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Sunday, February 3,
2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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Virbhadra doubts Kainthla’s credentials Kainthla panel term extended Cancel land allotted to Virbhadra: Collector Additional charge for 8 IAS officers Forty pine trees felled |
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PM to address rally in Shimla Dalai Lama’s travel schedule
cancelled Bus crew refuse to pay parking fee Three petrol stations allotted 339 HIV positive patients in HP
BADDI DIARY Review appointment process: NSUI 1 held for raising pro-Pak
slogans Jawan cremated with honours
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Virbhadra doubts Kainthla’s credentials Mandi, February 2 Addressing a news conference at the local Circuit House he observed that the very fact that the news was first leaked to the Press before the notice was to be served to him spoke volumes about the “credibility and functioning” of the commission which had ceased to exist the very moment it delivered its findings. The notice had no meaning, he added. Mr Virbhadra stated that his petition against the commission had been admitted in the Supreme Court about three months ago. “Despite my faith in the judiciary, I have never concealed my lack of faith in Mr Kainthla, who had been heading all the commissions appointed by the BJP governments and this was his sixth appointment. He said the political developments which took place in February-March, 1998, did not justify the appointment of any commission as neither any FIR had been lodged nor any police report had been submitted to the government. On the very first day he said he had demanded that the commission, if any, should be headed by a sitting judge of the high court. He alleged that the Subordinate Service Board at Hamirpur had become a den of corruption. It was functioning without rules and all records were being destroyed after three months to escape future accountability. He said the Congress had appointed a committee headed by the former Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, which had submitted a chargesheet alleging serious charges of corruption against the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues. Recently a letter had been received from the Governor asking us to go to the Lokayukta. It was a blatant use of double standards he said, and added a chargesheet against me was sent to the CBI by the Dhumal government while they are asking us to knock the door of the Lokayukta”. He further said eyebrows were being raised over the assignment of security of hospitals and other institutions to a particular company when Home Guards and ex-servicemen were available in abundance in the state itself. The former Chief Minister lamented that all development works had come to a halt in Mandi and it was surprising that Mr Sukh Ram was a silent spectator to it. He said even the celebration of the Himachal Day function at Bhaderwad in Mandi district had sparked off widespread criticism. He alleged that men and government machinery were pressed into service to level the private land of a relative of the Chief Minister. |
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Kainthla panel term extended Shimla, February 2 The commission had recently submitted its report regarding the alleged incidents of lawlessness in and around Shimla in March 1998 during the formation of government in the state. The commission had completed its term on January 31. Sources said that the step has been taken because the petition of the Congress leaders against setting up of the commission was pending before the Supreme Court. The report of the commission has come under criticism by the Congress leadership as Mr Virbhadra Singh and five legislators of the party have been indicted. The BJP leaders have been demanding action against those held responsible by the commission for these incidents. The commission headed by Mr H.D. Kainthla, a retired Sessions Judge, was appointed in September 1999. Earlier, the then Divisional Commissioner, Mr Deepak Sanan, was assigned to hold an enquiry in April 1998. |
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Cancel land allotted to Virbhadra: Collector Shimla, February 2 The Collector has filed the report in the court of the Financial Commissioner (Appeals) and has claimed that the Deputy Commissioner was not competent to sanction such big chunks of lands to Mr Virbhadra Singh. On the other hand, when contacted on telephone at Mandi, Mr Virbhadra Singh said whatever land possessed was given to him by the Central Government as part of the merger settlement and it was fully reflected in the record of private properties granted to the rulers of the princely states of Himachal Pradesh. It is learnt that the Collector in his report has pleaded that the Financial Commissioner may exercise suomotu power and cancel the mutations. He has claimed that the allotments were beyond the powers of the granting authority. The report said 112.7 bighas of land was allotted to Mr Virbhadra Singh at Rampur village vide mutation number 3407 dated July 13, 1956. At Sarahan village a total land measuring 955.1 bighas was granted as “Nautor”, in 1967. He claimed that any other authority of the state the Central Government, when Himachal was a union territory, was not competent to grant such lands when the grantees had already been subjected to the provisions of the 1953 Act. |
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Additional charge for 8 IAS officers Shimla, February 2 Ms Harinder Hira will also look after the Transport Department in place of Mr V.K. Bansal and the Urban Development Department in place of Mr A.R. Basu. Mr Ajay Mittal will hold the charge of Trainings and Foreign Assignments in place of Mr Basu. Mr R.D. Dhiman will look after the Industries Department till Mr P.C. Dhiman returns from the election duty. Mr K.C. Verma will take charge of the Social and Women Welfare and the Managing Director of the HP Minorities Development Corporation from Mr S.K.B.S. Negi. Mr L.R. Mohil will function as Additional Commissioner (Appeals) in place of Mr Sanjay Gupta. Mr J.R. Gazta will take care of the Rural Development, HIMURJA and Science and Technology in the absence of Mr Manoj Kumar. Mr Kashmir Chand will head the State Electronics Development Corporation in place of Mr T.C. Janartha and Mr J.R. Verma will look after the Youth Services and Sports and Ayurveda Departments in place of Mr Subhash Ahluwalia. |
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Forty pine trees felled Solan, February 2 Three of the miscreants named in the FIR are: Ram Dyal, Ram Singh and Kishan Pal, all of Randala village of Loonas panchayat. They had allegedly felled the trees at the behest of panchayat vice-president Ram Chand. According to information, the cluster of felled trees stood on the land that came in the way of a proposed village link road, desperately needed for easy market access for their farm produce by the local villagers. Under the existing laws felling of trees, even when required for bona fide developmental activities, requires prior permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The applications for obtaining such permissions has to be routed through the red tape of the state Forest Department which in itself was time consuming and somewhat uncertain procedure. The villagers, after felling the trees, tried their best to conceal all evidences. However, some telltale stumps exposed the illegal felling when a forest official after receiving tip off visited the spot. No arrests have been made till now. |
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PM to address rally in Shimla New Delhi, February 2 The Prime Minister accepted Mr Dhumal’s invitation to address the rally when the latter met him at his residence today. According to an official spokesman, the Chief Minister requested Mr Vajpayee to instruct the Indian Railways to get its supply of mineral water from Himachal Pradesh as the state had good quality water. |
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Dalai Lama’s travel schedule
cancelled Dharamsala, February 2 In a statement issued here today, the Tibetan Prime Minister, Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, said the Cabinet had decided to call off all his tour pro-grammes, private and public audiences till the end of April. |
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Bus crew refuse to pay parking fee Kumarhatti, February 2 Inquiries from the panchayat office at Dharampur revealed that around 200 buses pass through Dharampur daily and hardly 40 of them pay the parking fee to the panchayat. Most of the bus crew members refuse to pay the parking fee on the pretext that Dharampur has only a temporary bus stand and hence they are not liable to pay it. Government buses, mainly of Solan and Nalagarh depots, are the main violators. The refusal to pay the parking fee has reduced the panchayat revenue by nearly Rs 6 lakh annually. The panchayat has also fixed Rs 50 per month as the parking fee for private taxis in the town but that has never been paid by the taxi operators to the panchayat, alleged an employee of the panchayat office, adding that the panchayat had sought the help of the district administration but in vain. The local residents and the panchayat have been demanding the transfer of the Military Engineering Service yard for constructing a bus stand. The Chief Minister’s office has recently forwarded the matter to the Ministry of Defence for further consideration, informed secretary of Dharampur panchayat. |
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Three petrol stations allotted Nurpur, February 2 The petrol station at Raja Ka
Talab, near Nurpur, though set up in February, 2000 was allotted to a close confidant of the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, a BJP MLA from Kangra district. The petrol station at Nagrota Bhagwan was allotted to a confidant of the Union Minister for Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Mr Shanta Kumar. The cooking gas agency at Nadaun in Hamirpur district was given to an office-bearer of the district BJP Yuva
Morcha. There were 40 applicants from the district. The IOC petrol station near Galore was also allotted to a BJP leader. Sources reveal that one of the senior state BJP leaders having his links in Punjab also succeeded in getting two petrol stations in Punjab. |
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339 HIV positive patients in HP Shimla, February 2 Stating this while inaugurating a workshop for the staff of Himachal Road Transport Corporation, here today, Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, said the people would be sensitised about reproductive transmitted infections (RTI) and sexually transmitted disease (STD) and infected patients would be provided medicines free of cost. To ensure maximum participation of the community, a new beginning had been made by involving 150 panchayats all over the state where pradhans had been given funds to organise such camps. He said till December, 2001, 30,849 persons were screened at the blood-testing centre of Indira Gandhi Medical College hospital, out of which 339 were tested HIV positive. |
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BADDI DIARY Baddi This was stated by the Forest Minister, Mr Roop Singh Thakur at the Nalagarh rest house while talking to newspersons. The Kandi project, he stated was carrying out developmental work in the five districts of Solan, Sirmaur, Una, Kangra and Chamba. The first phase of the development of the Shivalik Hills, has already been completed. It was further extended by two years and another sum of Rs 59 crore has been spent on development works. In view of the important development works being carried out by this project, its working has been further extended by another five years from 1999 to 2004. A sum of Rs 169 crore will be spent on the project during this period. Talking about the success of this project the Forest Minister stated that the World Bank, which funds this project, had declared this project in this Himalayan state as an ‘exemplary one’ which was a matter of pride for the state. He stated that recently a team comprising members from China, Sri Lanka, Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam and a 32-member team from India, which visited the project unit at Nalagarh, were highly impressed by the project activities here. The minister directed the forest officials to curb illicit trade of wood in the region. Speaking on the occasion the assistant project director, Kandi project, Dr Gurnam Singh, stated that every year 32-sub water shed schemes were developed in the region by the project, which have provided irrigation to 930 hectares of land. The project is paying special stress on water harvesting, land reclamation and irrigation schemes in the region. The Divisional Forest Officer, Mr Sushil Kumar, while enlisting the activities of his department stated that more than three lakh saplings were planted on an area of 92 hectares by their department. In order to tighten the noose around illicit traders of wood, a number of nakas were being set up by the Forest Department in all the ranges of the area. ****** Roads and irrigation schemes The state government, which is according top priority to construction of roads in the rural area, is spending a sum of Rs 2.25 crore on the construction of various link roads in Nalagarh subdivision in addition to completing a number of irrigation and potable water schemes here. This was stated by the State Minister for Town and Country Planning , Mr H.N. Saini, near here on the annual youth club function of Bhawanipura, while presiding over the function. While describing the developmental activities being carried out by his government in the state in the last about four years, he urged the youth to come forward and extend a helping hand to the government for the fulfillment of these schemes. He said instead of depending on the government for the completion of small developmental works, the youths should come together and accomplish them. This will speed up the process of development in the region. In order to rid the society of evils like drug addiction, he urged the youth to participate in large numbers in such camps and any kind of addiction was an impediment to progress. Honouring the demands of the residents of the area the minister stated that he would get the local primary school to the middle-level from the next academic session. In order to deal with the problem of low voltage in the Kashambhiwaal area, he directed the Electricity Department to install a high voltage transformer there. He also stated that work on the construction of a link road at Bhawanipura and water irrigation and drinking schemes would soon begin in the area. The locals also apprised the minister of their long-standing problems when he visited their villages in the area. |
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Review appointment process: NSUI Shimla, February 2 University has started the process for filling posts of teacher. Bhawani Singh, General Secretary of the union, said the university in
Candidates living in the far-flung areas would not be able to apply for the posts, he said. Moreover, as many as six posts of lecturer, in public administration had been advertised which was inexplicable as the government had stopped the recruitment of school lecturers in this discipline last year. The subject was also dropped from the state entrance test conducted by the Public Service Commission. The appointments made by the university last year were already under the scrutiny of the high court and the union would take recourse to legal action if irregularities were committed in filling the posts. |
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1 held for raising pro-Pak
slogans Shimla, February 2 His arrest followed a written complaint by the president of the Balh Gram Panchayat to the police that the Kashmiri youth became furious and raised pro-Pakistan slogans when he was disallowed to enter the school premises, district police chief N. Venugopal said. The accused was identified as Fareed Ahmed Mir of Kupwara district. During interrogation, the accused admitted that he had gone to the school and was called there by teachers who teased him by raising anti-Pakistan slogans. At this, he felt irritated and raised pro-Pakistan slogans, he
said. |
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Jawan cremated with honours Jaisinghpur, February 2 The body was brought here today. He is survived by his wife and children Kanchan Lata and Sunny. |
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