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BJP,
Cong set to lock horns in House Cong,
BJP at sea in Mandi Work on
Sidhpur mahsheer farm to |
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Police
endeavour to change its image Parishad
for long-term employment plan Industry
asked to employ Himachalis Doc’s
murder: lab sends back samples Solid
waste management scheme for Chamba Dhumal
wants jobs for sportspersons 
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Jaitley harps on Atal vision Shimla, February 22 The country had been late by almost two decades in unshackling government controls and carrying out economic reforms as the leadership in the past had no perspective of and foresight for development. The appearance of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the scene made all the difference over a short period of six years. He had clear vision and ability to take right decisions and implement them. Earlier, no Prime Minister thought of upgrading basic infrastructure like roads, power and telecommunications, which were essential for speedy economic growth. He said work was under way on several projects to link north-south and east-west parts with express highways. The Golden Quadrilateral of highways was being given shape to link the four metropolis, and even ports were being provided better connectivity. These would help save Rs 8,000 crore on diesel and petrol every year. The growth of the telecommunication network had touched 30 per cent as against 10 per cent in developed countries. Almost two million new telephones were being added every month. There was a hue and cry in the USA and the UK over outsourcing of jobs to India, whereas Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, was finding fault with the economic policies of the NDA government. There were other positive features like the transformation from an economy of “shortages” to an economy of “surpluses”. The surplus foodgrain stocks had enabled the government to launch the biggest food security programme in the world. The country was emerging as a global player in sectors like automobile, pharmaceuticals and information technology. Until a few years ago, only about 1.5 lakh vehicles were produced in all annually whereas today it was exporting a higher number. As many as 200 of the Fortune 500 companies had shifted their research and development work to India. The Indian pharmaceutical industry was giving sleepless nights to the USA, which dominated drug manufacturing all these years. Indian units were providing to the world a package of quality drugs for just $ 300, which companies in the USA supplied for $ 10,000. SOLAN: Asserting that the Congress government was substituting political
vendetta for governance in Himachal and Punjab, the Union Law Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, on Sunday termed the one-year term of the Congress government in Himachal as uneventful, marred by sloth and non-performance. Ridiculing the Congress attempt of trying to belittle its feel good effect he said the party was only concerned about how to counter this feeling which had set in the masses. Addressing senior citizens here he said though the BJP had lost the last year’s Vidhan Sabha elections in the state but it was due to its internal bickerings within the party and not due to lack of developmental work. He claimed to win all four parliamentary seats in Himachal and urged party workers to work in unison. While describing the Congress tenure at the Center as one of shortages he said it was the initiatives of the BJP-led NDA government which had brought recognition to the country across the world. Not only this, economic prosperity visible in an increased growth rate of over 8 per cent had become a topic of global debate. Castigating Sonia Gandhi of lacking political vision he said while the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, managed to initiate a dialogue with Pakistan on the contentious issues he said it had no inhibitions of not being trusted as was the case of the Congress, he added, without naming Sonia Gandhi directly. While mobilising party workers to shun internal bickerings he said it was time to make the masses aware of the anti-people policies of the Congress which only furthered family politics. The BJP state president, Mr Suresh Bhardwaj and local MLA Dr Rajiv Bindal also spoke on the occasion. |
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BJP, Cong set to lock horns in House Shimla, February 22 The party, which boycotted most of the winter session, is likely to utilise the opportunity to pin down the government on the issues of para-teachers, cancellation of the JBT entrance test and interference in the affairs of constitutional bodies like the state public service commission. The state executive of the party, which met two days ago, has set the agenda for the session by charging the government of indulging in nepotism and favouritism in appointments and indulging in political vendetta in the name of a crusade against corruption. The party has all along maintained that the para-teachers scheme has been devised to provide employment through the back door. On the JBT entrance test, the BJP alleges it had to be cancelled because of irregularities pointed out by it. The alleged irregularities in the contract for two-digit lotteries will also figure in the House. The burning issue is, however, the controversy involving the Public Service Commission. On the other hand, the ruling Congress is fully geared to face the onslaught. The investigations conducted by the CID into the alleged irregularities in the selection of assistant engineers have provided it sufficient ammunition to counter the attack. The statement of three of the four members of the interview board that the list of the selected candidates was changed will add to the Congress counter-charge. The Congress is likely to bring out the data retrieved from the computer of former Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal. The data has the details 2,415 recommendations, out of which 17 pertain to the Public Service Commission for various posts. The debate on the motion of thanks on the Governor’s Address will conclude on February 26 and the vote-on-account for 2004-05 will be presented on the last day of the session. |
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Cong, BJP at sea in Mandi Mandi, February 22 Mr Sukh Ram and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh are camping in New Delhi. Observers feel that whichever party has an alliance with the HVC will stand a better chance of winning given the nursing of the constituency by Mr Sukh Ram over the past three decades. The state unit of the Congress has recommended two names, Ms Pratibha Singh, wife of the Chief Minister, and IPH Minister Kaul Singh, to the AICC. Mr Kaul Singh is reportedly reluctant to contest. A section of the BJP leadership said to be pushing for a candidate other than the sitting member, Mr Maheshwar Singh. Meanwhile, both the Congress and the BJP seem to have succeeded in isolating the HVC supremo by managing defections in the rank and file of his party. The Congress
managed to break away Mr Dhani Ram Shandil from the HVC while former minister Mansa Ram has been won over by the BJP. Another former minister, Mr Prakash Chaudhary, has also joined the Congress. |
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Work on Sidhpur mahsheer farm to begin soon Mandi, February 22 The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr
R.S. Gupta, who recently visited the site of the project on the direction of the government, said today that the stumbling blocks had been removed to pave the way for the execution of the project after a meeting of officials and villagers who offered to give more land, if required, for the project in addition to the existing 7 hectares owned by the Fisheries Department. He said the site of the project would not be shifted. A Rs 4-crore project had been approved by the Centre about four years ago for the development of the Himalayan
mahsheer. The Centre had agreed to share half of the total cost of the farm. A sum of Rs 1 crore had been released by the Centre for the project. A “lopsided” approach by the departments assigned to execute the project had resulted in delay. A scanty amount provided in the Budgets of 2001 to 2003, ranging between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 6 lakh, reflected the lukewarm approach of the government towards the project. The Central Government had taken note of the delay by the previous BJP-HVC government. The Sidhpur project will be the second and the largest golden mahsheer Fingerling Development Farm in the country. Its cost is likely to be doubled due to the delay. The lone mahsheer farm in the country is at Lonawala in Maharashtra established by Tata Hydro Electric Company. The Himachal Pradesh Government had invited the manager of that farm in 1999 to assess the potential of the Himalayan mahsheer in the state. After his weeklong visit, the manager had reported that there was tremendous potential in rivers and reservoirs of the state which could be harnessed for raising the seed of the golden mahsheer not only in Himachal but also in the entire Himalayan range. He had recommended that the project should be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the seed target should be fixed at five lakh while in the second phase it should be multiplied five times. Himachal has potential for the development of fisheries with a network of dams made for multi-purposes power projects like Gobindsagar and Pong Dam. Many dams are coming up following the execution of ongoing projects. |
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Police endeavour to
change its image Shimla, February 22 To bring transparency, a community policing scheme has been launched. It is aimed at identifying the problems of society and finding solutions with the help of the people. As many as 12,000 meetings have been organised by the police so far. Another scheme, “vishwas yojna”, has been started to generate confidence and remove fear of the police among students. The students schools are taken to the police stations and acquainted with the working of the police. This year, over 62,000 schoolchildren visited various police stations in the state. A documentary film, “Aap Aur Hum” has also been prepared by the police department to educate the people about their rights and responsibilities and the duties of the police. Village touring is another aspect of the community policing under which the SP concerned visits the rural areas and educational institutions to listen to grievances. People are also educated about the harmful effects of narcotics, illicit distillation, timber smuggling, and other crime. The police has been provided with the latest equipment at a cost of Rs 13.40 crore. The government also plans to provide adequate staff for which 400 constables are being recruited. Women cells have been created in all districts to ensure that women officers investigate crimes related to women. The department is working on “samarth yojna” under which girl students in schools and colleges are being imparted training in martial arts. So far 10,000 girls have been trained. Old Under the “sanrakshan yojna,” all police stations prepare a list of old people and community police volunteers visits them at least once a week to enquire about their welfare. |
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Parishad for long-term
employment plan Shimla, February 22 The governing committee of the parishad which met here yesterday under the chairmanship of its president, Mr Rajeshwar Singh Negi, said the government was focussing on wrong areas. The hydel power projects only provided temporary employment and did not lead to the creation of several jobs for the educated youth. There were over 80,000 graduates and 30,000 postgraduates among the nine lakh unemployed persons enrolled in the live registers. The stress should be on the development of tourism, floriculture, horticulture and agriculture and special missions should be launched to promote these. Employment in hydel projects should be routed through employment exchanges. The retirement age should be reduced to 55 years and voluntary retirement schemes should be introduced in all departments. All appointments to group A and B services should be made on the basis of the state administrative services (HAS) examination and age limit for it be raised to 45 years. The appointments to C and D category posts should be carried out through the Subordinate Services Selection Board. Eminent persons with unimpeachable credentials should be appointed to the commission, he said. Mr Negi said the parishad had decided to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, in this regard. |
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Industry asked to employ Himachalis Nahan, February 22 He said those units who do not give 65 per cent employment to Himachalis will be dealt with strictly. The minister said since January 2004 new industrial units had been registered in Himachal Pradesh. Most of these were medium and large-scale industries, which would provide employment to 70,000 persons. In Sirmaur district, 11 units at Kala Amb and 13 at Paonta Sahib industrial area were coming up and would provide employment to 11,000 persons. The minister said names of 200 sportsmen had been recommended by his ministry to various government departments for providing them jobs. |
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Doc’s murder: lab sends back samples Solan, February 22 A letter in this regard was received yesterday by the district police from the Phillaur-based laboratory, which said that the samples had been improperly lifted. A team of forensic experts from the IGMC Shimla and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Junga had lifted the samples from the murder site on February 9. The forensic expert at the IGMC, when contacted, said that since the footprints were visible and clear, these had been lifted as per the procedure, which, he added, was a difficult process. Officials of the FSL were not available for comments. The police officials refused to comment on the fallout of this letter. |
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Solid waste management scheme for Chamba Chamba, February 22 Giving this information here today, Mr S.P. Dhall, president of the Municipal Council, said the project was expected to be cleared soon. He said it was specially designed for the upkeep of the town. A project costing Rs 1 crore, under the Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns scheme, has also been prepared and sent to the Central Government for according sanction, Mr Dhall said. He stated that this project was a joint venture of the government and the council, adding that it envisaged the construction of a shopping complex, development of parking lots and landscaping of the western slopes of Chowgan in the town. He said Rs 26 lakh had been earmarked for various development activities in the town. The Municipal Council has also proposed to revise the monthly rent of concrete shops and wooden stalls (khokhas), Mr Dhall added. |
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Dhumal wants jobs for sportspersons Hamirpur, February 22 Addressing a Bharatiya Yuva Jan Kalyan Sabha members here Mr Dhumal claimed that the BJP had given three per cent reservation to sportspersons in government jobs. But a number of International players of the state were without jobs. Anurag Thakur, President of the HP Cricket Association and Mr Pyere Lal Sharma, president of the Hamirpur District BJP were also present. He advised the youth to shun agitations and stop drinking and smoking. Mr Narendra Atri, President of the Bharatiya Yuva Jan Kalyan Sabha highlighted the Sabha’s activities. Earlier, he gave away prizes and certificates to outstanding sportspersons who had won laurels at the national and international level. |
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In-laws booked
in dowry case Nurpur, February 22 According to the police which lodged an FIR under Sections 498-A and 37 of the IPC against the accused, Savitri Devi had married Narinder Singh about three years ago. The complainant alleged that her in-laws used to harass and beat her up for bringing insufficient dowry. |
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Jukaru festival begins Pangi (Chamba), February 22 Preparations for this festival start several months in advance. Tribal people store butter, ghee, sattu, honey and pater (locally made liquor), which are offered in worship as well as consumed in feasts. |
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Rs 31 cr corporation
budget passed Shimla, February 22 The total expenditure has been projected at Rs 31.18 crore leaving a surplus of Rs 12 lakh at the end of the year. |
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Leopard
dead Solan, February 22 The DFO, Mr Alok Nagar, who reached
the spot, said forest guards had reached the spot on receiving
information from villagers. He said the guards could do little as the
leopard collapsed at 6.20 p.m. There were no wounds on the animal. |
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