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Wednesday,
March 19, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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SERC notice to HPSEB
on power purchase Preserve heritage, says
CM Holi celebrated with
fervour Holi revelry leads to truck mishap HC: issue notice before arresting
Katwal |
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Minister seeks details of funds
used Poll code flouted,
7 sacked Expulsion of 28 Cong men sought Hamirpur BJP meeting on March
21 Six houses washed away
in Chamba Parwanoo industry facing rough weather
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SERC notice to HPSEB
on power purchase Shimla, March 18 The previous Dhumal government had empowered the Board to sign agreements for the projects with private parties for execution. Agreements were signed for eight projects. These included the 4.8 MW Jagatsukh project, 2.5 MW Hul project,3.5 MW Balij ka Nallah project,5 MW Masali project,3 MW Aleo project,16 MW Patikari project ,5 MW Dehar augmentation project and the 3 MW Sechi
project. The agreement for the Sechi project was signed in February 17,2003. The Commission maintains that under Section 22(C) of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission Act (1998) it was authorised to sign purchase agreements for the supply of electricity by the generating company to the Board. The board had no jurisdiction in this respect and the government decision in this regard was a violation of the act. It has served notices to the board for all eight cases and asked it show cause why the PPA’s be not held void and “non est”. The board has been asked to file a reply before the commission by April 3. The government while empowering the board to sign the PPA’s had taken the plea that although the SERC had been set up but Section 43 A (2) of the electricity Supply Act (1948) had not been omitted in accordance with the Section 51 of the SERC Act. The commission, however, asserts that the government reached this conclusion by misinterpreting the provision of Electricity Supply Act which only says that tariff for the supply of electricity by the company to the Board will be decided on parameters like the plant load factor, depreciation and reasonable returns. As such in case of non-omission of the relevant section the commission was bound to decide the tariff on the basis of certain parameters, whereas after omission it was free to evolve its parameters for the purpose. Meanwhile, the commission brought the matter to the notice of the Union Ministry of Power which took suo motu action to scrap Section 43 A(2) in the case of Himachal Pradesh. The notification was issued in this regard by the ministry on February 6,2003.
However, the Board still signed a PPA on February 17 for the Sechi project. The private parties, will thus, have to wait for the legal battle between the commission and the Board to be over before taking further action on the projects assigned to them. Delay in the finalisation had been one of the main reasons for the failure of various private parties to start work on the projects. Things were expected to improve with the setting up of the SERC in the state. However, with the government still keen on entrusting this responsibility to the board, the uncertainty continues. |
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Preserve heritage, says
CM Sujanpurtira (Hamirpur), March 18 He said the holding of cultural feats, melas and fairs were the need of the hour as they were helpful in proper and timely interaction with people of various areas. Addressing a crowd here last night, he said Holi of Sujanpurtira and Faag of Rampur were co-related to each other. Both were organised in connection with the Holi celebrations. The Chief Minister said all fairs and festivals in the state were given recognition only by the Congress and the party was committed to not only maintaining their standard but also to improving that. Mr Singh blasted the previous BJP government in the state for ignoring the Pahari language. He said Pahari was the mother-tongue of the state and would again be uplifted and recognised at all levels. He thanked people for giving a massive mandate to the Congress in the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha elections and added that the government would do its utmost to keep intact the faith shown by the people in the Congress. He said the government was committed to ending the regional barriers which had been once again created by the BJP. The Chief Minister blasted the BJP for putting the state in a huge fiscal crisis. He said the state was facing a huge debt of Rs 15000 crore and it was the result of wrong policies of the previous BJP government. He chided the former Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal who used to say that the loaning system was not good for the state. However, the massive loaning was done by Mr Dhumal himself, the Chief Minister remarked. Mr Singh assured people that the party government would do its best to implement in letter and in spirit the party’s manifesto released for the last assembly elections. He also announced the opening of a sub-employment exchange at Sujanpurtira and the sanctioning of adequate funds for the provision of railings and gates on all parts of the historic Chaugan here. Mrs Anita Verma, local MLA, welcomed the Chief Minister for opening the Holi mela at Sujanpurtira. Earlier, the Holi Mela Celebration Committee honoured the Chief Minister by presenting him with a memento, a cap and a shawl. |
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Holi celebrated with
fervour Kangra, March 18 Youths, in groups, gathered at various crossings early today and started throwing colours, which made shopkeepers down shutters and the celebrations gained momentum. However, as there was no holiday in the subdivision today, government employees could not enjoy the day. The youth, too, calmed down after 1.30 pm and preferred to be indoors to enjoy the World Cup semifinal between Australia and Sri Lanka. In the Old Kangra locality, devotees from all over the globe thronged the famous Shewtamber Jain Temple to celebrate Holi and offer prayers. Members of the Jain community danced in the shrine and rubbed the faces of each other, but not with colours. They embraced one another. Muni Rajinder Vijay addressed the gathering. Ms Vandna Jain, a pilgrim from the USA, said: “We do not use colours on Holi, but carry the imprint of the teachings of our Gurus.” The devotees also took out a procession on the occasion and hoisted a flag on the Mahavir Adinath Temple in Kangra Fort. The 5,200-year-old Adinath’s idol was decorated with gold ornaments and prayers were held. SUJANPURTIRA: Hundreds of persons celebrated Holi at the historic Chaugan here today. Ms Anita Verma, local MLA, was the chief guest. Reports of Holi celebrations have also been received from the other parts of Hamirpur district. |
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Holi revelry leads to truck mishap Mandi, March 18 According to police sources, the driver of the speeding truck tried to turn to save the children from being crushed, but he lost control and the truck went off the road. Meanwhile Holi, the festival of colours was celebrated with great enthusiasm and gaiety in Mandi, Kangra and Hamirpur districts. The people braved the morning chill and came out of their houses in large numbers to play Holi. Almost all markets in Mandi, Dharamsala and other major towns remained
closed. PTI |
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HC: issue notice before arresting
Katwal Shimla, March 18 In the bail application it was alleged that officials of the
Enforcement Department was bent on to involve him in the criminal case. He also alleged that his house and office were sealed on March 9 when he was out of station. |
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Minister seeks details of funds
used Shimla, March 18 He also said he had told all Block Development Officers in the state to ensure full utilisation of the funds allocated upto March 31 and submit details of unfinished works and the amount spent by April 7. He said he would visit all district headquarters next month and officials to review the progress of development works. Steps would be taken to ensure transparency in the functioning of the Panchayati Raj institutions. Mr Mahajan said his edeavour would be to get maximum funds from the Centre, for which, he would soon visit New Delhi and meet Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Minister for Rural Development, and Mr Sahib Singh, Union Minister for Labour and Employment. |
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Poll code flouted,
7 sacked Shimla, March 18 Six Class IV employees and a driver, who were appointed on February 27, a day after polling for the Assembly election, have been removed from service. These employees were recruited after following due procedure, including a written test and an interview held in January. However, the Code of Conduct was in force when the appointments were made. The decision to sack the employees was taken after the new Speaker, Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, reviewed the case. |
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Expulsion of 28 Cong men sought Kulu, March 18 The vice-president of the local Congress Committee in a press note issued here today said these persons were found working against the Congress candidate from the Banjar Assembly constituency during elections. According to the press note, a few of them were found working for the BJP candidate openly by the Congress observers. The Congress has lost this seat to the BJP by more than 4500 votes. Mr Kishan Thakur, vice-president, of the local Congress committee, said. |
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Hamirpur BJP meeting on March 21 Hamirpur, March 18 Mr O.P. Kohli, party's national general secretary, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, former Chief Minister, Mr Suresh Chandel and Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, MP, will also attend the meeting. Mr Rasil Singh Mankotia, general secretary of the district unit of the party, said here today that all members of the district executive as well as all five-mandal units would take part in the meeting. The meeting would also frame strategies for the organisational elections.
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Six houses washed away in Chamba Chamba, March 18 However, no loss of life has been reported so far as these houses were already evacuated by their inmates. The district authorities today directed revenue officials to visit the site and carry out relief and rescue operation. They have been asked to assess the loss caused due to the avalanche following a month long
unprecedented rain and snowfall. Official sources said the recent rain and snowfall had resulted in an estimated loss of about Rs 10 crore — roads, bridges, buildings and cultivable land — in the Pangi valley. The weather remained partially cloudy in the tribal areas while a bright sunshine greeted the people in the rest of the state today.
UNI |
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Parwanoo industry facing rough weather Parwanoo, March 18 Figures collected from the Industrial Department indicate that there are 94 working units in the medium-scale category and as many as 52 have closed down in the past few years. The situation is no better in the small-scale sector where 677 units have closed down as against 1,936 working units. The district, which accounts for about 70 per cent of the industries in the state, has major industrial concentration at Parwanoo, Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh. Major sufferers are the consumer goods related units that are facing stiff competition from the cheaply available foreign goods. The situation is alarming in Parwanoo where as many as 50 per cent of the units have closed down in the past about two-and-a-half year. The industrial sector accounts for 10 per cent of the state domestic produce with per capita industrial investment being the highest in the country consuming 60 per cent of the total electricity in the state. The government has been providing a number of incentives to attract investors. Instances of units becoming sick after siphoning off of the incentives are coming to the fore. The Director (Industries), Ms Upma Chowdhary, while enlisting the factors for industrial sickness said the global recession was a major factor. The first generation entrepreneurs, who lacked the requisite experience, also ended up losing in the newly established ventures. The expenditure incurred in transporting finished goods to the markets outside the state added to the product cost. Officials opined that technological obsolesce particularly affected the units in the electronics and IT sectors, where no research and development wings were established to keep pace with the changing technologies. “To arrest the growing trend of units closing down after making use of the incentives, the government has decreased the quantum of incentives making these commensurate with the pace of development shown by the unit,” said Ms Upma Chowdhary. The role of financial institutes was of big importance in warding off sickness. With flexible policies that provided for rescheduling of the loan repayment by sick units would help in reviving these units, added some officials. However, they said major investors would turn to Himachal Pradesh after the extension of tax holiday in the state.
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