Shimla, March 18
In the dock over nod to private builders to construct apartments in thickly forested areas, Chief Minister PK Dhumal has not only agreed to hold an inquiry but also to repeal the Himachal Pradesh Apartment and Property Regulation Act if it is not in the interest of the state.

The issue led to uproarious scenes during Question Hour as members of the opposition Congress charged the government with playing havoc with the green cover and obliging the realtors at the cost of environment.

They alleged that the government was reluctant to give information to the members on such a sensitive issue and demanded that work should be stopped immediately, citing newspaper reports revealing the extensive damage being caused to the green cover by these housing projects.

They specially focussed on the projects of Bamloe Bulilders and Optima Construction.

The trouble started when Urban Development Minister Mohinder Singh, while replying to a joint question of Inder Singh, Roop Singh, RL Markandey and Mukesh Agnihotri pertaining to the matter, stated that “information was being collected”. They had sought information regarding the number of essentiality certificates granted to builders, numbers of trees involved in these projects, whether or not permission under the Forest Conservation Act and other clearances was obtained.

They alleged that the approvals were granted in haste and a thorough probe was required to uncover the scam.

Kaul Singh wondered how housing projects could be allowed in and around the already congested Shimla where the basic civic amenities were already under a severe strain due the increasing population. There was an acute shortage of water and residents had to cope with endless traffic jams.

Vidya Stokes demanded setting up of a House committee to probe the matter. They maintained that if projects were allowed in such a manner, there would be no tree left on the hills. Immediate action was needed as builders had deployed heavy earth-moving machinery to fell the trees.

Intervening at this juncture, Dhumal announced that the work would be stopped immediately on these projects and that the government was ready to get all essentiality certificates and permissions, granted ever since the Act was implemented, probed by any agency, including the CBI.

He also said the government would review the Act and if it had harmed the interests of the state, it would not hesitate to repeal it. For once, the Congress managed to push the government on the backfoot.

 

How housing projects could be allowed in and around the already-congested Shimla where the basic civic amenities are already under a severe strain due the increasing population. There is an acute shortage of water and residents have to cope with endless traffic jams — Kaul Singh
A House committee should probe the matter. If projects are allowed in such a manner, there will be no tree left on the hills. Immediate action is needed as builders have deployed heavy machinery to fell trees. — Vidya Stokes
On the backfoot The work will be stopped immediately and the government is ready to get all essentiality certificates and permissions, granted ever since the Act is implemented, probed by any agency.  — HP CM P K Dhumal

Shimla, March 18
Blaming the faulty recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission for the financial crisis, Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said the formula applied uniformly to cap the committed liabilities by the commission had affected special category states like Himachal severely. He emphasised that the state needed a “bailout” package from the Centre to tide over the crisis.

Replying to the debate on the budget in the Vidhan Sabha, he said the government had no option but to tighten its belt as the commission had pegged the expenditure on salaries, pensions and interest on loans at 35 per cent and as a result the state got much lower revenue deficit grants.

Further, the state would get Rs 350 crore reform-linked grant only if there was no revenue deficit and the fiscal deficit was less than 3 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product. A financial discipline would have to be exercised to achieve these targets.

He maintained that the commission had erred in applying the same formula for all states, ignoring the topography, historically high percentage of population in government employment and other related factors.

The special category states in particular needed a special dispensation. He wondered why the Congress was defending the Finance Commission which had given faulty recommendations.

Despite financial stringency, the government had paid a major part of the arrears on account of pay revision to employees.

The total liability of arrears of salary and pension amounted to Rs 3,610 crore out of which Rs 2,204 crore had been paid till date. Besides, a high rate of inflation led to 18 per cent of additional outgo of dearness allowance putting a burden of Rs 1,000 crore. If the Centre was able to contain the price rise in 2011-12, the state might be in a position to clear the arrears.

He said the state could have raised the required resources by imposing generation tax but the Centre did not allow it. The Jammu and Kashmir government had imposed a tax on water utilised for projects and the state would also have to take similar steps. The state had been able maintain a growth rate of 8.2 per cent over the past three years which was higher than the national average of 7.8 per cent.

Shimla, March 18
The HP High Court today directed inspector Daya Sagar, investigating officer in the audio CD case against Union Minister Virbhadra Singh, to file a personal reply to the petition filed by Prem Chand Jain, 82-year old former vice-president of Ambuja company and main witness in the high-profile case.

Jain has approached the high court with a plea to delete his name from the list of witnesses on the ground that the statement recorded by the vigilance was forged.

While passing this order, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice VK Ahuja observed that the state government may not controvert the allegations levelled against the investigating officer. The state government has filed a reply to this petition on behalf of Daya Sagar, who has been made a party to the petition in personal capacity.

The petitioner has levelled allegations against Daya Sagar that he had forged his statement. The court further listed this matter on April 11.

Earlier, the court had issued notices to the principal secretary, Home, and inspector Daya Sagar. The petitioner, who lives in New Delhi, contended that he had taken over the charge of the Darlaghat unit of the company in 1995 and that he had not visited the state prior to 1994.

However, the allegations levelled in the statement pertained to the year 1989 when even the site for setting up the cement plant had not been finalised by the company. He came to know about the statement from a newspaper report.

He alleged that by fabricating his statement, the vigilance had tried to strengthen the case of corruption against the accused and in the process shown him as “fixer, conduit and a co-accused”. The investigating agency had made a mockery of the functions and powers of investigations.