HP to amend revenue laws
DHARAMSALA, Nov 4 — In order to make government procedures less cumbersome and more effective for the public, the government will amend some revenue laws and do away with those which have lost utility in the present circumstances

State starts sale of onion, potato
SHIMLA, Nov 4 — The State Civil Supplies Corporation today started sale of onions at Shimla, Solan, Dharamsala and Una at rates ranging from Rs 25 to 28 per kg.

HP to amend revenue laws
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Nov 4 — In order to make government procedures less cumbersome and more effective for the public, the government will amend some revenue laws and do away with those which have lost utility in the present circumstances.

This was disclosed by the Revenue Minister, Mr Rajan Sushant, while addressing a press conference here today. He disclosed that a committee would soon be constituted to look into the matter thoroughly, which will ultimately bring about improvement in the functioning of the Revenue Department. "If there is need to frame new laws or amend the existing ones, even in other departments, the committee will look into it for the convenience of the public," he stated. He strongly felt the need to do away with those laws which were no longer pertinent, but were still being followed unnecessarily.

The committee which will look into the whole matter will be constituted by revenue and other officers, some senior retired officials and legal experts.

In order to put a complete check on encroachments in villages, the land which is required for undertaking various development works for the next 25 years will be earmarked. "The problems of encroachments has become so serious in villages that at times, it is difficult to find a vacant piece of land," he remarked. The Panchayat Secretariat will ensure that nobody encroaches on this demarcated land for which the cooperation of elected representatives, youth and women will be sought.

While admitting that there was a lot of bungling in the matter of sale and purchase, the Revenue Minister said that in future it would be mandatory to attach a copy of the group photograph of the buyer, purchaser and the witness with the record.

Keeping in view the unavailability of the revenue officers in their offices, the government has directed the patwaris and kanungos to be present in their offices, every Tuesday and Friday, while the Naib Tehsildars and Tehsildars will have to be present in office on every Thursday. For the sake of public convenience, information and grievances cells will be set up at sub-tehsil, tehsil, division and district-level. Apart from this the Revenue Department has launched an awareness camp till November 10 to make the common villager and the public aware of all the procedures.

When asked if there would be misuse of the latest amendment in Section 118 by which the Secretary has been empowered to give land to outsiders for industry or other purpose, the minister said that the only motive behind it was to promote industry and tourism in the state. "Since the investors had been complaining that the procedures for obtaining land were very lengthy and time consuming, the government decided to make the process simpler by giving the power to the Secretary", he stressed.

Regarding the problems of Pong Dam oustees, Mr Sushant said that the government was pursuing the matter with the Rajasthan Government and the cases in the Supreme Court were being pleaded. He also disclosed that the government would review the Pong Dam Advisory Committee after the Baijnath byelections.

State starts sale of onion, potato
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 4 — The State Civil Supplies Corporation today started sale of onions at Shimla, Solan, Dharamsala and Una at rates ranging from Rs 25 to 28 per kg.

The corporation fixed the sale rate at Rs 26 per kg for Shimla and Dharamsala and Rs 25 kg for Solan, Mandi, Hamirpur and Una.

The corporation also started sale of potatoes in Shimla at the rate Rs 14 per kg.

A spokesman of the corporation said that sale of onions in the remaining districts would commence in a day or two.

Meanwhile, the government had taken some more steps to check prices. The Deputy Commissioners had been directed to notify the maximum margin of profit for essential commodities and carry out inspections.

The stock situation of various commodities in Kinnaur was reviewed at a meeting under the chairmanship of Mr JP Singh, the Deputy Commissioner at Rekong Peo. He said sufficient stocks were available and there was no need to panic.

As many as 25 shops were inspected in Kinnaur and 18 in Lahaul and Spiti. But no case of hoarding or violation of price list order came to light.

Mr Manoj Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Hamirpur, said prices of vegetables had come down considerably and only a fixed margin of profit was being charged. The vegetable sellers were extending their full cooperation in controlling prices.

Dhumal gives in to HVC "blackmail"
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 4 — Congress legislators have accused the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, of succumbing to the "blatant blackmail" by the leader of his alliance partner the HVC, Mr Sukh Ram.

Reacting sharply to the threat of Mr Sukh Ram to the ruling BJP to initiate a CBI probe against the Congress Legislature Party leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, 26 Congress MLAs today issued a statement saying that the ultimatum given by Mr Sukh Ram was nothing short of "blatant blackmail" and it was high time to call his bluff.

They accused Mr Sukh Ram of being a "power hungry politician" who could never live without office, no matter how lowly it might be. His ranting and raving were nothing less of a cheap gimmick to hide his own misdeeds and to throw dust in the eyes of the people.

Among those who have signed the statement are, Mr J.B.L. Kachi, Mr Kaul Singh Thakur, Mr Harsh Mahajan, Mr Yogendera Chandra, Mrs Viplove Thakur, Mr Harshwardhan Chauhan, Mr Lajja Ram, Mrs Asha Kumari, Mr Kush Parmar and Mr Chander Kumar.

They said that the memorandum presented by Mr Sukh Ram against Mr Virbhadra Singh was nothing short of a campaign of disinformation, character assassination and deception to mislead people.

Mr Sukh Ram, who is involved in serious charges of and amassing wealth by "corrupt" means, has no moral right to point finger at others, much less against a person like Mr Virbhadra Singh, who is known for his honesty and integrity.

They said that actions of Mr Sukh Ram were a clear indication of internal struggle and distrust existent between the BJP and its coalition partner of the HVC. The present state government depends upon the continued support of Mr Sukh Ram and he is taking advantage of this to "blackmail".

The issue raised in the memorandum to the Prime Minister are nothing new. They have been adjudicated upon by competent judicial and other authorities in the past. As regards the commission and service charges paid on loans taken by the Congress government, were according to the norms fixed by the Reserve Bank of India. To repeat this and other baseless allegations and to give publicity to them at the time of presentation to the Prime Minister appears to be the helplessness of the Chief Minister to placate Mr Sukh Ram.

The internal feud within the BJP-HVC is natural specially when both parties had fought it out during the Assembly election to the pradesh with no holds barred, the present facade of unity is the culmination of their known animosity and dislike for the Congress party in general and its leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh in particular.

They said that they had full faith in the honesty, integrity and innocence of Mr Virbhadra Singh. The grouse of the BJP-HVC combine is quite understandable because they know that Mr Virbhadra Singh is a mass leader with following of all sections in the state. His contribution to the development of the state is a living monument to his dedication in the service of people of the pradesh.

They condemned these "petty, cheap and intimidating tactics" of the BJP-HVC combine and hoped that the Prime Minister and the Centre would not allow any one, specially Mr Sukh Ram to misuse the apparatus of state to serve personal vendetta and settle political scores.

Cong men's stir gains ground
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 4 — The agitation launched by the Kinnaur District Congress to highlight the plight of tribespersons, whose properties and crops were damaged by unseasonal snow and rain in the Pooh sub-division, gained momentum with more people joining the indefinite strike.

According to reports reaching here, 13 more persons have joined the strike, which entered the sixth day today. Mr Jagat Singh Negi, an ex-MLA who started the fast, claimed the agitation had evoked overwhelming response from the tribespersons.

He said people were enraged over the apathetic attitude of the government which had so far neither made any assessment nor provided any relief to the affected people. Heavy rain and snow flooded Leo village, causing heavy damage to residential houses and crops. In some pockets of Pooh block apple, almond and other orchards had also been damaged extensively.

The interior areas were facing an acute shortage of kerosene, ration, cooking gas and other essential commodities. The situation in most villages was famine like.

He urged the government to airdrop essential commodities in Hango, Chulling, Leo, Charang and Namgia which have been the worst hit. He also demanded immediate rehabilitation of the victims.

Rs 4.5 cr for rural entrepreneurs
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 4 — The Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board will advance Rs 4.5 crore to 146 rural entrepreneurs in the state under consortium banking scheme.

Mr Vipan Parmar, chairman of the board, said yesterday that these units would provide employment to 2500 persons. He said another Rs 2 crore would also be made available by the All-India Khadi and Village Industries Commission under the rural employment generation programme within this financial year. An amount of Rs 6 crore would be provided by banks as term loan.