Solan, February 27
Yoga guru Swami Ramdev said today that the state government had acted under “pressure” of its Central leaders to cancel the land lease of 28 acres land near Sadhupul without serving a notice.

This he stated while addressing the people at the Sanatan Dharam Temple here today.

While referring to Congress president Sonia Gandhi being “behind” the move, he said people of the state would decide what they wanted to do with their land and it did not require her approval.

The Congress was adopting a “dictatorial” attitude to prevail upon them and even asked whether he was a terrorist, he said, adding that he had full faith in the judiciary.

Ramdev said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had not made any unsavoury comments about the issue and he had also attended his first yoga camp at Hamirpur.

He was accorded a rousing welcome by his followers during his arrival to Solan at various places, including Parwanoo, Dharampur and Solan bypass. However, the venue of the rally had to be shifted because of waterlogging at the Thodo Ground.

Ramdev arrived more than two-and-a-half hours late at Solan, where he was welcomed by hundreds of supporters.

While attacking the Congress, he alleged that he was being victimised for raising issues like black money and corruption and it was a tactic to pressurise him.

The Central government was anti-people and anti-nation and it was a matter of concern that reputed international agencies had been repeatedly highlighting that the share of black money in the gross domestic product of the nation had been increasing. Had this money been brought back to India, it could make the nation an economic global power, he claimed.

Later, his aide Balkrishen alleged that the successive Congress governments had not done anything to develop Indira Holiday Home for children, though it was handed over to them in 1966. “Now, when we have invested more than Rs 10 crore, undue hue and cry has been raised over it,” he said.

He said it was “grossly unfair” to cancel it merely after a Cabinet decision without serving them any notice and added that around 100 gram panchayats had given a written consent for the centre, which would generate employment, besides propagating yoga.

Balkrishen also clarified that since he was born and brought up in India, he was not a Nepalese resident. He attacked the Congress for saying that the trust would further its commercial objectives at the Sadhupul centre and said they had already invested Rs 10 crore, while work on two more phases had to be executed.

Manali, February 27
Wintry conditions got revived as the entire upper Manali region and adjoining higher reaches of the Kullu valley had a fresh spell of snowfall today and lower parts of the region were lashed by widespread rain. Snowflakes also greeted tourists in Manali town.

Ski slopes of the Solang valley also experienced a fresh spell of snowfall. Hundreds of tourists rushed to the Solang valley to have glimpse of the snowfall.

The 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, gateway to Lahaul-Spiti district, including the Pir Panjal ranges, Marhi meadows, Gulaba, Kothi, Dhundi, Bhrighu ski slopes and Hamta slopes, also experienced moderate-to-heavy snowfall today.

The long winter season with snow and rain in the Kullu valley has brought cheer to apple growers as snowfall is considered white manure for their orchards. The lower areas of the valley have also received widespread rain this winter season, which is also considered good for rabi crops.

Heavy snowfall on high mountain ranges will provide more water to rivers, thereby mitigate the problem of water scarcity during summers and also help fulfil the irrigation requirements of the plains.

Due to fresh snowfall in the higher reaches, the cold wave has tightened its grip in the region. Most local residents of the upper Manali region remained indoors as icy winds lashed the area throughout the day. 

Shimla, February 27
The government has given a go-ahead for issuing show-cause notices to officials allegedly responsible for allowing the construction of a five-star hotel on the land given to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) in Dharamsala.

Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy directed the Personnel Department to issue show-cause notices to the officials who had given the nod to the HPCA for going ahead with its plans to construct a five-star hotel in Dharamsala.

The government has simultaneously decided to seek the opinion of the Law Department on the issue of grant of land to the HPCA. The detailed report sought by the government from the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, on the issue has also been submitted to the Principal Secretary (Revenue).

Besides elaborating on the nature of land, area and the purpose for which it is being used, the report also has the version of the former panchayat pradhan during whose tenure the permission was granted.

Sources said the government was of the opinion that the land in question was from the common village land which could not have been given out for any commercial activity. Another reason being cited was that instead of referring the matter to the Cabinet, the officials concerned granted the permission at their own level.

Keen to fix the responsibility of the permission granted to the HPCA, which is headed by Anurag Thakur, MP and son of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, the officials who cleared the files both in the district as well as in the Secretariat, would now have to reply to the show-cause notices citing the grounds on which the nod was given.

The Congress, while in the Opposition, had objected to the giving of land to the HPCA for constructing a hotel. The main plea given by the HPCA office-bearers was that having a five-star hotel was a must for holding international cricket matches. However, the Congress accused the BJP regime of being too benevolent towards the cricket body.

The issue had prominently figured in the Congress chargesheet, which was submitted to the President and the Governor. The Congress had then said if voted to power, it would probe the allotment of the land to the HPCA.

Shimla, February 27
The CPM today demanded that officials from the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment, who had granted permission to Bemloe Construction Company for building high-end cottages, should also be brought under the scanner.

In a statement here today, state secretary of the CPM Tikender Panwar said a high-level probe must be ordered into the project. “There have been innumerable discrepancies in the allotment of the housing project deep in the dense forest of Kanlog and it is only a high-level probe which will bring the hidden facts to light,” he said.

Panwar alleged that the guilty who virtually acted as real estate mafia must be brought to book. Giving details, he said the Municipal Commissioner had provided the no-objection certificate on the same day (April 22, 2009) on which the application was made for the building of the housing project. “Surprisingly, this was done without any field report. Moreover, 35 deodar trees were cut without the permission from the Forest Department,” he alleged.

He also questioned the manner in which the company had managed to get the deal done, road used, repaired, altered and re-constructed in violation of the norms. He alleged that several trees were felled illegally with the Forest Department too turning a blind eye.

Shimla, February 27
Work on the 450-MW Asian Development Bank-funded Shongtong-Karcham Hydroelectric Project on the Sutlej in Kinnaur district finally got underway with Managing Director, Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation, DK Sharma performing the first blast at the head Adit-II of the head race tunnel.

A run-off-the-river scheme, the project envisages the construction of a 23-m-high diversion barrage near Powari village to divert 471 cumecs of discharge to the four sedimentation chambers, each 520 m long and 15 m wide. The contract for the work has been awarded to M/s Patel Engineering Limited in the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.

The water from sedimentation chambers will be further carried through the water conductor system comprising a 8095.39-m-long head race tunnel having a diameter of 10.60 m to the underground power station located on the left bank of the river near Ralli village. The project will have three generating units of 150 MW each.

Estimated to cost Rs 2,807.83 crore, the project will annually generate 1,579 million units of power in 90 per cent dependable year. The civil works of the project are being funded by Asian Development Bank and electro-mechanical works by a German Bank Kfw for which loan agreement of Euro 150 million, approximately Rs 1,073 crore, had already been signed. The project is scheduled to be commissioned in 2017.

Dalhousie, February 27
The Youth Hostel, Dalhousie, organised a six-day adventure programme for students of the CKSV Institute of Management from Vadodara in Gujarat from February 21 to 26 in which 44 students, including 19 girls, participated in activities like rappelling, river crossing and trekking from Dainkund to Joth and Kalatop to Dalhousie.

Tehsildar, Dalhousie, Surender Thakur distributed certificates among students. Addressing the participants, he said the picturesque setting of Himachal had been attracting students from management institutes of different states of the country.

He said in addition to theory lessons, these camps trained students in practical management tactics, including human management.

Speaking on the occasion, Ankit Shah, Assistant Professor of the institute, said this was the fourth batch of their college to visit Dalhousie for adventure camps.

“We experienced the effect of cross culture during our stay, gained knowledge about the diversities of the country and saw nature and past history. The most memorable moment was witnessing the snowfall. The camp has boosted the courage level among students and they have learnt several practical lessons in management,” Shah observed.

Later, students performed garba, Gujarati folk dance, and presented a programme Gujarat heritage, culture and development.

Capt RS Rana, Manager of the hostel, presented a memento to Dr Surender Thakur and proposed a vote of thanks. Biren Shah and Roshni Ramrakhiyani were masters of the ceremony.

Nurpur, February 27
A special police force comprising 31 police personnel, which was deployed about a fortnight ago to guard the Chakki riverbed in the lower Kangra district to check illegal mining, has been withdrawn.

The force was deployed at seven places to keep a round-the-clock vigil on illegal mining in the riverbed.

Though following the directions of the high court the police had set up two chowkis at Kandwal and Tika Pail in March 2010, it seemed ‘ineffective’ to check the menace. The sudden withdrawal had evoked a sharp reaction from environmentalists in the area.

Kangra SP Balbir Thakur said the police force had been withdrawn following the directions of the state police headquarters. He said it remained deployed for 10 days in the area to check illegal mining.

Meanwhile, former MLA Rakesh Pathania, taking a strong exception of the move, alleged that mining mafia in the area had ultimately prevailed upon the government.

“The government is playing in the hands of mining mafia. The illegal and unscientific mining in the Chakki riverbed is going on unabated despite the high court ban. An action committee of environmentalists is being formed to protest against the sudden withdrawal of the police force from checking mining menace in the area,” he said.

Mandi, February 27
Mandi Excise and Taxation sleuths today busted a big tax evasion racket worth Rs 2.77 crore under the provisions of the Himachal Pradesh, Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, 2005, nailing M/s Harvell Agua India Pvt Ltd, Nagchala, a major horticultural and agricultural distribution company. The firm is empanelled to supply pipes and sprinklers to the Agricultural Department in the state since 2009.

A team led by Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Rakesh Bhartiya, ETO Sanjay Sharma and inspectors Madhvendra Mohan and Chander Singh, seized the records of the company and detected the major tax evasion racket being run by the company since 2009 in the state.

The Excise and Taxation Department has already recovered Rs 50 lakh from the firm and deposited it with the government treasury. The remaining Rs 2.27 crore amount has been retained with the Director, Agriculture, which it has to pay to the firm as subsidies on these equipment and has been recovered under the special mode of recovery, Bhartiya told The Tribune.

The busting of the racket came after the Anti-Corruption and Vigilance Bureau, Mandi, had booked the firm for running the sprinklers racket worth Rs 75 lakh in Lahaul-Spiti in 2007-2009 to corner government subsidies, sources said. The case was still under investigation at the vigilance police station after the police lodged an FIR, they added.

The investigation revealed that the firm had sold equipment worth Rs 18,47,07,681 from April 2009 to March 31, 2012. But the company evaded tax and penalty worth Rs 2.77 crore due under the provisions of the HP VAT Act, 2005, the commissioner said.

The firm adopted a fraudulent modus operandi to evade VAT. It imported taxable goods into the state from Gurgaon, Haryana, and made declarations at multi-purpose barriers, mostly in the name of farmers and stakeholders shown as beneficiaries.

The team found that even after getting a valid taxpayers identification number (TIN) from the Excise and Taxation Department, the firm was generating fraudulent local sale invoices to the Department of Agriculture to receive payments that included taxes for the supply of horticultural and agricultural irrigation equipment. 

Dalhousie, February 27
The state government nominated Paramjeet Singh co-opted member of the Dalhousie Municipal Council this week, an official communiqué said here yesterday.

Paramjeet’s name had been recommended by Dalhousie MLA Asha Kumari recently.

Paramjeet Singh said he would contribute his services for the developmental and landscaping of the town in a team spirit in the municipal council.

At present, he is also the district chief adviser of the Congress Minority Cell.