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Saturday,
February 23, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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HP Cabinet nod to 223 road schemes Maintain strict vigil: doctor CM ignoring Kangra: Cong Security beefed up for Budget session Lack of funds hampers
theatre development |
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IFS body blames Bihar Govt Power generation in
HP to increase: CM Water-borne disease contained Meeting reviews HP transfer policy
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HP Cabinet nod to 223 road schemes Shimla, February 22 The Cabinet, which met here last evening under the chairmanship of Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, also decided to submit additional proposals to the Government of India to help connect 38 more villages at a cost of Rs 10.60 crore. It was decided that priority would be given for constructing new all-weather roads in districts where the road density was less, without metalling and tarring
so that more villages could be connected. It was further decided that the Public Works Department would undertake the construction of roads to connect the villages with a population of more than 500 on priority where the gram sabhas provided the land free of cost. It was also decided that clearances from the Centre, wherever necessary, under the Forest Conservation Act for diverting forest land be secured in a time-bound manner. The Cabinet also decided to grant government’s standing guarantee in favour of the state Civil Supplies Corporation for availing cash credit limit to the tune of Rs 10 crore during the current financial year. The text of the Governor’s address for the first session of the state Vidhan Sabha beginning on February 26 and the supplementary demands for grants for the current financial year were also approved at the meeting. The Cabinet approved the filling of 300 posts in the Police Department and decided that a detailed exercise be undertaken to fix the cadre strength of constables.
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Maintain strict vigil: doctor Shimla, February 22 Dr Retola, who has just returned from the plague-hit area, warned today that the disease could break out again in case effective steps were not taken. He had camped in the Kelvi area and taken steps to prevent the disease from spreading there. He said the rat-prone areas and their burrows should be profusely fumigated to kill the infected fleas. He said although the situation was under control, the disease could break out again. He said it was not snow but the timely action taken by doctors which had prevented the plague from spreading. It remained confined to a single family. The upper areas of Shimla district have a history of plague and this is for the fifth time that the disease has broken out in the same area in the past few years. Dr Retola had submitted a plan for carrying out surveillance in the plague-prone areas way back in 1990 when he was Block Medical
Officer, Tikkar. He pointed out that according to the record of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) the outbreak of plague in Tangnu village and the surrounding areas in 1983 was not for the first time as the disease had spread for the fourth time there at that time. He said the disease had got more or less cyclic and periodical recurrences with an average gap of about 10 years. In 1984 plague had broken out in Mandhol around the same area and Dr Retola had forewarned the authorities vide his letter dated August 31,1996, that the disease was certain to reoccur as more than about 12 years had lapsed. At a meeting on plague surveillance in the Chirgaon area held on September 17, 1984, Dr (Mrs) Saraljit Sehgal, Deputy Director (Zoonosis), NICD, had suggested that Himachal Pradesh should have a permanent and regular team as in some other states as there were recurrent breaks of plague in Shimla district. Although it was decided that the Director of Health Services would take up the matter with the government for setting up an independent organisation for plague surveillance but nothing had come out so far. |
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CM ignoring Kangra: Cong Dharamsala, February 22 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Chander Kumar, who is also the vice-president of the HPCC, said that development works in the state had virtually come to a standstill, with the earlier division of upper and lower Himachal being converted into a “Kangra-Hamirpur divide.” The BJP ministers and MLAs from Kangra who were responsible for the formation of the government were unhappy with the Chief Minister for ignoring the interests of the Kangra region and kept away during his winter sojourn, he stated. Mr Chander Kumar regretted that Mr Dhumal considered the winter move started by the Virbhadra regime as mere formality, fulfilling which was a political compulsion for him. “While there was complete lack of enthusiasm amongst the people as well as the BJP party workers, the Chief Minister did not announce any new projects for the people of the Kangra region,” he stated. He alleged that Mr Dhumal was ignoring Kangra at the cost of his home district Hamirpur, where all development works were being concentrated. He charged the government with misleading the people of the state on the issue of “Khudro Drakhtan Malkiyat”. “Though the government claims that the entries have been made in the revenue record in the name of the people, the fact remains that till the
relaxation is not granted by the centre, the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, will not permit the felling of trees, “he stated. He added that even the Congress regime had sent recommendations in this regard to the Centre but permission was not granted and unlike the BJP, their party did not mislead the people on the issue. The Congress leader said that the people were fed up with the “misrule” of the BJP, where a hike had been made in water and power tariff along with user charges in hospitals. “A party which had claimed to generate one lakh jobs annually in its election manifesto is, on the contrary, abolishing the posts against which people are either retiring or getting promotion,” he alleged. He said over 10,000 functional government posts had been abolished, making it all the more difficult for the educated unemployed youth. He said that people who had great expectations from Union Minister, Mr Shanta Kumar, were disappointed as no major industry or investment had been made in Himachal, which could generate employment opportunities. “More than the BJP or the Congress it is the general public of the state who are waiting for the elections, as they are fed up with the anti-people policies of the BJP-HVC regime. He said that the government had burdened the public by imposing a tax of Rs 70 crore in the domestic sector while provided a relief of Rs 20 crore to the industry, which in turn was not giving any relief to the consumers. |
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Security beefed up for Budget
session Shimla, February 22 The Speaker, Thakur Gulab Singh, told mediapersons here today that the CTV, conferencing and computer systems were being installed at a cost of Rs 5 crore which had been provided by the Finance Commission. He said the sitting and former MLAs had been issued fresh identity cards which they would be supposed to carry during the session. The staff of Vidhan Sabha had also been given identity cards. Entry passes of different colours would be issued for various galleries. The Speaker said the Budget proposals would be presented by the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, on March 7 instead of March 8 as was fixed earlier in the tentative calendar. These proposals would be put to voting on March 27 after a debate in the House. The session would have 17 sittings with a break between March 15 and March 24. The budget of the HPSEB would also be placed on the table of the House for discussion. The Speaker said besides an adjournment motion on the recent incidents of plague in the Jubbal and Rohru areas, several other motions on the issue had been received. So far, about 650 starred and nearly 150 unstarred questions had been received from the legislators. The Speaker today called on Dr Suraj Bhan, Governor, at Raj Bhawan here and extended a formal invitation to him to address the Assembly on the opening day of the Budget session on February 26. He apprised the Governor of the business to be concluded during the Budget session. |
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Lack of funds hampers
theatre development Shimla, February 22 While the government has been starved of funds, the state did not have any big industrial houses or other commercial organisation to support theatre activities. A few businessmen who had money to spare, preferred to promote fashion shows, laments Mohan Joshi, general secretary of Nataraj theatre group which staged “Aala Afsar” here on Wednesday. There was no place even for rehearsal and the “Gaiety theatre” the only auditorium, charge Rs 5000 per day, which was beyond the means of amateur theatre groups, he said. The Language Art and Culture Department gave a meagre grant of Rs 3000 each to cultural clubs annually which was not enough to hire the hall for the show. It cost about Rs 25,000 to produce a play with amateur artistes. However, the expenses could be reduced considerably if suitable space for rehearsals and an auditorium was made available for staging plays at reasonable rates. He said the department should devise a system for grading the theatre groups and give funds to them on its basis. This would enable it support the genuine groups. The play directed by Joshi, was a satire on bureaucracy and politician and depicted how they exploited the gullible masses. It was based on the world famous original script of Russian playwright Mr Nikolai V Gogol.
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IFS body blames Bihar Govt Shimla, February 22 The association, which met here yesterday to mourn his death, lamented that the officer was not provided proper security inspite of three attempts on his life. According to the members, circumstances in which he was killed was not an overnight development as he had been on the hit list ever since he took on the two powerful
mafias. Only a few days ago he was beaten up and his jeep torched. The state Forest Minister had himself admitted that enhanced security could have saved his life, they said. The association hoped that the sacrifice of the officer would not go in vain and the government would take effective steps to equip the department to meet the challenge thrown up by the mafia. |
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Power generation in HP to increase: CM
Shimla, February 22 He was addressing Bharatiya Janata Party workers of Mandi district mandal who called on him here, under “Meet the BJP Mandal Programme”. He assured that after the completion of various hydel projects domestic power tariff would not be hiked . He claimed that 78,700 families belonging to the IRDP category were being provided electricity at 70 paise per unit in the state which was lowest in the country. He said even the highest paying consumer was also being given a subsidy of 77 paise per unit. The government was committed to harness 10,000 MW hydel power by the year 2008 which would fetch the state exchequer an annual income of Rs 1,800 crore, he added. The workers thanked the Chief Minister for upgrading Government High School, Paidi, to senior secondary school. UNI
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Water-borne disease contained Hamirpur, February 22 Additional District Magistrate Nirmal Singh Suman said yesterday that the health authorities had been instructed to keep a strict watch on the situation and make frequent visits to the village for the next one week so that the disease did not erupt again. The people had taken ill after having a meal at a marriage party on February 18. Chief Medical Officer K.D. Dogra said the Health Department has taken water samples from the house where the feast was arranged and the report would be made available in a week.
UNI |
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Meeting reviews HP transfer policy
Shimla, February 22 He said the new transfer policy should be made reasonable and views and suggestions of all departments, including the NGO federation, would be incorporated to make it rational and employees’ friendly. He said that transfer policy would be framed to serve the interests of both state and the employees’ for effective and smooth functioning of government policies and programmes. Suggestions from various departments had already been listed. The minister directed the remaining departments to give their suggestions well in time so that the final draft could be prepared. Mr Harsh Gupta, Chief Secretary, said the draft transfer policy would soon be prepared. PTI
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