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Friday,
May 31, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Land grab:
ED told to take action Rare trout
glut in HP Typhoid
panic in Chamba Paucity of
funds hits water scheme Issue
notice to manager, BSNL told |
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Centre
to fund states keen on changing farm laws Students
pull down lift plan Governor
flags off trekking expedition Hotel
workers strike work Gang of
thieves busted
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Land grab: ED told to take action Shimla, May 30 It has also been ordered in the “time-bound” letter which the Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Vigilance) has written to the Additional Director-General of Police (Enforcement), that the government should be apprised of the action at the earliest, within a month’s time. The allegations pertain to the violation of the Land Reforms Act and felling of green trees by family members of the erstwhile ruling clan of Rampur Bhushahr. Reports of the inquiries conducted by the Additional Commissioner (appeals) and the DFO, Rampur, have also been sent to the Enforcement Department for inquiring thoroughly into these from the criminal angle. For the past about two years the
BJP-HVC combine government had been enquiring into these allegations made in a complaint by a local journalist under the “reward scheme”. Certain people recently admitted into the Congress party were signatories to similar allegations made in a “charge sheet” of the HVC which was forwarded to the CBI by the government for investigation. However, Mr Virbhadra Singh was given a “clean chit” by the CBI. However, Mr Virbhadra Singh has already alleged that these allegations were being got enquired into again by the state agencies to “harass and
humiliate” him. The letter of the Additional Chief Secretary while quoting the report of the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) points out that the report reveals that the rulers of the Bushahr state in ‘connivance’ with government officials managed to retain the land ownership which were to vest in the government as per the agreement signed between Rajmata Shanti Devi on behalf of Raja Virbhadra Singh (being minor), his heirs and successors in March 1948 with the government of India. They, in connivance with government officers, also managed to retain the land ownership which was to vest in the government with effect from January 26,1955 under Section 27(1) of the HP Abolition of Big Landed Estate Act 1953. The issue of non-implementation of the 1948 agreement had never been questioned in any court and was not under dispute and as such final, the letter said. The letter pointed out that the land which stood vested under these Acts was got acquired by the HPSEB and the family of the erstwhile ruler got a compensation of about Rs one crore. The Additional Chief Secretary has said in the letter that the matter had been considered by the government and it had been decided to find out the officers ,officials and private individuals responsible for the commission of various offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Forest Act which might have been committed in the course of these transactions. Meanwhile, Mr Virbhadra Singh has alleged that the Dhumal government was trying to implicate him in false cases of land-grab. The BJP government was trying to create confusion in the matter and he did not possess even an inch of land more than the prescribed ceiling. He had sometime ago, filed a petition in the court of the financial commissioner seeking rectification of revenue records pertaining to certain entries regarding the transfer of land to his daughter. Thereafter, a petition was also filed in the high court challenging the provisions of the law under which the elder daughter was not entitled to the transfer of land on her name. |
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Rare trout glut in HP Kulu, May 30 Of the nearly 25 tonne of trout produced in the farm this year, only about 13 tonne of it have been marketed and the authorities are now making all out efforts to find buyers for the unsold fish. When contacted, the Director of Fisheries, Dr Kuldeep Kumar, said buyers for the unsold trout would be invited through advertisements in the media. About 30 tonnes of trout is being produced in the government and private farms in the state these days. At the moment, there are five government trout farms and 12 private. More farms are coming up with one being constructed by the government and 26 by private entrepreneurs. It is learnt that the Fisheries Department was desperate to sell off the accumulated stock of trout at a cheaper rate than the existing of Rs 150 per kg, but the private entrepreneurs have resisted the move. Some time ago, the trout from the government farms was being sold at the rate of Rs 180 per kg, but, however, the rates have declined as the production of this species has increased. The main buyers of trout are the high class hotels in Delhi and its surroundings. A society has now been set up to market the produce keeping in view the commercial aspects and also establish a chain of cold storages to carry the trout to other parts of the country. The Tata Consultancy company, which was engaged to prepare a report on the marketing aspects of trout, is learnt to have pointed out that there is a marketing capacity of 100 tonne of trout in the country. It has identified 52 bulk buyers in various parts of the country. Kashmir enjoyed the monopoly of producing trout for a long time, but militancy is creating hurdles in its further development and Himachal Pradesh is making efforts to capture the market. In an effort to boost trout farming in the tribal areas of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, where the existing species were not much successful, it was being planned to import three new varieties of lake trout, Arctic trout and brook trout from Europe specially for these high altitude places. The two farms at Kinnaur and Sangla produced 1 tonne of trout this year. Norway is providing assistance to Himachal Pradesh in the development of cold water fisheries and pathological and diagnostic laboratories are also being set up at Patlikuhl. The Centre provided a grant of Rs 1 crore for the development of trout last year. |
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Typhoid
panic in Chamba Chamba, May 30 Being the interior most pockets of the Salooni border area, the reports came first at the primary health centre (PHC) of Kihar from where a team of paramedical staff and a doctor was sent to the site. According to Dr V. D. Sharma, Chief Medical Officer, here the medical treatment was being given to patients. He said a medical team also conducted a survey of the area and advised local residents to take precautionary measures and also distributed medicines. He advised them to sprinkle chlorine in the natural drinking water sources regularly. Local residents have complained that there was an acute shortage of medical staff at health centres in Kihar, Diur and Salooni. Meanwhile, Residents of Sahoo valley in the district have complained that the government was neglecting their area. The valley can progress in horticulture, floriculture, dairy, agriculture, and off-season organic farming. There also exist a vast potential for tourism and micro hydel projects. Almost 100 per cent of water supply and 80 per cent of milk supply to Chamba town is being made by this part of the district. However, most of the people who have received in abundance from nature are living in penury, they say. The valley comprises Sahoo, Rajindo, Paratha, Plyur, Jadera, Sillagharat, Baat, Uteep panchayats of this assembly constituency, Sarahan, Guhad, Kidi of Bharmour (ST reserve) assembly constituency and Baror, Paluninhi, Kalay panchayats of Rajnagar (SC reserve) assembly constituency. |
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Paucity
of funds hits water scheme Dalhousie, May 30 The project envisages lifting of water from Sherpur about Rs 3 crore 11 km away from Dalhousie town. The rising main of the scheme has been laid and the pumping machinery arranged. A sum of about is required to be deposited with the HPSEB for the supply of power to accelerate work on the scheme. It is officially learnt that the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department had also proposed a scheme for artificial recharge and storage of water for the revival of spring sources at a cost of Rs 40 lakh with a view to mitigating the existing water problem of the Hill town to a large extent. But the authorities concerned have paid no attention though the case was submitted two years ago. In the absence of requisite funds, the cost of the scheme shall definitely increase substantially because of the increase in the price index. During the summer, the floating tourist population outnumbers the permanent population of the town and it is impossible to cater to the whole population. Hotels, restaurants and other tourism related establishments have mushroomed during the past few years. There are 105 hotels registered with the Tourism Department. Even the posts of one Assistant Engineer, two JEs and other subordinate officials have been lying vacant since 1998. As a result the working of the IPH Department has been crippled, affecting the working of the water supply in the town. |
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Issue notice to manager, BSNL told Solan, May 30 The forum directive was issued as part of the judgement in the case of Mr Shiv Kumar Thakur, a local consumer of the BSNL’s telecom services, who had filed a suit with the forum complaining wrongful disconnection of his telephone and sought a compensation of Rs 50,000. According to Mr Thakur, the BSNL had issued a bill for Rs 2133 to him on September 11, 2000, to be paid by October 1,2000. Due to his absence from the town, he could not pay the bill in time but did the same with the stipulated late payment surcharge of Rs 70 on November 13, 2000. To his surprise the BSNL authorities included the surcharge amount of Rs 70 in their next bill issued to him on November 11, 2000. Mr Thakur went to the BSNL office and showed the receipt for Rs 70 and demanded that a fresh bill be issued to him minus the amount already paid. Mr Thakur alleged that the BSNL, however, disconnected his telephone on December 5,2000. When Mr Thakur visited the office once again to lodge his protest, he was told to make an additional payment of Rs 105 as restoration of the connection fee. After paying bill “under protest”, Mr Thakur filed a complaint with the forum. The BSNL authorities, in their reply, denied having wrongfully disconnected Mr Thakur’s telephone and supported their assertion with an affidavit filed by their Divisional General Manager, Mr G.S. Bains. During the hearing the forum found Mr Bains guilty of having filed a false affidavit and of suppressing material facts and also concluded that BSNL had illegally disconnected the complainant’s telephone. It directed the BSNL to refund an amount of Rs 175 to the complainant. It also awarded damages of Rs 2000 with litigation cost of Rs 1,000 to be paid by the BSNL to the complainant. The forum also sent a copy of the judgement to the Chief General Manager, Telecom circle, Himachal Pradesh, with a stipulation to recover the amount from the defaulting official and make the payment to the aggrieved consumer within a month. |
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Centre to fund states keen on changing farm laws Shimla, May 30 Talking to newsmen after the conference of the agriculture ministers of northern states, held here, he said that the laws, which were framed to protect the interests of farmers and had become obsolete, and would have to be amended to enable the country to meet the challenge of
globalisation. He said the Market Committee Act, which debarred farmers and traders from selling and purchasing produce directly, and the Agriculture Cooperative Societies Act, under which only one society could function in a particular areas were major bottlenecks in introduction of contract and corporate farming which were essential to increase productivity. Besides some new laws were required to assure the farmers that he would not lose the ownership of land leased out for contract farming and encourage cooperative marketing to ensure remunerative returns to small farmers. Since agriculture and cooperation were state subjects the Centre had decided to link legislative reforms with grant of funds. The Centre had already passed the Multi-state Cooperative Bill to reduce the government’s interference to the minimum in the functioning of cooperatives. There would be only three government directors out of the 21 directors and that too if the state had 51 per cent equity share. The cooperative society could not be suspended without notice. Registration of cooperatives had been made easy and a cooperative would be deemed as registered if no response was received from the registering authority within four months. He said the huge surplus stocks of wheat and rice and simultaneously the low availability of oilseeds and pulses made crop diversification imperative not only for ensuring remunerative returns to farmers but also for sustainability in crop production. Replying to a question he made it clear that the centre would not scrap or reduce minimum support price
(MSP) for surplus crops, it would amount to punishing farmers for making country self-sufficient in
foodgrain. However, it would give substantial hike in the MSP for crops in which there was a shortfall. He announced that the government would soon set up a national organic farming institute to encourage use of
biofertilisers in place of chemical
fertilisers. He said there was a big global market for organic farm produce but India had negligible share in it. In the total $ 35 billion of trade the country accounted for only $ 30 million. One of the main reason for it was the lack of certification system for organic farm produce. The country was set to achieve a record to foodgrain production of 212 million tonne this year. However, the growth of foodgrain production had tended to slow down at 1.8 per cent during the nineties which was close to the rate of increase in population growth. |
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Students
pull down lift plan Shimla, May 30 Many students said the money being spent on the construction of the lift should be utilised for fulfilling their long-standing demands. “We are not opposing the construction of the lift but asking the SCA to give us basic facilities”, some students in the library said. They alleged that the seating capacity of the library was about 600, which was inadequate when compared to the strength of students in the university. “These days we are preparing for the examinations which will start from next month. We are not able to get seats in the library, when we are late even for a few minutes” they said. Besides, most of seats are worn out and it is difficult to sit on these chairs for a long time. The conditions in the library are unhygienic, the students complained. The students of most of the departments complain that library does not have the latest journals on various subjects. Meanwhile, Mr Narinder Atri, SCA president, said the construction of lift was a welcome step. |
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Governor
flags off trekking expedition Mandi, May 30 Speaking on the occasion, the Governor lauded the role of the NCC in the country in raising a second line of defence comprising disciplined and dedicated boys and girls. He asked the cadets to dedicate themselves to maintain the unity and integrity of the country by remaining vigilant against the communal and divisive forces currently conspiring to tarnish the secular image of India. He said tours and trekking expeditions were vital for the youths as these promoted their spirit of adventure and enhanced their exposure through visits to various places and added that these should be organised on a regular basis. These expeditions also helped the youths to understand the unity in diversity of our country. Dr Suraj Bhan particularly appreciated the girl cadets who were joining the NCC in large numbers and added that girls of the country were excelling in all spheres. Col Bijay Singh, Commander, NCC Group, Shimla, and trek manager of the expedition welcomed the chief guest, Lt Col
G.S. Shah, Commanding Officer, 2HP Boys Battalion, and presented the vote of thanks. |
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Hotel workers
strike work Shimla, May 30 The union also took out a procession and held a rally at which the speakers lamented that the government had not taken any action against the management of Royal Hotel which illegally closed down the hotel after the workers demanded the minimum wages. Mr Rakesh Singhla, president of the state unit of CITU, alleged that the workers of the hotel were agitating since March 27, but the administration had failed to intervene. He demanded action against the management for blatant violation of labour laws. |
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Gang of thieves busted Hamirpur, May 30 The Hamirpur district police chief, Mr Rajendra Mohan Sharma, said here this evening that the gang had stolen 18 decks from a shop here and later on sold those to Mr Rakesh Kumar, alias Tinku of Nadaun. On getting information from its sources, the police raided the shop of Rakesh and seized the stolen goods. He said Deepak Kumar of Hamirpur, Saravjeet of Jalari, Ajay Kumar of Jalari, Vijay Kumar of Dobar Kalan, Manish of Nurpur and Sonu of Jalari, students between 18 and 22, have named in the case. Arvind Kumar confessed that the gang had also stolen two colour televisions from the Hotel Gautam, Hamirpur, in January this year. |
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