schools as they breed corruption and subjugate students to stress as they were forced to teach what they do not want. “The students should be given freedom to choose subjects which they want to study rather than imposing choice on them”.

On the other hand, parents opined that the board examinations increases stress levels of students manifold as it an era of securing above 90 per cent marks in board to get berth in prestigious institutions for further studies.

“Each year cases of suicides are increase during the examinations, they added citing recent cases of suicides by students in Shimla and other parts of the state,” said members of parents teachers association here.

Bilaspur, March 12
The police has challaned a Scorpio (DL-3-CAS-2335), believed to belong to an MLA of Delhi, bearing red beacon light atop and carrying VVIP parking sticker pasted on its glasses. The police also impounded the car, as it had no valid papers with it.

The Superintendent of Police said here today that though the driver claimed that the vehicle belonged to a Delhi MLA, he had no papers of any kind to prove his contention nor the MLA was in the car while two other unauthorised couples were travelling to Kullu-Manali in the car.

He said during the past few days the police here had challaned four such red beacon-bearing cars being misused by unauthorised persons, and one of them was even carrying a huge consignment of illegal drugs in it.

He said all such vehicles and those with “Press” stickers were being invariably stopped for checking with a view to preventing illegal activities and also misuse of the facility.