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Anti-corruption
drive to go on, Development
has halted, alleges Dhumal Govt
flouts law, permits sale of 200 acres of tea garden Nathpa-Jhakri
to achieve full generation by May-end Assets
of candidates to be publicised |
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BJP
challenges Cong for debate SP to
contest all seats Tributes
paid to Dr Ambedkar
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Anti-corruption drive to go on, says CM Shimla, April 14 In his message to the people on the eve of the 57th Himachal Day he said the government was committed to providing a clean and transparent administration. He said the people had given a mandate to the Congress to eradicate corruption and it would carry it out in letter and in spirit. Inquiries were on in various scams and scandals of the previous government and no one guilty, however influential, would be spared, he added. The problem of unemployment was being dealt with in the right earnest and 15,000 persons had been given employment in the government sector and about 80,000 opportunities had been created in the industrial sector over the past one year, the Chief Minister said. The election manifesto had been adopted as a policy document and a sub-committee of the Cabinet had been set up to monitor its implementation. Highlighting the achievements of the state, he said the literacy rate had gone up from 8 per cent in 1948, when the state came into being, to 77 per cent in 2003. The per capita income had increased from Rs 240 to over Rs 24,000 and the agriculture production from two lakh tonnes to 15 lakh tonnes. The state had also done well in hydel-power generation. Out of the total 21,000 MW of identified power potential, 5000 MW had been already harnessed and work was under way on projects with an aggregate capacity of 8000 MW. |
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Development has halted, alleges Dhumal Renuka (Nahan), April 14 He said during his tenure as Chief Minister, the government had entered into an agreement with different parties for the production of 8,500 MW of power in the state. The present government, however, had not signed even a single agreement, he said. He said road construction had come to a standstill. He said the government was harassing employees by transferring them often. He asked the government to clarify its stand on the state lottery and auction of toll barriers. He alleged that several irregularities had been reported. |
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Govt flouts law, permits sale of 200 acres of tea garden Palampur, April 14 In most of the cases owners of tea gardens who had availed
themselves of the benefits of the H.P. Land Ceiling Act and retained excess land also sold their tea gardens in violation of the law. How sale deeds in such cases were registered is a mystery. In such cases tea gardens or land attached to tea gardens could not be sold. Only yesterday 250 kanals of such land was sold in violation of the ban imposed by the state government on the sale of such lands. Surprisingly the sale deed was registered by a revenue officer who was on leave. Under the law permission for the sale of tea gardens could be granted in special cases like for the setting up of defence units, cantonment and other government establishment. But in past three years the government has misused these
special provisions and number of persons with political support have secured permission for the sale of tea gardens. Many outsiders, including Tibetans, have also succeeded in buying tea gardens and landed property in the region. The residents of Palampur and
Dharamsala are worried over these recent developments. This has also posed a serious threat to the environment of this hill region as most of the tea gardens of this town are being converted into concrete jungles. Tea industry of the Kangra valley is in crisis. Thanks to the apathy of the state government which has not initiated steps for the revival of the industry. Land under tea plantation is decreasing year after year. Tea had been cultivated and processed in the valley since the middle of 19th century. It was first introduced between 1830 and 1840 by the Nissan Tea Company. The valley grows hybrid variety of China tea which has the best flavour and compares well with the tea grown in other parts of the world. The tea gardens of Kangra valley are 100 years to 130 years old and situated at a height of 900 metres to 1500 meters above the sea level. In a number of villages the people have uprooted tea bushes and converted the land into concrete jungles. Under the provisions of the Land Revenue Act, there is ban on the sale of tea garden, however the government has been granting permission for the sale of tea garden to influential persons and outsiders. Prior to 2000 the government never granted the permission for the sale of such a big holdings of tea gardens in the valley and that too to an outsider. It is on record earlier tea gardens sold in the valley have been converted into housing colonies and no tea bushes are seen there. Various social organisations, The Palampur Citizen Council, The Palampur Welfare and Environment Protection Forum, The Palampur Bachao Samiti and The Save Palampur Front have condemned this decision of the government. In separate resolutions passed, these organisations urged the Chief Minister
Virbhadra Singh to enforce the law. These organisations also threatened an agitation. Lush green tea gardens of Palampur attract lakhs of tourists every year and Palampur is also known as ‘Tea Town’ of Himachal Pradesh. |
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Nathpa-Jhakri to achieve full generation by May-end Shimla, April 14 Stating this at a press conference here today, Mr Y.N. Apparao, chairman-cum-managing director of the Satlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, said all six units had been synchronised and four of them had started commercial generation. At the moment, the waters were enough to run two
units for about 20 hours a day and the nigam was operating four units to meet the requirement. He said the project was almost complete, except two of the four desilting
chambers which were nearing completion. Two desilting chambers were enough to run four units and with the completion of the third chamber by the end of this month, all units could
be operated. The fourth desilting chamber would become functional by the end of
May. Depending on the availability of waters, the project would operate at full load for about five months in a year from May to September. The cost of generation was likely to be Rs 2.30 per unit. The central electricity
regulatory commission had fixed the tentative tariff at Rs 2.18 per unit. Mr Apparao said the
nigam planned to start work on the 400 MW Rampur project, allotted recently to it, within four years. Four more projects were under consideration and discussions were on with the state in respect of the
Khab, Jhangi-Thopan, Tapan Powari and Karcham-Shongtong each of which were of around 400 MW capacity. |
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Assets of candidates to
be publicised Hamirpur, April 14 She said that all 13 central observers deputed for Lok Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh would join duty at respective places on April 19. They would remain in Himachal Pradesh till the elections were over. People of state could contact them regarding suggestions or complaints. Talking to reporters, Ms Nanda said that the Election Department had approached the central government for more central police forces for deployment in the state during elections in addition to the state’s police and Home Guards. She said these forces would be deputed at sensitive and hypersensitive places. The Chief Electoral Officer said that the use of plastic or poly-based material during elections would be banned as per orders of the Supreme Court of India. She said that the Deputy Commissioners concerned could take action in this behalf. She said that there was no ban of red lights atop private vehicles of the Chief Minister or the ministers. However, such lights would not be allowed to be used on government vehicles to be used for election purposes. |
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BJP challenges Cong for debate Dharamsala, April 14 Talking to mediapersons here today, Mr Kapoor said Mr Chander Kumar had been blaming the BJP for all ills of the state and had recently called for a debate on these issues. However, he had failed to give the venue and time for the debate, which showed that he was not serious about the challenge, Mr Kapoor added. The BJP had decided to hold a meeting at Bhagsunag on April 17 at 2 p.m., he said, and dared the Congress to come for a debate there. Mr Kapoor accused the Congress of indulging in character assassination and raising issues that were harmful for the unity of the country. |
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SP to contest
all seats Shimla, April 14 Mr Ram Asra, central leader in charge of party affairs in the state, said the decision was taken at a meeting of the state executive of the party held here today. He announced that Mr O.P. Chauhan would contest from the Shimla (reserved) seat and Mr Roshan Lal from the Kangra constituency. The name of the candidates for the two remaining constituencies would be finalised soon. |
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PM on sticky wicket, claims youth Congress Shimla, April 14 Addressing a press conference here, he said had it been a “feel good” factor, the BJP would not have resorted to such tactics. Personal attacks on Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka reflected the frustration of BJP leaders, he said. |
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Tributes paid to Dr Ambedkar Hamirpur, April 14 The Governor said Dalits and other
underprivileged classes still faced and there was a need to make them aware of their rights as well as duties. The function was organised by Himachal SC, ST and OBC Employees Welfare Mahasangh led by, Mr Onkar Singh Bhatia. Mr Ganga Ram
Teja, member of the National Commission of Safai Karamcharis, also attended the function. Mr Kokje told the officers and employees belonging to the depressed classes to work for society instead of keeping aloof. Ganga Ram
Teja, member of the National Commission of Safai Karamcharis, said he was pained to see that the people had taken benefits of reservation and had improved their status had never thought to help others in need of help. He said these persons should understand that whatever they were today, it was due to the efforts of persons like Dr Ambedkar who had sacrificed a lot for the poor and the downtrodden. He said the Central Government had done a lot for uplifting the standard of living of the safai karamchairs but various state governments had done nothing to help the community despite getting funds from the Central Government. |
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Drought may hit 290 villages Bilaspur, April 14 Presiding over a meeting of District Officers here yesterday Deputy Commissioner Subhasheesh Panda said that Rupees 72.80 lakh would be spent on sinking of 56 new hand pumps while six water sources were also proposed to be “uplinked” to make drinking water available apart from using trucks and tankers to provide clean drinking water in far-off villages. District Health Officer Dr Madan Gupta said that special precautions had also to be taken to save people from water-borne diseases. |
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Job quota in pvt sector opposed Kulu, April 14 |
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Labourer
killed as earth caves in Solan, April 14 The mine owner, Mr Joginder Singh, denied that undercutting had led to the tragedy. He said an inspection had been carried out in this regard. The police has registered a case. |
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