Shimla, March 14
The Congress today termed as development oriented the Budget presented by Virbhadra Singh. The party said it was a step towards fulfilling the promises in its election manifesto.

State Congress president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the Budget was a reflection of the developmental vision the party had for the state.

“The announcement of a skill development allowance and steps aimed at promoting industry are welcome steps towards strengthening the economy and achieving a growth rate of 9 per cent,” he said.

He said there would be special focus on rural development, information technology, subsidies for farmers and incentives for fruit growers.

“The Budget will not only strengthen the economy and accelerate the pace of development, but help the state achieve new heights in every sector as well,” he remarked.

Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri termed it as the common man’s Budget aimed at ensuring faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth. “The Budget has envisioned an industrially developed state in the coming years,” he said.

Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma termed it as pro-poor, progressive and rural growth oriented. “The Budget will not only lead to socio-economic uplift of all sections of society, but make people self-reliant as well,” he said.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) termed it as a footstep in the direction of neo-liberalism of the previous government.

He said the Budget was silent on how to achieve a growth rate of 9 per cent and how to manage the debt crisis which was gripping the economy of the state.

“The Budget has belied expectations of the people that the government will nip the evil of privatisation of higher and technical education by stating that it will provide private entrepreneurs easy access to land for education,” he said.

Himachal Lokhit Party legislator Maheshwar Singh said the Chief Minister had made a good beginning by announcing a skill development allowance, but there was scope for improvement which could be done through amendments.

“The move to set up six new monkey sterilisation centres is good, but something more aggressive needs to be done to tackle the menace which has forced farmers to give up agriculture at many places,” he said.

He lauded the move to promote religious tourism and double grant-in-aid for temples. “The discretionary grant fund of Rs 2 lakh for legislators is a welcome step,” he said. He said the Budget was aimed at benefiting all sections of society.

Kangra: Minister for Transport, Technical Education and Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs GS Bali on Thursday expressed gratitude for budgetary provisions in general and his departments in particular.

He said a provision of Rs 175 crore had been kept for subsidised food and consumable items, which would benefit 16 lakh ration card holders. He said Rs 160 crore was earmarked to strengthen the Himachal Road Transport Corporation and special steps would be taken to bring it out the financial mess.

Bali said the Chief Minister had kept provisions for implementing the rural transport project under which unemployed and deserving youth would be provided permits to ply passenger vehicles on rural routes which would help the unemployed youth get maxi-cab permits liberally.

He said proper bus stands with better amenities would be provided from the budgetary provision of Rs 10 crore for construction of bus stands on subdivision and block levels. He said ITIs would be set up from a provision in this regard in constituencies where those had not been established.

Bali said there was a budgetary provision for opening an engineering college in the government sector at Kangra. He said provisions were kept for setting up various technical institutions in the private sector for strengthening technical education in the state.

Jwalamukhi legislator Sanjay Rattan on Thursday termed as pro-poor, progressive and rural growth oriented the Budget. He said it was a mirror of the efforts of the government for the development of the state. He welcomed the decision to give an allowance of Rs 1,000 per month to the unemployed youth.

He said the increase in Rajiv Awas Yojna grant was a welcome step as it would help the poor cope with the fast-escalating building cost. He said construction of 10,000 houses for the poor under various housing schemes would benefit deprived sections of society.

Mandi: Farmers and hoteliers on Thursday hailed the Budget and termed it as farmer and hotel industry friendly. Farmers said 80 per cent subsidy on anti-hail nets would save the sinking Rs 3,000-crore fruit industry.

Himalayan Eco-Horticultural Society chairman Laxman Thakur welcomed the subsidy and said anti-hail nets would save crops from hail damage and the food processing industry would boost agricultural economy. He said panchayats would get incentives to declare itself free of stray animals.

He said the government needed to take more drastic steps to control the monkey menace as sterilisation was not giving good results. Kullu Growers Association president Prem Sharma welcomed the Budget and said it was farmer friendly. Manali Hoteliers Association president AR Thakur welcomed the waiving of luxury tax on hotels in remote areas. He said skill training for the youth as adventure and water sports guide and creation of infrastructure would boost tourism and self-employment.

Travel agents and hoteliers welcomed the decrease of value added tax on turbine fuel for the civil aviation sector from 5 per cent to 1 per cent and said flights to airports in the state would cost less now.

• Concessional CST of 1.5% for existing industrial units, 1% on new ones
• 5,000 meritorious students of classes X, XII to get tablets under Rajiv Gandhi Digital Student Yojna
• Procurement price of milk increased from Rs 17.80 per litre to Rs 18.80 per litre from April 1
• One panchayat in each district which becomes free of stray animals to be awarded Rs 5 lakh
• Financial assistance to NGOs, Trusts for running ‘gaushalas’
• Procurement price of apple, mango, kinnow, malta, ‘galgal’ hiked by 50 paise per kg
• 80% subsidy on anti-hail nets, 85% on polyhouses
• Six new monkey sterilisation centres to be started
• New ICDP project for Shimla, Kangra, Kullu districts
• Grant under Rajiv Awas Yojna increased from Rs 48,500 to Rs 75,000
• Three new industrial areas to be developed in Una, Solan, Kangra
• Uniform 9% VAT on all types of footwear
• Traders Welfare Board to be revived
• VAT on aviation turbine fuel to be reduced from 5% to 1%
• PTA grants increased from Rs 7,250 to Rs 10,875 for school lecturer, from Rs 6,950 to Rs 10,425 for TGTs, from Rs 6,750 to Rs 10,125 for C&V teachers
• Students who get admission in IITs, IIMs and AIIMS to be given cash incentive of Rs 75,000 each
• New engineering college under RUSA in Kangra district
• Amount for Parshuram award winners doubled to Rs 1 lakh
• Monthly incentive increased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 for doctors and from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 for postgraduate ones to encourage them opt for postings in the interior
• Higher education allowance for postgraduation raised from Rs 5,000 per month to Rs 7,000 and for postgraduate diploma course from Rs 2,000 per month to Rs 3,500 per month
• At least 20% women to be recruited at constable and sub-inspector levels
• Assistance for remarriage of widows and inter-caste marriage doubled to Rs 50,000
• Uniform allowance for non-gazetted police ranks to be doubled
• 10 courts of Additional District and Sessions Judge and two of Civil Judge (Junior Division) to be set up
• Fixed medical allowance for employees, pensioners increased from Rs 250 per month to Rs 350 per month

Shimla, March 14
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today termed as visionless, directionless and misleading the Budget presented by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. It said most schemes in the document were the same as those announced by the previous regime.

“An attempt has been made to create confusion and mislead the people by including many schemes conceived and announced by our regime,” former BJP Chief Minister PK Dhumal said.

“Parent Teacher Association teachers and the unemployed youth would be the most unhappy,” he added.

He said the monthly skill development allowance of Rs 1,000 would not serve much purpose as it was only for two years which was insufficient. Teachers seeking regularisation were let down, he added.

Dhumal said a large number of schemes, including opening 25 monkey sterilisation centres, an industrial training institute in every Assembly constituency and a hydro-engineering college at Bilaspur, had been announced by him.

He said credit for better health indicators and enhanced fruit and vegetable production went to his government. He lauded the decision to open drug de-addiction centres in every district considering the gravity of the problem.

State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti termed as directionless the Budget. He claimed that it was an indirect attempt to impose heavy taxes.

“While the party has betrayed the unemployed youth, it is a foregone conclusion that heavy taxes will be imposed from time to time to generate resources,” he said.

Former minister Sarveen Chaudhary said the Budget had hardly anything new as most schemes were in place during the BJP regime. She termed as a welcome move the discretionary grant fund of Rs 2 lakh for every legislator.

Former minister Jai Ram Thakur said the government had failed to honour promises made to the unemployed and Parent Teacher Association teachers.

Dharamsala, March 14
The Congress once again failed to install its nominee to the post of Chairman of the Kangra Central Co-operative (KCC) Bank. Though the meeting for the election of new Chairman of the KCC was held today, the proceeding could not be held due to the stay order of the Himachal High Court.

Acting Managing Director (MD)-cum-Deputy Commissioner (DC), Kangra, of KCC Paul Rasu said the election of the new Chairman could not be held as sitting incumbent RS Mankotia had obtained a stay order on the election from the HC. The stay on the election had been granted by the high court for three weeks, he said.

Mankotia, however, declined to comment on the developments.

BJP members of the KCC Board, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they were in favour of appointing an elected member as the Chairman of the bank. They had given a choice to the new government that in case it nominated an elected member as Chairman of the bank they would back him. However, the Congress opted for a nominated member as Chairman of the bank and that was not acceptable to them.

Jagdish Sapiya, Congress nominee for the post of Chairman, talking to newsmen, said it had been a tradition of the bank that the Chairman changed smoothly with the change in government. However, it seemed that Mankotia was not in a mood to vacate the office. “I am the choice of the CM for the post of Chairman and I shall occupy the post,” he said.

Sources here said the Congress high command had cleared the name of Sapiya, a newly nominated member of the bank board for the post Chairman of the KCC. The Congress is in minority in the board having just eight members, including the MD and Registrar of the Cooperative Societies, who can vote in the bank board, of the 21 members of board.

Elected Chairman of the bank RS Mankotia would was expected to resign in the last meeting of the bank. But he did not resign and the meeting had to be postponed.

Sandeep Kumar, MD of the bank, bore the brunt for the failure to install Congress member as the Chairman of the bank. He was removed from the office and the charge of the bank MD was given to DC Paul Rasu.

The Himachal Government had recently issued an ordinance to allow the appointment of a nominated member as the Chairman of cooperative bodies in which government equity was more than Rs 55 lakh.

Manali, March 14
The inclement weather conditions prevailing in the upper Kullu valley worsened today as the entire upper Manali region experienced a fresh spell of snowfall, while lower parts were lashed by rain. This brought the temperature substantially down. Snowflakes also greeted visitors in Manali town.

Fresh snowfall in the higher reaches severely affected snow-clearing operations on the 474-km-long Manali-Leh highway today.

Vehicular traffic on the Manali-Rohtang road was also disrupted at several places beyond Nehru Kund this morning. The famous ski slopes of the Solang valley also received fresh snowfall.

The entire higher reaches in the Kullu valley, including the 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti district, Pir Panjal ranges, Marhi, Gulaba, Brighu slopes, Hamta Pass and Dhundi, also received moderate-to-heavy snowfall today.

Mandi, March 14
Braving rain that marred the ongoing international Shivratri fair festivities in this temple here today, devotees participated in the second Jaleb of Raj Madhav from the Damdama Palace to Paddal Maidan. But chief guest of the procession Kaul Singh Thakur, Health Minister, could not participate in the procession as he could not arrive here from Shimla due to rains.

DC-cum-Shivratri Fair Mela Committee president Devesh Kumar led the procession of devis and devtas under an umbrella.

Stall owners had a tough time as the mela venue had turned into a pool of water.

Water entered khadi sale-cum-exhibition stalls as tents collapsed spoiling carpets, said salesmen.

Sweet vendors and eating joints complained of feeling electric current while using their utensils. The electricity supply line to the mela ground had got earthed due to dampness and leakage of current, alleged stall owners.

The problem was rectified after hours by the staff of the HP State Electricity Board as the junior engineer on duty remained missing from the venue, complained stall owners.

Devotees of some unregistered devtas demanded ration for the night with the Devta Committee, which refused on the ground that it had never invited them.

The Devta Committee of Kardars had decided not to entertain non-registered and uninvited devtas when the general house was held.

Nurpur, March 14
The rescue operation launched by the police with the assistance of people at Ranchi Mor at Damtal in this subdivision after the collision of three trucks which caught fire after the felling of an electricity wire on one truck continued till 9.30 pm last night. Earlier during preliminary investigations it was apprehended that four crew members of the trucks had been charred to death in the accident.

Nurpur DSP Rajinder Jaswal, who was monitoring the rescue operation, said today that only one driver of the loaded truck which had lost its control and collided with the other two trucks coming from the opposite direction had been charred to death. He said the apprehension of more causality could be ruled out only after the completion of relief and rescue operation. He said the deceased had been identified as Rashpal Singh of Dasuya (Punjab) and the seriously injured drivers of the other two trucks were Balkar Singh of Samba (J&K) and Malkiat of Meerut (UP). He said the cause of this collision was negligence and rash driving of the deceased driver of the truck loaded with crushed stone. A case under Sections 279 and 304-A, IPC, had been registered.

Meanwhile, the debris of the burnt trucks was removed from the Pathankot-Jalandhar national highway at 11 am today after 18 hours with the help of JCBs and cranes.

Hamirpur, March 14
Relatives of the patient diagnosed with swine flu at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla a few days ago have demanded action against officials who had conducted the wrong laboratory examination.

Karamjeet Singh Banyal of Bhakrehdi village in the Badsar area was diagnosed with swine flu at the IGMC on March 9, but was reported negative for it at the Command Hospital in the Chandi Mandir area of Panchkula on March 11.

He was admitted to the hospital at Tanda on March 8 and his sample was sent to the regional influenza surveillance laboratory of the IGMC for the swine flu test.

In its report, the laboratory stated that the sample was positive and diagnosed the patient to be suffering from pandemic influenza A-2009 (H1N1). He was referred to the Command Hospital on March 9.

Another sample was sent for the swine flu test to the laboratory at the hospital, which reported it negative. Baloh panchayat president Santosh Jaswal demanded strict action in the matter.

He said, “This is a serious lapse on the part of officials involved in conducting the swine flu test at the IGMC. Wrong diagnosis led to incorrect treatment, putting Karamjeet’s life in danger.”

IGMC Medical Superintendent Dr Ramesh said, “There is every possibility that symptoms of swine flue disappeared after the patient was administered medicines.”

Bilaspur, March 14
Thieves decamped with gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 2.50 lakh and Rs 50,000 cash from Mahant Ram’s house at Kot village, under Bharadi gram panchayat, near Ghumarwin, on Tuesday night.

Reports said owner of the house and other members of his family were sleeping at the time of theft.

The police rushed to the spot and has registered a case. — OC

Hamirpur, March 14
The month-long Chaitra festival began at the Baba Balak Nath shrine, Deothsidh, today, with the traditional worship and flag-hoisting ceremony performed by Hamirpur DC Ashish Singhmar.

The festival will continue till April 13. The administration has made arrangements to facilitate visitors and appointed officers for the purpose. — TNS