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Sunday,
November 24, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP bid to
contain turmoil Shanta
launches green gold project IGMC seats
to be increased to 100: CM NURPUR ROUND-UP
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Team for
quality education 2 audits create confusion Micro-light
plane for NCC cadets Himachal
transfers HP unit of
NSUI constituted 
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BJP bid to contain turmoil Shimla, November 23 An emergency meeting of the district unit has been convened at Dharamsala tomorrow to find ways and means to bridge the divide caused in the party on delimitation. Mr Jai Krishan Sharma, party president, will preside over the meeting which will also be attended by Mr Ganesh Dut, party spokesperson and in charge of Kangra district. The resignation of Mr Vidya Sagar, Agriculture Minister, on the issue of reservation in jobs for other backward classes will also be discussed. The delimitation proposals were openly opposed by the Kangra district unit and leaders not only organised a bandh in protest but also accused the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, of manipulating the exercise. In fact, the district unit had virtually revolted against the government on the issue. The unsavoury happenings during the bandh, when some posters depicting Mr Dhumal as the “khalnayak” appeared in Shahpur, led to the suspension of Mr Kamal Padha, general secretary of the district unit, and Mr Rakesh Chauhan, general secretary of the district Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha, from the party. However, as the party could not afford to take action against senior leaders before the elections, it overlooked the role of legislators like Mr Dulo Ram, who is also the president of the district unit, and Mr Vipin Kumar, who spearheaded the stir against delimitation. The meeting is, thus, crucial for party unity and much will depend on the attitude of Mr Sharma and Mr Dulo Ram. The party leadership wants the district unit to make the programme of Mr Dhumal, in connection with the inauguration of the mini secretariat building at Dharamsala on December 3, a grand success to boost the party’s image which touched a new low in the wake of the delimitation controversy. The report of the three-member committee to inquire into the Shahpur incident could lead to the expulsion of Mr Padha and Mr Chauhan, besides action against a few more activists of the Shahpur Vikas Manch who are members of the BJP. However, before taking a final decision the viewpoint of the district unit, which gave a call for the bandh, will be taken into account. Mr Padha was suspended from the party earlier too but legislators led by Mr Dulo Ram, who raised the banner of revolt against Mr Dhumal, got him reinstated as part of the compromise deal. It remains to be seen what stand Mr Dulo Ram and others who gave a call for the bandh take in respect of Mr Padha this time. The resignation of Mr Vidya Sagar has been nothing more than a storm in a teacup but it is likely to come up for discussion during the meeting. A section of the party men is in favour of accepting the resignation but Mr Dhumal seems to be in no hurry to do that. Mr Vidya Sagar caused much embarrassment by levelling serious charges against Mr Dhumal and it remains to be seen whether the party will take disciplinary action against him. Mr Dhumal has by giving a cold shoulder to him tried to pay him back in the same coin. The fact, however, remains that by raising the issue of 27 per cent reservation to other backward classes in government jobs, Mr Vidya Sagar has revived a sensitive and emotional issue which, if not handled properly, could mar the party’s electoral prospects. |
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Shanta launches green gold project Chamba, November 23 The project is aimed at the uplift of 8,000 below-poverty-line families of six blocks of the district, comprising 67,418 households. The project will provide infrastructure and technical assistance to the rural poor for the adoption of lucrative economic activities. Floriculture, dairy farming, cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants and improved dairy management programmes will be undertaken by the villagers through self-help groups under the project. Addressing the gathering on this occasion, Mr Shanta Kumar said panchayats would be provided additional funds up to the tune of Rs 10 lakh for mobilising their sources of income. Mr Shanta Kumar said a scheme for providing drinking water to the left-out villages of the country would soon be launched by the Centre. The scheme, called “Swajaldhara,” will be announced by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on November 25. Himachal Industries Minister Kishori Lal urged the Centre to clear the Rs 9-crore Ambedkar handicraft scheme for the district, which had been submitted for approval. Mr Mohan Lal, Ayurveda Minister, appealed to panchayats to work for the development of their areas, keeping aside party politics. Mr Rahul Anand, Deputy Commissioner, thanked the Centre for clearing the project. |
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IGMC seats
to be increased to 100: CM Samirpur (Hamirpur),
November 23 Addressing a public meeting at his native village here this evening, he said the state government had opened two technical universities, four engineering colleges and 10 ITIs during its tenure. Earlier, he inaugurated the first unit of the ITI complex being built here by JP Industries. He announced that the status of the Hamirpur NIT would be raised to that on an IIT in the coming months. The Chief Minister announced that seats in Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, would be increased from 65 to 100 from the next academic session. Mr Jai Prakash Gaur, Chairman of the JP Group of Industries, also spoke on this occasion. The Chief Minister also gave away prizes under the Bhagya Lakshmi small savings scheme. Mr Mohan lal won a Maruti car as the first prize. BILASPUR: Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said on Saturday that the “panch karam” system of treatment in Ayurveda would be made an essential part of the promotion of tourism in Himachal Pradesh. Inaugurating the Panch Karam Bhavan, constructed at a cost of Rs 25 lakh by the District Truck Operators Cooperative Society, the Chief Minister said the “panch karam” system had been found useful where allopathic treatment had failed. Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a Regional Transport Office on the premises of the truck union office near the main bus stand. |
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NURPUR ROUND-UP NURPUR: Trigart, a cafe of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) here on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway, which was inaugurated on January 16, 1990, is on the verge of collapse. Its doors, windows and other wooden material have been stolen. Built at a cost of about Rs 30 lakh, Trigart now sports a deserted look. The building was constructed by the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (HPPWD) but the fragile and sinking land on which it was built was not examined by the authorities concerned. As a result the cafe building started sinking after its inauguration. The PWD carried out its repair with patchwork several times but the cracks in the building could not be stopped. In July, 1992, the then BJP Government rented out the cafe to a private
contractor for five years through an open auction. As the cafe was unsafe, the contractor left it midway. But the HPTDC didn’t take back the physical possession of the cafe and left it abandoned which led to frequent thefts there. Similar is the condition of Pancham cafe at Trilokpur, near here. It has also been kept locked by the HPTDC. The HPTDC had rented out this cafe to a private contractor a few years ago, who also left it in midway.
*** Owing to an increase in vehicular traffic and frequent jams in the markets of the town, the local Municipal Council (MC) had passed a resolution for enforcing one-way traffic in the town in July last year. Following the recommendation of the MC, the District Magistrate, Kangra, enforced one-way traffic with effect from January 16. The vehicle owners were directed to enter the town from the chowgan side and go out from Niazpur and Brij-Swami temple road. The police enforced one-way traffic strictly in the beginning as a result of which there were no traffic jams. But now the one-way traffic rule is being violated with impunity, thanks to the apathy of the local police. Roadside parking of light vehicles and two-wheelers has also created traffic bottlenecks. There is no parking lot in the town.
*** The residents of Hadal, a remote and backward village of this subdivision, which had been adopted by HUDCO under the model village scheme in December last year have been feeling themselves cheated as not even a single brick has laid for this project. The residents were promised completion of the project within six months at the time of its foundation-laying ceremony. This project had been sanctioned with the efforts of Union Minister Shanta Kumar, under which HUDCO and the state government were to spend Rs 35 lakh each to give a facelift to the village. Under the scheme, the residents were to get potable water, electricity, civil and veterinary dispensaries, community centres and pucca village paths. But this much-publicised project has remained a non-starter. The residents of Hadal gram panchayat are sore over the lackadaisical attitude of the state government towards this project. |
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Team for quality education Shimla, November 23 The team comprising Prof. Bharti Baweja, representative of the Government of India, and Mr Subir Shukla of the European Commission, which reviewed the progress of the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) during the past five days also called for better training of teachers and improvement in classroom processes to raise the overall standard of primary education. The team appreciated the Saraswati Bal Vidya Sankalp Yozna, under which 12,122 rooms have been constructed in primary schools to ensure that each school had a minimum of three class rooms. It also lauded the success of the programme in providing alternative schools and filling of vacancies through Gram Vidya
Upasaks. Out of Rs 126 crore sanctioned for the DPEP as many as Rs 101 crore have been spent. The DPEP will be followed up by “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” for which Rs 38 crore had been sanctioned by the centre. Mr Karan Singh, Minister for Primary Education, presided over the final review meeting at which Mr Sudripto Roy, Secretary Education, was also present. |
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2 audits
create confusion Solan, November 23 Besides resulting in irregularities, this has also led to huge financial losses to the university at a time when financial crisis has became a cause of concern. The tight financial had delayed the release of salaries for the month of August this year. Despite that the university authorities do not feel the need to
tighten the noose to install financial discipline in various departments. While the internal audit branch has been set up as per the University Act, in view of the fact that the university receives funds from the central government it is also subjected to audit by the state Auditor-General. With little heed being paid to the financial irregularities pointed out by the internal audit officials feel that this department is an unnecessary burden on the university where an annual expenditure of Rs 22-23 lakh is being incurred. A dispute which had arisen certain years ago had led to the scrapping of the external audit for some years. However, it was restarted after it was pointed out that it was mandatory to subject university accounts to external auditing since it received funds from the central government. Officials also point out that when the internal audit points out objections in the accounts, the departments concerned show lack of concern to address them. Interestingly, same objections are later raised by the Accountant-General which are required to be cleared. The lack of systematic approach and accountability into the irregularities pointed out by the internal audit has reduced the department’s role. The Deputy Controller of Audits could not be contacted for his version. |
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Micro-light plane
for NCC cadets Shimla, November 23 This was stated by the Deputy Director General, NCC, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, Brig D.S. Dhillon, at a state-level conference here last evening. The conference was organised to discuss ways and means to strengthen and give new direction to NCC activities in the region. Brigadier Dhillon said the Directorate of the NCC had decided that the existing strength of the NCC cadets in Himachal should be increased to 10,000. He said that keeping in view the difficult topography of this state a Remount Veterinary Corps would be raised to impart training in horse riding to the cadets. Col Bijay Singh, Group Commander, Shimla, gave an overview of the functioning of the NCC in Himachal Pradesh and highlighted the NCC’s achievements. During the conference matters like problems of NCC officers, provision of camping grounds and computer facilities for NCC battalions were discussed. Mr S. Roy, Principal Secretary, Education, Mr D.K. Sharma, Secretary, Planning, and Mr O.P. Sharma, Director of Education, attended the meeting. |
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Himachal
transfers Shimla, November 23 Mr Hans Raj, District Tourism Development Officer, Dharamsala has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kulu, in place of Mr S.R. Thakur, who goes as Resident Commissioner, Pangi. Mr Arun Kumar, Assistant Settlement Officer, Kulu, takes over as Regional Transport Officer, Bilaspur, Mr Moti Lal, Subdivisional Magistrate, Kulu, has been given the additional charge of Assistant Settlement Officer. Mr G.R. Bharati, Deputy Director, Transport, has been posted as Subdivisional Officer (Civil), Chopal. |
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HP unit
of NSUI constituted Shimla, November 23 The new team comprises nine vice-presidents, seven general secretaries, 11 organising secretaries and 20 secretaries. Vice-presidents: Mr Mahinder Stan., Mr Digvijay Singh Jandev, Mr Rakesh Garg, Mr Digvijay Patial, Sanjeev Saini, Mr Vijay Thakur, Ms Sharmila Patial, Ms Anita Khachi and Mr
D.D. Kashyap. General secretaries: Mr Vikas Thakur, Mr Sunil
Chauhan, Mr Rajesh Sharma, Mr Bhawani Singh Chauhan, Mr Vijay Kanav, Mr Rajeev Rana and Ms Anjana Sharma . Spokesperson: Amit Pal Singh. |
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Vajpayee
to open heritage centre Solan, November 23 |
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