 |
Tuesday,
July 22, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
Bill
hiking salary of ministers, MLAs passed Fiscal
position worsening: CAG report Migrant
labourers’ safety to be ensured: CM HC quashes
GOC-in-C’s order B.Com I,
MA I admissions stopped |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Vidyarthi
Parishad holds demonstration Superfast
bus service inaugurated Drug
Inspector examines Morepan records Work on
irrigation project to start again Youth
shot, 7 cops suspended Shifting
of Income Tax office opposed
|
|
Bill hiking salary of ministers, MLAs passed Shimla, July 21 The salary of the Chief Minister has been revised to Rs 18,000, that of cabinet minister to Rs 15,000, that of minister of state to Rs 11,000 and the Deputy Minister to Rs 10,000. Besides each minister will be entitled to receive compensatory allowance at the rate of Rs 5000 per month. The salary of the speaker will be Rs 15,000 and that of the Deputy Speaker Rs 11,000. They will be entitled to compensatory allowance at the rate of Rs 5000 per month. The salary of legislators has been increased from Rs 2500 to Rs 4000 and compensatory allowance from Rs 1250 to Rs 5000. The daily allowance for attendance at a meeting of the assembly or committee has been raised from Rs 400 to Rs 500 per day. The constituency secretariat alliance and postal allowance has been revised from Rs 5,500 to Rs 8000 per month. The telephone allowance has been increased from Rs 5000 to Rs 7000 per month. Besides each member will be entitled to reimbursement of electricity bill up to a maximum of Rs 1500 per month. The House also passed the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Officers (pay and conditions of service) Bill, 2003 which provided for revised pay scales for judicial officers in accordance with the recommendations of the Shetty Commission and the directions of the Supreme Court. The revised pay scales entail non-recurring expenditure of Rs 2.60 crore and an annual recurring expenditure of Rs 37 lakh. The pay scales proposed in the Bill are as follow: Civil Judge (junior) initial scale Rs 9000-250-10,750-300-13,150-300-14,550. First stage assured career progressions scale after five years of service: - Rs 10,750-300-13,150-300-14,900. Second stage of assured career progression after five years of service in the first progressions scale. Rs 12,850-300-13,150-350-15,950-400-17,550 civil judge (senior). Initial scale Rs 12,850-300-13,150-350-15,950-400-17,550. First stage assured career progression scale after five years of service Rs 14,200-300-15,950-400-18,350. Second stage assured career progression scale after five years in first progression scale Rs 16,750-400-19,150-450-20,500 District Judge cadre. Initial scale Rs 16,750-400-19,150-450-20,500. Selection grade (available to 25 per cent officers of cadre): Rs 18,750-400-19,150-420-21,850-500-22850. Supertime scale (available to 10 per cent of offices of the cadre) Rs 22,850-500-24,850. |
|
|
Fiscal position worsening: CAG report Shimla, July 21 The report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (Civil) for the year ending March 31, 2002, presented in the Vidhan Sabha today reflects a grim picture of the state’s finances with the key indicators pointing towards the level of borrowing reaching unsustainable levels. The total liabilities of the government had grown by 136 per cent during 1997-98 to 2001-02 with the internal debt increasing by 777 per cent. The debt versus gross state domestic product ratio increased from 0.51 to 0.73 over the period indicating that the debt of the state was increasing at a rate faster than the growth rate of the GSDP and was thus unsustainable. Further, 57 per cent of the borrowings were applied to revenue expenditure in 2001-02 as against only 44 per cent in 1997-98, an unfavourable trend indicating that a little amount of borrowed funds were used for capital expenditure. The falling assets to liabilities ratio, which came down from 0.85 to 0.61, was indicative of increased vulnerability as capital was being applied to revenue deficit rather than for creating assets. A falling tax ratio has made things worse. During the year 2001-02, interest payment increased by Rs 244 crore. It was to even exceed the tax revenue by Rs 126 crore had Rs 203 crore not been credited on account of customs, union excise duties and service tax. As much as 85 per cent of the funds were used to meet the revenue expenditure. The
government could not maintain the minimum cash balance with the Reserve Bank of India on 315 days and obtained ways and means advances of Rs 587crore on 71 days, overdraft of Rs 2,228 crore on 229 days and rediscounted treasury bills of Rs 223 crore on 15 days. The expenditure incurred by the government, substantially in excess of the amounts sanctioned by the state legislature, remained to be regularised in terms of Article 205 of the Constitution of India. As on July 2002, excess expenditure of Rs 8,341.72 crore incurred during 1999-2002 remained to be regularised. The report also pointed out shortcomings in the implementation of various schemes under the Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana. A shortfall in expenditure on training, infrastructure development and revolving funds to self-help groups ranged between 46 and 81 per cent. Under the Indira Awas Yojana, a delay in the submission of proposals by the state government led to short release of Rs 2.58 crore thereby resulting in denial of assistance to 1,170 beneficiaries under the scheme. Besides, Rs 61.08 lakh was paid to 618 beneficiaries during 1999-2002 even though they had neither constructed sanitary latrines nor installed smokeless chullahs in their houses as required under the scheme. An excess financial assistance of Rs 51.62 lakh was released to 2,065 beneficiaries who had constructed their houses in the main habitation during 1997-2002. The failure of the government to release Rs 35 lakh for payment of compensation to 1,397 daily-wage workers declared surplus in June 2000 in Dharampur division of the PWD resulted in non-retrenchment of workers and avoidable wages of Rs 5.02 crore had to be paid to them. Out of 952 road works taken up for construction by Arki, Barsar, Bilaspur-II, Kalpa, Karsogn, Kullu, Kumarsain, Mandi, Nirmand, Palampur, Rajgarh, Rampur, Sarkaghat, Shimla-I, Shimla-II, Solan and Sundernagar divisions up to March 2002, 644 works
remained incomplete after incurring an expenditure of Rs 83.45 crore. A cost overrun of Rs 3.47 crore in the case of 24 completed works and Rs 29.59 crore in the case of 157 works in progress, respectively, occurred. The time overrun in these cases ranged between four and 349 months. An expenditure of Rs 3.96 crore incurred by Chamba, Kalpa, Kangra, Kaza, Kumarsain and Sundernagar divisions on the construction of seven bridges and three roads remained unfruitful as these could not be put to use due to various reasons. Similarly, investment of Rs 10.62 crore on the construction of 66 roads and two bridges remained idle because the works remained incomplete due to various lapses of the department. |
|
Migrant
labourers’ safety to be ensured: CM Shimla, July 21 This was announced by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, while replying to the discussion initiated by Mr Mohinder Singh on the Puliah Nallah cloudburst. The Chief Minister said the government would ensure that the labourers were not only paid their due but also lived with dignity while working in various projects. Besides compulsory
registration of workers, the contractors would be required to provide livable
accommodation at a safe site so that the labourers were not exposed to natural calamities like the one in Puliah Nallah. Labour officers would be posted in every project and accommodation, vehicle and other facilities for the staff would have to provided by the project authorities. He reiterated that the death toll in the disaster had not exceeded 30. A head count of the survivors had revealed that 272 out of the total 302 labourers deployed in the area had survived. As many as 24 bodies had been recovered out of which three had not been identified. Besides, six persons were still missing. As many as 25 injured persons were being treated at the zonal hospital, Kulu, and the IGMC Hospital, Shimla. He lamented that a section of the media was reluctant to correct the exaggerated figure of death toll circulated by it even though facts were available now. He said one should not stand on false prestige in such matters and no one should try to make political capital out of human tragedy. He also categorically said that there was no negligence in providing the prompt and best possible treatment. Besides, rescue and relief operations were also started immediately. He had sanctioned Rs 50 lakh from the calamity relief fund for the purpose. The delay in disbursement of gratuitous relief in some cases was on account of non-identification of the dependents who were entitled to receive it. The government wanted to make sure that the money reached the family members and was not siphoned away by contractors. Earlier, Mr B.B. Butail, gave details of the incident and the relief and rescue work undertaken. Initiating the discussion, Mr Mohinder Singh expressed apprehensions that the death toll could be higher. He said the government should have registered FIRs against the contractors due to whose negligence so many people lost their lives. He also alleged that the dumping of debris in khads and rivers was responsible for such calamities. |
|
HC quashes GOC-in-C’s order Shimla July 21 Setting aside the order of the
GOC-in-Chief, Northern Command, conveying his “severe displeasure”
(Recordable) to Col Avtar Singh, the court also quashed the order passed by the central government rejecting the Col Avtar Singh’s statutory complaint against the aforesaid orders on the ground of non-observance of the rules and principles of natural justice and non-compliance of the mandatory safeguards. These directions were passed by a Division Bench of the court comprising Chief Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta and Mr Justice
R.L. Khurana on a petition filed by Col Avtar Singh, wherein he challenged the order passed by the
GOC-in-Chief, Northern Command. According to the Army authorities the allegations against the petitioner was that in 1999 some forward posts in Kargil were vacated when he was Colonel (GS) of headquarter 3 Infantry Division. Army authorities found him guilty of “staff failure” and imposed penalty of “severe displeasure” on him. Aggrieved by the aforesaid punishment of “severe displeasure” petitioner preferred a statutory complaint before the central government which was also rejected. Allowing the petition Mr Justice
V.K. Gupta observed for the Bench that they had no hesitation in disapproving the order passed by the
GOC-in-Chief, Northern Command on January 27, 2001 because this order did not say as to how and in what manner the petitioner had committed any act or acts of omission or commission constituting, “staff failure” on his part. It is a basic principle of service jurisprudence, based upon the principle of natural justice, that no person shall be condemned arbitrarily and without first informing him of the allegations on the basis of which he was to be condemned. |
|
B.Com I, MA I
admissions stopped Una, July 21 The previous BJP government announced these classes without providing even a single lecturer for these classes. The staff of undergraduate classes was forced to take classes of MA (English) and MA (Economics). Last year, a lecturer was appointed on lecture basis to teach B.Com classes and the existing staff taught the MA classes. The college authorities have now decided not to admit any new student to these classes. The existing staff will teach B.Com II and MA II classes only. Mrs Shakuntla Shandil, Principal of the college who joined about a week ago told this correspondent on telephone that the government had issued instructions not to appoint any lecturer on contract or lecture basis or even from the PTA fund. Because of this, the college had no option but to stop new admissions to B.Com I and MA I classes.
|
Vidyarthi
Parishad holds demonstration Shimla, July 21 The Parishad threatened to intensify the agitation. The ABVP activists converged near the Vidhan Sabha in a rally and raised slogans against the Congress Government. The Parishad leaders termed the hike in bus fare as arbitrary and called it an anti-people step. The ABVP leaders criticised Mr G.S. Bali, Himachal Transport Minister, calling his measures as anti-youth and a burden on the common man. The Parishad leaders added that they would continue the stir if the bus fare hike was not withdrawn, JBT and TGT entrance tests not cancelled and an inquiry into the irregularities committed in the Himachal Pradesh University not ordered. |
|
Superfast
bus service inaugurated Shimla, July 21 Mr Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Chief Minister, flagged off the superfast bus service from the interstate bus terminus Shimla to Nahan, Dharamsala, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Mandi. He said that the introduction of superfast bus service would provide commuters an efficient service. He added that initially five superfast services had been made operational and the remaining district headquarters would also be connected with similar services after review of the trial run of today. He said that the commuters would save time without paying extra fare. He said the present government had taken a number of steps to strengthen the corporation so that better transport services could be provided to the people. |
Drug
Inspector examines Morepan records Solan, July 21 Officials of the firm produced the licence issued by the Drug Controller and Licensing Authority, Mr Sher Singh, on June 15, 2001, and asserted that the drug was not a new drug. They argued that if it fell in the category of a new drug, the licensing authority should have pointed out the fact to them at the time of issuing the licence. |
|
Work on irrigation project to start again Nurpur, July 21 Addressing a public meeting at Geora, near here, he said these projects, which had been shelved due to certain reasons, would be revived. He said the possibilities for the funding of the Finna Singh Irrigation Project from the World Bank were being explored. Mr Mahajan informed that the state government had also earmarked Rs 5 crore for the development of an industrial estate at Naglar. He said that under the “Swaran Jyanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna”, the government would create self-employment opportunities in the rural areas by constituting self-help groups. He said the groups would be provided soft loans and subsidies. On this occasion, Mr Mahajan announced to install a tubewell at Geora and Rs 2 lakh for the construction of the Khubri-Geora link road. |
|
Youth shot, 7 cops suspended Hamirpur, July 21 Superintendent of Police K.S. Pippal here said Man Singh Yadav (34) was shot dead by four miscreants at Kot market in Rath town this afternoon. Although the Kot market police outpost was quite near the scene of the crime, the assailants escaped as the policemen did not make any effort to arrest them. The SP in his preliminary investigation held the policemen responsible for the laxity and suspended a Sub-Inspector, a Head Constable and five constables present at the outpost when the crime took place.
— UNI |
|
Shifting
of Income Tax office opposed Mandi, July 21 Describing the move as “misconceived” the Association demanded the filling of vacancies of staff at Mandi. The proposal, would hardships to
assesses of Sundernagsssar, the association said. There was no infrastructure at Bilaspur and the office there was being run in a rented building away from the main town, the association added. Members of the Bar
Association and business community also met Mr Maheshwar Singh, Member of Parliament and urged him to request the Ministry of Finance to provide adequate staff. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
