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Computer to monitor Secretariat working
Lobbying for MC posts hots up
Delayed tariff petition may cost power
More than 1,400 apply under retention policy
CM announces Rs 4.65 cr
plan to |
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AIDS society fails to utilise funds
Cong forms committee for Mayor’s election
IPS officer misuses vehicle; junior pays the price
Palampur losing its pristine glory
Demand to develop park as playground
Move to transfer krishi kendra land flayed
Support prices for citrus fruits
4 get jail term for atrocities on SC
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Computer to monitor Secretariat working
Shimla, December 1 It is a major initiative in e-governance which will go a long way in ensuring transparency in the functioning of the government and cut down red-tape one of the main factors for delays in dealing with matters. Not only the location of a file con be ascertained on the click of a button but the time taken by a particular official in dealing with it will also be available. The software, specially designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), will also automatically generate reminders in case a file or a letter is not dealt with within a specified time. The system has been implemented on a trial basis in 20 sections and it will be extended to the entire Secretariat shortly. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, inaugurated the system. He exhorted officers to make the best possible use of the system and develop a habit to check their e-mails at least twice a day. He also asked Secretaries, Deputy Commissioners and heads of departments to ensure computerisation of records at the earliest. The Chief Minister also released a software package for the registration of deeds, which will help speed up the process of registration and make it more secure. A touch screen kiosk in the Secretariat was also inaugurated, which will be used by the public for tracking files and get other information. The Secretariat has been connected with a computer network, which will also facilitate sharing of data and resources. Under the system any e-paper that enters the network will automatically get a unique registration number. It will be like registering the document in the central diary of the Secretariat. The movement of the e-paper will be tracked on the basis of the unique number. A kiosk has been installed at the reception of the Secretariat so that the public can track the location of the file. In due course the entire information will be made available on the Internet and people will not have come to Shimla to chase files. The dealing officials will not have to repeatedly register the document in their respective diaries, and they will also be saved the trouble of typing the reference details. To begin with, noting will be done only on paper files. Officials, after dealing with the file, will record its movement in the network. Employees will also benefit from the switchover to e-governance as they will not have to make endless visits to the accounts section and other branches to know the status of their pending medical and travelling allowance bills. Each employee will be given a unique identity number, which will enable him to know whether the bills have been cleared or not by the click of a button. Training is being provided to employees so that they can use the new system. Already about 500 employees have been trained. |
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Lobbying for MC posts hots up
Shimla, December 1 As the two and-a-half year term of the Mayor, Mr Sohan Lal and the Deputy Mayor gets over on December, 2 the elections will be held the very next day. The state Cabinet, which met under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, on Monday rejected the proposal to extend the term as had been done by some other states. Though initially the government seemed keen to extend the term of the present Mayor and Deputy Mayor but sensing the mood of the councillors, the Cabinet struck down the proposal. According to sources, more than six councillors met Mr Virbhadra Singh yesterday and clarified that they were not in favour of extending the term of the present incumbents. In fact, a heated argument took place between them and Mr Sohan Lal, in the presence of the Mr Virbhadra Singh, when the Mayor claimed that a majority of the councillors were in favour of extending his term. “Had their term been extended there were bound to be dissensions within the party and it wouldn’t have been surprising if the BJP would have taken advantage of the situation,” admitted one of the councillor. The consensus amongst majority of the councillors is that the present Mayor and Deputy Mayor should not seek a second tenure, as others should also get an opportunity to hold the top posts. However, it is learnt that both Mr Sohan Lal and the Deputy Mayor, Mr Nand Kishore Mehta are in the race for the post of Mayor. The others Councillors who are being considered hot contenders include, Mr Shashi Shekhar, alia
Chinoo, and Mr Ashok Sood. It is learnt that Ms Mala Singh, who was also in the race has clarified that she was not keen to contest the election. Meanwhile, the local legislator, Mr Harbhajan Singh
Bhajji, said the selection of the candidate for both the posts would be done through consensus way. He said the person who is supported by maximum number of councillors would be the candidate. Out of a total of 24 councillors, the Congress has 16, BJP seven and one independent. With just a few days left for the elections the contenders are busy seeking the blessing of the Chief Minister and garnering support of their fellow members. |
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Delayed tariff petition may cost power board dearly
Shimla, December 1 Under the Electricity Act, 2003, it is obligatory on the part of the board to file tariff petition every year. As per the regulations framed by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission under the Act, the petition has to be filed by November 30. However, instead of filing the petition, the board has sought one month’s time on the ground that it was yet to resolve the issue of pricing and quantum of free power made available by the government, that will have a bearing on its annual revenue requirement. The matter may have to be decided in the Cabinet. Further, the segregation of tariff for transmission, distribution and generation was a cumbersome job, which required a lot of time. In the situation, the board has been left with no alternative but to seek more time for filing the petition. But there is no provision for extension of time under the Act. The last tariff order that came into force from July 5, 2004, will be effective up to March 31, 2005. Thereafter, the board will have to revert to the earlier tariff. As such, the non-filing of petition will not only deny the board the benefit of a possible increase in the tariff for 2005-06, but may also result in significant loss of revenue as it will have to charge consumers at the un-revised rates applicable before July 5, 2004, from April 1, 2005. The regulatory commission is empowered to outrightly reject the petition, if not filed within the stipulated period, or change and modify the earlier tariff order. Even if the commission entertains the petition at a later date, the board will be denied revenue for the period of delay. The commission is allowed four months to decide the tariff petition after hearing the views of the government and consumers. As such, even if the petition is filed by December 31, the revised tariff will be applicable only from June. The more the delay in filing the petition, the higher will be the loss of revenue to the board. It is worth mentioning that the board and the government have so far failed to resolve the dispute over the payment of subsidy to domestic consumers as a result of which the board is losing Rs 3.26 crore per month. The board, which was in profit until 1997-98, has accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 228 crore over the past five years because of its reluctance to carry out reforms and comply with the directions of the regulatory authority. In the last tariff order, the commission had allowed increase in revenue to the tune of Rs 167 crore. As such reverting back to the unrevised tariff will cost the board about Rs 13 crore per month from April next. Further, the board can also lose the reform-linked financial assistance under various schemes like the accelerated power development and reforms programme. |
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More than 1,400 apply under retention policy
Shimla, December 1 According to sources in the Town and Country Planning Department, under the retention policy, the government had given time till June this year to all those people who had constructed houses either without getting building plans cleared or there were major deviations from the plan. The government is likely to take a final decision on these unauthorised constructions located in the five SADAs of Shoghi, Kufri, Dhalli, New Shimla and Totu. “Adopting a soft policy of regularising unauthorised construction through retention will further embolden violators, thereby defeating purpose of having planned growth,” admitted a senior official. Out of those who have applied under the retention policy, 425 are in Dhalli, 400 in New Shimla, 325 in Kufri and 125 each in Shighi and Totu. According to sources in the TCP Department, there is a sizeable chunk of persons who have not applied even under the retention policy as they have already got water and electricity connections. “In such cases the department might take the extreme step of demolishing their structures and our field staff is already engaged in the process of collecting details about people who, despite raising unauthorised structures, have not applied under the retention policy,” said a senior official of the TCP. He added that such people would be penalsied heavily. Interestingly, while the development plan for the capital town is in the process of being finalised, regularising unauthorised structures is bound to worsen the situation. “If the successive governments continue to offer such popular sops to the residents, there is no way we can save the town which has already turned into a concrete jungle,” said another official. Planners, architects, engineers and heritage lovers had stressed the need for undertaking conservative surgery in the highly congested areas like cemetery in Sanjauli, Jiunu Colony on the bypass and other such areas where constructions had been done in such a manner that catering to the civic needs of the residents was a problem. People, who have seen Shimla turn from a quaint little hill station to a congested, commercialised tourist destination, lament that the authorities enforce rules and regulations in a particular area once the unauthorised structures have come up in a haphazard manner and the damage is already done. This is what exactly happened in the case of the SADAs as no concrete steps were taken when construction activity was in full swing. The state government at its last Cabinet meeting declared the Ghannati area as a Special Area Development Authority (SADA) so that growth can be in a planned manner.
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CM announces Rs 4.65 cr
plan to control AIDS
Shimla, December 1 Stating this here today, the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, said the focus of these programmes was more on women and girls. He was speaking at a state-level function organised at the Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidyalaya on the occasion of World AIDS Day here today. He further said treatment facility for AIDS patients was being provided at every hospital in the state and HIV-testing and voluntary counselling services had now been made available at all district hospitals, except Lahaul-Spiti. He said training was also being imparted to teachers at Health and Family Welfare training centres in Shimla and Kangra to create awareness among the younger generation. Mr Virbhadra Singh said telephone counselling services were also being provided in this regard. The Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Mukesh Agnihotri, in charge of Health Department, said 16 blood banks had been set up in the state to ensure easy availability of uninfected blood. He added that the government had decided to inter-link all blood banks in the state for better management. MANDI: The main thrust of the World AIDS Day observed on Wednesday in Mandi, Kullu, Bilaspur and Hamirpur districts, was on declamation contests, slogan writings and poster -making competitions which were inaugurated by various ministers in their home districts. District AIDS Control Programme officer M.L. Gupta said the SAIDCS was yet to cover the increasing number of migratory labourers truckers and taxi drivers, which comprise the high-risk zone. Their number have swelled in Mandi, Kullu, Bilaspur and Hamirpur districts. KANGRA: Transport and Tourism Minister G.S. Bali today stressed on launching a massive mass awareness programme about AIDS and its disastrous implications so that the coming generation was saved. Mr Bali was addressing a World AIDS Day function at Dr R.P. Government Medical College here. He said that the invasion of the western culture had left the youths of the East in a lurch. He said that the youth here did not know more about sex so they got trapped in the sexual affairs which put them into the deathtrap of AIDS. He said that 89 per cent of the AIDS patients were from the age group of 15-49 years. He said that sex education was a must for the younger generation. Dr Shri Kant Baldhi, Deputy Commissioner, said that the number of the estimated HIV positive cases in Himachal Pradesh had reached 5,000 and the number of the HIV positive cases had shown a remarkable increase from 396 to 1,038 during the past nearly two years. |
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AIDS society fails to utilise funds
Solan, December 1 The society which had chalked out an awareness project to educate truckers plying along four highways of the state could not execute it despite a lapse of more than a year. It had invited proposals from the NGOs in November last year for carrying out the project objectives along the Baijnath-Pathankot, Shimla-Jhakri, Kandror-Nadaun and Mehatpur-Bilaspur highways in the state. It had to suspend finally after the society failed to finalise the project despite a lapse of more than 10 months. Not only was the State AIDS Control Society reprimanded for the laxity by the NACO for not having utilised its funds but also for having adopted a specific approach. Officials, who chose to remain anonymous, stated that the NACO had now suggested adoption of an integrated approach to include various high-risk individuals, including female sex workers, injectible drug users, etc., under the programme.
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Cong forms committee for Mayor’s election
Shimla, December 1 The Chief Minister, the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Mr Kuldeep Kumar, and the Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Kaul Singh, will seek the opinion of the 16 Congress councillors in the 24-member MC. Leaders have already been maintaining that the party was keen that the selection of the candidates for the two top posts should be through a consensus so that the election is held in the most democratic way. The two-and-a-half-year tenures of the present Mayor, Mr Sohan Lal and the Deputy Mayor, Mr Nand Kishore Mehta, come to an end tomorrow. Apart from the present Mayor and Deputy mayor, the names of Mr Shashi Shekhar, Mr Ashok Sood and Mr Harish Janartha are doing the rounds as hot contenders. Interestingly, Mr Janartha, who won as an independent candidate, joined the Congress only yesterday, leading to speculation that was keen to get the top post with the blessings of the party leaders.
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IPS officer misuses vehicle; junior pays the price
Shimla, December 1 The police today suspended Munshi (Traffic) Hari Krishan for arranging an impounded vehicle, a Toyota Qualis, for ferrying a senior IPS officer to Chandigarh. The Himachal Police had impounded the vehicle some time back, as the driver concerned did not have the relevant documents. The Additional Director-General Police (CID), Mr B.S. Thind, today clarified that his name was unnecessarily being dragged into the controversy as he was in Shimla at the time the incident happened in Chandigarh. A section of the media had reported that the vehicle had been arranged for Mr Thind. Giving a reference of the inquiry conducted by the Superintendent of Police (Shimla) into the matter, Mr Thind said even Mr Rajesh Kumar, IG, Chandigarh, had confirmed that Mr Deepak Bagai, Additional DGP (Railways and Traffic) was travelling in the vehicle. Mr Bagai is currently on leave and is learnt to be residing in Mani Majra in Chandigarh. The SP, Shimla, Mr J.S. Thakur, said Hari Krishan had been placed under suspension and sent to the Police Lines. “Making use of an impounded vehicle is an illegal act and action has been taken against him for this,” he said. Mr Thakur said on inquiry the DSP (Traffic), Mr Ravinder Sharma, told him that the gunman of Mr Bagai had requested him to arrange a taxi for the IPS officer to go to Chandigarh. “The DSP says that he directed the Munshi (Traffic) to arrange a vehicle from the Taxi Union and it was only this morning that he got to know that an impounded vehicle had been used for the purpose,” he said. Top police circles here are in a quandary as to how Mr Thind’s name figured in the episode when he has claimed that he was present here. Questions are also being raised as to why action should not be taken against the IPS officer who had used the impounded vehicle. |
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Kufri wears white mantle
Shimla, December 1 While the entire tribal belt and higher reaches of Shimla, Kulu and Sirmaur districts were having incessant snow, some mid-hill areas were also receiving snow in spells. According to reports reaching here the Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur areas have been covered with a thick blanket of snow. The inclement weather over the past two days has thrown life in the tribal belt out of gear. The tourist resort of Narkanda, about 60 km from here, experienced the second snowfall of the season. About 20 cm of snow had been recorded by the evening. The 11,500 ft Hatu peak overlooking Narkanda was under knee-deep snow. The Churdhar range and the Shali Tibba peak also had snow during the past 24 hours. The lower areas of Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur had intermittent rain. The nearby tourist resort of Kufri donned a white mantle as it recorded the first snowfall of the season. Tourists, mostly honeymooners, made a beeline to Kufri to enjoy the snowfall. Normally, Kufri, Shimla and surrounding areas receive snowfall around Christmas and New Year. The snow, though not adequate, brought cheers to apple growers. |
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Palampur losing its pristine glory
Palampur, December 1 Unplanned and haphazard construction of shops, houses and roads is going on unchecked here. It seems that there is no authority here to check such illegal activities. A number of shops, houses and other buildings have come up here without the prior approval of the Town and Country Planning Department. The Municipal Council of the town is also unconcerned with the present situation. Things have gone from bad to worse in the past two years and there is a spate of illegal constructions in the town. A number of influential persons and henchmen of politicians were allowed to go ahead with the illegal constructions whereas many other residents of the town are yet to get approval for the construction of their houses. Not only this, despite the fact the state government has imposed a blanket ban on the construction of multi-storied buildings, such buildings have come up in the town, nobody knows who accorded the approval for such concrete structures. In many cases common applicants are fed up with the rude attitude of the Town and Country Planning Department and they allege that middlemen are also amassing money. It is most surprising that not only are private persons involved in the illegal constructions here, various government and semi-government departments have also taken up the execution of their buildings without the approval of the Town and Country Planning Department. The construction of the administrative block by the Municipal Council in the heart of the town remained in the news as it was being constructed without the approval of the authorities. Later the Himachal Pradesh High Court intervened and stayed the construction of a multi-storey complex of the Municipal Council. The public by and large feels that if no suitable measures are adopted by the government to check the situation, this beautiful town will soon become a slum. In the prevailing circumstances the Municipal Council has already failed to maintain cleanliness in the town. Heaps of garbage can be seen everywhere. |
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Demand to develop park as playground
Dalhousie, December 1 More than three years ago, a relay transmitter tower of Doordarshan had been installed on this land for telecasting national programmes of Doordarshan. It is reliably learnt that the Air Force Station had objected to the installation of this relay transmitter as it would interfere with the Air Force intelligence network. Hence this transmitter has become defunct and is causing hindrance to the development of the site. The people of the hill town have urged the Union Government to order the Doordarshan authorities for taking forthwith steps to dismantle the relay transmitter tower and put it to use at some other station. They have impressed upon the government to order a probe into the reason for not putting the huge investment on this transmitter and its accessories to proper use. The people have also asked the district administration to take the issue of removing the transmitter with the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting immediately so that this ground could be used for holding fairs, festivals, cultural programmes and various kinds of revelries, besides as a playground during the peak season to attract tourists from across the country. Recently, Mrs Asha Kumari, Education Minister, had directed the Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) to identify a suitable site to be used as a playground by the students. |
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Move to transfer krishi kendra land flayed
Solan, December 1 It was reliably learnt that the university in principle agreed to transfer its about 20 bighas of land located in the Sirinager area of Kandhaghat for the construction of a stadium. The Vice -Chancellor who was busy in connection with the founders day function could not be contacted for comments. The area which housed precious plantations like walnut saplings, nurseries of various stone fruits and apples would not only be deprived of its green cover but it would cause a loss of lakhs to the university. Sources revealed that an important trial of some imported walnut varieties, which had been imported from Holland incurring an expenditure of Rs 1.55 lakh, was still in its nascent stage. The scientists evaluating the latest varieties of the 45 walnut plants would be left high and dry. A period of more than five years is required to study the plant behaviour, opined scientists. The area also houses other high density plantations of various stone fruits ,including apple saplings which would have to be sacrificed to pave way for the stadium. Being a major farm testing centre for major crops,the kendra organises long-term vocational training courses in agriculture for generating self -employment. Initially sanctioned for a period of three years with a budget of Rs 75,59,000 the Kendra was recognized by the ICAR in March this year. The move to transfer a crucial area of its farm for a stadium would not harm the interest of the farming.
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Support prices for citrus fruits
Shimla, December 1 Under the scheme “B-grade” kinnow, malta and orange would be purchased at Rs 4.85 per kg, “C-grade” at Rs 4.25 and galgal (all grades) at Rs 3.10 per kg. He said that to start with, 51 fruit collection centres would be opened in citrus fruit growing areas. Out of these, 20 centres would be opened in Kangra district, 11 in Mandi, five each in Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur, two each in Sirmaur and Solan and one in Kulu. The minister added that fruit procurement work would be undertaken by the HPMC, HIMFED and the Industries Corporation. Fruit would be procured only from the orchardists who had the horticulture cards and no procurement would be made from the contractors. |
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4 get jail term for atrocities on SC
Chamba, December 1 In his judgement, the judge sentenced them to one-year imprisonment, besides imposing a fine of Rs 500 under Section 427 of the IPC; simple imprisonment for the three months and a fine of Rs 200 under Section 447 of the IPC; simple imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs 500 under Section 379 of the IPC; and simple imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs 500 under Section 3 (1) (v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheducled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. According to the judgement, the complainant, Ms Ramdei, wife of Rasalu of Behi Pargna Himgiri village, belonged to ‘Chamar’ community and the Government of Himachal Pradesh had allotted two biswas of land in Behl village for being an IRDP family member. The accused objected to the allotment and said they would not allow a ‘Chamar’ to reside near their house. Later, they demolished the house that the complainant has constructed. |
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