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Sunday,
June 24, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Jaitley favours judicial
activism HP Govt
retracts decision Cong promises to withdraw user charges Unknown copter was carrying
C.L.
Gupta Chamba gears up for
fair |
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Insurance company told to pay
damages A sick health
centre ‘No regional centre opened at Hamirpur’ BJP men seek blessings of RSS chief HP to reserve
3 pc jobs for sportspersons 5 involved in illegal mining
nabbed BJP leader joins HVC Medicos block traffic
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Jaitley favours judicial
activism Shimla, June 23 Mr Jaitley was addressing a national seminar on “working of judicial and legal system in the post-independence era and challenges before it”. The seminar was organised by the Bar Council of India in collaboration with the Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh. He said he favoured judicial activism in the areas within the judicial domain and it should not lead to obliteration of line of separation between the executive and the judiciary. Judicial activism had helped in bringing environmental issues, which were a low priority for the executive, on the national agenda, and put a check on the tendency for abuse of power, besides protective human rights. However, there were certain areas which were out of the judicial domain, he said. Referring to the problem of delay in dispensation of justice, Mr Jaitley said this was a matter of concern and suggested that there should be a strong pre-litigative system which could provide an alternative. Lok adalats should be given powers to decide petty criminal offences to reduce litigation in normal courts. He said suggestions had come that the lok adalats should have binding powers and the government was contemplating to amend the national Legal Services Authority to provide two routes to the lok adalats to strengthen the alternative disputes redress system. The lok adalats at present were deciding cases through reconciliatory procedure and the second route would be to approach the lok adalat for the adjudication of public utility cases. The minister said the tribunals, which were constituted to provide speedy justice, had not helped much in reducing the backlog cases and in most cases, the rate of filing new cases was much higher than the rate of disposal. He discussed the appointment of judges and said the proposal to set up a national judicial commission for the appointment of judges to higher judiciary should thoroughly be debated and suggested that the commission should have representatives of judiciary, executive and public interests. He urged the Bar leaders to examine whether the 19-year-old transfer policy for judges had served the purpose or prevented able people from entering the profession. The Law Minister expressed concern over the large number of vacancies in the judiciary and said steps should be taken to select an incumbent for the post even before it fell vacant. Mr Justice S.N. Phukan of the Supreme Court said that public interest litigation had played a significant role in judicial activism and it was the duty of presiding officers to pass appropriate orders when any matter was brought to their notice. Mr H.S. Mattewal, Advocate-General Punjab and Chairman, Punjab, Haryana Bar Council, said it was important that setting up of a national judicial commission should be considered to deal with issues not only limited to the appointment of judges but also to examine allegations of corruption or misconduct against judges. |
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HP Govt retracts decision Parwanoo, June 23 Mr Dhumal, during his brief stopover here while talking to mediapersons had said that there would be no water meters for domestic connection used to supply drinking water in the state and free drinking water would be made available to the residents of the state. However, this exemption would not be available to commercial connections. As per a source from the government of Himachal Pradesh, the government has decided to charge Rs 20 per connection in the villages and Rs 40 in the towns as monthly water tax for the domestic water supply, and the installing of water meters for commercial supply has been made compulsory but no water meters will be installed on the domestic supply. This water tax will start from July 1. The source added that the government had decided to charge water tax on the flat rate of Rs 20 in the villages for domestic supply, out of which Rs 10 will be deposited in the panchayat fund and Rs 10 will go in the account of Irrigation and Public Health Department and the bills will be deposited with the Panchayat Secretary. The Government is incurring about 60 paise per litre for the water supply, out of which it is only recovering 30 paise and the balance of 30 paise is being deposited in the panchayat fund. The source added that the department is incurring an expenditure of Rs 6 crore for electricity bills and Rs 12 crore for the salary of the staff engaged for water supply.
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Cong promises to withdraw user charges Shimla, June 23 Mr Rangila Ram Rao, spokesperson of the Congress, said here yesterday that the BJP government was taking such anti-people steps as the Assembly elections were still far away. It had imposed user charges on health services last year, but as the panchayat elections were approaching, it held the decision in abeyance. The BJP was only interested in winning the elections and was the least concerned about the welfare of the people. He said such anti-poor decisions were taken whenever the BJP came to power. In 1990, Mr Shanta Kumar imposed hospital charges which were withdrawn by the Congress government. With the latest user charges the poor patients would would have to pay for X-ray, laboratory tests and other services in the hospital. He said there was no truth in the repeated assertions of the government that user charges were imposed by the previous Congress government. He said instead of making such false statements the government should withdraw the charges forthwith. |
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Unknown copter was carrying C.L.
Gupta Chamba, June 23 According to Mr Sanjay Kundu, Superintendent of Police, he had contacted the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Doda district to identify the helicopter. It was learnt that the pilot of the helicopter might have lost his way and landed at Killar, about 30 km from its destination by mistake. After landing, the pilot realised his mistake and took off again towards Jammu and Kashmir for reaching Ishtahari village. The helicopter stayed at Killar for just a couple of minutes, Mr Kundu said. The Resident Commissioner and Sub Divisional Magistrate of Pangi had no knowledge about the landing of the helicopter. Even other local authorities did not have any information about the helicopter resulting in confusion among the local residents and officials. |
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Chamba gears up for
fair Chamba, June 23 Presiding over a meeting of the committee here yesterday, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.D.
Nazeem, who is also the Chairman of the committee, disclosed that to meet the expenditure of the fair, a provision of launching ‘Minjar lottery’ had been made by which a revenue of about Rs 15 lakh was expected to be fetched. The Deputy Commissioner said out of this income 50 per cent of the amount would directly be deposited in the account of Red Cross and the remaining 50 per cent amount would be spent on the fair activities. To make adequate proper arrangements to organise various activities, such as illumination of town’s landmarks and ancient temples,
chowgan, cultural and sports activities, various sub-committees had been
constituted. He further pointed out that the stalls and shops to be installed in the chowgan would be auctioned like last year for which advertisements would be released so that nobody could further sublet the space used for stalls and shops, adding that these shops and stalls would continue till August 5, the concluding day of the fair. The DC stated that a provision of Rs 75,000 had been made specially for the illumination of the historic town of Chamba. He further said Rs 1.25 lakh would be allotted to the local municipal council for the restoration and renovation of the chowgan thereby reviving its lost glory and grandeur. He also informed that to make the fair a success, the assistance of reputed multi-national companies like Coca-Cola, Lakhani Shoes and Jai Prakash had been sought. |
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Insurance company told to pay
damages Shimla, June 23 The facts of the case were that the complainant purchased an insurance policy under the hospitalisation and domiciliary hospitalisation benefit from December 13, 1994, to December 12, 1995. In May, 1995, the complainant went to Mumbai, where he experienced chest pain. The complainant was advised by the doctor to undergo bypass surgery. The complainant remained hospitalised in Mumbai as indoor patient and an amount of Rs 23,506 was spent on his treatment. That as per medical advice, the complainant again got himself admitted to Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, where he was operated upon for heart surgery and he spent Rs 1,63,250 on the treatment. Then the complainant applied for the claim with the insurance company for settlement, but to no avail. The insurance company rejected his claim on the ground that the complainant had concealed the material facts at the time of the issuance of the insurance policy. The disease of the complainant was pre-existing and the insurance policy was obtained in anticipation of a major heart surgery. While delivering the order, Mr Goel observed that the burden of proof was on the insurance company to establish that the policy was obtained by him in anticipation of a major heart bypass surgery. Unless the company proved this, there was no question of the insurance policy being avoided on the ground of material facts. Moreover, the insurance company had failed to prove on record that the complainant was guilty of concealing the material facts at the time of obtaining the insurance policy. |
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A sick health
centre Jaisinghpur Although the government has claimed credit for upgrading health institutions in the “changar area”, it has failed to provide these with better facilities. Jaisinghpur subdivision in Kangra district, known as the “changar area”, is one such area where government indifference to health facilities is too conspicuous to be overlooked. Providing healthcare to the residents of nearly 20 adjoining panchayats, the Community Health Centre (CHC) here is run by only one doctor nowadays. It has functioned even without a doctor at times. A pharmacist has to perform the duties of the doctor in his absence. There is usually a shortage of paramedical staff as well as medicines at the CHC. Patients sometimes have to buy even bandages from the market to meet their needs. The Chief Minister, Prof P.K. Dhumal, had announced the upgradation of the then Primary Health Centre to the level of CHC at a public meeting at Jaisinghpur during his first winter sojourn in Kangra. Two years later he inaugurated the new building of the CHC. Interestingly, a regular doctor posted at the hospital at that time joined duty just on the day of the inauguration. Three other doctors sent to the CHC on deputation for the occasion were not seen soon after the inauguration. The Chief Minister had announced that the CHC would be a 30-bedded hospital, but in reality it does not have room even for 10 beds. According to Health Department norms, a CHC has five sanctioned posts of specialist along with a BMO. But there continues to be only one sanctioned post of doctor. The pardhan of the Jaisinghpur gram panchayat, Mr Rajpal Dhiman, says that whenever there is some problem in the area, another doctor is sent to the CHC on deputation, but after a few days he is called back. Being a far-flung area, sometimes patients died on the way to Palampur or Hamirpur, he added. He said the government should provide proper facilities at the CHC on priority. A Zila Parishad member, Mr Jaswant Singh Rana, said the Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, had announced the installation of an X-ray unit at the CHC last year, which had not been implemented. The demand to appoint a woman doctor had also not yet been accepted.
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‘No regional centre opened at Hamirpur’ Shimla, June 23 The Chief Minister said no regional centre had been started at Hamirpur. The fact was that the Principal and Parents-Teachers Association had requested the Himachal Pradesh University to give permission to the college for starting BIT classes under the self-financing scheme which the university had accorded, he said. He said the government’s endeavour was to ensure better education, technical as well as professional, to the students near their homes. It had also given a clarion call to the private sector to open such institutions of par excellence in the state, he said. Mr Dhumal said keeping in view the bright future of Information Technology, special impetus was being given to this sector, by opening Information Technology Institutions in the state. Work on an institute of international standard had already been started at Vaknaghat near Shimla in Solan district in which classes would start from next year. Mr Dhumal said he would like other colleges in the state to come forward and start classes of BIT under self-financing scheme for which they could seek permission of the university and other competent authority to facilitate the students interested in getting education in this field. |
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BJP men seek blessings of RSS chief Nahan, June 23 As many as 1000 persons are taking part in a “varg shivir” (state level camp) of the RSS. Senior BJP leaders, including the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, have visited the camp to seek the blessings of Mr Sudarshan. Senior bureaucrats, close to the Chief Minister, about 12 ministers and a number of senior BJP leaders have met the RSS chief. The Education Minister, Mr I.D. Dhiman, the Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, the Forest Minister, Mr Roop Singh Thakur, the Technical Education Minister, Mr Ravinder Ravi, and the Minister for Local Bodies, Mr Roop Dass Kashyap, were among those who have met the RSS chief. |
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HP to reserve
3 pc jobs for sportspersons Mandi, June 23 The Himachal Forest Minister, Mr Roop Singh Thakur, said this here today at the conclusion of a three-day training camp for students organised by the Punjab Education Department at Sundernagar. He said the government had also decided to honour the employees who would get medals in national and international competitions, besides three advance promotions. He said it could be of tremendous use if students from the state were also allowed to join these training camps being organised by the Punjab Government in Himachal Pradesh. He gave a sum of Rs 5100 to organisers of the training camp and Rs 1100 to a gold medal winner Ravinder Singh of Punjab. He said the playground of Sundernagar would be improved. |
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5 involved in illegal mining
nabbed Nahan, June 23 Forty police personnel took part in the raid. Mr S.P. Singh, SP, Sirmaur, said here this evening that the police conducted raids on illegal mining points at Shilia, Bhorad Khud and Pamta areas and caught five persons. He said the police had set up a naka near Kafota where two trucks carrying illegal minerals were caught. The police also recovered fuse wire used in
blasting. The police has registered two cases under various sections of the Indian Forests Act and the Explosive Substances Act. According to sources, several persons involved in illegal mining operations disappeared from their villages following the raids. |
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BJP leader joins HVC Palampur, June 23 Mr Sukh Ram is on a four-day tour of Kangra district to rejuvenate his party. Major Khanoria, who was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1990 after Mr Shanta Kumar resigned the Kangra seat, was reelected in 1991 but denied ticket in 1996. Annoyed with Mr Shanta Kumar on this slight, Major Khanoria resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress but returned to the party fold in 1998. |
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Medicos block traffic Shimla, June 23 In a hasty retreat on his earlier statement, the Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, told mediapersons that the government was not going in for contractual appointments of doctors and had decided to appoint doctors on an ad hoc basis with a view to cutting short the appointment process. The students blocked the highway for about four hours. Buses and cars coming from Chandigarh and other places were diverted by the police, but there was a traffic jam on the main road. It took a long time to clear it even after the students had lifted their dharna. |
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