H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

6 HVC leaders expelled
SHIMLA, May 2 — Continuing his offensive against the Mohinder Singh faction, HVC supremo Sukh Ram today expelled six prominent leaders from the party. These leaders had openly sided with the splinter group and some of them had also assumed important offices in the new outfit.

Schools, PHCs in mess: MLA
MANDI, May 2 — Thakur Kaul Singh, former Himachal Vidhan Sabha Speaker and sitting Congress MLA who heads a five-member party panel to prepare a “charge sheet” on the “omissions and commissions” committed by the BJP-HVC government, alleged here today that health and educational institutions in the state were in a state of “mess and disorder” with 11,000 posts of teachers, including 4000 posts of JBT teachers, lying vacant.

Sharma foresees rift in Cong
CHAMBA, May 2 — The Himachal Pradesh Minister of State for Excise and Taxation, Mr Parveen Sharma foresees a major disintegration in the Himachal Pradesh Congress in the days to come in the light of current political scenario arising out of press statements issued by a former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh and the HPCC Chief, Mr Sat Mahajan.

Motor cyclist with a mission
DHARAMSALA, May 2 — Translating dreams into reality could be difficult, especially if one sets a task of covering 70 countries on a bike, but 35-year-old Simon Milward, remains undeterred in his mission even after a couple of mishap.

Decline of bamboo forests
SHIMLA: Natural bamboo forests, which have been playing an important role in the social life of hill people since ages, are fast deteriorating due to reckless exploitation. The situation has became so alarming that the government recently decided to transfer the management of forests from the department to corporation.

Dhumal to evaluate secretaries’ working
SHIMLA, May 2 — The resignation drama being over with a minor reshuffle of portfolios, the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, is getting down to the serious business of governance by planning one-to-one meetings with various secretaries to assess the performance of their respective departments.

6 HVC leaders expelled
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 2 — Continuing his offensive against the Mohinder Singh faction, HVC supremo Sukh Ram today expelled six prominent leaders from the party.

These leaders had openly sided with the splinter group and some of them had also assumed important offices in the new outfit.

Those expelled included Mr Inder Singh, and Mr O.P. Rattan, president and working president, respectively, of the new outfit. Others expelled are Mr Kewal Ram Chauhan, Mr Ramel Singh Badyal, Mr Ranjit Singh Verma and Mrs Vinod Chandel.

Meanwhile, Industry Minister Kishori Lal advised the HVC leaders to iron out their differences on their own instead of accusing others for split in the HVC, in larger iterest of the BJP-HVC coalition and the state.

He expressed surprise over the statement which appeared in a section of the Press, in which some HVC leaders had alleged that the Chief Minister and other ministers had a hand in division of the HVC.

He said Mr Dhumal had repeatedly said that the coalition government in Himachal Pradesh would continue even if the BJP got absolute majority of its own.

Schools, PHCs in mess: MLA
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, May 2 — Thakur Kaul Singh, former Himachal Vidhan Sabha Speaker and sitting Congress MLA who heads a five-member party panel to prepare a “charge sheet” on the “omissions and commissions” committed by the BJP-HVC government, alleged here today that health and educational institutions in the state were in a state of “mess and disorder” with 11,000 posts of teachers, including 4000 posts of JBT teachers, lying vacant.

He said a large number of schools, mostly in far-flung backward areas, had been locked due to no staff. Madhuran, Jhunkan and Dehru primary schools in the backward Chuhar valley had no teachers. Elsewhere, two teachers were manning one school against the sanctioned strength of 11.

Similar was the picture of primary health centres. The Sudhar PHC in Chuhar had been without a doctor and other staff for over a year. Only a peon looked after it.

Thakur Kaul Singh said despite liberal financial assistance by the Prime Minister the state was facing acute financial crisis due to lack of austerity and financial discipline. The daily paid labourers had not been paid wages for the past two months.

The former Speaker alleged that discrimination was being meted out to Mandi district and wondered why the HVC supremo was a silent spectator to the injustice being done to Mandi.

The Zonal Hospital building under construction was being starved of funds. Other development works had come to a halt because of petty allocation. No new office had been opened here. The existing ones were being closed under a deep-rooted conspiracy, he alleged.

Sharma foresees rift in Cong
From Our Correspondent

CHAMBA, May 2 — The Himachal Pradesh Minister of State for Excise and Taxation, Mr Parveen Sharma foresees a major disintegration in the Himachal Pradesh Congress in the days to come in the light of current political scenario arising out of press statements issued by a former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh and the HPCC Chief, Mr Sat Mahajan.

Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Mr Sharma said that Mr Virbhadra Singh and Mr Sat Mahajan had got frustrated because they felt that their party had gone beyond their control.

Supporting the fact of rebellion within the Congress, Mr Sharma pointed out that certain party legislators had voted in favour of the BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha during elections in the state Assembly. He stated that there was a race among the Congress MLAs to support the BJP and its policies.

Speaking about the pace of development in the state, Mr Sharma said that out of the total annual plan outlay of Rs 1,740 crore, a sum of Rs 430 crore was being utilised for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, Tribes and other Backward Classes, which was 26 per cent of the total Budget.

Motor cyclist with a mission
Tribune News Service
From Pratibha Chauhan

DHARAMSALA, May 2 — Translating dreams into reality could be difficult, especially if one sets a task of covering 70 countries on a bike, but 35-year-old Simon Milward, remains undeterred in his mission even after a couple of mishap.

Having been through 15 countries, Milward, a British, is circumnavigating the world on a motor cycle to raise funds for charity. “Eversince, I started riding, I cherished the dream of going around the world on a bike. But making it a mission has definitely given me more happiness,” he stated on his arrival here yesterday.

Milward’s millennium motorcycle ride, which began on January 1, 2000, in England, is expected to take 18 to 24 months, covering a distance of over 19,000 km. He has already been through Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan. From here he hopes to enter Nepal after visiting Varanasi and Agra.

“In 1984, I went around the USA with my brother on a bike and I have been around Europe. But this is the first time that I attempted something this big”, he said. Having set the target of raising one lakh dollars, Milward is happy that so far he has been able to meet the targets set for each country. After raising 8,000 dollars in Europe, his target in India is 5,000 dollars.

“It has been a very rich experience with people being hospitable and extending whatever help they can. I’ve had to cope with a series of accidents, but at the same time I received a marriage proposal in Cairo,” he said.

It was while lying in a hospital bed in Belgium after an accident that he thought of those who could not afford medical help. “It is so painful to see children in Africa dying because they do not receive vaccinations and other medicines”, he lamented.

The money raised by him will go to Medicenes Sans Frontiers (MSF) and Riders for Health (RHF), an organisation that officers training and technical education to people in Africa and which uses bikes to deliver medicines to difficult areas.

“Four wheelers lost a lot and are expensive to run and the public transport, cycling or walking is unsuitable. But well-trained riders using appropriate motor cycles in a well-managed system can improve delivery by 400 per cent,” he observed.

Interestingly, Milward is on a hand-made bike. In fact, 95 per cent of the bike is made with parts donated by different suppliers. The bike’s fuel tank is designed to hold 45 litres of petrol, the biggest designed for a bike so far. Among the main sponsors are Harley Davidson and Honda.

Milward is the Secretary-General of the Federation of European Motorcyclists Association based in Brussels. “I felt it was time to do something useful for humanitarian aid before I settled down”, said Milward, whose 20-month sabbatical is yet to take him to over 50 countries.

Decline of bamboo forests
From Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA: Natural bamboo forests, which have been playing an important role in the social life of hill people since ages, are fast deteriorating due to reckless exploitation. The situation has became so alarming that the government recently decided to transfer the management of forests from the department to corporation.

The nationalisation of forest felling work only made things worse as the state forest corporation has not been carrying out the job in accordance with the working plan. The failure of the corporation to follow the prescriptions of the working plans regarding proper cleaning of clums and removal of defective, damaged and dried bamboos has over the years affected both growth of the forests and the quality of bamboos.

According to officers of the department, the corporation has not been observing the felling rules. It has been simply cutting the good bamboos and selling them off without bothering about the regeneration and growth. In the absence of proper cleaning of clumps, adequate space is not available for new shoots. More often than not a requisite number of clums are not left to support the new shoots.

Natural bamboo forests managed by the department are spread over an area of 10, 640 hectares, mostly in the Shivaliks. The forests are in Nurpur, Dehra, Dadasiba Kutlehar, Bilaspur, Kunihar and Nalagarh. The department has ban following the three-year felling cycle, under which over 3200 hectares of area is felled every year. The crop matures in three years. The clums acquire height in the first year, gain thickness in the second and mature for harvesting after the third.

While the government has already issued notification handing over the management of bamboo forests to the corporation, the officers of the department have doubts if the decision will really help improve things. The failure of the department to exercise effective control over felling work has been the main reason for the deterioration of forests and with no one to oversee the corporation’s functioning, the situation may worsen.

However, the government feels that involvement corporation in the management will make it responsible for proper maintenance of the forest areas handed over to it for felling. If the new arrangement works, the corporation could be involved in development of forests, particularly plantations of commercial species like khair and eucalyptus.

Dhumal to evaluate secretaries’ working
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 2 — The resignation drama being over with a minor reshuffle of portfolios, the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, is getting down to the serious business of governance by planning one-to-one meetings with various secretaries to assess the performance of their respective departments.

The series of meetings with the 25-odd secretaries to be held over the next two weeks will, in fact, reflect the administrative acumen of the officers and their ability to deliver the goods. The important aspect is that the Chief Minister will not only set the time-frame for the implementation of Budget assurances, but also give feedback to them regarding their performance over the past year. The minister concerned and the Chief Secretary will also be present during the meeting but the head of departments (HoDs) will be called only when required.

The communication informing the secretaries about the meeting clearly states that the close interaction will enable the Chief Minister to make an objective assessment of their working and write their annual confidential reports.

Armed with detailed information about the achievement and failures of various departments, Mr Dhumal is likely to critically evaluate the performance of the secretaries concerned. An elaborate evaluation proforma has been prepared to make precise comments to objectively judge the overall working of the senior officers and set targets for implementation of programmes and budget assurances for the current year.

The performance of each department in the Vidhan Sabha, number of innovative initiatives taken and attitudinal changes to send the right political message to the people, besides success in implementation of assurances will be the main indicators to judge the performance of the officers.

Those who have undergone training abroad will have to give an account of the contribution made by them for the benefit of the state. Since the HoDs will not be present to assist the secretaries, they will have to do a lot of home work, lest they cut a sorry figure before the Chief Minister.

The exercise, which is being carried out for the first time in the state, has sent jitters in the higher bureaucracy. The bureaucrats are busy preparing for the interaction which could have a bearing on their career. A few senior officers are, however, happy that they would get an opportunity to put forward their point of view across to the top boss and discuss new ideas.

Sources close to the Chief Minister said that such exercises would be conducted periodically to keep the senior officers on their toes and make governance result oriented.

Barog, Daghshai attract tourists
From Our Correspondent

KUMARHATTI, May 2 — The unprecedented flow of tourists has naturally meant it is boom time for hotels in the region. For those wanting to spend the sabbath in splendid isolation Jabli, Koti and Sanwara are passe, while Barog, Daghshai and Kasauli are much favoured destinations.

“Certainly low temperature as compare to adjacent plains, pines breeze, breathtaking natural beauty and proximity to Chandigarh are the positive points which all together make the region a best choice among the tourists mostly domestic on the weekend”, says a local hotelier.

If number of hotels are an indication of the growth of the tourism industry in the state, then 18-km stretch of the National Highway No 22 between Jabli and Barog can be said front runner of this growth, as this portion has nearly 25 big and small hotels which had come up in the past five years.

Jabli, once a tiny village of four or five shops has now turned into a tourist resort of standard hotels. Similarly, the emergence of countless dhabhas and restaurants along the national highway have rightly made the region a haven for revellers.

HVC poses no threat to BJP: minister
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, May 2 — The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Mr Prakash Chaudhary, claimed here today that the Dhumal government was “strong and stable” and would not face any threat even if the HVC supremo, Mr Sukh Ram withdrew his support as the BJP had 35 MLAs of its own.

Mr Chaudhary had won the election from Balh constituency on the HVC ticket, but later he and the Food and Supplies Minister, Mr Mansa Ram, had joined the BJP.

Mr Chaudhary, in a chat with newspersons at the local Circuit House, declared that efforts would be made to accelerate the pace of rural development and warned that those found involved in misappropriation of rural development and panchayati raj funds would be dealt with sternly. “I know very well that about 50 per cent of the development funds are pocketed by the unscrupulous pradhans in connivance with secretaries and this will not be tolerated,” he warned.

Replying to a question he said he was a member of the BJP and his leader was Mr Dhumal and not Mr Sukh Ram, though he had respect for the latter. He, however, lamented that Mr Sukh Ram had ditched him when he was given the portfolio of animal husbandry. “When I made a mild protest to Mr Sukh Ram he consoled me, saying it was an important portfolio which was held by him also,” he said. Now Mr Sukh Ram was protesting that an unimportant portfolio had been given to his lone minister Mr Ram Lal Markanda.

Sukh Ram should join another party: Rattan
From Our Correspondent

UNA, May 2 — Mr O.P. Rattan, working state president of newly constituted Himachal Vikas Congress, has called upon Mr Sukh Ram to join any other party or form a new coalition to give a better government to the people of the state if he is feeling suffocated in the existing set-up.

Mr Rattan, who was addressing media persons here last evening, claimed that not only was Mr Sukh Ram enjoying certain powers being a part of the coalition, but he was also constantly putting ‘unreasonable’ demands on and criticising the government publicly other policy matters and getting ministerial berths for his party MLAs and he was still not satisfied.

He alleged that on the one hand Mr Sukh Ram criticised the coalition government and on the other hand, he wanted to enjoy the fruits of coalition government.

Mr Rattan said that the HVC faction led by Mr Mohinder Singh and other leaders would tour Himachal Pradesh to put forward their stand and explain to the people the reason for the split in one party.

Mankotia’s demand ridiculed
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 2 — Mr Khushi Ram Balnatah, general secretary of the state unit of the BJP, has ridiculed the demand of Maj Vijay Mankotia, a senior Congress leader, for the imposition of President’s rule and said it reflected the party’s frustration in the wake of cross-voting by its three members in the Rajya Sabha poll.

In a statement here yesterday he said the demand for a white paper on financial position was unjustified as the government had already presented one during the winter session. The Congress leaders had been satisfied with the document which presented a grim picture of the state’s finances.

The state, he allayed, plunged into financial crisis due to wrong policies of the Congress government which raised indiscriminate loans at high rates of interest to bridge the Budget deficit. In contrast the Dhumal government secured a special assistance of Rs 700 crore from the Centre whereas the Virbhadra Singh government could not get a penny during its four-year rule.

Finance firm owners sentenced
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, May 2 — Mr Manoj Kumar Bansal, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nahan, has sentenced H.S. Sandhu, Chairman-cum-Managing Director and K.C. Ahuja, Director, Finance, Agrarians Fields and Forests Ltd of Dehra Dun to rigorous imprisonment of one year each apart from fines in four different complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Complainants Sandeep Kumar, Pushpa Bhatnagar and Sanjay Kumar had deposited Rs 70,000, Rs 65,000 and 70,000 respectively, with the firm and they were promised 15 p.c. interest on the fixed deposit after every six months. However, the accused did not make any payment. Cheques issued to the depositors got bounced

Staff escape as office building gives way
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, May 2 — Employees of the Chief Medical Officer’s office had a narrow escape yesterday when a portion of the office building in which they work collapsed. When the roof and a portion of the wall came down suddenly no employee was inside the office. Furniture and windows were damaged in the incident.

The building had been declared unsafe by the Public Works Department, according to employees. They also alleged that this fact had been brought to the notice of higher officers many times.