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CM seeks royalty from hydel projects
Dairy plant to be set up at Chamba: CM
Rs 2,000-cr winter sport resort proposed
Naqvi attacks UPA on Sonia’s role
BJP MLAs to meet on Dec 16
BJP alleges fraud in vocational education
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Shanta Kumar seeks removal of Asha Kumari
Cooperative brings prosperity to four villages
Villagers protest against electricity board
23-year-old killed in accident
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CM seeks royalty from hydel projects
Shimla, December 12 Presiding over a high-level meeting to review the progress of the 126-MW Larji project here, he said free power as royalty was a matter of principle and the board should also follow it. He said the board needed to compete in the open market along with other entrepreneurs for taking more projects in the state for execution. He said this would bring in an element of competitiveness amongst board engineers. The Chief Minister said the state government had taken a decision to have equity participation in all hydel projects and all projects being awarded were being approved on the same terms and conditions. Recently the government signed a project with the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam for the 439-MW Rampur project, where 30 per cent equity participation had been agreed upon. He said the anology adopted in the 1500-MW Nathpa Jhakri Power Project, in which the state had 25 per cent equity participation, was being implemented in all new projects. He said the government had made it mandatory for all hydel power project executors to release at least 10 per cent of the water downstream for the survival of marine life so that the natural habitat was maintained. He said similar conditions would be applicable to all the power project executors in the state. The Larji project would be completed by the middle of 2005 at a cost of Rs 1200 crore. He said with its completion, the board would be generating 453 MW of power from different projects. Ms Vidya Stokes, Power Minister, apprised the Chief Minister of the various problems being faced by the board and said all-out efforts were being made to make the board a profit-earning unit. She also apprised the Chief Minister of various activities being undertaken by the board and of power distribution being strengthened and streamlined. |
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Dairy plant to be set up at Chamba: CM
Chamba, December 12 Addressing a Gujjar-Muslim convention held at Sahoo village, 20 km from here, the Chief Minister said despite the fact that the NDA government had squandered huge funds on its publicity, the people voted the Congress to power. The Hindutva hurricane of Mr Narendra Modi had been defused by the voters, he said. Mr Virbhadra Singh announced that the state government had sanctioned the setting up of an automatic dairy plant with an outlay of Rs 70 lakh at Chamba. He said the government was making all-out efforts to strengthen the milk federation so that chilling plants could be set up at various places. He said the government was also making efforts to settle the Gujjars permanently but advised them not to leave their avocation of rearing milch cattle. This would help the Gujjars to educate their children, he said. The Chief Minister said the government had given top priority to education and strengthening of road network in the state. A budget of Rs 1,140 crore had been earmarked for education during this fiscal year. He said during the past one year 706 middle, high and senior schools had been opened in the state. He said the government had decided to teach Urdu in nearly 100 schools. Mr Ram Lal Thakur, Forest Minister, Mr Harsh Mahajan, Housing and Animal Husbandry Minister, and Mr Gulzar Mohd Bharti, Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Minorities and Financial Corporation, addressed the gathering, among others. Mr Bharti urged the Chief Minister to shift certain checkpoints of the security forces set up in areas along the Jammu and Kashmir border. He also demanded setting up of a Gujjar hostel at Chamba and Gujjar ashrams at certain other places. Earlier, Mr Virbhadra Singh distributed cheques amounting to Rs 10.8 lakh among Gujjar families for setting up income-generating avocations. |
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Rs 2,000-cr winter sport resort proposed
Shimla, December 12 “We are working out the modalities and a meeting will be held with the Union Tourism ministry officials in New Delhi next week, before the feasibility study is initiated,” said Mr John Robert Sim, who is here to attend the Himachal Tourism Conclave. He said though he was open to having his project either in Himachal or Uttranchal but if all goes well it would be located in HP. Mr Sim said the MoU with the state government would be signed next month so as to work out the future working relationship in principle before the huge investment is made. “What I am looking at is an international standard resort complete with a variety of hotels, parks, malls which are rooted in the Himalayan architecture style to give the traveller a unique experience,” he said. The resort would be located above the height of 8,000 feet and would require roughly an area of 100 hectares. “I have extensively travelled within Himachal but we have yet to finalise the location of the resort though we have zeroed on different sites at Manali, Chansel in Rohru or in the Kangra valley,” he said. Mr Sim, who is already engaged in the tourism sector in West Bengal and diamond mining in Andhra Pradesh, says he would prefer having an air strip as well, provided the government gives the go ahead. He says issues like access, snow cover and most importantly the local community welcome was essential. “We will be pro-active in being environmentally sound as well as ensuring that the resort products are socially responsible,” he emphasises. The resort, he says, will have provision for both winter as well as summer sports and will showcase the art, culture, folk and festivals of the area. “To begin with we would want international ski events to be organised at the resort and later we are aiming for nothing less than the Olympics,” he says spelling out his ambitious plans. Mr Sim feels that two areas where the government needs to work is improving the transport infrastructure and focus on quality constructions, which are in conformity with the hill architecture. “There has been a horrible construction sprawl which is neither aesthetic nor safe, so political will is required to discipline and stop this completely,” he said. |
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Naqvi attacks UPA on Sonia’s role
Mandi, December 12 Talking to reporters after chairing the BJP’s state executive meeting here today, which was attended by BJP state President Suresh Bhardwaj, former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and former Consumer Affairs Minister Shanta Kumar, Mr Naqvi alleged said that from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Cabinet ministers, the government was literally functioning from Ms Gandhi’s residence. “No business is transacted on the floor of the House as all issues are decided at the Congress President’s house”, he charged. To restore national pride and dignity of the office the BJP is spearheading a countrywide campaign against the UPA government, Mr Naqvi asserted. “The government has no political will to govern”. Referring to the financial crisis in Himachal Pradesh, Mr Naqvi said though there were Congress governments both in the state and at the Centre, yet development activity had come to a standstill in the state as it was not getting funds from the Centre. “In contrast, both Mr Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar-led BJP governments managed funds for the state and welfare and development never suffered during the BJP regime”, he added, saying that Mr Shanta Kumar managed Rs 100 crore even during the Congress government at the Centre. On backtracking the party’s stand on the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Mr Naqvi said that the party was sticking to its stand. “Treatment meted out to the seer is bad and the party opposes it and would decide soon on the course of action to be adopted,” he added. On the Hindutva issue, Mr Naqvi said that it was never a political issue. |
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BJP MLAs to meet on Dec 16
Mandi, December 12 Talking to reporters before the BJP’s state executive meeting here today, Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, BJP state president, said that people were disillusioned with the Congress as corruption reigned supreme in the government. “We are convening the meeting of the BJP MLAs on December 16 in which the party would chalk out its strategy for the coming winter session in Shimla”, he added, saying that the BJP had declared “2005 as the year of organisation strengthening year”. The meeting was chaired by Mr M. Abbas Naqvi, party’s incharge for Himachal. Referring to the corruption issue at higher places, Mr Bhardwaj said that the Education Minister, Ms Asha Kumar, should have resigned following the land grabbing case in Chamba district on ethical grounds like Ms Uma Bharti and Mr Shibo Soren. “The Congress government has become a stronghold for the corrupt”, he charged. Mr Bhadwaj said that Mr Virbhadra Singh had dubbed the MoU on fiscal reforms as the ‘death warrant’, but his government signed it with the
Centre. |
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BJP alleges fraud in vocational education
Hamirpur, December 12 Mr Rana said nearly 20,000 students who were hoping to get admissions in various vocational courses in the state were now facing problems as they had failed to get admissions in these courses outside the state. He said the way, the government was acting was shocking and proved that there was something fishy. He said the HP technical education had sold 33,000 prospectuses at the rate of Rs 200 each and thereby earned Rs 66 lakh. Moreover, it had short listed 250 institutions all over the state to start the courses. However, it was not understood why the government was now adopting dilly-daily tactics for starting the courses. |
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Shanta Kumar seeks removal of Asha Kumari
Palampur, December 12 Addressing mediapersons at his residence on Saturday, Mr Kumar said if the Chief Minister had any moral values, he should dismiss her with immediate effect. He said it was a matter of great surprise that the Special Judge had summoned her twice but she did obey the orders of the court. He said this type of behaviour was not expected from a Cabinet minister who was holding constitutional post in the state. He said in the present political scenario the Congress was trying to create an-atmosphere like Bihar in the state by Criticising the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, the BJP leader said he was making serious efforts to save the Education Minister by pleading for the reinvestigation of the case and also by pressuring the vigilance and enforcement agencies to withdraw the challan submitted in the court of
Special Judge. He said the BJP would not become a silent spectator and it would resort to agitation. |
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Cooperative brings prosperity to four villages
Dadhol (Bilaspur), December 12 Dadhol’s success story can serve as an eye-opener for rest of Himachal Pradesh’s hundreds of cooperatives which remained mired in corruption. The DGSSS won Excellence award after the National Cooperative Development Corporation, New Delhi, chose it from one of a dozen few best cooperatives in the country for 2003. The society received the award from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the National Cooperative Day on November 16 last. Assisted by the DGSSS’s funds, Dadhol has witnessed a silent ‘micro-green revolution’. The villagers now grow off-season vegetables and mangoes and other crops, which were impossible earlier as they did not have water. “The Forest Department made three check dams, creating a 1 km long channel of water that irrigates 300 bighas of land in Dadhol panchayat. The villagers operate a mobile boat funded by the society, fitted with an engine that lifts up water, irrigating the lands in the villages. We pay Rs 30 per hour as cost to lift the water”, said the villagers, adding they faced drought and shortage of fodder for cattle, but now these are things of the past for the last three years. “I took the loan from the society, planted a mango orchard five years ago and now I earned Rs. 6000 this year”, said Mr Sudhir Thakur, who also runs a cable network funded by the society in the Padyalag panchayat. The DGSSS has started a Children’s Bachat Yojna for children less than 18 in these panchayats. “The children can use this fund towards higher education. We award the best schools, best students and best teachers in the four panchyats for best results to foster competition in 25 schools. Nine students have bagged top positions in the district last year”, informed the members. The DGSSS has not only earned a profit of Rs 1.67 lakh this year, it has evolved a new way of running the cooperative on consensus and coexistence rather than on confrontation and politicking that is more or less a rule in the rest of the state’s cooperatives. With its membership of 1425, the DGSSS has defeated petty politicking within the society ever since it was formed in 1955 with a capital of Rs 10. “Now the society has benefited 699 villagers with funds worth Rs 1.50 crore, a reserve fund worth Rs 20 lakh and Rs 2 crore as fixed deposits (FD) in banks”, disclosed the DGSSS’s balance sheet. The best thing that other cooperatives can learn from the DGSSS is this: “We realised after four decades that if we remain divided along the Congress and the BJP lines, the society was sure to sink. So we decided that when the Congress is in power, the society’s president would be from this party, and vice-versa when BJP was in power,” said Mr Jagir Singh, president, DGSSS, who is a Congressman. “Politicking has ruined us earlier. Now each member has stakes in affairs of the society which has now a turnover Rs. 8.50 crore”, added Mr Pawan Kumar Gautam, its vice-president, who is a BJP man. The society has constructed a basketball court at the senior secondary school, Dadhol. “We have covered all schools in Dadhol and Gahar panchayats and are targeting schools in other two panchayats”, said Mr Jagir Singh. To make the cooperatives transparent, the society has computerised its records and updated its balance regularly, leaving little scope for any lapse. “IFFCO has chosen DGSSS as its distributor, the first society in the state to do so”, said Mr Gautam, adding that the society was also a distributor for the HP Agro. “We organise camps for women and children in villages, giving tips on getting funds and starting small ventures in small townships that have come up along the Bilaspur-Hamirpur national highway. Now we have selected two women who will learn how to make carpets in New Delhi. They will teach the art to other village women”, said Ms Sunita Sharma, president, gram panchayat, Padyalag. “If the Forest Department permits us to construct a similar channel, it would irrigate another 200 bighas of land in Gahar and Padyalg panchayat”, she added. The society shares its profit at the rate of 7 per cent among its members, and it has a good loan recovery rate of over 80 per cent, said the members. The Additional Registrar, Cooperatives, HP, Mr H.R. Chauhan, said that the media flashed scandals in cooperatives but ignored them when they do a good job. |
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Villagers protest against electricity board
Nahan, December 12 Villagers alleged that power supply to the area was in a bad condition. Live wires hanging in dangerous condition and decaying wooden poles were posing danger to the human lives and cattle. In a letter sent to several high officials, ministers and the Chief Minister of the state it has been alleged that despite several representations, the board officials did nothing to maintain the supply lines in good condition which had resulted in accidents in the past also. Villagers blocked the Paonta-Shillai road and raised slogans against the electricity board. Hundreds of protesters were demanding immediate suspension of the board officials responsible for the shabby supply conditions in the area. They also demanded a high-level inquiry into the negligence by board officials which resulted in the death of a woman. |
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23-year-old killed in accident
Solan, December 12 While the driver, Pradeep, was killed on the spot, Lokender was rushed to the local District Hospital. The duo were on their way to Kasauli from Shimla. |
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