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Wednesday,
August 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Ministers
cost state government Rs 2.32 cr Congress
stages walkout over hospital user charges Row over
HAS seniority list |
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Suraj Bhan visits Tabo Monastery Commissioning of Nathpa
project by Dec, 2002 Minister denies charge Centre
neglecting youth: YC BJP leader
resigns over corruption Doctors to go on strike today
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Ministers cost state
government Rs 2.32 cr Shimla, August 21 This information was given to the Vidhan Sabha by the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, in a written reply to a question of Mr Ram Lal Thakur of the Congress. The maximum amount of Rs 1.16 crore was spent on vehicles, followed by Rs 50.52 lakh on salaries, Rs 49.08 lakh on telephones and Rs 16.29 lakh on travelling allowance. Mr Dhumal topped the list with a combined expenditure of (Rs 14,24,246) on telephones, vehicles and travelling allowance. He was followed by Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister (Rs 10,60,256) Mr Karan Singh, Minister for Primary Education (Rs 8,87,714) and Mr Roop Singh, Forest Minister (Rs 7,89,532). The expenses of Mr Mohinder Singh, a former Public Works Minister who was removed midway during the year from the Cabinet for eight months amounted to Rs 8,87,714. The expenses of Mr Chet Ram Negi, Parliamentary Secretary, were the minimum at Rs 4,53,786. Others whose expenditure was on the lower side included Mr Ramesh Chaudhary, Irrigation and Public Health Minister Rs 6,18,284, Ms Urmila Thakur, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rs 6,19,644, Mr Krishan Kapoor, Transport Minister, Rs 6,66,587. In another written reply the Chief Minister informed the House that Rs 34.54 lakh had been spent on establishment, salaries, travelling
allowances, telephones of the employment generation committee over the past three years. The committee headed by Mr Sukh Ram had submitted six reports, which were under the consideration of the government. The Chief Minister informed Mrs Vidya Stokes of the Congress that the total number of regular government employees increased from 1,31,919 on April 1,1999 to 1,35,823 on March 31,2000. The issue of right sizing was being discussed these days because of the perception that government was overstaffed and it could ill afford this burden. Giving figures he said the total number of employees, including work charged, Ad hoc, voluntary and those engaged on tenure, contract, daily wage and part-time basis, had been steadily increasing. The total number was 1,97,053 in March 1993, which swelled to 2,32,791, in March 2000. The number of work-charged employees had increased four fold due to the regularisation of the services of daily wage earners. Besides a large number of health, education and veterinary institutions were opened on the eve of the Assembly elections in 1997-98 in utter disregard of the norms, which left the present government with no option but to recruit more staff to make these institutions functional. As against the budgeted 470 schools, as many as 2021 were notified. Similarly 197 health institutions were opened against a provision of 86 in the Budget. A comprehensive rationalisation exercise to achieve a sustainable size of the government was on to harmonise both cost and utility considerations. A nine-point charter had been spelt out to achieve the right size and greater efficiency in all government departments. Already the offices of Divisional Commissioners had been abolished. As many as five posts each of the IAS, IPS, IFS and been abolished, besides 20 of the HAS, five of the state police service and one of the state forest service. |
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Congress
stages walkout over hospital user charges Shimla, August 21 They demanded that the user charges should be immediately withdrawn as these were creating problems for the poor people. The walkout was staged while the Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, was replying to the discussion on the issue which was initiated by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Virbhadra Singh. The Congress members raised slogans while walking out of the House. They were also visibly upset over the remarks of Mr Nadda about the Congress having lost its national character and having confined to a handful of states. (Outside the House, Mr Virbhadra Singh told reporters that their walkout was against the unsatisfactory reply of the Chief Minister and the Health Minister and their failure to give any assurance on the withdrawal of user charges). The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal and Mr Nadda accused the Congress of trying to mislead the people on the issue and derive political mileage out of it. Mr Virbhadra Singh accused the BJP government of having commercialised the health institutions and demanded that the poor should not be taxed. He said Mr Dhumal was following in the footsteps of Mr Shanta Kumar who had, during his tenure as Chief Minister, imposed a hospital tax on people which was withdrawn by the Congress soon after coming to power. He demanded that instead of financially burdening the poor the government should check its wasteful expenditure and cut the size of the ministry and remove the army of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of various boards and corporations. He said instead of taking any action in scandals involving the purchase of medicines and equipment which had rocked the Health Department, the government had chosen to tax the poor. Intervening in the discussion, Mr Dhumal accused the Congress of trying to politicise the issue of user charge and said the fee on hospital services was imposed during the Congress regime the government had only rationalised the system with committees looking after development of each hospital. He came down heavily on the Congress as he read out some notifications issued from time to time prove his point. Referring to the Congress allegation of unfruitful expenditure on ministers and Chairmen of boards and corporations, Mr Dhumal came out with the telephone bills of Mr Virbhadra Singh and his ministerial colleagues of the Congress regime and said the telephone bills of the present ministers were very low as compared to them. Mr Dhumal said the hospital development and welfare societies were not profit-making bodies and the money collected by them was being spent on the development of the respective hospitals. Not a single penny was being transferred to the government treasury or any other hospital out of the amount. He said those belonging to the IRDP families and the poor would not be charged for any service in the hospitals. Chief Medical Officers had been authorised to waive the fee of anyone who they considered was not in a position to bear the charges. Mr Ram Lal Thakur, Congress member and a former Health Minister, said health services in the state had deteriorated under the BJP rule. Most of the hospitals and health institutions in the interior areas were without doctors and paramedical staff. Mr Sukh Ram, HVC, said he was opposed to converting government institutions into societies and privatising the public sector units. He said the shortage of doctors was not a sudden phenomenon and was an accumulative effect for which all were responsible. Mr Kaul Singh (Cong) accused the BJP of increasing the tariff on electricity, drinking water and tuition in educational institutions whenever it came to power. Mr Rakesh Pathania (BJP) said the health institutions had started developing following the imposition of user charge. Mr J.P. Nadda, while replying to the discussion, said the Centre had laid the pre-condition that funds for different projects would be granted only in case these bodies were made autonomous. He said that the Congress was adopting double standards by appreciating the governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh which had also made societies for running the hospitals and criticising the BJP government here for doing the same. He said that creation of societies had provided financial autonomy to the hospitals and decentralised their administration. |
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Row over HAS seniority list Shimla, August 21 Many
ex-servicemen, who had joined the HAS under the quota reserved for them, have become junior in the list issued recently. It is being alleged that the seniority has been disturbed to benefit some officers close to the ruling BJP. A former HAS officer, who did not want to be identified, claimed that there was no provision in the rules to put the ex-servicemen below the direct recruits in the seniority list. At least five ex-servicemen, who were on the top, had now been put at number 17 to 21 in the tentative seniority list. Seniority of some of them had been lowered by two batches. The ex-servicemen are seeking legal remedy on the matter. The former officer said the seniority list was being repeatedly amended. The seniority list up to 1986, which was finalised in 1988 had again been released as tentative now. He said the demobilised armed forces personnel rules for the HAS prescribed that the approved military service rendered after attaining the age of 21 would be counted for giving seniority to the ex-servicemen, but this had been overlooked in the tentative seniority list. A fresh notification stating that the principles for determining the tentative list has specified that the ex-servicemen appointed against the reserved posts shall be placed enblock below the direct recruits of the particular year. The former officer said the earlier rules which have not been amended even after issuing the tentative list provided that 10 per cent of the HAS vacancies to be filled by direct recruitment should be reserved for the ex-services from the armed forces. One vacancy in every block of 10 vacancies should be earmarked according to the roster prescribed by the government for them. Meanwhile, many direct recruits of the HAS have welcomed the tentative list which, they claimed, has restored their seniority in the cadre. |
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Suraj Bhan visits Tabo Monastery Shimla, August 21 He expressed satisfaction over the development works undertaken in the Spiti valley. He appreciated the work done by different departments under various schemes despite the difficult topography and climatic conditions of the area and the short working season. He also listened to the grievances and redressed these on the spot. Mr L.R. Chauhan, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kaza, apprised the Governor of the various development projects being undertaken in the Spiti valley. Earlier, the Governor visited Tabo Monastery. The Head Lama welcomed the Governor in a traditional Buddhist style. Dr Bhan evinced keen interest in the old Buddhist paintings of the monastery. He also inspected development project activities at Tabo. On his arrival at Kaza, the Governor was given a traditional reception by the tribal people and local officers. Later, he also visited the Kee monastery and Kibbar village. A colourful cultural programme was presented by local folk dance groups at Kaza and Kibbar village. Addressing district officers at Keylong today, Dr Bhan urged them to work with dedication and renewed zeal so that development works could be completed well in time in view of the short working season. He urged the Education Department to lay more stress on education especially in remote and far-flung areas of the district. The Governor also visited the historical Udaipur and Triloknath temples of the Lahaul valley and performed puja. He also visited Jispa Gompa. He evinced keen interest in the architecture of Udaipur temple. |
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Commissioning
of Nathpa project by Dec, 2002 Shimla, August 21 Mr S.S. Chauhan, executive director of the Nathpa-Jhakri Power Corporation
(NJPC), who is looking after the execution of the project, asserted that there was no tussle between the NJPC cadre and the deputationists from the state electricity boards and the best available talent from both the cadres was being utilised to complete the project at the earliest. He said the engineers taken on deputation from the National Hydel Power Corporation
(NHPC) were experts in their field. The construction of a dam at Nathpa was being supervised by a Chief Engineer from the NHPC who had already completed two such dams. |
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Minister denies charge Chandigarh, August 21 He said the news item was malicious and was aimed at tarnishing his image. He said: “I have been in politics since 1967 and the property and wealth earned by me is purely out of my \members of my family’s earnings, savings. I admit that I and members of my family have taken loans like any other citizen to pursue my business interests.” The mistake in the news item was unintentional and is regretted. |
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Centre neglecting youth: YC Chamba, August 21 Addressing mediapersons here today, Mr Randhir Singh Rana and Mr Daljit Singh Bittu, both Pradesh Returning Officers for organisational elections of the youth Congress, criticised the NDA government for misgovernance and nurturing corruption. Both leaders said the misdeeds of the NDA government and its anti-people policies would put it to rout in the forthcoming Assembly elections. The Congress would sweep the poll in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, they added. The leaders said the youth had become disillusioned with the BJP because of its policies. The leaders said a membership drive had been launched to enrol at least 15,000 active members and this target was expected to be met by August end. They said the election process for the Youth Congress at the village and block levels would be completed by October 31. All active and elected members would be called to Delhi on November 17, 18 where AICC President Sonia Gandhi would address them on November 19, they added. |
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BJP leader
resigns over corruption Chamba, August 21 Announcing his resignation at a news conference here today, Mr Mehta expressed regret over the deteriorating state of affairs of the party. He said the Congress culture had permeated the party and accused the BJP of corruption and nepotism. |
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Doctors
to go on strike today Shimla, August 21 A spokesman for the association said even the emergency services would remain suspended during the strike from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. He said the stir would be intensified if the government failed to take steps to implement the accord. |
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