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| Thursday, April 20, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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MLAs
to be consulted on fund allocation |
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| Himachal Assembly adjourned sine
die SHIMLA, April 19 — The Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha was today adjourned sine die after a brief discussion on existing vacancies in the Education Department and steps to fill them. Two shops gutted CHAMBA, April 19 — Two shops were razed to the ground and three other partially damaged in a devastating fire which broke out at Chowari in Chamba district yesterday. 
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MLAs to be
consulted on fund allocation SHIMLA, April 19 — The Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal today assured the Opposition that local legislators would be taken into confidence in the allocation of funds under the decentralised planning and local district planning. Replying to a volley of supplementaries during Question Hour from the Congress members, who alleged that Deputy Commissioner not only ignored their priorities but were reluctant to even give details of funds allocated under various schemes, he said the allocations were made by the District Planning Committees and the legislators should attend the meetings to know the factual situation and give their priorities. He said instructions had been issued to Deputy Commissioner to take the legislators into confidence but the members must attend the meetings. He said it would also be ensured that meetings were held regularly and that the legislators were given sufficient notice to make it convenient for then to attend the meetings. Answering, the main question he said in all Rs 52.63 crore were allocated under the local district planning, sectoral decentralised planning and other schemes during the 1999-2000 out of this Rs 11.27 crore were given to Kangra district followed by Mandi (Rs 6.88 crore), Hamirpur (Rs 6.25 crore) and Shimla (Rs 5.92 crore). A sum of Rs 18.95 lakh was surrendered by Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, under Vikas Mein Jan Sahyog Yojna on account of delay in sanction. Answering another question he asserted that the agreement for the execution of the 800 MW Kol Dam with the National Thermal Power Corporation was in the interest of the state. He said the decision to go for permanent absorption on the state electricity board engineers in the NTPC had been taken in view of the failure of secondment arrangement in Nathpa Jhakri Power Corporation. Similarly, priority would be given to the oustees in recruitment of skilled and unskilled workers and if suitable persons were not available from among them, the recruitment would be made from the local employment exchanges. The board had so far spent Rs 9 crore on the investigation of the project which would be reimbursed with 16 per cent interest by the NTPC. The project would be completed in five years and state would earn Rs 150 crore from it annually. In all 1474 hectare of land would be submerged and another 804 hectare would be acquired for the project. In a written reply Mr Mohinder Singh, PWD Minister , said the government had not taken any final decision regarding the winding up of the circles and divisions under national highway wing of the department. The House passed the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill seeking to empower the department to compound offences under the Act. The Chief Minister, said the provision would not be misused to favour influential offenders and asserted that irregular structures in green belts would not be compounded. Mrs Asha Kumari,
expressed apprehensions that the power to compound would
be used for the benefit of influential persons. She said
the municipal committee had the power to compound cases
and with two agencies doing the job there could be
problems. |
CM
ridicules Sat Mahajan SHIMLA, April 19 — The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today ridiculed the announcement of the Pradesh Congress Committee chief Mr Sat Mahajan that his party would review all the agreements signed by the present government on coming to power and said that it reflected the negative attitude of the party. Talking to newsmen he said the Congress had already caused immense harm to the state’s economic interest by scuttling the implementation of the Parbati project and other schemes and the people who had seen through its political games, would ensure that the party did not return to power. He said while every government had the right to review the agreements and point out shortcomings, it should not be done merely on political considerations to harass private companies which were investing in the state. The people were wise
enough to compare the dismal performance of the Virbhadra
Singh government, which left the state in financial
ruins, and the efforts of his government to put the
economy back on the rails and speed up development as
evident from the repeated humiliating defeats which they
handed out to the Congress in every election since the
1998 Assembly poll when it was ousted from office. |
Setting up
of fruit-based unit hailed SHIMLA, April 19 — Mr Karan Singh, Himachal Minister of State for Primary Education, has hailed the decision of the state government for setting up a fruit-based wine units at cost of Rs 25 crore in Shimla and Kulu districts. In a statement here yesterday, he said setting up of the fruit-based unit in the state would go a long way in revolutionising the economy of the fruit growers and with the setting up of this industry value-added products would fetch better returns to the growers. He said the government was also considering setting up of more unit based industries in the state. He also welcomed the decision of the government to increase import duty on apple and said the imposition of 50 per cent custom duty would discourage import of apple into the country and protect the interests of small and marginal apple growers of the state. He complimented Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, for strengthening the economy of fruit growers of the state.
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Food
scheme for elderly CHAMBA: April 19 — The Union Minister of Rural Development, Mr Sunder Lal Patwa will launch a countrywide ‘Annapurna Scheme’ with an outlay of Rs 190 crore from Chamba in Himachal Pradesh on April 23. Giving this information here today, Mr K.Sanjaymurthy, Deputy Commissioner, Chamba said that on this occasion Mr Shanta Kumar Union Minister of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution System and Himachal Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal will also be present. The D.C. stated that
under the scheme 10 kg of grain would be provided per day
free of cost to indigent senior citizens of the country
who were eligible for old-age pension under the National
Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) but were presently not
receiving it. The scheme proposed to cover more than 13
lakh beneficiaries throughout the country. In Chamba
district of Himachal Pradesh, 850 persons would be
benefited. |
Merger of
Minorities Corpn opposed SHIMLA, April 19 — Moulana Mumtaz Ahmed Quasmi, secretary of the state Jamiat Ulema, has expressed concern over the government decision to merge the state minorities Finance and Development Corporation with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation and shift its head office from here to Dharamsala. He urged the government to reconsider the decision which would harm the interest of minorities depriving them of financial benefits. Moreover, such a corporation should have its headquarters only at the state capital. Previously, the Minorities Corporation was headed by a Muslim, the largest minority and its merger would deny the community its representation.
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Himachal Assembly adjourned sine die SHIMLA, April 19 (PTI) — The Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha was today adjourned sine die after a brief discussion on existing vacancies in the Education Department and steps to fill them. The seven-week-long Budget session had 26 sittings and besides passing the budget for 2000-2001 and adopting the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s Address, the House passed 13 legislations and held eight important discussions under rule 130. Opposition Congress boycotted the Governor’s Address and staged walkout on three occasions.
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Two shops
gutted CHAMBA, April 19 — Two shops were razed to the ground and three other partially damaged in a devastating fire which broke out at Chowari in Chamba district yesterday. Giving the information over the phone, Mr Jagrup Singh Rana, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Bhattiyat, said goods worth Rs 22 lakh had been destroyed in the fire as there was no fire brigade available. The SDM said seven families, including two tenants, who were affected, were given an immediate relief of Rs 14,500. A case has been
registered. |
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