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Wednesday,
March 26, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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QUESTION HOUR Dhumal betrayed me: Sukh
Ram VAT draft Bill examined 4 crore for
HP Forest Department |
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Kashmir carnage
condemned IT instructors sans salary for 6
months HP varsity to start new courses Cocaine worth Rs 70 lakh seized Rohtang pass reopened
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QUESTION HOUR Shimla, March 25 Stating this in the Vidhan Sabha during question hour Mr Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Chief Minister, said that the loan from the central government accounted for Rs 1069 crore, whereas Rs 869 crore was raised from funding institutions like the National Bank for Rural and Agriculture Development, the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the Housing and urban development corporation. The SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) loan amounted to Rs 1238 crore and non-SLR borrowings totalled Rs 1906 crore. He said the loans were not taken for specific schemes but to meet the budgetary commitments. During this period the state also returned previous loans of Rs 932 crore. The Chief Minister assured the House that he would take up the matter with his Punjab and Haryana counterparts for the construction of Baddi-Chandigarh road hanging fire for the past several years. He said that of the total 22 Km road, 7.45 Km fell in Haryana and the remaining in the Punjab territory. The government wanted the road constructed at the earliest hence it agreed to contribute 75 per cent of the cost of a major bridge to be built in Haryana. Mr Kaul Singh, Himachal Irrigation and Public Health Minister told Mrs Anita Verma that drinking water supply scheme for Hamirpur town was inaugurated by former Chief Minister, P.K. Dhumal, but it had not been completed. Mr G.S. Bali. Transport Minister, informed Mr Rakesh Verma, that work on the bus station at Theog could not be taken up due to non-transfer of land. All three sites selected for the bus station had one problem or the other. Mr Brij Bihari Lal Butail, Revenue Minister, told Mr K.D. Dharmani that there was no proposal to regularise the services of revenue chowkidars or increase their honorarium of Rs 400 per month. In a written reply the Chief Minister informed the House that there were 5717 daily wage workers in the state who had completed 10 years of service on February 28,2003. The House condemned the massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in Pulwama by militants and mourned the death of innocent persons, including two children and 11 women. Making a suo motu statement Mr Virbhadra Singh said peace had been shattered by unidentified gunmen after three months of relative peace. The tragedy had shocked all and no words could condemn the dastardly act. The human suffering that the people of Jammu and Kashmir had been facing eversince cross-border terrorism afflicted this region was beyond description. He called upon the people to oppose unitedly the forces that threatened the country’s solidarity and integrity. He said he was confident that the people not only of Jammu and Kashmir but of the entire country had the courage and resilience to stand up to the crisis. Mr P.K. Dhumal, Leader of the Opposition, said cross-border terrorism had claimed 65000 lives as against the 6000 jawans who made the supreme sacrifice in the four declared wars. He said POTA should be enforced wherever required to deal with cross-border terrorism effectively. |
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Dhumal betrayed me: Sukh
Ram Shimla, March 25 Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the Governor’s Address in the Vidhan Sabha, he said but for the support extended by his party at a crucial juncture in the wake of a hung Assembly, Mr Dhumal and the BJP would not have enjoyed the fruits of power for full five years. However, all that he got in return from Mr Dhumal was humiliation and mistrust. Instead of being grateful, Mr Dhumal made a systematic effort to weaken the HVC. He created a division in party, and instigated Mr Mohinder Singh, his number two, to split the party. Regarding the issue of corruption, he said a survey carved out by national news channel during election revealed that 86 per cent people considered him as honest. On the contrary, 50 per cent believed that BJP leaders were corrupt and 47 per cent termed the Congress as corrupt. It was a pity that the BJP had overtaken the Congress in corruption in just five years. It was all the more shocking as the BJP had promised to root out corruption. Mr Sukh Ram appreciated the resolve of the government to stop employees from indulging in politics. He expressed concern over the growing unemployment and urged the government to come out with a comprehensive plan to tackle it. Mr Mukesh Agnihottari, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, alleged that the Dhumal government pressurised police officers to implicate a case against Mr Virbhadra Singh in the khair wood allotment case. He produced copies of a letter written by the Superintendent of Police, who investigated the matter, in which he had stated that no case was made out. Again, the Additional Director-General of Police had also expressed a similar opinion. However, Mr Dhumal specially brought from the Centre an officer of the rank of Director-General of Police for the specific purpose and got the case registered. He said the BJP had paid the price for compromising with its own principles. It was opposed to raising loans but actually borrowed over Rs 6200 crore, it was against the use of helicopter and granting extension in service, but had no qualms in himself enjoying the comfort of flights and obliging some with extensions. He alleged large-scale corruption and favouritism in the award of hydel power projects and demanded an inquiry into the matter. Mr Kuldeep Pathania (Independent) called for concrete action to root out corruption. The crusade against graft should not remain confined to newspapers. He demanded an inquiry into the construction of roads under the Prime Minister’s Sadak Yojana and alleged that even those roads which did not fulfil the parameters were included under it. Moreover, the small contractors of the state were not in a position to participate in tenders due to unreasonable conditions of awarding work. Mrs Anita Verma accused Mr Dhumal of wasting funds on redundant projects like the rest house got constructed by him in his native Samirpur village . The occupancy in the rest house was just 5 per cent which clearly indicated that there was no justification for it. She said it would be wrong to say that jobs were given to candidates of Hamirpur district as the fact was that only those belonging to Bamsen the constituency of Mr Dhumal or relatives of BJP leaders got jobs. Mr Ishwar Das Dhiman lamented that the Governor’s Address did not give any indication about the priorities and policies of the new government. It did not reveal any plan to tackle the financial crisis and the government had only burdened the state exchequer with a jumbo sized ministry. Meanwhile, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Leader of the Opposition in Himachal House, said yesterday that the Congress government was trying to mislead the people on financial position, particularly the loans, by giving wrong figures. Initiating the debate of the motion of thanks on the Governor’s Address, he said the government had not even hesitated in including its oft-repeated and highly exaggerated figures of outstanding loans in the address. The figure of Rs 15000 crore was wide of the mark and actual outstanding loans amounted only to Rs 11,400 crore. Mr Dhumal urged the Congress to shake off victory euphoria and get down to the serious business of improving the financial health of the state. He said there was a limit to borrowing and some permanent solution had to be found. The state could get Rs 450 crore from the Centre if it agreed to sign memorandum of understanding on fiscal reforms. He lamented that there was no mention of the promises made by the Congress in the Governor’s Address like the regularisation of daily wage workers and withdrawal of user charges in hospitals. Not only that the Congress opposed the entry tax and promised to wind up the tax barriers but the address was silent on this issue as well as the more important law and order situation without naming any person. He said those involved in vigilance cases had been given sensitive postings. |
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VAT draft Bill examined Shimla, March 25 According to the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, the committee was of the view that before the introduction of VAT, it should be ensured that the provisions in the draft bill were consumer-friendly and interests of the business and trading community were taken note of. The committee pointed out that penal provisions relating to fine, penalty and prosecution should be rationalised and for some minor violations, such provisions should be deleted from the Act. |
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4 crore for
HP Forest Department Chamba, March 25 In a press note issued here yesterday, Mr Parminder Singh, General Manager of the Chamera project, informed that the ambitious plan had been undertaken with an outlay of Rs 11 crore as part of its environment management plan (EMP), which envisaged utilisation of usable debris in filling areas and disposal of unserviceable material at eight identified locations and their utilisation so that it did not mix up with the river water and cause any ecological imbalance. Mr Singh further informed that the disposal sites had already been earmarked and approved by the state Forest Department as well as the Himachal Pradesh Environment and Pollution Control Board. Besides, local farmers of the area were also utilising the muck for the construction of their houses, roads as well as by various cusher plant owners as a fringe advantage. In spite of the fact that the exploitation of stone quarry for aggregate production had been approved by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for the project, the project had chosen not to quarry the same, but utilised the excavated muck itself for construction purposes, thereby reducing any adverse ecological impact, Mr Singh stated. According to the plan, the muck had been disposed of in earmarked site along the river courses and adequate measures like breast walling, providing crate walls in line with sound engineering
practices had been implemented. |
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Kashmir carnage
condemned KULU: The District Brahman Sabha here condemned the Nadimarg massacre on Sunday night. Mr Arun Sharma, president of the sabha, expressed concern over the lenient attitude of the administration resulting in the carnage despite apprehensions expressed by Kashmiri Pandits. He urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to prevent such security lapses to safeguard the Pandits in the state. Mr Sharma called upon the people and the members of the Brahman Sabha to maintain communal harmony. The sabha mourned the killing of 24 Pandits by observing a two-minute silence. KUMARHATTI: The Solan Kashmiri Pandits Sabha has expressed deep anguish at the “brutal” and “barbaric” massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in south Kashmir. In a press note issued here today, the sabha has condemned the inhuman and savage act of the killers of humanity. The passive role of both the state and Central governments towards the Jammu and Kashmir problem has cast doubts about their capabilities to save and protect the interests of minority communities in state, the sabha alleged.
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IT instructors sans salary for 6
months Solan, March 25 The Solan faction of the HP Computer Instructors Association said here yesterday that ever since their appointment over two years ago the payment of salary had always been a problem. While it was paid at times after a gap of two months but for the past six months no salary had been paid to them. Appointed at amounts ranging between Rs 2000 and Rs 2,500 these teachers were being paid far less. This despite the fact that each student of class XI and XII is charged a fixed amount of Rs 130 per month for all 12 months and a class IX and X student is charged an amount of Rs 97.50 irrespective of the fact whether a student has opted for computer education or not. It is learnt that officials of the Ice Computers disappeared from the region in December and officials of the ECIL were now pressuring the instructors to accept 15 day wages from their new franchisee Softpath Computers. The teachers have also lost between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4200 which they deposited with Ice Computers at the time of appointment. The instructors also lamented that they were being frequently called for meetings to resolve the issue without issuance of relevant written orders in the absence of which they were losing the day’s salary for their absence in the respective schools. The Director Education, Mr O.P. Sharma, expressed ignorance about the matter when contacted. |
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HP varsity to start new courses Shimla, March 25 The council approved new courses in MA Population Studies and Bachelor of Library Sciences in the university from the next academic session. It also approved the creation of a faculty of interdisciplinary studies in humanities and social sciences and international affairs. The council also decided to start MA political science at H.P. University Centre for Evening Studies from the next academic session. Also, Mr A.R. Chauhan, retired Registrar and Controller of Examinations, was elected member of the executive council for a period of two years from amongst the members of the Academic Council. The council approved Admissions and examinations schedule of MBBS and BDS courses according to standards and norms of the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India. |
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Cocaine worth Rs 70 lakh seized Kulu, March 25 According to a police press note here, three persons, Daman Kumar Jain, Gopal Kishan and Parveen Jain, all from Ludhiana, who were possessing 200 gm, 200 gm and 125 gm of cocain, respectively, were nabbed by a police patrol party. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered. In another case, the police here seized 20 deodar sleepers at the Daragran bridge. Two persons — Sohan Singh and Anuvind Sood — were taken into police custody under the Indian Forest Act. |
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Rohtang pass reopened Shimla, March 25 Mr Subash Panda, Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul-Spiti, said rescue posts had been set up on both sides of the pass at Mari and Koksar for the safety of the pedestrians. |
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