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Monday,
September 17, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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HP Govt fights shy of fiscal
correction Rs 150 cr plan to check
floods ‘Need for systematic growth of HP areas’ Bus owners owe 1.95 cr as passenger
tax Virbhadra ‘misleading’
people |
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Chaudhary Hardyal cremated with honours Brick-kiln running without pollution
certificate Merit scholarships not
released ‘Novice’ staff operating project
machines Forum directive to computer firm Council
observes “ozone day” Declamation trophy for
St Stephen’s School ‘Canteen profits not used for
ex-servicemen’
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HP Govt fights shy of fiscal
correction Shimla, September 16 The Centre, while assuring the state of protecting its Plan size of Rs 1,720 crore for the current year, had expressed serious concern over the ever-increasing debt burden and asked it to cut down the market borrowings to manageable levels. It has been impressing upon the state to take concrete steps to compress its expenditure and increase receipts so that it could fulfil its plan commitment without going for market borrowings. With the government in no mood to take any harsh decision to raise resources and the Centre finding it increasingly difficult to provide special assistance, the state will find it impossible to peg the market borrowings at the level of around Rs 500 crore for the current year as desired by the Centre. Initially, it planned to raise Rs 1,325 crore through non-SLR borrowings but agreed to restrict the amount to Rs 1,000 crore. However, the Centre wants it to be further reduced to half as a step towards fiscal correction. The wrong fiscal policy of raising loans to finance Plan and bridge budget deficit over the past decade has landed the state in a debt trap. In fact, the government has been raising new loans to repay the old ones. In the current financial year alone, it has had to borrow Rs 2,318 crore to meet the budget proposals of Rs 5,500 crore. The annual interest burden alone has registered a sharp increase from Rs 210 crore in 1993-94 to Rs 1,368 crore in the current year. The situation is turning from bad to worse as the Dhumal government has decided not to exercise the option to mobilise its own resources almost 18 months ahead of the next Assembly poll, fearing an adverse political fallout. While Mr Vajpayee is urging states to raise their own resources, Mr Jai Krishan Sharma, the state BJP chief, has declared that the government will not take any unpopular decision. Moreover, half-hearted measures like imposition of user charges in hospitals and winter surcharge on power had not yielded much in monetary terms but provided an issue to the Opposition to whip the government. The Centre is insisting that the state should pursue economic reforms like downsizing of administration, retrenchment of surplus staff, disinvestments in public sector undertakings and imposition of user charges on various services like water supply and medical care in right earnest. However, instead of implementing reforms, the government is indefinitely delaying hike in bus fares despite an increase in the diesel prices a year ago. The high-powered committee set up by the government had recommended a nominal 15 per cent increase in fares. The terrorist attack on the USA has only made things worse. It will certainly affect the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country and slow down the economy, which will certainly have a bearing on the finances of the Centre. As such it may not be in a position to bail out the state. Whatever special assistance it had got from the Centre over the past three years had not improved the financial position largely due to the government’s failure to curb expenditure and make any meaningful effort to raise its own resources. The grim financial scenario makes it incumbent on the government to take harsh measures. Eighteen months, senior officers point out, is too long a period in a five-year term to defer unpleasant decisions. The going will get tough for the government with each passing day. The only alternative is to go for a snap poll. There has been talk of an early election in the ruling circles but the party is not sure of the people’s mood. The outcome of the elections in Uttar Pradesh, the neighbouring Punjab and other states may provide an indication about it and help the government take a decision. Managing the affairs of the cashstrapped state will put the government to a severe test during the election year. |
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Rs 150 cr plan to check
floods Shimla, September 16 He said that the government besides harnessing the hydel potential of Sutlej Basin was also committed for the development of areas around it. Out of this Rs 28 crore would be spent in Sangla valley alone. He sanctioned Rs one crore for taking up flood protection measures in the Sangla valley which had been affected by floods. The Chief Minister, who was addressing an unscheduled gatherings at Sangla and Chhitkal today during his visit to the areas said that office of divisional forest officer had been opened at Nichar to take up catchment works in the area. He said that to ensure effective link, four bridges were being constructed at Shog, Sangla, Patsari and Rackham. Mr Dhumal said that state government had taken up matter with the government of India for grant of “Nautor” to the tribal people and regularisation of pattas. He said that Rs 40.28 crore was being spent under the tribal Sub plan in Kinnaur district in current year and added that roads, education and health were three sectors which had been accorded top priority. At Chhitkul the last village of Himachal Pradesh Mr Dhumal said that tourism would be given big boost in Sangla valley keeping in view the natural grandeur and rich cultural heritage of the area which would generate employment and economic activities to the local people. He said that steps were also being made to improve the economic conditions of farmers in the state by providing them the facilities of roads, marketing etc to ensure remunerative prices for their produce. He said that Kisan Bhavan at Delhi had been constructed in a record time of less than two years by spending Rs two crore. He said that the government had given Rs 30 lakh to the state Wool Federation to intensify activities so that people got remunerative prices for their wool. He said that the state
government would ensure that disease-prone sheep were not sold in the state from outside the state so that prices of sheep in the state did not come down. Dr Farooq Abdullah, J&K Chief Minister who accompanied Mr Dhumal, laid the foundation stone of bridge over river Sutlej at Poari in the Kinnaur district. The 92-metre-long bridge will cost Rs 1.61 crore and benefit the people of Tangling, Paori and Purbani who at present use ropeway to cross the river Sutlej. He said that there was vast scope for the development of tourism in Himachal and suggested that people should construct guest houses to supplement their income. He lauded the present state government for the steps it had taken up for speedy exploitation of hydel potential of the state and expressed the hope that state would soon become economically self-reliant. He said that Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir had similar problems and they could benefit from mutual experiences. Dr Abdullah and Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister were accorded rousing welcome by the local people. Mr Des Raj, MLA, Mr Harsh Gupta, Chief Secretary, Mr Ashok Thakur, Secretary, Tourism, Mr Subhash Negi, Secretary Industries and Tribal Development also accompanied the Chief Minister. |
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‘Need for systematic growth of HP areas’ Hamirpur, September 16 Mr R.C. Aggarwal, Chairman, Land Utilisation Sansthan, Government of India, Prof Manjeet Singh of the School of Planning of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Mr J.K. Gupta, Chairman of the Chandigarh chapter of the Institute of Town and Country Planning, Kanwar Surjit Singh, Secretary, Land Planning Department, and Mr Nirmal Singh Suman, Additional District Magistrate, Hamirpur, were also present. The minister said the BJP government in the state was for eco-friendly development and that was the reason it had taken up the programme of harnessing the hidden hydroelectric potential on a large-scale. Secondly, information technology was also to be developed as these industries were also eco-friendly and were helpful in saving the environment. Mrs Urmila Thakur, Parliamentary Secretary, stressed the need for setting up industries on the basis of local produce. She said maize-based industries were needed in Hamirpur as this crop grew in abundance in the district. She said industries based on biotechnology would be set up in Hamirpur district and the youth would be asked to grow good types of flowers and sell them in Delhi and other markets. Kanwar Surjit Singh, Town and Country Planner, Haryana, while addressing the public on the occasion stressed the need for selecting a nodal point for keeping the vegetable and horticulture produce of Himachal Pradesh while being taken to various parts of India. He announced the Haryana Government had decided to set up a fruit park at Saha near Ambala. Mr J.K. Gupta, Chairman of the Chandigarh chapter of the Institute of Indian Town Planners, said it was a matter of pride that the Himachal Pradesh Government had taken the lead to get the planning process started. Prof Manjeet Singh of Guru Nanak Dev University whose team had framed a plan for Hamirpur district suggested that all good points found in the report prepared by his team should be implemented while making and finalising the plan for the district. Mr R.C. Aggarwal, Chief Town Planner of Haryana, said Himachal Pradesh was like Switzerland and if it was developed systematically, it would be known as Switzerland of India in years to come. |
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Bus owners
owe 1.95 cr as passenger tax Kulu, September 16 Not only Passenger Tax, the private bus operators had also been given free hand to evade recently implemented Special Road Tax (SRT). It was learnt that the outstanding amount of the SRT in this region only amounts to more than Rs 50 lakh. The Director of the Transport Department confirmed that the HRTC had already cleared the outstanding SRT and some private operators did have the outstanding amount to be paid to the government. However, she could not give the figures. Asked about the allocation of time-table to the defaulters in this region, she said she would look into the matter. She, of course, confirmed that the defaulters should not get permits and the time-table. ‘Route-Permit’ and fitness certificate is given to the operators only after verifying the ‘No Due Certificates’ from the Taxation office concerned. Many small transporters alleged that there were a few big transporters who operated the buses even without permits. They alleged that because of the big fleets these transporters took permits of a few buses and ran others without permission. Even the state run HRTC has been in following such practice in this district, they alleged. The transporters in general and the ‘Self employed’ three-wheeler scooter operators’ in particular, complain of the harassment at the RTO office here as the office was without the Regional Transport Officer for the past many months. They alleged that their applications for renewal etc took three to four days for processing as the region had been attached to the RTO Mandi and all papers were sent to Mandi for signatures. They demanded that the earlier practice of giving additional charge to a local officer would save time and loss of earnings. The Assistant Commissioner to the Deputy Commissioner had been holding the charge of the RTO in this district earlier. The government should take immediate steps for the redress of the grievances of the transporters, one of them, urged. |
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Operators for 50 pc
hike in fares Shimla, September 16 In a statement here yesterday, the president of the association, Mr Dev Raj Sharma, said the state government had ordered a marginal hike of 10 per cent in the fares in 1999. He said the prices of spare parts and lubricants had increased manifold in the past few years and the bus fares had to be rationalised accordingly. |
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Virbhadra ‘misleading’
people Shimla, September 16 Mr Ganesh Dutt, party spokesman, said the Virbhadra regime plunged the state into a serious financial crisis by raising indiscriminate loans during the 1994-1997 period. In all Rs 3,318 crore was borrowed during the four years, which increased the state’s interest liability manifold. At present, the annual interest burden was as high as Rs 1,300 crore. Besides, he also opened hundreds of health, education and veterinary institutions on the eve of the last Assembly elections, without making any provision in the Budget. The present government made these institutions functional by appointing staff and providing other facilities. It had increased the annual burden on the state exchequer by Rs 500 crore, Mr Dutt said. He traced the genesis of the financial crisis to the folly committed by Mr Virbhadra Singh by concealing the actual Budget deficit for the year 1988-89 before the Ninth Finance Commission. This cost the state about Rs 1,000 crore during the 1990-95 period as the commission recommended much less Central assistance to bridge the deficit. Mr Dutt expressed surprise that Mr Virbhadra Singh was terming the Dhumal government as the most corrupt in the history of the state at a time when several of its leaders had been booked in cases of corruption and a former Congress Prime Minister, Mr Narasimha Rao, had been convicted in a case. He said the Congress could never come to power as there was no alternative to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee at the Centre and Mr P.K. Dhumal in the state. He said his party was prepared to have an open debate to compare the achievements during the six years of the BJP rule with these during the 47-year Congress rule in the state. |
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Chaudhary Hardyal cremated with honours Dharamsala, September 16 Chaudhary Hardyal won four Assembly elections since 1967, remained a minister and held other important positions during his long political career. Sixtyfour-year-old Chaudhary Hardyal died at Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical Hospital here last evening after complaining of chest pain. Chaudhary Hardyal, as a Congress MLA, remained Minister for Education and Forest. He won as an independent candidate from Nagrota seat in 1993. He later joined the Samajwadi Party and was presently the state president of the party. Transport Minister Kishan Kapoor, Agriculture Minister Vidyasagar and senior Congress leader Sat Mahajan, among others, attended the funeral. |
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Brick-kiln running without pollution
certificate Una, September 16 This brick-kiln is running since May, 2000. According to an official of the District Industries Centre here, the brick-kiln was given a provisional registration certificate to establish the kiln in May, 2000, but it had not got the final registration till date. The office of the pollution control board here also confirmed that the industries centre had given consent to establish the unit. But till date, the state pollution control board had not issued a clearance certificate to this unit and was ignorant about its functioning. According to law, no brick-kiln licence can be issued by the District Food and Supplies Office till the kiln unit produces a clearance certificate issued by the state pollution control board after the norms in this regard are followed by the applicant. The brick-kiln which consumes 14 to 15 tonnes of coal in a year must have the chimney at a height of 100 to 120 feet. But in the present case, the kiln at Badhera, which consumed 14 tonnes of coal during 2000-2001 as per the unit’s production record provided to the DFSO has got the chimney at a height of only 40 feet. There are allegations that the licence was granted to the kiln under political pressure. But what remains to be seen is that in Una district, one can run a medical shop without a drug licence and a brick-kiln without a pollution certificate. |
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Merit scholarships not released Kangra, September 16 Daughters of Mr Harvinder Lal Kaistha, and Mr B.S. Thakur, got distinction in matriculation but have not received scholarship under the Swami Vivekananda Scholarship Scheme due to alleged apathy of the Education Department. Mr Kaistha said his daughter Alpna secured 599 marks out of 700 in matriculation under Roll No. 594001 and figured 21st in the merit list of the board and later passed her plus one examination securing 343 marks out of 400 (85.75 per cent). She was refused scholarship under the pretext that she had not applied for it. Mr B.S. Thakur said his daughter Isha Thakur secured 80 per cent marks in matric examination under Roll No. 594003 and secured 78 per cent in plus one but was deprived of the scholarship despite her name figuring in the merit list. He decried callousness on the part of Education Department officials. Both complainants said that as per the government notification 2000 students of general category were to be given scholarship strictly on merit as per the list supplied by the HP Board of School Education, Dharamsala, securing 50 per cent marks or above. Mr Vikas Labroo, secretary, HP Board of School Education, when contacted, said that board had supplied the merit list to the Director of Education as desired by him and the board had no other role in this connection. When contacted District Education Office sources said that there were some brilliant students who were left outs but the department was considering their request. Meanwhile, the parents of the brilliant students alleged that neither they nor their school authorities were informed to apply for these scholarships thus those who figure at the bottom of the merit list were benefited by the authorities. They demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter. |
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‘Novice’ staff operating project
machines Nurpur, September 16 Mr Kuljit Rana, president of the association, in a statement here today alleged that the project norms were being violated. The association had earlier taken up the issue with the Irrigation and Public Health Department authorities but they had not responded. He warned that the association would stop the ongoing construction of the project by giving notice to the authorities if they failed to accept the genuine demands of the association. Mr Rana also took strong exception to the state government’s decision to close eight subdivisions (store) of the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (HPPWD) and reduce the employees strength in the office of the Superintending Engineer (SE) (HPPWD). He said it was ridiculous that even the post of a driver in SE office had been abolished. |
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Forum directive to computer firm Dharamsala, September 16 The court in its order observed that the firm had failed to replace defective parts of the computer. Even after the request of the complainant, it did not replace the set. The complainant pleaded that it was in August, 1999, that he bought the computer for Rs 83,500. Immediately, after installation, it started giving trouble and the complainant asked the computer service to repair it. He said the engineer sent by the firm took away three components of the set with a promise that it would be repaired within a few days. According to the complainant, despite repeated requests to the company, the computer was not repaired and the components worth Rs 30,000 were removed. Pixel Computer Service, in its reply, stated that the complainant did not inform it that the computer was not functioning. It also denied any business links with the service engineer. |
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Council
observes “ozone day” Shimla, September 16 The depletion of the ozone layer causes different problems like skin cancer, low yield of crops, more susceptibility towards infectious diseases and disturbance in the marine food chain. Rallies, painting competition and other activities were organised in the schools situated in Baddi, Mehatpur, Kala Amb, Prawanoo and Solan. The National Research and Technology Consortium and some non-government organisations were also associated with the programme. |
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Declamation trophy for
St Stephen’s School Kasauli, September 16 Akil Bakshi of Pinegrove School got the first prize in the Hindi category followed by Aditi Sen of Shimla Public School, Shimla, and Udit Narula of St Stephen’s School, Chandigarh. Prachi Kapil of St Mary’s Convent School, Kasauli, stood first in the English category. Gaurav Chhibbar of St Stephen’s School and Harnoor Kaur of Pinegrove School, got the second and the third prizes, respectively. Mr Virendra Kashyap, Chairman, HP Marketing Board, who was the chief guest gave away the prizes. |
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‘Canteen profits not used for ex-servicemen’ Kulu, September 16 This was told by Maj R.C. Sharma, Chairman, Ex-Servicemen and War Widows League, Kulu and Lahaul and Spiti, yesterday. Major Sharma said the OC-217 Transit Camp had given Rs 30,000 out of the canteen profit to the Sainik Welfare Board for the whitewashing and renovation of the Sainik Rest House here. Major Sharma said the expenditure on the maintenance of the rest house, which was a government building, could not be termed as a welfare activity. He said the Deputy Director of the Sainik Welfare office here should have approached the Himachal Government for getting the rest house renovated. It was confirmed from the office of the Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare, that the Rs 30,000 had been sanctioned with the approval of the Deputy Commissioner. |
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Goldsmith
shot at Sundernagar, September 16 According to the police, the goldsmith was going home in his car when a scooter-borne person came parallel to his car and fired a gunshot at about 8.30 pm near Dhanotu village along the national highway. The hand of the victim was injured in the incident. The police has registered a case under Section 307 of the IPC, along with provisions of the Indian Arms Act. |
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