Shimla, November 19
Work on the Theog-Hatkoti-Rohru road, the lifeline for the apple belt which has been in a limbo for the past three years, will resume with the award of Rs 321 crore contracts to the Gurgaon-based C and C Company after retendering of the project.

The project for the upgrade of the 80 km highway has been awarded in two packages and the company has been allowed 30 months to complete it.

The widening of 48-km stretch of the highway from Theog to Kharapathar will be carried out at Rs 179 crore and the 32-km Kharapathar-Rohru portion will entail Rs 142 crore.

Initially, the entire project was awarded to a Chinese firm, Long Jian Road and Bridge Construction Company, for Rs 228 crore as a single package. However, it failed to execute the work in time and completed only about 22 per cent of the work in five years, forcing the government to rescind the contract and retender the project.

The incomplete road has been giving nightmares to commuters and it became a big issue during the Assembly poll.

The agreements for the award of the two packages were signed between project director Naresh Sharma and Director of C and C RN Aggrawal in the presence of Andrew Vogle, independent contract supervision consultant for the World Bank-funded project, here today.

Aggrawal said the company was in the process of finalising its work plan and since it would not be possible to carry out bituminous work during winter months, the focus would be on construction of bridges and culverts.

The efforts would be to complete the work before the period stipulated in the agreement.

Due to the time over-run of more than three years, the actual cost of the project will increase to Rs 383 crore as the Chinese company had been paid Rs 62 crore for the work executed by it.

The project was re-tendered after the World Bank agreed to provide additional funds and also extended the duration of project by three years.

The total cost of the state road project under which 10 roads were being upgraded has increased from Rs 1,365 crore to Rs 1,802 crore.

The World Bank will provide an additional loan to the tune of $61 million to meet the increased cost to complete the project by March 2016 as per the revised schedule.

Relief for apple belt Work on the Theog-Hatkoti-Rohru will resume after three years C and C Company given Rs 321 cr tender for upgrading 80-km road The project was earlier awarded to a Chinese firm for Rs 228 crore. It executed only 22 per cent of the work in five years, forcing the government to rescind the contract and retender the project.

Shimla, November 19
The CBI has summoned eight officials — five engineers and a storekeeper — of the NHPC executing the 800 MW Parbati II and two storekeepers of Gammon India, Parbati contractor firm, in connection with the alleged multi-crore cement scam in the project.

The CBI lodged an FIR at Shimla police station last year.

After the CBI detected the scam last year, NHPC kept the store in charge under suspension and served notices on four officials including a deputy manager, Shilagarh, an assistant manager (civil) Gadsa and an engineer electrical (Sainj).

These officials had been promoted and some of them transferred to other projects outside the state, revealed NHPC insiders.

The CBI has summoned them after establishing the prima facie case and verified that 100 trucks, each carrying 320 cement bags, had left Chandigarh and delivered cement at the store of Parbati II in Kullu.

The CBI is also investigating the possible diversion of the cement meant for the Parbati II to the 520 MW Parbati-III.

NHPC has awarded "Parbati II to Gammon India with material while the Parbati III was also awarded to the company without material", raising the suspicion of the CBI.

"The question now is where cement meant for the project was actually sold. We are investigating that the cement meant for the Parbati II, could be diverted," said a senior CBI official.

General manager of Parbati II AK Singh said he was on leave and was not aware about the CBI summoning six persons.

Dharamsala, November 19
The Vigilance today arrested a former SDO of the PWD who was posted at Dharamsala in 2008 when Dharamsala Government College was demolished and later its land was handed over to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA).

SP, Vigilance, Bimal Gupta said SDO Mohinder Singh Katoch was arrested from Palampur. He said the SDO was arrested for his alleged connivance with the HPCA in demolition of the college building.

He said from the records, it was found that the HPCA had moved a request to the district administration, Kangra, alleging that the college building adjoining the cricket stadium was posing a threat to its infrastructure as it was in a dilapidated state. The building was being used as a residential facility for the college staff. On March 14, 2008, a meeting was called in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra. It was decided that the Government College principal would write to the PWD for assessment of the building.

However, the SDO without waiting for the request from the college principal gave a report the next day that the building was unsafe and should be demolished.

The SP claimed that no survey or technical study was attached with the report of the SDO in which he had declared the building unsafe.

The Vigilance was claiming that the PWD had spent Rs 8,000 in 2007 on the repairs of the building that illustrates that it was not in a depilated state.

Dharamsala, November 19
A British pilot was killed after his glider crashed into the Manadhar hills near Thathri village, 8 kms from Dharamsala.

The deceased pilot has been identified as Richard Samson. He had gone missing in the hills since yesterday. Police officials said the pilot had flown to Dharamsala from the Billing valley on November 17. He stayed at Bhagsunag and was scheduled to return on Monday.

He went missing on Monday soon after the take-off. His friends filed a missing report with the police. A rescue team from the Bir- Billing area also arrived here. The search and rescue operation was launched yesterday but his body could be retrieved today," said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Kangra, Mohit Chawla.

He said post-mortem on the body was conducted in the local hospital and deceased's family members and British High Commission had been informed.

Sources said though the British national possessed a valid passport, he had overstayed here.

Earlier, two glider pilots had lost their life while flying over the Dhauladhar range. 

Shimla, November 19
Doctors posted in all the major hospitals and other health institutions of the state will have to mandatorily start prescribing the 175 generic medicines made available in all the Civil Supplies Corporation drug stores, paving the way for start of audit prescription of doctors from December 1 next month.

The committee, headed by the Director, Health Services, has completed the task of preparing the Essential Drug List (EDL) consisting of 314 formulations which will make available a total of 430 drugs to patients. At present, 175 of the 314 formulations have been stocked in the drug shops near the hospitals so that doctors can be directed to prescribe only these generic medicines from next month.

“With 175 formulations already being made available and the remaining to be done shortly, we will ask the doctors to start prescribing these generic medicines from December 1,” confirmed Ali Raza Rizvi, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare. He added that the doctors can be asked to prescribe generic medicines only if they are available in the drug stores.

To begin with, the audit of the medicines prescribed by the doctors on the patient’s slips will be started only in the medical colleges, zonal and district hospitals and those sub-divisional headquarters which have more than 100 beds.

“While one copy of the prescription slip will be given to the patient, the other will be maintained in the hospitals record, to be checked randomly by a specialist,” revealed Rizvi. He added that once all the 314 formulations are made available in the medicine shops in the hospitals, the prescription audit of doctors will be enforced in all the health institutions.

The idea behind starting the prescription audit is to ensure that the doctors do not prescribe expensive medicines when cheaper drugs with the same formulation are available. This step is aimed at cracking the unholy nexus between some doctors and pharmaceutical companies at the cost of the patients.

The EDI list is said to have been prepared after consulting doctors in medical colleges who too will have to prescribe only the generic medicines on the list.

Shimla, November 19
HPU Vice-Chancellor ADN Bajpai today said Jawaharlal Nehru's scientific temper and five-year plan theory was relevant even today as the country was on the threshold of achieving new heights in all-round development.

Speaking on a colloquium organised by the department of economics, physics and political science jointly on the theme, "Nehru's Legacy- Planning and Scientific Temper at HPU", Bajpai said Nehru was instrumental in laying the foundation for building of the infrastructure for science and technology.

The programme was conducted by the chief organiser Prof Aparna Negi while Dr Raman Sharma, co-organiser, presented a vote of thanks. Prof DC Gautam, Prof GS Chauhan, Prof SK Mahajan, Prof Vijay Sharma, Prof Girija Sharma, Dr Amrit Varsha Gandhi and Dr Sumeet, Gopal Singh and Sanjay participated.

Shimla, November 19
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today paid homage to the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her birth anniversary.

The Chief Minister, ministers and other prominent persons offered floral tributes at the statue of the former Prime Minister at the historic Ridge in Shimla.

He said Indira Gandhi had special love for Himachal and its people.

The Chief Minister said the state had made rapid progress in the education, health, electrification, drinking water, agriculture, horticulture and other major sectors. Ministers, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, legislators, Congress leaders and officials attended the function.

Shimla, November 19
While gearing up the party machinery for the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, the Congress has started an exercise to identify the traditionally weak assembly segments and focus on these for strengthening the organisation at the grassroot level.

The plan is to ensure effective involvement of senior leaders, particularly ministers, in the exercise which will not only help strengthen the organisation but also ensure better coordination between the government and the party.

Each minister will be assigned identified weak segments for the purpose and he will be required to visit the segment and interact with party workers on a regular basis and suggest measures for improvement.

“There are a number of Assembly seats which the party has been losing for the past 15 to 20 years and the party has taken notice of it and do something to remove the weaknesses,” says Sukhwinder Singh, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief.

The party had been losing in Bhoranj, Kulehar, Dehra, Dharampur, Paonta Sahib, Seraj and some other seats. It would do well in the Lok Sabha poll as these weak-links would be taken care of. He had already discussed the matter with senior leaders, he added.

The PCC chief said an added-advantage of assigning the segments to ministers would be that they would get feedback about the functioning of the party and the government and also able to address the local issues promptly.

Emphasis was being laid on ensuring regular attendance of members at the meetings to remove non-serious office-bearers.

The leaders holding two posts may continue for some more time in their positions as the high command is preoccupied with the Assembly polls in five states.

Shimla, November 19
Pradesh Congress Committee president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu today appointed party vice-president Geeta Negi and general secretary Susheela Negi as in charge of the Himachal Pradesh Mahila Congress.

He also appointed Balvinder Kanwar as youth coordinator for Shimla district to further strengthen the organisation in the district.

Shimla, November 19
In a relief to plastic industries and traders, the HP High Court today extended the stay till December 9, 2013, on a notification of the state government banning 25 junk food items in plastic packaging.

During the hearing of the case, the counsel for the Central Government sought more time to file its reply. While granting further time to the Central Government to file its reply in the matter, a Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Rajiv Sharma directed the parties to complete the pleadings by December 9 and clarified that no further adjournment shall be granted.

The state government vide notification dated June 26, 2013, had banned junk food items viz chips, kurkure, biscuits, noodles etc in plastic/non-biodegradable packaging from sale/stocking etc with effect from July 1, 2013, in compliance to the orders of the High Court.

The court passed these orders on the petitions of the Indian Biscuits Manufacturers Association, Noida, and the Haroli Block Industries Associations, Una, and Sanyukt Vyapar Mandal, Khalini.

In its earlier orders, the court had stayed the said notification till November 19, 2013 which expired today.

On January 10, 2013, the court had directed the state government to ban the said items in plastic packaging wef April 1, 2013, but had extended the time limit to implement the orders for three months on a request of the state government, citing far-reaching consequences and multiple stakeholders. The government had submitted that immediate impact of the ban would be on 6,000 workers directly employed in 270 local units manufacturing products.

Shimla, November 19
The HP High Court today issued a notice to Virender Kashyap, MP from the Shimla Lok Sabha constituency, on a petition filed by RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya for fair and proper investigation from independent investigating agency into a case pertaining to a CD carrying a video footage of Kashyap who was allegedly caught accepting cash and promising favours during a sting operation by a news channel.

While issuing notice, a Division Bench comprising Justice DD Sud and Justice Kuldip Singh directed the MP to file a reply within four weeks.

The petitioner has alleged that proper investigation was not conducted by the police after news reports were published in papers on April 20, 2009.

He alleged that the government had constituted a special investigation team on February 5, 2009, with an intent to hush up the matter. It had submitted a report within less than a month with the conclusion that no cognisable offence was made out.

The petitioner has alleged that the HP Police did not take the case to its logical conclusion due to political pressure.

It was also alleged that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha had disposed of the case with the observation that “the complaint pertains to a time when Kashyap was not the MP. The question of professional misconduct does not arise.”

The petitioner said after change in government, he again approached the Chief Minister requesting to order a fair inquiry into the matter, but the state government did not give any response.

Shimla, November 19
Expressing concern over tightening grip of lobbies backed by powerful politicians and businessmen over the media, CM Virbhadra Singh yesterday said his government would not allow this to happen in the state as a “controlled media” posed a real threat to democracy.

He said the brazen manner in which attempts were being media to control the media, particularly the cable and TV news networks, did not augur well for a democratic country like India.

He cited the example of the neighbouring Punjab and narrated a recent instance of a 24-hour electronic news channel being forced to ease out its editor who did not toe the line. Not only that, the smaller cable operators had been replaced by big media cartels backed by moneyed businessmen and powerful politicians. He was speaking at a function organised to launch a statewide digital TV service and broadband internet facility here yesterday.

JoginderNagar, November 19
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the cooperative movement had been instrumental in supplementing income of women, youths and poor people in rural areas and cooperative societies had played a significant role in strengthening the rural economy.

The Chief Minister said this while presiding over a state-level function on the 60th National Cooperative Day here today.

He said it is a matter of pride that such a cooperative movement started from Himachal Pradesh, as a cooperative society was formed at Panjawar village in Una district in 1892.

The Chief Minister said the state government had given importance to building a cooperative movement since the first five-year plan and today, 4,709 societies are registered in the state with a membership of 5.35 lakh and loans of Rs 4,104 crore to farmers, fruit growers and weaker sections have been given to enable them to improve their social and economic conditions.

He said that to make cooperative societies economically viable, the state government had successfully completed the first phase of Integrated Cooperative Development Projects sponsored by the National Cooperative Development Corporation in all districts of the state.

In the second phase, projects were being implemented in Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Sirmour districts by spending Rs 35.47 crore and approval for second phase of these schemes in Kangra, Kullu and Shimla districts had been sent to National Cooperative Development Corporation, he said.

The Chief Minister stressed on bringing about rationalisation and competitiveness among the cooperative societies to compete in the open market.

Talking about various steps taken by the state government to improve functioning of cooperative societies, the CM said efforts are being made to provide them autonomy besides providing training.

The CM announced grant of Rs 2 crore for construction of auditorium of Government Degree College Joginder Nagar and said the government would consider opening a government college at Lad Bhadol.

He distributed prizes to cooperative societies for their outstanding activities.

Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma and newly elected Youth Congress president Vikramditya Singh also addressed the gathering. Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmauri and Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma were among others present on the occasion.

Shimla, November 19
Hoteliers in the state have rejected the government proposal for the payment of 10 per cent luxury tax on the declared room tariff and have instead insisted on paying it on the actual room tariff charged from customers as was the case earlier.

The Shimla Hoteliers and Restaurants Owners Association and the Manali Hoteliers Association (MHA) have rejected this proposal, saying the hotel industry has been reeling under crisis due to the lean tourist season in the state.

“We reject this proposal as we offer discount on rooms and food to tourists,” said Harnam S Kukreja, president, Shimla Hoteliers Association.

“We met Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh recently in this connection and apprised him of the problems. The tax should be charged on the actual tariff charged from the customers and the government should increase vigilance and inspection to nab tax evaders,” he added.

Similarly, the MHA has rejected the government proposal. “The Manali tourism industry is sick as it has two-month peak summer season. We are paying 17.4 per cent tax - 10 per cent luxury tax and 7.4 per cent service tax on every room, which has made the business non-profitable in the face of the present crisis of economic slowdown and natural disasters,” said AR Thakur, president, MHA.

The state Excise and Income Tax Department has detected gaping holes in the payment of luxury tax. There are about 10 per cent hotels in Shimla town alone and across the state which are evading the payment of luxury tax as provided for under the HP Tax on Luxuries (in hotels and lodging houses) Act 1979.

Mohan Chauhan, Director, Tourism, said they had received the representation from the hoteliers as the government wanted to charge it on the basis of the declared tariff and it was yet to take the final call.

Mandi, November 19
At least 155 sheep and goats were charred to death in a fire that took place near Nablai village here last night.

The fire was reported at about 2.30 am by some villagers, but they could not identify the place (sheep shed) which was situated at a distance from the village.

As per information, the charred remains of sheep and goats, bolted in the shed, were found by villagers this morning.

Five village shepherds had constructed a common shed at Parnu near the village where they had housed the livestock and stacked clothes, beddings and straw in the shed.

Those who lost their livestock included Led Ram, Besh Ram, Devi Singh, Dumanu Ram and Mansa Ram of Nablai village.

A loss of about Rs 10 lakh has been reported in the incident and the poor shepherds have lost their livelihood.

Ajay Prashar, Tehsildar, Mandi, said the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained and the district administration had given them Rs 10,000 each as an ex-gratia aid. He said their cases would be put forward for more financial relief.