H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

CM pressurising officers: BJP
Felling of forest trees
Shimla, April 2
Mr Baldev Sharma, spokesperson for the state unit of the BJP, has alleged that Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, was pressurising officers not to register an FIR in connection with the felling of forest trees case against him in which preliminary inquiry had already been completed.

Govt not to adopt VAT in hurry: CM
Palampur, April 2
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said here today that his government was well-conversant with the problems of traders in the state and all aspects would be studied before the introduction of value added tax (VAT) in the state.

Kol Dam: another landmark achieved
Bilaspur, April 2
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has achieved its first landmark in the construction of Rs 5000-crore Kol Dam Project at Harnora near here with the Kol Dam General Manager, Mr A.B. Dube, pressing button for the final blast for the dam’s first 900 metre-long diversion tunnel last night.

Uhl project in three years
Mandi, April 2
Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh announced at Jogindernagar last evening that the 100-mw Uhl stage III hydel project, executed by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, would be completed within three years.

HPU students on indefinite fast
Shimla, April 2
Members of the Students’ Central Association (SCA) of Himachal Pradesh University have resorted to an indefinite fast from today on the campus “against the adamant attitude of the Vice-Chancellor, Mr S.D. Sharma”.

CM pressurising officers: BJP
Felling of forest trees
Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 2
Mr Baldev Sharma, spokesperson for the state unit of the BJP, has alleged that Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, was pressurising officers not to register an FIR in connection with the felling of forest trees case against him in which preliminary inquiry had already been completed.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said as per the facts of the case being investigated by the Enforcement Department, trees were felled from the land which did not belong either to Mr Virbhadra Singh or any of his family members. This was admitted by him in letters written to the Chief Secretary and to the Additional Director- General of Police Enforcement.

He said the permission for the felling was granted only on the basis of revenue record and as such how trees could be felled by a person from a land which was not in his name or possession. Mr Sharma asked Mr Virbhadra Singh to clear his position on the issue.

The BJP spokesperson said the Chief Minister had no faith in the judicial process as evident from the fact that he had withdrawn cases against Mr Nehar Singh, a Congress leader of Rohru, who tried obstruct the rally of Prof P.K. Dhumal, and Mr Kuldeep Pathania, an Independent who disturbed the public meeting of Mrs Vidya Stokes, the Pradesh Congress Committee chief. Not only that Mr Virbhadra Singh had transferred the registeration number of old vehicles to new one in violation of the Motors Vehicle Act.

Mr Sharma also wanted to know whether the number of tribal seats would be increased during the delimitation as the percentage of tribal population had gone up with the granting of Scheduled Tribe status to “Gaddis” of Kangra district. In the draft proposals one Assembly seat of Kangra district was reduced. Now that new associate members had been inducted in the Delimitation Commission would it be ensured that there was no reduction of seats in Kangra? he asked?

Govt not to adopt VAT in hurry: CM
Our Correspondent

Palampur, April 2
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said here today that his government was well-conversant with the problems of traders in the state and all aspects would be studied before the introduction of value added tax (VAT) in the state.

Talking to mediapersons at Baijnath, the Chief Minister said the government would take all sections of business community into confidence and only then further action in this regard would be taken.

He said the government had decided to review all memoranda of understanding signed by the previous government for the execution of power projects in the state. It had been revealed that many MoUs had been signed keeping aside the interests of the state which would cause huge losses to the state exchequer, if implemented. Necessary amendments would be made in the MoUs.

The Chief Minister alleged that former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his Cabinet colleagues had laid stress on development of their constituencies alone and other parts of the state remained neglected. But the new Congress government would take up over-all development of the state and allocate funds for constituencies of Opposition MLAs.

To a question, he said Vikram Batra Government Degree College, which had been shifted from Palampur to Sulaha by the previous BJP government on political considerations, would again be shifted to Palampur. He had already ordered the Education Department to select a suitable site for this institution at Palampur.

He said the action of the previous government to shift this institution from Palampur to Sulaha was an insult to the martyr.

The half-built bus stand at Palampur would be completed soon, he said. The matter had been brought to his notice by Revenue Minister Brij Butail and he had ordered its early completion.

Kol Dam: another landmark achieved
Our Correspondent

Bilaspur, April 2
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has achieved its first landmark in the construction of Rs 5000-crore Kol Dam Project at Harnora near here with the Kol Dam General Manager, Mr A.B. Dube, pressing button for the final blast for the dam’s first 900 metre-long diversion tunnel last night.

Mr Dube declared that total 1834-metre stretch of the two tunnels was to be excavated in this project and the second tunnel would also be completed at the earliest as its 400-metre-long stretch had already been excavated. He said, “this is the most challenging task of the project as the entire water-flow of the Sutlej river is to be diverted through these two tunnels so that the construction of main dam-wall can be started.”

Uhl project in three years
Our Correspondent

Mandi, April 2
Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh announced at Jogindernagar last evening that the 100-mw Uhl stage III hydel project, executed by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, would be completed within three years.

Inaugurating a five-day Jogindernagar fair, he said work on this Rs 478.74-crore (June 1999 price index) project was being taken up on a war footing. The project would not only ease the power crisis in this region, but also open new vistas of employment for the local people.

The Uhl stage III is being constructed near Chulla village in Jogindernagar subdivision on the right bank of the Beas. The project earlier envisaged utilisation of water of the Uhl stage I (Shanan-110 mw constructed during the British rule in 1936).

HPU students on indefinite fast
Our Correspondent

Shimla, April 2
Members of the Students’ Central Association (SCA) of Himachal Pradesh University have resorted to an indefinite fast from today on the campus “against the adamant attitude of the Vice-Chancellor, Mr S.D. Sharma”.

Kuldeep Bhardwaj, president of the SCA, and Bhupinder Bhuppi, another student leader, began the fast today. Earlier, students met on the campus and listened to speeches by their leaders. The SCA demanded that the rusticated students be taken back. It accused the VC of bungling university funds.