The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Tuesday, December 12, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H

Tightrope walk for Dhumal Govt
SHIMLA, Dec 11 — The one thousand days of the Dhumal government has been an eventful period, particularly in the areas of hydel power generation and expansion and upgradation of the road net work in the hill state.

Of bad roads and traffic jams
PALAMPUR: With steep rise in the number of heavy and light vehicles traffic situation in this important town of Himachal Pradesh has worsened in the past few months since the Public Works Department has failed to make the two bypasses of the town fully operational. In the absence of any bypass the narrow Mandi-Pathankot national highway passing through the town has become a major traffic hazard.

Decision far-sighted, CBMD tells CM
SHIMLA, DEC 11 — The state unit of the Centre for Bharatiya Marketing Development has hailed the decision of the Dhumal government not to trifurcate the state electricity board and instead go for internal restructuring to bring about the desired improvement in its functioning.

Doctors observe pen-down strike
KANGRA, Dec 11 — Himachal Pradesh medical officers today observed a two-hour pen-down strike from 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. in support of their demands and the strike was complete throughout the state, Dr Susheel Sharma, Spokesman for the Himachal Pradesh Medical Officers Association said here at a press conference at the local subdivisional hospital.

Postal strike enters 7th day
SHIMLA, Dec 11 — Postal services in the state remained affected in the hill state as the indefinite strike of employees entered the seventh day today.

REGIONAL BRIEFS

YOUR TOWN

Hamirpur
Shimla
Nahan

EARLIER STORIES

	Imports hit Kangra tea sale December 11, 2000
	HP signs pact for 39 power projects December 10, 2000
	Rs 12-cr water supply plan for Hamirpur December 9, 2000
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	‘Letter bomb’ to haunt BJP December 7, 2000
	Mohinder vows to expose BJP December 6, 2000
	Staunch Muslims, Tibetans at heart December 5, 2000
	Chinese gear may be boon for skaters December 4, 2000
	WB project for women weavers December 3, 2000
	No-trust move by Cong likely in HP December 2, 2000

Tightrope walk for Dhumal Govt
From Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Dec 11 — The one thousand days of the Dhumal government has been an eventful period, particularly in the areas of hydel power generation and expansion and upgradation of the road net work in the hill state.

The BJP-HVC coalition, which assumed office after high drama in the wake of a hung Assembly, attained political stability by winning all the Assembly byelections and created history by wresting the Shimla parliamentary seat, a bastion of the Congress, after a gap of 20 years. In between, the alliance came under strain due to split in the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) with the party supremo Mr Sukh Ram, relentlessly pressing for the ouster of Mr Mohinder Singh, the controversial Public Works Minister.

Things reached a flashpoint last month when dissidents in the BJP also joined the demand for the ouster of Mr Mohinder Singh along with Mr Onkar Thakur, Officer on Special Duty in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. However, the worst ever crisis faced by the coalition during the period was resolved when Mr Dhumal accepted the resignation of Mr Mohinder Singh and sent Mr Onkar Thakur on long leave. The entire episode did considerable damage to the image of the government and Mr Dhumal who, by and large, had a smooth sailing so far.

Surviving on a razor-thin majority, it has been a tight rope walk for Mr Dhumal all along. His rapport with Mr A.B. Vajpayee and Mr L.K. Advani and other senior BJP leaders has helped the state in securing liberal assistance from the Centre to tide over the financial crisis and start work on about 12 hydel power projects with an installed generation capacity of 6100 MW. These included the prestigious 2100 MW Parbati Project, 800 MW Kol Project, 300 MW Chamera Project and 100 MW UHL Project.

In all, over Rs 22,500 crore will be invested over the period of next 10 years on the projects which on completion will fetch an income of about Rs 1,000 crore to the state annually. For over the 50 years the state had exploited only about 300 MW of its vast hydel power potential of 21,000 MW. The government also succeeded in securing a financial assistance of Rs 700 crore from the Centre and by properly pleading the state case before the 11th Finance Commission managed to double the devolution of funds from the Centre. As against a Rs 3,700 crore received during the period of 10th Commission, the state will get Rs 7,400 crore over the next five years.

Another major achievement had been the upgradation of as many as four important state roads into national highways. With this, the number of national highways in the state had gone up to seven and their total length increased from 734 km to 1,259 km since the funds for improvement maintenance of these highways had been provided by the Centre. The state would get more funds with each passing year. Besides, 1500 km of new roads had been constructed and metalling of “kutcha” roads taken up on a priority.

The state took initiative to promote the environment friendly information technology industry on the basis of a master plan prepared in consultation with the National Association of Software Companies (NASSCOM). The plan envisages export of software to the tune of Rs 2000 crore by the year 2005 and employment to about 1 lakh persons over the next 10 years. A beginning had already been made by setting up a software technology park and high speed data connectivity facility near here. Besides, work to set up an information technology institute of international standard in the private sector is already underway. Besides Rs 7 crore plan had also been prepared to help the state to switch over to e-governance.

The government addressed to the perennial problems being faced by farmers in the right earnest and amended the 130-year-old Land Revenue Act and some other laws to save them the ordeal of running from one office to the other for procuring documents and certificates required availing various benefits. The Kisan Pass Book was accorded legal status to help farmers raise loans from banks. Mango was brought under the Market Intervention Scheme and five fruit processing plants, besides two apple-based wineries were approved to ensure remunerative returns to fruit growers. A Kisan Bhavan was constructed at cost of Rs 2 crore at New Delhi for the convenience of farmers.

The market problems of hops growers of tribal areas was permanently solved with the setting up of a hops palletisation plant at Baddi. Introduction of a group insurance scheme and transfer of ownership of trees on private forest land from government to land owners were two other important decisions which would benefit the farmers in the long run.

A number of schemes to help the poor have been launched. The “Matri Shakti Bima Yozna” will provide an insurance cover of Rs 25,000 to about 5.68 lakh women belonging to poor families without paying any premium.

Upliftment of poor has also been accorded priority. Himachal Pradesh is perhaps first state in the country spending about Rs 10 crore annually to provide scholarship to the meritorious students of weaker section to enable them to pursue higher studies. As many as 2,000 meritorious students of Scheduled Castes are covered under “Ambedkar Meritorious Scholarship Scheme” which was subsequently expanded to 2,000 more students of Backward Classes last year. The success of this scheme enthused the government to cover 4,000 students of general categories under “Vivekanand Meritorious Students Scholarship Scheme” and meritorious students of Scheduled Tribes under “Thakur Sen Negi Utkrishth Scholarship Scheme”. To ensure that girl students engaged in cleanliness work pursued higher education, the government started “Maharishi Valmiki Scholarship Scheme” under which an annual scholarship of Rs 9,000 will be given to them after school level. Besides, the government has decided to reward nine panchayats contributing the largest number of scholarship winners, with a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each under “Mukhya Mantri Protsahan Yojna” for carrying out development work in their respective areas. For creating health awareness at the panchayat level, one panchayat in each Vidhan Sabha constituency was being awarded a prize of Rs 1 lakh for turning out the best performance in term of the birth rate, infant mortality rate and immunisation.

Himachal Pradesh was the first state to announce a special package to the martyrs’ of Kargil. Families of martyrs of Kargil have been given monetary grant of Rs 5 lakh, employment to the kin of the martyr and free education to their children. Those injured have been given monetary grant of Rs 2.5 lakh. The families of martyrs of other operations have also been given a grant of Rs 3 lakh and families of those soldiers of paramilitary forces killed in such operations are being given Rs 1 lakh as grant.

The state confronted a major calamity in the form of Satluj disaster which wreaked havoc in Kinnaur and parts of Shimla and Kulu districts.

Devolution of powers to panchayats, providing 15 per cent reservation to other Backward Classes in panchayati raj institutions, simplification of tax structure, increasing the old-age pension from Rs 100 to Rs 150 per month and raising of the age-limit for recruitment to government jobs from 38 to 40 years have been some other important achievements of the coalition.

	Of bad roads and traffic jams From Ravinder Sood PALAMPUR: With steep rise in the number of heavy and light vehicles traffic situation in this important town of Himachal Pradesh has worsened in the past few months since the Public Works Department has failed to make the two bypasses of the town fully operational. In the absence of any bypass the narrow Mandi-Pathankot national highway passing through the town has become a major traffic hazard. There has been manifold increase in the number of vehicles in the town but most of the roads have not been widened for the past 20 years. In peak hours particularly in the mornings and evenings there always are traffic jams in many parts of the town. The bypass for this town has been under construction for the past 10 years. Despite public pressure the Public Works Department had failed to complete it for reasons best known to it. It is revealed that certain people have encroached on the land and also have raised structures thereon. The PWD is not in a position to remove the unauthorised constructions due to political interference in its day to day working. The Palampur town has witnessed all-round development in the past few years. Population of the town has gone up from 5000 to 30000. Many new housing colonies have come up inside and outside the town but the state government has failed to initiate any new plans for the development of the town. No efforts were made for widening of the roads and for the construction of parking places. Rather the old parking places were converted into markets and shopping centres by the Municipal Council causing a lot of inconvenience to the common man. At present it has become difficult even to move in the narrow markets of the town. Many times pedestrians get hit by vehicles. It is sorry state of affairs that lakhs of rupees had been spent on the two proposed bypasses for the town in past 20 years but could not be made traffic worthy till today. Senior leaders of the BJP as well as the Congress hail from this town, but none of them has bothered much to solve traffic problems of this town. The road network of this town suffers from inadequate and irregular road width, causing traffic bottlenecks and dead ends. Condition of most of the roads is deplorable. There is a general complaint that the roads are not repaired in accordance with the specifications laid down, this result in early damage. There is no parking place for the vehicles in the town causing harassment to the tourists and other people visiting the town throughout the year. Many times the vehicles are challaned and impounded by the traffic police for wrong parking in the absence of owners as the administration has not specified any parking place in the town. In such situation the traffic police has free hand to harass vehicle owners. Though the town has Municipal Council but it has been facing a lot of difficulties to handle the situation in the absence of adequate funds. In the past no additional funds were allocated to the council for the construction of parking places in the town. The sharp political difference between Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Minister for Civil Supplies and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal have also given a setback to the town as the state government has withheld the grants sanctioned for the Municipal Council. Thakur Balwant Singh, President of the Municipal Council says that more than 100 vehicles are added in the town every month. It was not possible for the council to provide parking place without any financial assistance from the state government. It is alleged that the political parties, who ruled the state in past, have completely ignored the development of this town. Major portion of the budget was always spent in the rural areas. It is irony of the fate that 80 per cent of the town is still outside the Municipal limit crying for the necessities like street lights, metalled roads, clean water and cleanliness. No efforts were made to extend the municipal limits of town in the past 10 years. Haphazard growth of new colonies has been turning the town into a slum day by day. The BJP government assumed the office about two and half years ago since then stepmotherely treatment has been given to the town. Recently Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal paid a one day visit to the town but no development plans were announced for the town.
	Decision far-sighted, CBMD tells CM Tribune News Service SHIMLA, DEC 11 — The state unit of the Centre for Bharatiya Marketing Development (CMBD) has hailed the decision of the Dhumal government not to trifurcate the state electricity board and instead go for internal restructuring to bring about the desired improvement in its functioning. Dr Ashok Kapadia, convener of the centre, said this far-sighted decision which would go a long way in safeguarding the interests of the state. He said power was an important infrastructure on which the growth of the economy was largely dependent. Blind and irrational power reforms, thrust under pressure from the WTO, as was evident from the experience of some states, had taken a heavy toll on the power boards. The entry of a multinational company like Enron had hit the Maharashtra Electricity Board hard. The once profit-making public sector undertaking had gone financially broke within a few years. Ironically, the board was paying Rs 95 crore per annum to Enron annually simply to avoid buying power from it at an exorbitant rate of Rs 7.80 per unit. The CBMD, Dr Kapadia said, had organised a seminar in September to discuss power sector reforms at which the government had been warned not to dismantle the board in haste. Mr Dhumal, who attended the seminar, had also conceded that reforms in the present form were no panacea for the ills affecting power boards. By rejecting the proposal to trifurcate the board, Mr Dhumal had shown the way to other states. Dr Kapadia hoped the employees of the board would spare no efforts in bringing about the required qualitative improvement in the overall functioning of the board.
	Doctors observe pen-down strike From Our Correspondents KANGRA, Dec 11 — Himachal Pradesh medical officers today observed a two-hour pen-down strike from 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. in support of their demands and the strike was complete throughout the state, Dr Susheel Sharma, Spokesman for the Himachal Pradesh Medical Officers Association said here at a press conference at the local subdivisional hospital. Dr Sharma said post-graduate doctors, and resident doctors of Dr Rajendra Prashad Government Medical College, Tanda, and the IGMC, Shimla, also joined the strike. He said Himachal Pradesh Medical Officers had been demanding the removal of the anomalies in the newly-released time-scale cases, waving off the condition of the ACR and the fixation of pay scales by the DDO. He demanded that postgraduate increment to PG doctors and house rent at the rate of 10 per cent in lieu of the emergency duty be given to doctors. He further demanded that the government should fix the duty hours for the doctors and conveyance and rural health allowances be given to them on the Punjab pattern. He demanded that the vacant posts of the Chief Medical Officers, Deputy Directors and Joint Directors in the health department be filled besides, the posts of lecturers in the IGMC Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College. Dr Sharma expressed concern on the non-implementation of the already accepted demands of the association, which the government had accepted during the last strike by the doctors in February 2000. He threatened that if their demands were not accepted immediately the doctors would continue the strike. Hundreds of patients were seen waiting outside hospitals during the strike. HAMIRPUR: Medical officers working in various parts of the district today observed a two- hour pen-down strike in support of their demands on Monday. Medical services were paralysed in all health institutions here. The strikers are demanding better pay scales and removal of an HAS officer as the Additional Director of Health Services.
	Postal strike enters 7th day Tribune News Service SHIMLA, Dec 11 — Postal services in the state remained affected in the hill state as the indefinite strike of employees entered the seventh day today. While a spokesman of the agitating employees claimed that the strike was total, Mr Vijay Bhushan, Chief Postmaster General, said all 18 head post offices were functional and services like booking of speed post, registered articles and sale of tickets were being conducted. Some of the sub-post offices, particularly in Solan and Chamba areas had 100 per cent attendance. Apart from delivery, some addresses were also being informed telephonically to collect their articles. Some offices were also conducting saving bank transactions. Meanwhile, Mr Virbhadra Singh, leader of the Opposition, has expressed concern over the strike which was causing inconvenience to the people. He said it was unfortunate that the Centre and the joint action committee of various postal unions had not been able to resolve the matter. He urged the Centre to take immediate steps to meet the demands of the employees, including the extra departmental agents (EDAs) who were the backbone of the postal system.

Postal staff burn Paswan’s effigy
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Dec 11 — Striking postal employees today burnt effigies of the Union Communication Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan and the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, at the Gandhi Chowk here this afternoon.

Earlier, striking employees took out a procession through main bazaar, carrying the effigies. They were carrying placards and banners and were raising slogans.

They also held a demonstration and organised a rally at Gandhi Chowk before burning effigies.

MANDI: The agitating postal employees today burnt the effigy of the Union Communication Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, in Chauhata bazaar after taking it round the town and raising slogans against him.

Meanwhile, the postal services have been totally paralysed causing inconvenience to the public.

Two killed as bus overturns
From Our Correspondent

MANALI, Dec 11 — Two persons were killed on the spot and 16 seriously injured when a local deluxe bus in which they were travelling overturned near Sarsai village, about 18 km from here today.

The deceased have been identified as Om Parkash (29) and Rupi Devi, of Kumharti village of the district.

Those who have sustained injuries in the accident have been identified as Dalip Kumar, son of Prem Bir of Kumharti village, Shakuntla Devi, wife of Bala Ram, of Hallan village, Ramesh Chand, son of Budhu Ram of Kumharti, Kesri Devi, wife of Inder Singh of Bathal, Budh Ram son of Brestu and Devinder residents of Kumharti, Budhram, son of Ram Chand, Gupat Ram, son of Mehar Chand, and Chitra wife of Govind, all residents of Hallan. Lal Chand, son of Khimiram of Hallan, Yog Raj, son of Daulat Ram, Isher Lal, son of Luder Chand and Neena, daughter of Poshu Ram.

The injured have been admitted to Lady Willingdon Hospital, Manali. The condition of Neena is stated to be critical.

Probe sought into rape case
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, Dec 11 — Mr Sada Nand Chauhan, father of Nitin Chauhan, an accused in a rape case, has demanded a magisterial inquiry, into rape charges against his son.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Mr Chauhan claimed that his son was not in the town at the time when the incident took place. He said that Nitin was expected to reach home within a week and he would be produced in the court whenever he arrived.

Nitin Chauhan has been declared proclaimed offender by the Sirmour police. Posters have been put at several places in the town, announcing reward to those who give information about his whereabouts. The Sirmour police has raided many places in the country in search of the accused.

HP power staff to observe strike
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Dec 11 — Engineers and other employees of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board will observe strike during the nation-wide protest by powermen against the implementation of structural reforms in the boards tomorrow.

Electricity and water supply will remain unaffected. Earlier, the agitating employees had threatened to disrupt water and electricity supply during the day-long token strike.

The employees have softened their stand in view of the announcement made by Prof P.K. Dhumal, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, that state electricity board will not be dismantled.

HVC releases list of candidates
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Dec 11 — The Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) has decided to support candidates from all the 11 wards of the town. Polling for the local civic body will take place on December 20.

Mr Deepak Sharma, joint secretary of the state unit of the HVC, today released the names of the candidates. They are as under: Mr Manjit Singh (ward no. 1), Mr Raj Kumar (ward no.2), Mr Romesh Kumar (ward no. 3), Mr Joginder Puri (ward no. 4), Ms Niranjna Devi (ward no. 5), Ms Suman Lata (ward no. 6), Mr Ajay Sharma (ward no. 7), Ms Sheela Devi (ward no. 8), Mr Birbal Dass Sharma (ward no.9), Mr Yashpal (ward no.10), and Mr Chand Kapil ( ward no. 11 ).

Hamirpur gears up for panchayat poll
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Dec 11 — In the first phase of panchayat elections in Hamirpur district, as many as 72 gram panchayats would go to the polls on December 13. The second and third phase of elections would be held on December 15 and December 17 respectively.

Out of the 211 gram panchayats in the district where the elections would take place, the first phase of elections would include 15 panchayats of the Bijheri block, 18 of the Nadaun block, 13 of the Tounidevi block, eight of the Hamirpur block, seven of the Sujanpurtira block and 11 of the Bhoranj block, according to an official spokesman.

As many as 464 polling booths would be set up in various parts of the district and 1,856 personnels would be deputed on election duty.

The BJP has fielded candidates for all the 18 zila parishad seats and 125 panchayat samiti seats in the district. The Congress has yet not named its candidates.