H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Virbhadra blamed for fiscal mess
SHIMLA, Sept 13 — Three ministers — Mr Roop Singh Thakur, Forest Minister, Mr I.D. Dhiman, Education Minister and Mr Praveen Sharma, Minister of State for Excise and Taxation — have condemned the statement of Mr Virbhadra Singh, former Chief Minister, that the state government had failed to properly plead the case of the state before the 11th Finance Commission.

More Cong poll staff appointed
SHIMLA, Sept 13 — The Virbhadra Singh camp received a shot in the arm today when additional assistant returning officers of their choice were appointed in four constituencies for the organisational elections.

Class IV employee asked to forgo wages
SOLAN, Sept 13 — Can a government department deny wages to an employee who has put in regular hours of duty and whose presence has been duly recorded in the attendance register?

Youth beaten to death
MANDI, Sept 13 — In the worsening law and order situation in Sarkaghat subdivision of the district another youth Sita Ram (25) of Bari village, near Baldwara, was allegedly beaten to death last night by seven persons of a family.

House gutted by fire
MANDI, Sept 13 — A house in Surah Mohalla was partially burnt today when it caught fire following a short circuit. 

Virbhadra blamed for fiscal mess
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 13 — Three ministers — Mr Roop Singh Thakur, Forest Minister, Mr I.D. Dhiman, Education Minister and Mr Praveen Sharma, Minister of State for Excise and Taxation — have condemned the statement of Mr Virbhadra Singh, former Chief Minister, that the state government had failed to properly plead the case of the state before the 11th Finance Commission.

In a joint statement here today, these ministers alleged that Mr Virbhadra Singh was responsible for wrongly projecting the case of Himachal Pradesh before the ninth and 10th finance commissions due to which financial position of the state became bad. In fact, actual deficit was over 200 crore when it was shown at 12.00 crore in 1988 which resulted in reduced grants by the ninth Finance Commission and mounting deficit.

The ministers said the recommendations of the 11th Finance Commission have resulted in a significant increase in the devolution of Central resources to the state compared to the award of the Tenth Finance Commission. Over the five- year period, the state government was expected to receive Rs 7460 crore, 90 per cent higher than the devolution in the 10th Finance Commission period. In the first year of the 11th Finance Commission award, i.e. the current year, the step up over the last year of the previous finance commission award was 73.40 per cent, the highest increase received by the state from any finance commission.

Against an amount of Rs 819.86 crore received in 1999-2000, the last year of the 10th Finance Commission award, the 11th Finance Commission has given us Rs 1418.70 crore in the first year of their award. This means we are receiving an additional Rs 599 crore this year. The 11th Finance Commission has also given a significant step up of 102.69 per cent in grants for local bodies and 69.34 per cent in grants for the natural calamities fund to Himachal Pradesh, compared to the amount given by the 10th Finance Commission. However, the state government is further pleading its case before the Central Government to increase funds to the state.

The ministers also strongly refuted the charges regarding the retrenchment of daily wage workers in different departments and said that the present government has regularised the services of 5927 daily wage workers in the PWD, 2783 daily wage workers in the IPH and 4397 daily wage workers in the Forest Department as promised in the BJP election manifesto. In addition to this, 5183 daily wage workers in the PWD, 3168 in the IPH and 1012 in the Forest Department would be regularised soon. They said there was no retrenchment of any daily wage worker in any department, including the Tourism Department.

More Cong poll staff appointed
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 13 — The Virbhadra Singh camp received a shot in the arm today when additional assistant returning officers of their choice were appointed in four constituencies for the organisational elections.

The recommendation for appointing the additional AROs was reportedly made by Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, who is a member of the state election authority, for holding the organisational elections of the Congress in Himachal Pradesh.

The additional AROs have been appointed for Santokhgarh, Bamsan, Jawali and Nachan where Mr P.L. Sharma, Mr Suresh Rana, Mr Rakesh Narayan and Mr Balbir Guleria have respectively been appointed, Mrs Asha Kumari, a general secretary of the PCC said.

So far, the Congress high command has appointed additional AROs at seven places and replaced a district returning officer on the demand of Mr Virbhadra Singh.

The Virbhadra Singh camp had complained to the AICC that the elections at some places might be rigged.

The high command has now ordered that the results of the elections will be jointly declared by the ARO and additional ARO of the respective constituencies, she said.

Earlier, additional AROs were appointed at Ghumarwin, Arki and Kasauli.

Class IV employee asked to forgo wages
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Sept 13 — Can a government department deny wages to an employee who has put in regular hours of duty and whose presence has been duly recorded in the attendance register?

Exactly this has happened at the office of the Block Medical Officer, Arki, in the district, in the case of a class IV employee, Mr Gopal Ram.

Being a semi-literate, he had the idea that he was due to retire sometime in July this year. However, when he inquired about his exact date of retirement from his office, he was told that he had another year of service left.

He was shocked when the BMO informed him on September 8, that he was due for retirement on July 31, 2000, and had been erroneously paid salary for the month of August for which he had put in regular duty. Mr Gopal Ram said he had been verbally instructed to deposit his August salary and forgo the wages against eight days of duty put in September.

He has written to the Director, Health Services, Himachal Pradesh, seeking justice.

Youth beaten to death
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, Sept 13 — In the worsening law and order situation in Sarkaghat subdivision of the district another youth Sita Ram (25) of Bari village, near Baldwara, was allegedly beaten to death last night by seven persons of a family.

A police spokesman claimed that all seven accused had been arrested.

A land dispute is alleged to be the cause of the murder. One of the assailants called Sita Ram to a nearby field to look for his wrist watch. When he went there he was attacked by the persons hiding behind the bushes. The deceased person’s father and two brothers who went to rescue him were also injured.

Only last week another youth Rakesh Thakur (25) of Chaleli village in the Dharampur constituency had been stabbed to death.

House gutted by fire
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, Sept 13 — A house in Surah Mohalla was partially burnt today when it caught fire following a short circuit. The fire started in electricity wires and reached the meter inside the house. The doors, windows and entire household goods were reduced to ashes.

The loss caused to the house of Prem Lal, a class IV employee in the State Bank of India, has been estimated about Rs 70,000. Mr H.S. Thakur, SDM gave ex-gratia of Rs 10,000 to the fire victim.