Shimla, February 19
Seeking the help of top intelligence agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to curb the narcotics menace and trafficking figures high on the list of priorities of new Director-General of Police (DGP) BK Kamal Kumar.

A 1982-batch IPS officer, Kumar assumed office here today following the removal of his batchmate ID Bhandari in a late-night development yesterday. Previously DGP, Home Guards and Fire Services, Kumar spelt out his priorities. He said Himachal Pradesh was a peaceful state, but certain pockets were witnessing sporadic crimes with the advent of industry.

“The cultivation and smuggling of narcotics is certainly a major challenge for the Himachal Pradesh Police. To make efforts more effective, we intend to seek the help of the IB, the NCB and the RAW in getting specific inputs to curb the menace,” he remarked.

Another area likely to get the attention of the new DGP is checking crimes against women. “A special committee headed by a DIG will be constituted to check crimes against women and ensure regular monitoring of offences against them,” he said. Satwant Atwal, DIG (Crime), will head the committee, which is likely to be in place in a week.

He said it was essential that efforts were made to provide a safe environment for women in view of the Delhi gang rape and rising crimes against women and there was regular monitoring of crime against them. The special committee will review all cases relating to crimes against women at least once every two months.

Kumar said tourism was a major source of income and provide hindrance-free movement of vehicles was a major responsibility of the police. He was candid enough to admit that traffic jams at major tourist destinations, especially during the peak season, had become a major bottleneck which needed to be addressed.

“All district police chiefs concerned will be told to work out a strategy jointly with the Public Works Department and voluntary organisations to ensure smooth vehicular movement at major tourist destinations,” he stated.

He added that the high incidence of accidents was an area of concern and a fresh study would be undertaken to identify vulnerable spots and work jointly with the Public Works Department to bring down the number of accidents and the high mortality rate.

The DGP also said efforts to keep pace with cyber-related cases would be made in view of the rising number of incidents not just in Himachal Pradesh but all over the country. He also said community policing would be implemented more vigorously and with a proper strategy.

Shimla, February 19
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has expressed concern over the decline in the learning levels of students at the elementary stage and said a comprehensive plan would be put in place to address the situation.

Releasing the Annual Status of Education Report-2012 (ASER) for Himachal Pradesh here yesterday, he said the plan would include a systematic and regular assessment of learning level of all the students and schools would be graded on the basis of performance. The grading would gradually be linked to monetary and non-monetary incentives to the schools, he added.

He directed the Education Department to prepare a detailed action plan by March 2013 outlining immediate measures for 2013-14 and a long-term perspective plan to arrest the decline and improve the situation.

Each child studying in Class I to VIII would be assessed against bench-marked attainment levels after every four months to monitor his/her progress so that remedial action could be taken.

The staff posted in all state project offices of the SSA and RMSA, SCERT, DIETs and BRCs would be appointed on selection basis and their performance would be evaluated on measurable outcomes.

A comprehensive programme of school leadership would be undertaken and all the Head Teachers and Principals would be trained to enhance their capacity to face these challenges.

Other steps included textbook and curriculum review, making the system more accountable and responsive and better utilisation of resources.

Principal Secretary, Education, K Sanjay Murthi, assured the Chief Minister that all steps would be taken to improve the quality of education in the state.

Rakesh Kanwar, state Project Director, SSA, apprised the methodology of the survey done by “Pratham”, a leading NGO working in the country, while B Vergis Paul from “Pratham” said 272 schools were surveyed and it was found that students in government and private schools were not doing well in reading, writing and numeracy.

The reports showed that Class V students, who could read Class II level text, had gone down from 82.3 per cent in 2007 to 72.8 per cent in 2012. The percentage of Class V students, who could solve 3-digit problems, had declined from 66.9 per cent to 48.7 per cent over the period.

Bilaspur, February 19
Dr Ajay Sharma, District Magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner, here has issued a notification enforcing Section 144, CrPC, in the Barmana area with immediate effect till two months. This is due to the ongoing agitation of oustees and affected villagers of the Kol Dam project in the Harnoda area of the district.

According to the notification, not more than four persons can assemble at a place. Thus, the agitators will not be allowed to assemble and stage a dharna at the dam site.

Meanwhile, despite the ban orders, all the oustees, including a large number of women, assembled at a place and demonstrated, though a large posse of police force was present.

Later, they were persuaded by officials to shift their dharna to some other place.

In the afternoon, the protesters converged in the town carrying placards and raised slogans against the NTPC management and the district administration.

They alleged that the district administration was trying to suppress their peaceful agitation by the use of force and terrorising villagers.

They said they were determined to continue their peaceful agitation even if it meant confrontation with the state government as this would mean that the government was “siding” with the management which was not implementing even a written agreement signed in presence of the then Deputy Commissioner.

Those who addressed the rally included Babu Ram Thakur, Anil Thakur, Ashok Gauttam, Prem Lal Raghuvanshi, Tulsi Ram, Ajay Sharma, Pramod Kumar and Vikram Thakur.

Hamirpur, February 19
Former Chief Minister PK Dhumal has denied Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s charge of his involvement in phone tapping and asked the state government to order a judicial probe in this matter from a sitting judge of the Himachal High Court to unravel truth.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Dhumal said, “Through a judicial probe it should be firmly established as to who tapped whose phones, when these were tapped, who was service provider, and people found guilty of illegal phone tapping should be prosecuted.”

Dhumal alleged, “The Chief Minister has failed to fulfil the promises made to people during the last Assembly election, thus raising this issue to create sensationalism. Even in 2010 I had urged the Prime Minister to get the allegation of phone tapping of Virbahdra Singh investigated by any agency, and he should come out with details when his table was bugged.”

He said there was a provision in the Telegraph Act, 1880, of phone tapping by criminal investigation agencies for keeping a track of criminals, smugglers and people involved in anti-national activities and his government had given permission to put phones of such people under surveillance.

Reacting to HPCC chief Sukhvinder Singh’s threat of a probe in his assets, Dhumal said, “They should find a good omen and initiate the probe.”

Kangra, February 19
The police has been groping in the dark in the case of a murder at Massal village last Wednesday night when 41-year-old tractor driver Rakesh Kumar’s body was left in a pool of blood on the roadside.

Kangra district police chief Balvir Thakur today said the police could not nab the culprits yet, but the investigation was in progress. He said they were waiting for the forensic and autopsy reports and gathering evidence, particularly circumstantial evidence.

Rakesh of Gujrada village under the Massal panchayat in Nagrota Bagwan was found dead at night and his brother Kamlesh lodged a complaint of murder with the police.

Subdivisional police officer Dinesh Kumar said Rakesh and Vishal went on Wednesday to get the tractor passed. He said they consumed liquor with a labourer at night after the tractor was passed. He said the labourer and Vishal reached their respective homes.

The DSP said the police registered a case under Section 302, Indian Penal Code, and sent the body for post-mortem examination to the medical college at Tanda.

Balvir visited the spot along with forensic experts. Forensics Department Additional Director Meenakshi collected samples of bloodstains. Kamlesh told the police that his brother was murdered and demanded that the culprits be brought to book.

Shimla, February 19
The government today decided to entrust the audit of Mashobra Resorts Private Limited owned by the Oberoi group to the Auditor and Comptroller General (CAG) since 1995.

The decision was taken by the state Cabinet which met here today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. Wildflower Hotel at Mashobra was a joint venture of the East India Hotels and the state government, which is under dispute for the past some time. The matter is still pending in the high court.

The Cabinet also decided to continue with the free school uniform scheme launched by the BJP regime and renamed it “Mahatma Gandhi Vardi Yojna”. It was also decided to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary for the finalisation of purchasing cloth, specification, design, colour and handling charges.

The Cabinet decided to convert the cadre of panchayat secretary to state cadre and panchayat sahayak to district cadre. Earlier, these cadres were district and block cadres, respectively. It also approved to adopt an auction-cum-tender policy for toll tax barriers from the next financial year.

The Cabinet also decided to invite fresh tender for the Shimla Water Supply and Sewerage Project to built, operate and maintain water supply and sewerage system for Shimla town.

It also decided to constitute a sub-committee for spot inspection of axing and chopping off trees which were posing a threat to human life and property in the Shimla municipal corporation area.

It also decided to declare one barrack of the district jail, Dharamsala, in Kangra district as an open air jail. The Cabinet gave approval to fill up 50 posts of wardens, which included 10 posts of female wardens on contract basis in the Prison Department.

It decided to enhance fixed medical allowance of judicial officials from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 per month and fix medical allowance of retired judicial officials and family pensioners at Rs 1,500 per month and Rs 750 per month.

Shimla, February 19
Himachal Pradesh has urged the Centre to provide it funds under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) on a 90:10 basis as per the policy.

Speaking during the national consultation with states on the NRDWP at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi today, she said 8,411 water supply schemes were providing potable water to over 6 million and most were based on local sources.

Stokes said funds under the NRDWP were being allocated for schemes based on large perennial sources even though the state had been accorded special category status.

She sought funds for the construction of eight schemes worth Rs 165 crore with Central assistance. She said those would be executed within three years and would benefit 1.5 lakh.

She said the state had provided safe drinking water to 42,476 of the 53,201 habitations up to March, 2012. She said 2,530 habitations were targeted during current financial year.

She added that the rest of the habitations would be provided safe drinking water by March, 2017, as envisaged in the 12th Five-Year Plan.

She said 89.5 per cent families, which was 84.1 per cent in the 2001 Census, were using tap water. Stokes said the government was stressing on sustainability measures through rainwater harvesting.

She said it had been made mandatory for government buildings, institutional buildings, hotels and industrial units to construct a rainwater harvesting system.

Hamirpur, February 19
Deputy Commissioner Ashish Singhmar has assured to redress public grievances on a priority basis.

He was talking to the people on FM station of AIR, Hamirpur, during a live phone-in programme today.

He said the district administration would introduce Internet file-tracking system for the speedy redressal of grievances. — TNS

Mandi, February 19
The three-day state-level Cheschu Fair is set to start at Rewalsar from tomorrow. The fair will feature cultural events and exhibitions of Nehru Yuva Kendras.

Besides local residents, Buddhist pilgrims from Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Ladakh, the North-East and abroad make a beeline to the fair.

Nehru Yuva Kendra spokesperson Lal Singh said the fair would give an impetus to the rural youth who would showcase their talent and market products.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was assisting them through the network of Nehru Yuva Kendras, he added.

Panchayat president Bansi Ram Thakur said they had made arrangements, including taking care of illegal fish feeding.

Shimla, February 19
The State Level Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority (SLSWC&MA) yesterday cleared proposals for setting up 23 industrial units involving an investment of Rs 168.95 crore.

The meeting was held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. These units will help in providing employment opportunities to 922 persons. It includes five new proposals and 18 proposals for expansion of existing units.

The new proposals approved include AB Refer Warehousing Private Limited for setting up a controlled atmosphere store (integrated with refrigerated vans) at Baddi with an investment of Rs 35.96 crore and it will provide employment to 46 persons.

The proposal of RA Shakti Bhog to set up a unit at Nalagarh for producing wheat flour, refined flour and semolina involved an investment Rs 1.2 crore and a potential to employ 34 persons.

Expansion proposals included Kansal Building Solutions (Rs 14.64 crore) for the manufacture of autoclaved cellular concrete blocks at Paonta Sahib, Purogenic Fruit Juices (Rs 8.46 crore) for fruit processing unit, Siddartha Super Spinning Mills (Rs 14.46 crore) for producing synthetic yarn, Sheela Foam (Rs 18.08 crore) for manufacturing comfort products at Kala Amb and Greenply Industries (Rs 10.90 crore) for manufacturing laminated sheet at Nalagarh.

Industries Minister Mukesh Angihotri briefed the Chief Minister about the industrial growth in the state along with the progress made in the matter of the revival of industrial package to the state till 2020 as discussed with Union Industries and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma.

Shimla, February 19
A newly formed body of independent power developers, the Bonafide Himachali Hydropower Producing Entrepreneurs, has urged the government to come out with a policy to help developers raise funds from financial institutions which are shying away from funding hydropower projects.

The forum which met here today drew the attention of the government to problems being faced in the execution of projects due to hindrances created by the local people and the indifferent attitude of the administration.

It decided to take up the matter with the state government so that the problem undermining the hydropower programme could be resolved.

The meeting also drew the attention of the government to difficulties faced by developers due to the reluctance of banks to provide funds mainly because Himachali developers were not able to furnish enough collateral securities other than their orchard and buildings, which were not valued much.

It demanded that penalties be levied by Himurja for late submission of detailed project reports and delay in starting work be waived as those were linked to various clearances. It called for cutting short the time taken by various departments for clearance.

The forum urged the government to take immediate steps to formulate a policy for the development of 100-KW micro-power projects so small power producers could avail themselves of incentives given by the Centre. It said pending applications for allotment must be expedited.

The following were elected office-bearers of the forum: president: Rajesh K Sharma, senior vice-presidents: Raman Thakur and Ramchand, vice-presidents: Anil Chauhan, Ramu Ram and Amit, chief patrons: Raj Kumar Verma and Harish Guleri, general secretary: HD Himalyain, organising secretary: Yashwant Thakur, joint secretary: Arun Negi, finance secretary: CA Rajeev and media secretary: Vikas Thapta.

Solan, February 19
A joint team of officials from the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department, the municipal committee (MC) and the police raided the premises of an under-construction building here today after a complaint regarding irregularities in construction was received by the Superintendent of Police.

The building coming up on the Mall Road here was in controversy after an RTI reply revealed how official procedures were quickened to facilitate the builder and norms were being violated.

The building was being raised with six storeys in violation of the existing three-plus-one norm and conditions in getting the map cleared were not complied with. This included leaving set backs and parking space. The MC executive officer had mentioned 17 conditions while granting approval.

The TCP Department sent the file to the MC on November 16, 2010, with several objections, but the MC cleared its building map ignoring the objections and visited the site in haste the same day as the file did not have various documents required for clearance.

With procedures having been bypassed, the construction of the building under the nose of the administration put a question mark over the role of the MC. The MC appears to have failed to check the violations despite issuing four notices since July, 2012.

Chamba, February 19
Two persons were arrested in two cases in the district yesterday.

A police team intercepted Deepak Singh, who was riding a motor cycle near Sudli Chowk, and recovered 329 capsules of parvone-spas.

In another incident, it recovered 200 gm charas from Nitu, near zero point, Goli. — OC