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Posts vacant for three years to be abolished MoU on fiscal reforms starts blame game Illegal stone crusher in operation Despite strict orders issued by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh to stop illegal mining and the norms set for running the stone crushers in the hill state, illegal mining is continuing and the crushers are still running.
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Green trees felled on govt land Science council to prepare natural resource atlas Rain lashes region, snow in tribal areas ‘Kashi of the Himalayas’ turns into junkyard ONGC-villagers row delays shifting of machines Drilling machines and other infrastructure worth crores of rupees, is held up at Dhaban village in Balh Valley of this district in the wake of continued stalemate in the dispute between the ONGC management and the local people. Chamera project yields more power With the water level in the Ravi increasing during the peak summer season, the Chamera Hydro Power Project-II has been able to generate 313 MW power, more than its installed capacity. CM lays stress on employment
in hydel projects Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said today that the government would provide more teeth to the employment clause in various agreements for the execution of hydel power projects to ensure more employment for local people. Shimla, June 7 Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, will present the Budget for 2004-05 in the Vidhan Sabha tomorrow. The government had earlier passed an vote-on-account for the first four months of the year in view of the Lok Sabha poll.
Sukh Ram becomes
CLP member Telescopes for viewing transit
of Venus The State Council for Science, Technology and Environment has made arrangements for viewing the transit of Venus by providing telescopes all over the state. Panel to look into canal breach The authorities of Shah Nehar Circle, Sansarpur Terrace, yesterday constituted a committee of experts to conduct an inquiry into the breack of a 48-metre stretch of the Shah Nehar canal, which was noticed by the department staff on May 29. 
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Posts vacant for three years to be abolished Shimla, June 7 The MoU, a copy of which was placed in the Vidhan Sabha today, also barred the state government from granting any new tax concessions or package for any sector and creating any new positions leading to fresh recruitment. The existing policy of giving jobs to next of kin of employees on compassionate grounds will be amended to provide for alternatives like one-time compensation and enhanced family pension. Until a suitable policy to stop such employment is put in place, the government will not employ more than 300 persons on compassionate grounds in a calendar year. Specific Cabinet orders will be passed stating that no vacancy of Class III and Class IV levels will be filled by fresh recruitment. All vacancies will be filled by redeployment or, wherever necessary, like in the health and education departments, on a contract basis preferably by local or autonomous bodies concerned. The necessary system will be put in place by the government by August 31,2004. The regularisation of daily wages will be done in conformity with judicial orders and whenever these persons retire, the posts will be deemed to have been abolished forthwith. Legislations will be enacted to provide for criminal action against officials making recruitment without approval by a competent authority and to limit the borrowings. A comprehensive review of all existing allowances given to employees will be carried out and grant of any new allowance will be subject to the fiscal health of the state and its ability to bear financial burden. No fresh grant-in-aid commitments will be made and existing grants will be reviewed to ensure that these were either reduced or frozen in real terms. Necessary statutory and procedural amendments to the laws, codes and schemes regulating grants will be made within the next financial year. Subsidies to the state transport corporation will be frozen at the current budgetary levels and clear instructions to index automatic annual passanger fare revision to price-level changes will be issued till an autonomous body for the periodic revision of passenger fare is set up. Efforts will be made to expedite approval for silvicultural operations on the basis of forest working plans for the current financial year. A disinvestment exercise of tourism assets will be initiated by the state government during the year. Valuation of assets to be offered in the next round will be completed by October 31. A voluntary retirement scheme will be introduced for government employees on the pattern of the Central Government. The Centre will in turn help the state to further the process of fiscal reforms by way of higher allocation of additional market borrowings to share the cost of reforms and make available suitable assistance in association with donor agencies for a mutually agreed VRS schemes. The state’s claim for 12 per cent free power as royalty in BBMB projects will be pursued vigorously. |
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MoU on fiscal reforms starts blame game Shimla, June 7 Mr Virbhadra Singh said Mr Dhumal had no locus standi to oppose the MoU as his own government had made commitments on fiscal reforms during meetings with the Centre on the issue, which were signed by the then Chief Secretary. He claimed that he had managed to get some of the harsh conditions relaxed. For instance, despite a complete ban on recruitment, the government had been allowed to fill functional posts. Efforts would be made to revive the loss-incurring public sector undertakings, with disinvestment being the last resort, he added. He said with the change of the political setup at the Centre, the state could hope to look forward to a more pragmatic approach in the matter. He said fiscal discipline was the need of the hour but his government would go by the common minimum programme of the Manmohan Singh government. He said the Dhumal government kept the MoU under wraps for three years and during the fag-end of its term, it was placed in the Vidhan Sabha. He said Mr Dhumal was opposing the reforms initiated by his own party. The MoU had been placed before the House on the first opportunity after it was signed, the Chief Minister said. Mr Dhumal, on the other hand, maintained that the hush-hush manner in which the document had been signed indicated that the government was aware that it was against the interests of the people. He said the Congress came to power at the Centre by opposing fiscal reforms but now it was doing the opposite. The terms and conditions of the MoU would hit the employees and farmers hard as there was a fear of large-scale retrenchment. The Congress promised to create more jobs to eradicate unemployment but while signing the MoU, it not only agreed to impose a complete ban on recruitment, except for functional posts, but also to enact a legislation to provide for criminal action against officials making appointments without approval. He said keeping in view the wide-ranging implications of the MoU, his government had placed the document in the House so that a consensus could be evolved. A seven-member committee headed by Mr Sukh Ram was also constituted. However, it remained non-functional as the Congress members resigned one after the other. The downsizing of the administration and the ban on recruitment would hit the employees hard and there was no guarantee that their existing allowances would be protected. The Congress came to power on the promise of scrapping user charges but the MoU laid down that these charges would be linked to the price index to ensure periodical revision. Even the government guarantees for raising loans by public sector undertakings would be capped, he added. Mr Dhumal said the most serious objection his party had that the House, the Opposition, the employees and the people at large were not take into confidence before signing such an important document, which would have serious short-term and long-term implications for the state. An effort to evolve consensus should have been made and the issue widely debated to arrive at the best possible terms and conditions. By signing the document on the sly, the government has thrown to the winds all democratic norms and harmed the interests of the state, Mr Dhumal said. |
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Illegal stone crusher in operation Sundernagar, June 7 Recently an illegal stone crusher came to light which is situated at Dhawal village, 21 km from here and just 1 km away from the 990-MW Dehar Power House. Although there is a cumbersome procedure to set up a stone crusher as permission of many departments is needed, in this case no permission from any authority has been taken to install the crusher which is situated in the forest area. Mining operations on the spot has been going on for the past many months. The machines are operated with power drawn from a tractor and the crushed stone is supplied for the construction of roads. The stone crusher is being run by an influential person who is reportedly close to ministers. Enquiries from different departments reveal that no permission was granted to run the stone crusher at this spot. Some of the authorities even expressed their ignorance about the existence of the stone crusher. The High Court had laid down norms for the operation of stone crushers in the state. Hundreds of stone crushers were closed in the past in compliance with the order. Although the authorities had been implementing norms on the stone crushers which were running as per permission, they never took any action against the stone crushers being run illegally. Recently the High Court issued directions that the District Magistrate, the Superintendent of Police and the Mining Officer would be held responsible for any illegal mining in their areas. The owner of this stone crusher is making crores of rupees from the illegal mining operation in the forest area. Recently residents of Siuin village wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh, the Forest Secretary and the Industry Secretary about this illegal stone crusher. It was also stated in the letter that the owner of the stone crusher claimed himself to be “man of the Chief Minister”. Interestingly, the residents have not addressed the latter to any of the ministers or the Chief Minister. It has been further stated in the letter that if the stone crusher was not closed, they would go to court. |
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Green trees felled on govt land Hamirpur, June 7 The team also went to the nearby forest areas and witnessed the felling that had taken place there in a haphazard manner. Sources in the state government said here this afternoon that the state Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, had taken a strong note of the felling and had sought details from the forest officers. There were reports that the Chief Minister had also told the officers concerned to visit the site and take action against the guilty persons found violating the forest rules. There were reports that the forest officers based here had decided to verify the felling of trees and to get entire government and private forest area of the Chakmoh demarcated from the Revenue Wing of the department to see whether the felling was legal or not. Sources said that the department was upset over the reports that many green pine trees from the demarcated protected forest area of the state government had also been felled in the garb of felling of trees under the ten-year forest felling plan. Uneasiness prevailed in the Forest Department office here since early morning when the staff saw the felling story in The Tribune. The Shimla and Bilaspur-based officers of the department also panicked and they rang up their junior officers here to tell them the latest position regarding felling of green trees from the Chakmoh forest area of the district. Source said that the local forest officers, who visited the site today, were surprised to see the stumps of many trees put on fire so that no one was able to know that excessive felling of trees had taken place from the private as well as the government-owned forest. The Divisional Forest Officer, Hamirpur, Mr P.L. Chauhan, said here this afternoon that he was seeking a detailed report from the Range Forest Officer of Bijheri and accordingly an action would be taken against those who violated the government guidelines regarding felling of trees. He refused to say that many green trees had also been felled from the government owned forest. He, however, said that this matter would be probed into thoroughly. However, insiders in the department said that there were definite reports that many green pine trees had been felled from the government/private forests in excess to the permitted trees. |
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Science council to prepare natural resource atlas Shimla, June 7 The Union Ministry for Science and Technology had sanctioned a Rs 14 lakh project to be undertake by the State Council, in all 12 districts of the state. It would be for the first time that user friendly thematic maps would be generated featuring catchment areas, physical demographic and socio-economic environment. The project was named as mapping of science and technology needs, documentation and identification of location specific problems for science and technology intervention in Himachal Pradesh. One of the important objectives of the project would be to identify natural problems like cloud bursts, landslides, earthquakes, flood and drought and the areas prone to it. “Having a detailed map of all the natural resources, and the level of their exploitation over the years would definitely help in better management of natural resources so as to enhance economic status of the state,” informed Mr Rajesh. K. Solankey, Scientific Officer and co-investigator of the project. Certain natural disasters like cloud burst, flashfloods and landslides, which have wreaked havoc in districts like Kulu, Kinnaur and Bilaspur over the last few years, would be documented in this atlas. The first stage of the project would involve documentation of locations and their specific problems. Data would be collected from all government departments and feedback from the public representatives would be sought about area-specific problems. Later a workshop involving policy makers, scientists, NGOs and departmental officials that the final document would be given shape. The second phase of the project would focus on the geographical information system (GIS) where detailed maps would be prepared. |
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Rain lashes region, snow in tribal areas Shimla, June 7 According to the weather office here today, Shimla received moderate rainfall last night. The Met office recorded 24.4 mm of rain in the capital and its surrounding areas in the past 24 hours which led to a minor decrease in the minimum temperature from 12.7°C to 11.4°C. Heavy rains in Chamba district since Saturday blocked and damaged the Chamba road connecting the tribal area of Bharmaur. However, the road was cleared yesterday and traffic restored. The higher reaches of the tribal districts of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Bharmaur experienced mild snowfall last night. Lower areas like Rekong Peo in Kinnaur and Keylong experienced light showers. The weather was by and large cloudy in the tribal areas. Sundernagar in Mandi district recorded 17 mm of rainfall and Bhuntar 15.9 mm in Kulu district during the past 24 hours. There were reports of widespread rain in Hamirpur, Kangra, Una, Solan and other districts of the state. The Siachen, glacier in forwards areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Manali peaks in received spells of snowfall while the middle reaches received rain. Unusual rain in the past one week and snow in the past 24 hours have made June pleasant so far in many years. Meanwhile, a 111 km ph velocity dust and thunderstorm, followed by 27 mm rainfall in and around Chandigarh plummeted the day temperature to 33.6°C, six degrees below normal. Reports of high velocity squalls and rain also poured in from Ambala (15.3 mm), Karnal (0.8 mm), Rohtak (0.4 mm), Amritsar (19.8 mm), Ludhiana (11.4 mm), Patiala (11.3 mm) and Nangal Dam (25.5 mm). Ambala and Patiala had the high of 33.1°C and 33.4°C, both eight degrees below normal. Amritsar and Ludhiana saw mercury dropping sharply by nine degrees to 33.4°C and 33.2°C, respectively. Srinagar reported having received 8 mm rain while Jammu received 34.6 mm rainfall. Weathermen here have forecast rain and thunderstorms at isolated places in the plains and scattered in hilly states of the region over the next 48 hours. The Met Department, however, ruled out today’s spell of widespread rain being pre-monsoon showers and attributed the change in weather to a western disturbance over north Pakistan which lies over Jammu and Kashmir and neighbourhood.
— PTI, UNI |
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‘Kashi of the Himalayas’ turns into junkyard Mandi, June 7 The open drains are clogged with muck and “malba” dug up by the Irrigation and Public Health Department to make room for pipelines. The pedestrians and locals alike throw the waste into the open as bins are rare to find even in the town’s plush hub, Indira market. Though the district administration has created the Mandi Nagar Environment Safety and Cleanliness Campaign Committee which would be chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, but over 20 tons of junk and trash that Mandi produces every day finds its way into the Sakeodi, Khalyar and Saketi khuds. The junk is finally washed down into the Beas. In his first initiative to clean the town the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ali Raza Rizvi, has formed the eco-clubs involving school children, members of the 16-member Mandi Municipal Council (MMC) and volunteers of the District Saksharta and Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti. Local residents told The Tribune that the town had no waste collection, transport and disposal facility as it had no waste treatment plant. “The MMC has placed 47 dumpers in 13 wards but they are cleared once in a month. The two sewerage treatment plants installed a few years back come handy. But still many houses are yet to be covered.” The State Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (SEPPCB) has slapped a notice on the MMC for dumping the town’s waste in the Saketi khud that is polluting the river. “But we are helpless as we neither have the funds nor waste treatment plant, nor enough staff to clean the town,” rued Mrs Sushila Sandhola, President, MMC. Pointing out the woes of the MMC’s workers Sanitation Inspector Pal Bhardwaj said the council had 47 workers for 80 beats for a population of over 30,000 in the town. |
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ONGC-villagers row delays shifting of machines Mandi, June 7 Workers are agitating against their retrenchment while the farmers are demanding compensation for reclaimation of their land. Consequently the launch of drilling at Langar Project in Bilaspur district is getting delayed. Farmers and workers are not allowing the machines to be lifted from the site and are continuing a round-the-clock dharna there. Mega-size trucks and trailers requisitioned by an Ahmedabad-based company, engaged by the ONGC for the carrying of heavy machines to Bilaspur, which were waiting for an agreement between the ONGC and local people, have returned to Ahmedabad due to an inordinate delay caused by the ONGC in accepting the demands of the people. The ONGC had reportedly entered into a Rs 46-lakh contract with the company for the shifting of machine. An official of the company told newspersons at Dhaban that now the shifting of machine would only be undertaken after the ONGC would compensate the company for the damages suffered by it. He said it had suffered a loss of about Rs 18 lakh as its cranes and vehicles had been standing idle. No oil could be found at Dhaban even after a three year drilling up to a depth of over 5000 metres and spending around Rs 100 crore. |
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Chamera project yields more power Shimla, June 7 With Himachal Pradesh receiving 12 per cent free power from the project, the state has benefited to the tune of Rs 45 crore annually. The other beneficiary states from this project are Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan, the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Commissioned within a short span of four years, ahead of schedule, the 300 MW project is located on the right bank of the Ravi on the Chamba-Bharmour highway. Funded by the Indo-Canadian Consortium, the project has been completed at a cost of Rs 2004 crore. The National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) is the executing agency of the project. |
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CM lays stress on employment
in hydel projects Shimla, June 7 Intervening during question hour in the Himachal Vidhan Sabha today he said the agreements signed during the BJP regime were reviewed with regard to employment. He said the government would ensure that not only the executing company but even the sub-contractors were bound to employ local people. Earlier, Mrs Vidya Stokes, Power Minister, told Mr Mohinder Singh that 10 big projects and an equal number of mini-hydel projects were under implementation. Replying to another question Mr Virbhadra Singh informed the house that the government was committed to provide employment to at least one person from each below poverty line family. Mr Sat Mahajan, Minister for Rural Development, stated that the government has so far not conducted any survey to identify families which did not have any member in government job. |
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HP Budget today Shimla, June 7 The government had earlier passed an vote-on-account for the first four months of the year in view of the Lok Sabha poll. With the state having signed a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) to carry out fiscal reforms, which barred the government from granting any fresh tax concessions, no relief was expected. |
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Summer Festival
concludes Shimla, June 7 The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, who presided over the concluding function, said such festivals were a repository of the state’s rich cultural heritage and went a long way in giving a boost to tourism. Sunidhi Chauhan had the audience dancing to songs sung by her in several hit movies and other popular numbers well past midnight. Pakistani ghazal king Ghulam Ali, Mohit Chauhan of the Silk Route group and Sunidhi Chauhan were the star performers during the Summer Festival. |
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Sukh Ram becomes
CLP member Shimla, June 7 Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, Speaker, allotted him a seat in the Treasury Benches. Mr Sukh Ram had floated the HVC in 1996 after he was expelled from the Congress. |
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Telescopes for viewing transit
of Venus Shimla, June 7 The Principal Scientific Officer, Dr S.S. Chandel, informed that a very powerful telescope, provided by the Indian Planetary Society, would be installed on the Ridge for schoolchildren, teachers and others. The council has provided 12 telescopes, one each at every district headquarters, to facilitate witnessing of this rare planetary alignment, taking place after 121 years. Dr Chandel, however, cautioned that people should not look at the sun with the help of X-ray films or smoked glass as it could be harmful. |
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Panel to look into canal breach Nurpur June 7 He said there was no house near the damaged part of the canal and there was no cause for fear or panic. |
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