Shimla, July 31
The government today decided to appoint more than 6,300 teachers, recruited through the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), on a contract basis under grant-in-aid after the completion of eight continuous years of service as per PTA Rules 2006 in relaxation of R&P rules.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here. It also gave approval to regularise services of about 2,100 para-teachers working in Elementary and Higher Education Departments on completion of continuous 10 years of service. It decided to give an enhanced honorarium of Rs 8,900 per month to more than 3,500 Primary Assistant Teachers and release grant-in-aid to those PTA lecturers, who have completed their BEd degree after December 31, 2010.

The Cabinet approved to procure sugar from open market on the recommendations of the State-Level Purchase Committee constituted for the purpose and implement the National Rural Livelihood Mission (Aajeevika).

It decided to exclude Socially Advanced Persons and Sections (Creamy Layer) from the purview of reservation for Other Backward Classes. The income ceiling was enhanced to Rs 6 lakh from earlier Rs 4.50 lakh for this purpose. It decided to introduce "Him Bill Note Scratch and Win Scheme" in place of the Grahak Protsahan Yojna to encourage customers to inculcate the habit of procuring cash memos.

It gave nod to the ITI at Pubowal in the Haroli constituency of Una district with four trades from the current academic session.

It also approved the Detailed Project Reports under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission by posing the entire project as a new scheme to the Central Government with an execution period extended to three years.

It was decided to develop a car parking-cum-commercial complex at Mandi under the PPP mode and fill 200 posts of panchayat sahayak in the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, three posts of District Public Relations Officer on a contract basis and 21 posts of clerk in the Election Department.

It decided to allow the change of the allotted domain in respect of Jobrie HEP (12 MW) and cancel the allotment of Lower Kalm (1.5 MW) SHEP in district Chamba.

The Cabinet also approved cancellation of nine small hydropower projects, Binwa-II (4.5 MW), Chaunda (2.40 MW), Sailan (1.50 MW), Baleni- Ka- Nala (2 MW), Joiner- II (3 MW), Chakka (1.50 MW), Shirir (1 MW), Jakhi (1.50 MW) and Nera (1.60 MW) as all these independent power producers have failed to execute projects in time.

The Cabinet today gave nod to the new policy for scientific exploitation of minor minerals, short-term permits to private land owners, regulate use of machinery deployed for mining and providing relief to brick kilns in respect of environment clearance. It also approved a memorandum to be submitted to the 14th Finance Commission.

Checking illegal mining will not be the responsibility of the Mining Department alone, officers of the revenue and forest departments will also be responsible.

The policy allows the use of tyre-mounted excavators up to 80 horse power for mining of sand on the riverbed where no heavy earth moving machinery will allowed. However, in case of mining on the hill slopes, which mostly involved hard rocky strata, the deployment of heavy machinery will be permitted. The policy also provides giving short-term permits for extraction of stones in less than one hectare area and also removals from private land rendered uncultivable due to silt brought down by rivers and streams.

Shimla, July 31
The Cabinet today gave nod to the new policy for scientific exploitation of minor minerals, short-term permits to private land owners, regulate use of machinery deployed for mining and providing relief to brick kilns in respect of environment clearance. It also approved a memorandum to be submitted to the 14th Finance Commission.

Checking illegal mining will not be the responsibility of the Mining Department alone, officers of the revenue and forest departments will also be responsible.

The policy allows the use of tyre-mounted excavators up to 80 horse power for mining of sand on the riverbed where no heavy earth moving machinery will allowed. However, in case of mining on the hill slopes, which mostly involved hard rocky strata, the deployment of heavy machinery will be permitted. The policy also provides giving short-term permits for extraction of stones in less than one hectare area and also removals from private land rendered uncultivable due to silt brought down by rivers and streams.

Further, the debris generated due to contraction activity undertaken for various projects will be allowed to be used by stone crushers so that they did not face shortage of raw material.

The environment clearance for brick kilns will now be granted at the state level and the cases will not to be sent to the Union Ministry of Environment. Mining inspectors and assistant mining inspectors will be empowered to issue permits to private land owners.

A memorandum, approved for the 14th Finance Commission, underlined the need for liberal revenue deficit grant on the grounds that sparse population required more manpower leading to a higher salary burden. The cost of implementing various development projects was also high due to high cost of construction in hills. The state also sought liberal funds for preserving the green cover and also wanted the calamity fund to be hiked substantially keeping in view the fact that the state was prone to natural disasters.

Shimla, July 31
The government has rejected the offer of cement companies to bring the prices of cement bags in the border towns of Himachal on a par with the neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana, as it wants that the reduction should be effected all over the state.

The government is likely to hold a meeting with the heads of three cement companies- Ambuja Ltd, ACC and JP Group, which have plants in Himachal. It is learnt that Ambuja Cement has made an offer to the government that it is willing to bring the price of cement in the border towns of Himachal on a par with Punjab and Haryana.

“The price reduction must be effected all over the state keeping in mind the fact that cement is being sold far cheaper in Punjab and Haryana, while in Himachal, where it is produced, it is expensive,” Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said.

Agnihotri had made it clear that the cement companies would have to reduce their profit margin as people of Himachal were feeling the heat. “It is not acceptable to us that the people of the state, where cement is being produced, are being charged the highest. So we want a significant reduction in the price,” emphasised Agnihotri.

As per the offer, the price of cement will be the same in Nangal-Mehatpur, Pathankot-Nurpur, Gagret-Hoshairpur, Paonta Sahib-Yamunanagar and other such towns which are adjoining to each other. At present, the price of a cement bag varies between Rs 295 and Rs 300 in Punjab and between Rs 330 and Rs 360 in Himachal.

The issue had been raised during the BJP regime also and though the companies had agreed to make a reduction of Rs 25, later they brought down this amount too. The Congress government too has kept the heat on and wants that prices to be reduced significantly.

Though the cement companies have made a marginal decrease in the price, the government has stated that this was not acceptable to it. On the other hand, the cement companies attribute the higher prices of cement in Himachal to the high freight charges to various places in the hill state.

Shimla, July 31
“It has been a most fulfilling and rewarding experience to head an institution with a unique mandate to generate new ideas. I have been able to achieve the goals I had set to develop it into a global knowledge centre and initiate measures for the conservation of the magnificent, but neglected heritage edifice,” Peter Ronald d’Souza, the outgoing Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), said with a sense of accomplishment just before relinquishing charge here today.

“It had been a dream five-and-a-half years. I could not have dreamt of a better place and a better job. I would miss the salubrious environment of Shimla and the company of the warm-hearted people. But having done the assigned job, it is time to move on,” he said, expressing gratitude to residents for all love and affection showered on him and making his sojourn memorable.

His second term of three years was to expire in December this year, but he decided to move out early and return to his parent institution the Centre for Studies of Developing Societies in Delhi.

Prof Chetan Singh, who has been associated with the IIAS as the editor, has taken over as acting Director in his place. He was professor of history in Himachal Pradesh University.

He said his last addition to the institute would be a photo gallery which was nearing completion under the adaptive use plan.

Earlier, some abandoned portions were renovated to house a coffee shop, a book shop, and an art gallery and a theatre. The institute has one of the best libraries in the country and it is now acquiring documentaries relevant to social sciences, old films, epic, TV serials like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana to have a rich treasure of audio-visuals in the archives.

Shimla, July 31
Having initiated a number of steps to ensure protection of women in the state and special thrust on industrial policing during his tenure, Director General of Police B Kamal Kumar today retired after putting in over three decades of service.

Even though Kumar, a 1982 batch IPS officer, remained on the top post for six months, he took effective steps to improve the law and order situation with thrust on some focus areas such as security of women and taking steps to bring down road accidents in Himachal. He also took up the issue of setting up of an Anti-Terrorist Squad in Himachal with the help of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Having served in the Central Industrial Security Force and the Railway Protection Force, he tried to bring about professionalism in the police. "During my stint in various capacities both in Himachal and Andhra Pradesh, it has been very satisfying to serve the people from whom I received full cooperation," he said.

"We took a number of steps, including sensitisation of the police force, towards tackling crime against women," he says. Not only did he constitute a special committee to monitor crime against women, headed by a woman IPS officer, Satwant Atwal, DIG, but also ensured that at least eight to 10 women police personnel were posted in all 104 police stations in the state.

"It was owing to these various measures that our teams were able to arrest the accused in the rape of an American tourist in Manali in April," he says.

He says complaints on eve-teasing, crank calls, rash and drunken driving, domestic violence and dowry harassment were made through the SMS service, which has been a major success.

Another area where Kumar tried to bring about significant change is industrial policing. He took steps to ensure that all industrial units, power projects and other big ventures depute private security so that there was no law and order problem.

Nurpur, July 31
Up in arms against the Rashtriya Ucchtar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) in government colleges, members of the local unit of the ABVP, led by state ABVP secretary Naveen Sharma, held a demonstration on the premises of Arya Government College here today. They took out a rally to educate college students about its repercussions. They also raised slogans and demanded the revokement of RUSA from colleges.

Addressing college students, the ABVP secretary said RUSA was anti-college, lecturers and students which had disrupted college time-table.

“A large number of eligible students failed to take admission in government colleges after enforcing RUSA in colleges,” he alleged. He said this system had been launched in haste as the new syllabus was still being prepared and books were yet to be published which had delayed the studies as per new semester visa syllabus.

The local unit of the ABVP led by president Ankit Verma had earlier launched a signature campaign against RUSA on July 3 and submitted a memorandum for revocation of RUSA to Himachal Pradesh University carrying 400 signatures of the college students.

Sundernagar, July 31
Former president of the Sundernagar Municipal Council, Harinder Singh, was elected chairman of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Mandi on Monday.

At a meeting of officials and non-officials members of the APMC, Harinder Sen, a loyalist to the Chief Minister, was elected new chairman of the APMC, Mandi.

Talking to mediapersons, he said he would work for the benefit of growers so that they could get their due share and further strengthen the official machinery to minimise the evasion of marketing fee.

Dharamsala, July 31
Krishan Kumar Katoch, who was working as Director, Extension Education, CSK Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur, has now been selected Vice-Chancellor of the institute.

Sources here said Katoch's name was cleared today by the Governor, Himachal Pradesh, who is also the Chancellor of the university. Katoch was called to the Governor's house in Shimla today and informed about his appointment. He would join the office tomorrow.

This time the state government has opted for a scientist from within the university, for appointment as Vice-Chancellor. The previous two VCs of the university, including Tej Pratap and SK Sharma, had come from the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR).

Katoch was born in the Jawalamukhi area of Kangra district. He had his school education from the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education. He did BSc and MSc in agriculture from the Centre of Punjab Agriculture University at Palampur in 1976 and 1978, respectively.

He did his PhD in agriculture, physics and soil physics.

Katoch started his professional career as soil scientist in the ICAR at Almora in UP. He joined Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University at Palampur as an extension specialist in 1987. Since then he has been working in the Extension Education Department of the university in various positions. Presently, he has been serving as Director, Extension Education.

He has to his credit eight books and 29 research publications. He is credited with helping in opening up Kishan Call Centres and Krishi Vigyan Kendra's in Himachal Pradesh.

The biggest challenge before the new VC will be to deal with the financial crisis of the university. The university is entirely dependent on ICAR grants for research. Being from within the university, he will also have to deal with the high expectations that the staff would have from him.

The contributory pension scheme of the university has also been facing financial pangs and the institute had demanded Rs 100 crores from the state government to keep it going.

Katoch thanked Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for appointing him VC. He said his priority would be bridge to the gap between university scientists and farmers who are ultimate beneficiaries of their research work.

Palampur, July 31
Dr NK Kalia, father of martyr Capt Saurabh Kalia, after watching the video clip released by the Pakistan army on TV channels today, said truth had ultimately surfaced.

The Pakistan army had admitted, for the first time, that his son Capt Saurabh Kalia was killed by them. While reacting to the news item highlighted on TV channels, he said he had always stated that his son was tortured and killed by Pakistan soldiers and not by Mujaheedins, as stated by Pakistan.

Talking to this correspondent here today, Dr Kalia said the video clip telecast in the international media for the whole of the day clearly mentioned the names of Pak soldiers who Capt Saurabh Kalia had encountered on May 13, 1999, as alleged by the Pak army.

However, the Indian Army still maintained that the patrol party moved on May 14,1999, from its post in Kargil sector and not on May 13, 1999. Therefore, there was no truth in the claim of Pak soldiers.

Dr Kalia said the Pakistan army had never admitted in the past of having any involvement in the killing of his son. Even ex-President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf had denied the involvement of his government and Pak army when he was questioned by the Indian media on several occasions.

He said till yesterday the Pakistan army had claimed that this was handiwork of Mujaheedins and the Pak army had nothing to do with the Kargil conflict. Pakistan had shown scant concern and even refused to take back the bodies of its own soldiers.

Dr Kalia said when the news pertaining to the missing of Saurabh Kalia and his team was reported, the then the DGMO, Pakistan, denied having any knowledge of these soldiers. Though the Indian Army made endless efforts to know their whereabouts, Pakistan always expressed its ignorance.

However, Skardu Radio in POK had already announced the capture of the Indian patrol party headed by Captain Kalia. The bodies were handed over on June 9, 1999, by the Pak army to the Indian Army at one of the defence posts in the Kargil area, he added. 

Dharamsala, July 31
The movement for the takeover of Baroh college by the government is gathering steam. The staff of the college, along with a few other groups such as the ABVP and local NGOs, today organised a rally at Dharamsala and submitted a memorandum to the Kangra Deputy Commissioner.

Sources said hectic parleys were going on between Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Technical Education and Transport GS Bali and owners of the private college for takeover of the college. Bali was trying to persuade the owners to offer the college building to the government so that the case could be processed.

Bali said if the owners would agree, government college located in the vicinity could be shifted there.

The private college at Baroh was built in the remote Changer area of Kangra district by philanthropist Bali Ram Sharma. The college was started on 35 kanals by the Changer Shiksha Evam Samaj Kalyan Parishad, headed by Bali Ram Sharma, in 1995. There are about 400 students in the college.

However, the management obtained a no-objection certificate from the government in February this year to close the institute. The government has given conditional approval to the management to close the college in a phased manner so that the interests of the student are protected.

The staff of the college are alleging that the college is being closed down without any reason. It is the only institute of higher education in the area. The students will be at loss if the college is closed.

Bali Ram Sharma earlier had said he was 80-year-old and now was not in a position to run the institution. He had said, "I will be willing to hand over the college to the government."

Amidst this tussle the real sufferers would be poor students of the Changar area who were getting benefitted by the institute.

Shimla, July 31
The Himachal Pradesh High Court (HC) bid farewell to Justice RB Misra, who demitted office today on superannuation.

Justice Misra was appointed permanent Judge at the Allahabad High Court on April 24, 2001. He was transferred to the Guwahati High Court on January 7, 2005. He joined the Himachal Pradesh HC in Shimla on April 30, 2008, on his transfer here. He served as the acting Chief Justice of the HP HC on two occasions.

He was given a farewell by a Full Court address in the court of the Chief Justice and presented with a Guard of Honour. Chief Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justices DD Sud, Surinder Singh, Sanjay Karol, Kuldip Singh, Rajiv Sharma, VK Sharma and DC Chaudhary were present on the occasion.

In his address, Justice Misra thanked the Bench and the Bar as well as the high court staff for their cooperation. He said he took inspiration from different qualities of each and every fellow Judge.

Chief Justice Khanwilkar hailed Justice Misra as a man of learning and exemplary morals, whose philosophy and spirituality reflected in his orders.

Advocate General Sharwan Dogra, chairman of Bar Council Rajinder Dogra, president of High Court Bar Association BC Negi, Assistant Solicitor General of India Sandeep Sharma also spoke on the occasion.

The Bar Association as well as the Staff Welfare Association also hosted a farewell party in honour of the outgoing Judge.