Shimla, March 30
Efforts of the state government to recover outstanding power dues from Uttar Pradesh have yielded results with the Power Trading Corporation (PTC), the Central public sector undertaking through which energy is sold, making a part payment of Rs 30 crore today.

This was made possible due to the package of Rs 1,500 crore provided by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to bail out the power utility. The state government is hopeful that the remaining amount of about Rs 200 crore will be cleared next month when the Rural Electrification Corporation is set to release Rs 1,500 crore.

The matter had been hanging fire for the last 20 months and the state government had been making efforts to get the dues. The PTC, which has to clear arrears of various power generators which supply power to the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), has promised to wipe out the outstanding amount.

The state had sold about 1,900 million units to the UPPCL in 2011 from April to September at Rs 4.3 per unit. The buyer had stopped making payment from June. The PTC, through which the state sells all free power available to it as royalty, continued to pay the government till August 15 and ended up paying Rs 367 crore from its resources.

The state and the PTC had been pursuing in tandem the matter with the UPPCL and Uttar Pradesh had been pursuing the matter with the PTC to recover the amount. PTC Chairman Deepak Amitabh visited Shimla last week after which the government sent Director for Energy RD Nazeem to Lucknow to ensure part payment of arrears from funds provided by the PFC.

The total arrears including charges for late payment worked out to be Rs 231 crore. The state decided to supply power to the UPPCL in March last as it offered the highest rate of Rs 4.3 per unit when the power market was on the decline and the market rate hovered between Rs 2.5 and Rs 3 per unit.

Wiser from the bitter experience, the government had decided to sell power to West Bengal this season at a much lower rate of Rs 3.65 per unit. The agreement will be effective till November 30. The government has 910 MW of equity power and free power available as royalty from various hydro power projects in the state.

The quantum will go up if all projects, including the 520-MW Parbati project, the 800-MW Kol Dam project, the 412-MW Rampur project, the 150-MW Sorang project and the 65-MW Kashang project, are commissioned this year as per the schedule of completion.

Power Dues HP sold about 1,900 million units to UPPCL in 2011 and matter kept hanging fire for 20 months Power Trading Corporation made part payment of Rs 30 crore on Saturday after efforts of govt This made possible due to package of Rs 1,500 crore provided by Power Finance Corporation Government hopeful that remaining amount of about Rs 200 crore will be cleared next month.

Shimla, March 30
Governor Urmila Singh has emphasised the need for generating more employment opportunities for ex-servicemen and said focus should be on implementing rehabilitation schemes for them after retirement.

She said this while presiding over the 24th meeting of the State Sainik Welfare Board and the 42nd meeting of the State Managing Committee for Special Fund for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Ex-Servicemen here today.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was also present. She lauded the contribution of ex-servicemen in the armed forces and said their interests should be protected at all costs.

She asserted that effective and speedy implementation of welfare schemes for ex-servicemen should be ensured and appreciated the provision of 15 per cent reservation in government jobs and scholarship schemes for ex-servicemen. She said the meeting of the board should be convened regularly.

Virbhadra Singh said the long-pending demand of one-rank-one-pension had been accepted by the Centre and it would benefit a large number of ex-servicemen in the state.

He reiterated the commitment of the government for welfare of serving soldiers and ex-servicemen. He said rates of annuity payable to gallantry award winners were being increased from time to time.

Virbhadra said annuity had been raised in 2006 during his previous tenure for Param Vir Chakra winners from Rs 4,500 to Rs 1.25 lakh, for Ashok Chakra awardees from Rs 4,000 to Rs 1 lakh, for Mahavir Chakra winners from Rs 3,600 to Rs 1 lakh, for Kirti Chakra awardees from Rs 3,300 to Rs 1 lakh, for Vir Chakra winners from Rs 2,700 to Rs 50,000 and for Shaurya Chakra awardees from Rs 2,400 to Rs 50,000.

He said the one-time grant for Param Vir Chakra and Ashok Chakra was Rs 25 lakh, Mahavir Chakra and Kirti Chakra Rs 15 lakh and Vir Chakra and Shaurya Chakra Rs 10 lakh.

He said Rs 3 lakh was provided to families of soldiers killed in action, Rs 1 lakh to soldiers suffering more than 50 per cent disability and Rs 50,000 to those suffering up to 50 per cent disability.

He said the government would implement promises made in the manifesto which included extension of CSD and ECHS facilities in areas having a sizeable population of ex-servicemen, 10 per cent reservation for ex-servicemen in PDS centres and free travel facility to gallantry award winners in all deluxe and Volvo buses in the state.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil said the state had contributed the largest number of personnel to the armed forces and there were 1,20,600 soldiers in service, 1,04,896 ex-servicemen, 1,074 war widows and 28,667 other armed forces widows in the state.

Hamirpur, March 30
The state government is going to start a free specialised ambulance service for burn patients on the pattern of the 108 Free Ambulance Service soon.

The free ambulance service for burn patients will be available at the district headquarters of the state in emergency cases.

Like the 108 Ambulance Service, which can be called in cases of emergencies by calling a toll-free number, the specialised ambulance service can be called by dialling 102, a toll-free number.

This ambulance that will be fully air-conditioned and equipped with instruments and medicines for giving first aid to such patients, will cost approximately Rs 25 lakh.

Specially designed and fitted with a decontaminator, it will be of great help in checking infection among burn patients.

Initially, the 102 Ambulance Service will be available in three districts of Hamirpur, Kangra and Mandi, besides Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, where specialised burn treatment centres have been set up.

Later, the state government will extend this facility to other districts.

The state is already successfully running 108 Ambulances Service in collaboration with a private organisation GVK EMRI for the past many years.

Director, Health Services, Kulbhushan said specialised free ambulance services for burn patients during emergency cases would be soon started in the state and could be called by dialing 102, a toll-free number.

Solan, March 30
The state government today sought a report from the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) regarding discrepancies in furnishing information relating to hazardous waste under the RTI Act to the NGO Himparivesh.

This action followed publication of the report ‘Industries fail to send waste to treatment plant: RTI’ in these columns on March 27.

The Chief Secretary issued a letter to the SPCB Member Secretary directing the board to furnish its reply within seven days and ensure strict compliance with Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules in industrial areas. The state took a serious note of the discrepancies relating to information provided by the SPCB and the Shivalik Solid Waste Management, the disposal agency.

SPCB Member Secretary Sanjay Sood said information given under the RTI Act pertained to total solid waste while figures for hazardous waste were less. He said figures for hazardous waste were sent to the apex court annually while the information given under the RTI Act was till December.

Chamba, March 30
The Forest Department has decided to set up a forest check post at Karian near here, said Chief Conservator of Forests ARM Reddy here today.

He said this was decided upon keeping in view the increasing plundering of forests by the timber mafia and in a bid to check smuggling of medicinal plants.

He said the check post would help keep a check on illegal sand and gravel mining from the riverbed and dumping of waste on the Ravi bank, besides keeping a watch on forest fires in the lower Chamba range.

He added that directions were being issued to the personnel who would man the check post to keep a watch on vehicles being used to transport waste outside the town.

Dalhousie, March 30
Balkan-Ji-Bari International today honoured Dr (Capt) GS Dhillon, Director and Principal of Dalhousie Public School, with the global award as an eminent educationist and outstanding administrator.

The award was conferred on Dr Dhillon by Rear Admiral MM Chopra, AVSM (retd), at a function held in New Delhi.

Earlier, Dr Dhillon was awarded the National Award for Teachers in September 2011 by the then President of India Pratibha Patil.

Established in 1923, Balkan-Ji-Bari International is the India’s oldest NGO vested by the UN Charter in 1966 to honour achievers from different fields. The NGO holds a consultative status given by UNICEF and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Shimla, March 30
President of India Pranab Mukherji will address the 20th convocation of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) on May 24.

This information was given by Vice-Chancellor ADN Bajpai while presiding over the year’s first meeting of the Executive Council here today.

The council approved an annual budget of Rs 118 crore for 2013-14 with a deficit of about Rs 16 crore. Receipts were pegged at Rs 37 crore, while an amount of Rs 65 crore had been allocated as annual budget assistance.

The Vice-Chancellor also apprised the members of the council about the activities, programmes, workshops and seminars conducted during the past six months.

Mandi, March 30
Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur has said as many as 709 government schools in the district will be covered under the Iron and Folic Acid Programme launched in the state.

Addressing a gathering at Paddar, the minister said students from Class VI to XII studying in government schools would get free iron and folic acid tablets once a week to make up for the iron deficiency in them.

Over one lakh students would be benefited from this move, he said.

Kaul Singh said out of the 2,020 patients suffering from tuberculosis, 85 per cent had been cured in the district last year.

Free health camps would be held at regular interval for people near their areas, he added.

Sundernagar, March 30
The 10th batch of the nine-week Core Forestry Course of Forest Guards passed out at the Forest Training Institute and Rangers College, Sundernagar, yesterday.

GS Guraya, IFS, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Research and Training), who was the chief guest, took salute from the 23 guards who came here from various parts of the state, during the passing-out parade function.

Dr Guraya distributed prizes among the meritorious forest guards. He urged the trainee forest guards to do their best to save forests and do whatever they could do without waiting for assistance from other quarters.

He further said the forest guards could contribute a lot in the conservation of forests and environment.

They could help in the eradication of invasive alien species like lantana. He urged them to focus on the plantation of local species.

CF, FTI, and Ranger College, Sundernagar, SK Gupta presented a course report of FTI and RC, Sundernagar.

The trainees were from Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Hamirpur and Dharamsala circles. During the course, the forest guards were given a special training on unarmed combat so that they could protect the “green gold”, without any weapon.

BS Rana, CF, Research, SK Guleria, DFO, HQ, SD Thakur, DFO Res, Tilak Raj Sharma, Joint Director, and CL Joshi, Deputy Director, were among those present.

Shimla, March 30
Notices have been issued by the Income Tax (IT) Department to all the District Treasury Officers to report whether or not pensioners of the state have paid income tax. A spokesman of the state government said here today that a notice was issued to all the pensioners for the submission of copies of income tax returns, but a large number of them had still not submitted copies of their returns.

He requested all the pensioners and family pensioners, who fall in the range of income tax for the financial years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 to submit the copies of their income tax returns for these years to the respective district or sub treasury before April 20, 2013.