Shimla, October 3
Apple growers will have to pay 6 per cent commission on sale proceeds with the Delhi Agriculture Market Committee withdrawing amendment in the bylaws of the Delhi Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, shifting the onus of payment of commission from grower to the purchaser.

According to sources at the Azadpur market in Delhi, as per the latest amendment, 6 per cent commission will be charged uniformly from all growers who sell their fruits and vegetables in the market. The new rules, effective from September 28, were circulated among the traders yesterday for immediate implementation. However, as far as apple is concerned, the Chamber of Azadpur Fruit and Vegetables’ Traders has left to individual members whether or not to charge the commission during the current season which is coming to an end.

With this, the prolonged battle waged by the BJP, which was instrumental in getting the bylaws amended in 2000 when Sahib Singh Verma was the Delhi Chief Minister, has come to a disappointing end.

The amended rule could not be implemented for almost a decade. It was the BJP government which pursued the matter after returning to power in 2008 and finally moved the Delhi High Court to get the rule enforced. The court passed an order on June 2, 2010, directing the Delhi government to enforce the law.

There was only a facile implementation of the court order from August after the state government threatened to start contempt proceedings.

The traders issued payment slips after deducting the commission which was not reflected in the receipts. At the same time, the Chamber of Azadpur Fruit and Vegetables’ Traders started a stir and even observed at day’s token strike on August 6.

The arhtias (commission agents) and ladanis (wholesale suppliers) have been maintaining that they were the service providers for growers who have to pay the commission.

Further, the arhtias and growers were having strong bonds and they have been helping the latter in time of needs in various ways. This longstanding relationship was being undermined following the amendment.

A few leading growers like Rajiv Chauhan, who is also the chairman of the Himalayan Apple Growers’ Society, were of the view that value chain of apple from orchards to consumers in which wholesale suppliers and arhtias were the vital links should not be tampered with. It hardly mattered who paid the commission as long as the growers got value for their produce, they added. 

Shimla, October 3
Though not known for a high crime rate, Kullu and Shimla districts have dubious distinction of having the maximum number of unsolved murder cases.

Out of the total 189 unsolved murders in the state, Shimla accounts for as many as 31 and Kullu 28 cases. On the other hand, Kangra district, which has the highest crime rate in the state, has only 20 untraced murder cases. In contrast, smaller districts like Solan (24 untraced murders) and Bilaspur (20) have relatively much higher number of cases.

These interesting but revealing statistics has been obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Dev Ashish Bhattacharya, an RTI activist, who has started a campaign for grant of compensation to the dependents of the victims who are denied justice due to failure of the state machinery.

Out of these, 108 unsolved murder cases have been more than five-year old with Kullu having the maximum 21 and Shimla 20. However, percentage-wise, Chamba district with 13 out of the total 15 more than five-year old untraced cases was on top, followed by Bilaspur with 14 old cases out of the total 20. The tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti has only three untraced murders out of which one was more than five years old while the adjoining Kinnaur district has nine cases, six of which were old.

Bhattacharya had also asked if the government proposed to transfer old untraced cases to the CBI and also if there was any proposal to give compensation to the families of these victims. The office of the Director General of Police transferred the application to the Home Department which has not responded to these queries.

Information regarding unsolved murders was provided only after he filed a complaint with the State Information Commissioner.

The public information officer (PIO) had, in the first instance, refused to provide data, maintaining that it did not fall in the purview of information as per the guidelines issued by the state government. Only information held by the public authority could be supplied. It was not required to create or interpret information, give it a new shape or draw conclusion and solve the problems raised by applicants or furnish information to hypothetical questions.

Meanwhile, Bhattacharya said he would now pursue the case for grant of adequate compensation to the families of the victims of untraced murder cases with the Human Rights Commission. 

Shimla, October 3
Blaming lack of transparency and accountability for the rot in constitutional organs, Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Nitte Santosh Hegde made a strong plea for changing the process for selection of judges, preferably after an open public debate.

“Of the three constitutional pillars, the judiciary enjoyed an exalted status for long as it continued to discharge its responsibility with honesty and integrity even as the other two pillars started faltering. However, in the recent years, probity in judiciary has also suffered severe blows and urgent corrective steps are needed to maintain the hope and faith of the people in the institution,” he said while delivering a lecture organised by the state high court as part of its Ruby Jubilee celebrations.

“In my view, the system of granting representation on regional and communal considerations should have no place in the process and judges should be selected solely on the basis of merit and integrity. The sooner the system is changed, the better it would be for the country,” he stated.

Hegde, who created a stir by resigning as Lokayukta in protest against the failure of the government to grant the promised powers to investigate corrupt officers, lamented the tendency of the judiciary to brush things under the carpet.

“If the conduct of judges is not above board, the credibility of judiciary will erode fast like the other two pillars. The manner in which the case of the high court judge in Chandigarh, to whom cash was allegedly delivered, was handled, did not inspire confidence on the probity front. The judge was exonerated after obtaining an opinion from the solicitor general but transferred out,” he said.

Politics had become the most lucrative business as evident from the fact that assets of MPs, who were re-elected in 2009, shot up by a whopping 287 per cent, with the average increase of Rs 2.75 crore per member, he said.

Bureaucracy had also become a convenient tool at the hands of politicians. The situation could be salvaged if politicians are denied the power to transfer officers, he added. 

Dharamsala, October 3
Preliminary elections for the Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile, Kalon Tripa, were held here today with young Tibetans turning out in large number. Polling booths for the elections were made at four places at Dharamsala, including the main Dalai Lama temple, Tibetan Children Village (TCV) Upper, TCV (Lower) and Norbulingka building in the Sidhbari village area.

Tibetan voters in 33 settlements in India, Nepal and Bhutan voted in the elections. Besides, voting was also held at various places in the US and Europe where Tibetan refugees have settled.

According to sources, this time there are 77,449 registered voters against 72,771 in the last elections held in 2006.

The preliminary elections are held to shortlist candidates for final elections to the post of Tibetan-parliament-in-exile that is scheduled to be held on March 20 next year.

As per the Charter for Tibetan people-in-exile, only six candidates can contest the final elections.

Meanwhile, as many as 20 candidates contested today.

To qualify for final elections, the candidate must secure at least 30 per cent of votes. The names of candidates who qualify for final elections would be declared after about one month.

Candidates who have a strong base are Lobsang Sangey, a senior fellow at Harvard Law School, diplomat Tenzin Namgyal Tethong, speaker of Tibetan parliament-in-exile Pempa Tserging and deputy speaker and lone woman candidate Dolma Gyari.

The elections are also being held simultaneously for 15 Tibetan parliament and the third Kalon Tripa.

Present Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche has completed two terms as the Prime Minister-in-exile. As per the charter, he cannot contest the elections again. He was directly elected for the first time in 2001.

Rinpoche is believed to be a close aide of the Dalai Lama. He handled the position with dexterity while maintaining diplomatic balance between the hardliners and those who were toeing line of the Dalai Lama for meaningful autonomy from China.

His successor will have a greater responsibility as the Dalai Lama is ageing and China’s diplomatic pressure to scuttle the movement of Tibetans-in-exile is at its peak. 

Hamirpur, October 3
The HP State Electricity Board Diploma Junior Engineers and Assistant Engineers’ Association has served one month’s notice on the state government and the HPSEB Limited to concede to their long-pending demands, failing which they would launch a statewide agitation.

State president of the association DS Datwalia and general secretary Chaman All said, “We have been taking up our demands with the authorities for long time. Since our members are losing patience, we have served one month’s notice on the HPSEB Limited and the state government failing which we would start a statewide agitation.”

We have submitted a copy of this notice to Chief Minister PK Dhumal and sought his intervention, they added.

The association leaders said, “We will hold dharnas and protest march throughout the state and may resort to strike also.”

Their main demands include creating promotion avenues as they are working on the same posts for more than 30 years, absorption in HP Power Corporation as per agreement and creation of more posts.

The association has also urged the HPSEB Limited to provide additional staff to run toll-free service. 

Hamirpur, October 3
The Hamirpur Nagar Parishad got a major respite from its financial crunch as it got the first instalment of Rs 2.11 crore under the small town development project from the Central Government.

The parishad had received a major financial blow after the Central Government had curtailed about Rs 5 crore out of Rs 12 crore under this project.

Nagar Parishad authorities were eagerly waiting for this financial grant since it had already carried the work under this scheme and payment to contractors were overdue.

Further works like channelisation of drains, to be undertaken under this project, were also held up due to paucity of funds.

Contractors working in the parishad were 
facing the worst crisis since no payments were made to them for the past two years.

Executive officer of the Hamirpur Nagar Parishad Vijay Sharma said, “We have received Rs 2.11 crore under the small town development project from the Central Government and would now try to complete other works proposed under the project, besides making payment to contractors for the work already executed.” 

Shimla, October 3
An athletic meet, a musical concert and and enthralling “tattoo show” were the main highlights of the second day of the founder’s day celebrations at the Lawrence School at Sanawar.

Aman Suyal and Himani Rana were declared the best athletes while Shivalik House won the over-all champions trophy at the meet at which Lt-Gen SS Chahal (retd), an alumnus of 1960, was the guest of honour.

Hockey and basketball matches between the present and old Sanawarians were also held which sent the old students down the memory lane.

Later, historic Barne Hall came alive with dramatic and musical fervour during the musical concert. A variety of items were presented by students which included Indian classical orchestra based on raga Shyam Tilak, enthralling performance by the school’s first rock band “Absolutes” and Indian classical dance titled “sangam”, showcasing a perfect blend of different popular dance forms of India.

However, the performance which stole the show was an adapted play titled “Charandas Chor”, originally written by Habib Tanvir, a pioneer in folk forms.

The show culminated with the colourful extravaganza of dance depicting different nuances of cultural art. The “Krishna” dance sequence, performed by about 150 junior school students, portrayed various episodes in the life of Lord Krishna.

“Royal Punjab”, a blend of bhangra and gidda, was performed by 350 senior school students. Chairman of the School Academic Council Pramod Sharma was the chief guest.

Shimla, October 3
The government proposes to set up a doll museum in the tourism complex at the Naldehra Golf Course on the outskirts of the city. Stating this while presiding over the prize distribution function of the six-day All-India Folk Dance Festival, here today, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the museum would be set up in a joint venture with the private sector. 

He said the government would extend all possible help to the Charu Castle Foundation for setting up the museum, which would be an added attraction for tourists visiting the hill station. “Himachal Pradesh is internationally recognised as one of the best tourist destinations and attracts visitors round the year.” The government was taking all possible steps to upgrade the tourism infrastructure at all prominent tourist places and also promoting rural areas to provide a glimpse of the state’s rich culture.

He said the Naldehra Golf Course was one of the best in the country and known for its picturesque surroundings. He said with the setting up of a doll museum the tourists would have something more to see and enjoy.

Referring to the All-India Women Folk Dance Festival, he said it had become an international event with artistes from South Eastern countries also participating in it. The number of participants was also increasing with each passing year and it would be appropriate to name it as International Women Folk Dance Festival. This year artistes from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal participated.

He advised the organisers to invite folk dance troupes from other countries too and make it a mega folk dance festival of the country. He hoped that the event would go a long way in strengthening regional cooperation.

The event was jointly organised by the Department of Language and Culture, Doordarshan, Shimla, Charu Castle Foundation, Ghaziabad, and North India Folk Art Society. The first prize and overall trophy was bagged by the Sri Lankan team. It was followed by Gujarat and Bangladesh, which got the second and third position, respectively.

Chief Organiser of the Charu Castle Foundation Kapur V. Bhan said the many more international cultural troupes were likely to send entries for the next year’s event.

Manali/Mandi, October 3
The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation (DTCA) has come under fresh fire from the Manali Hoteliers’ Association (MHA), including travel agents, as the “newly re-constituted HP Tourism Board has given no representation to the MHA, the largest hospitality body that contributes a major part of revenue to the state exchequer in the tourism sector”.

According to the MHA, which has over 500 members, the DTCA has shown them the door in the newly constituted HP Tourism Board as not even a single member has been inducted into the board.

The hoteliers and travel agents rued that the DTCA was running the department and formulating policy without taking into confidence the hoteliers from Kullu-Manali circuit, a major tourist destination in the state. Instead, the 15 members the HP Tourism Board has become a refuge to accommodate MLAs or other favourites, making a mockery of tourism promotion, they resented.

They said the Kullu-Manali circuit not only paid Rs 70 lakh as green tax but also over crores of rupees as luxury tax collected from hoteliers and the DTCA had not given even a single representation to the MHA in the 15-member association.

President of the MHA Gajender Thakur said they had written to the government about the matter. Principal Secretary, Tourism, Manish Nanda said the matter was under consideration of the government.