 |
|
HP debt going up at alarming rate
BJP opposed to public tariff panel
Pak singer steals Indian hearts
Illegal mining leading to deforestation
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ayurvedic docs seek higher perks
Board urged to change practical exam dates
Farmers make profits on vegetable crops
Bar opposes professional tax
Probe ordered into felling of trees
Model hospital
at Baddi soon, says Gaur Dharampur sanatorium left with
two doctors
5 held for stealing cement bags
|
|
HP debt going up at alarming rate
Shimla, March 13 With the outstanding loans touching Rs 17,000 crore, including about Rs 5,500 crore of non-SLR borrowings, the debt liability of the state has already reached an unsustainable level. The state has been raising loans to the tune of about Rs 2500 crore every year to make both ends meet. During 2005-06, an amount of Rs 2667 crore, more than 35 per cent of the state’s budget, will go towards debt servicing. The government has announced that it will not resort to
non-SLR borrowings, but the debt liability will increase by Rs 1367 crore. The decision to cap borrowing will have only a nominal impact and the debt liability will increase to about Rs 23,000 crore over the next five years. This is despite the fact that the 12th Financial Commission has recommended a revenue deficit grant of Rs 10,200 crore for the 2005-10 period, an increase of 124 per cent over the 11th Financial Commission. With the state domestic product estimated at Rs 19,500 crore, the total debt of the state should not exceed Rs 12,000 crore. As such, the state urgently needs to reduce the outstanding debt by about Rs 6000 crore which, given the huge committed liabilities in the shape of wage bill and pension of employees, is a tall order. The gravity of the situation can be judged from the fact that the state’s own income is a meagre Rs 1700 crore whereas the total financial burden on account of salaries and pensions is Rs 2850 crore. It accounts for 62 per cent of the total receipts, including Central grants. As per the norms laid down by the state, which leads the country in the social sector, it has the worst fiscal indicators. The fiscal deficit is over 14 per cent as compared to the average of 4 per cent of the GDP for the rest of the states, and 4.5 per cent for the Centre. The tax-GDP ratio is at 5.5, the lowest in the country. The 12th Financial Commission has laid down a strict roadmap to bring down the revenue deficit to nil by 2008-09. The revenue deficit as a function of revenue receipts has to be reduced by 2 per cent every year, which in monetary terms requires the state to raise about Rs 70 crore either by mobilising additional resources or compression of expenditure. The state is looking for a debt mitigation facility from the World Bank to bring the outstanding loans within manageable limits. The state needs a long-term soft loan amounting to about Rs 6000 crore to prematurely retire its expensive debt. In case the state manages to secure it, the expenditure on debt servicing will come down by Rs 1000 crore in one go and once this happens, there will be no need for the government to raise loans to meet its committed liabilities. |
|
|
BJP opposed to public tariff panel
Shimla, March 13 Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, state BJP chief, said here today that it was a covert move to put burden on the people through the backdoor. The commission would raise tariffs for a host of services like transport, education, water, health and irrigation from time to time and such proposals would not even figure in the general Budget. He also opposed the professional tax, which would even cover low-paid employees. The new tax would take away the benefit that would accrue to the employees due to the merger of 50 per cent dearness allowance into the basic salary. He said the party would oppose these measures and its youth wing would stage a dharna in front of the Vidhan Sabha on March 28 as a protest. The party would meet on the same day to chalk out the strategy to effectively oppose the “anti-people, anti-farmer and anti-youth Budget” of the Congress. He said the Budget was silent about employment generation and mega projects to build express highways to reduce the travel time between Shimla and Kalka, Rohru and Solan and other places would remain a dream. He said the shadow of the MoU signed by the government with the Centre to pursue fiscal reforms was looming large over the Budget and it would lead to fuel inflation. The government had in the Budget admitted that the duration of the industrial package announced by the Vajpayee government was limited to 2007. It was a serious lapse on the part of the present government as not many new units would come up over this short period and the state would not be able to take the full advantage of the package. |
|
Pak singer steals Indian hearts
Mandi, March 13 “The hill people here look no different from those from my country. The hills and plains look the same. Be it in Hindi, Urdu or Punjabi, we share the same sound and the same rich music and culture,” Faakhir said. “We are one and our culture is one,” Faakhir said. He performed till past midnight, striking a perfect chord with the responding Shivratri fair crowd. “The barriers of language, region and religion are foreign to music”, he declared. Faakhir rendered Punjabi, Sindhi and Sarai folk music, singing numbers of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Noor Jehan and others. Before he performed, he told the mediapersons: “I have come to sing and spread love between the two countries. I am lucky to be here to share my music with audience in Mandi.” Faakhir struck a personal rapport with the audience. He sang ‘Tenu bhek ke
la-lu boli’, explaining what the lines meant. For this electronic engineer-turned-pop singer, the journey across the Wagah had proved that the Indian audience was as receptive as audiences in Pakistan. “I have sung a duet with Sunidhi Chauhan. My album ‘Mantra’ will be released in India in April,” said
Faakhir. Asked about the recent ban imposed by the Pakistan Government on Indian music in Pakistan and on stars acting in Bollywood films as a fallout of Mahesh Bhatt’s film ‘Meera’, Faakhir said: “Indian music, movies and videos are popular in Pakistan and will continue to be so. Indian channels are allowed in Pakistan. There is no truth in reports that the Pakistan Government has banned movies and stars from acting in Bollywood films. But I personally think nudity should be avoided as it is alien to the culture of both countries”. |
|
|
Illegal mining leading to deforestation
Palampur, March 13 The mining and quarrying has posed a serious threat to the existence of over three dozen irrigation and drinking water supply schemes. The existence of Kirpal Chand Khual passing through this town feeding over 20 panchyats comprising 100 villages of Palampur, Bhawarans and Daroh blocks and Charnamati and Lower Baijnath Kuhals feeding 15 panchayats of Baijnath block is in danger because of continuous mining in its catchments areas. In the absence of any mining policy in the state, the large-scale, illegal and unscientific mining and quarrying in this region is not only creating environmental imbalances but also causing huge loss to the state exchequer. At present the state has no stringent law to deal with the situation. The increasing political interference in functioning of the state mining departments has made matters worse. In the present scenario the state government is losing revenue worth crore of rupees every year. Official sources confirmed that in most of the cases the persons involved in these illegal activities had no legal rights to extract the sand, stone, bajri and other raw material from these khuds and quarries, but because of political protection, the administration has become a silent spectator and officials are liberally granting them no objection certificates for extraction of stone, sand and other raw material. If no timely action is taken over two dozen drinking water supply schemes in Kangra would go dry in the next five years. These get water from Neugal, Binwa and other khuds. The water level of not only Neugal but also other khuds like Binwa, Gaj, Baner, Awa, Bathoo, Mol and Bhiral has also gone down in the past five years. These khuds are a major source of drinking water for 200 water supply schemes of Kanagra district. It may be recalled that last summer, people of the state had experienced drought conditions and most of these khuds had gone dry as early as April and May.
|
|
Ayurvedic docs seek higher perks
Nurpur, March 13 He said both were gazetted posts and should be treated on a par. He said a laboratory technician and a pharmacist were getting over Rs 8,000 per month. He urged the state government to give priority to bona fide Himachalis while filling the 85 sanctioned posts of ayurvedic doctors in the state. The previous government had recruited 150 non-Himachali doctors through the backdoor, he lamented. Taking exception to batch-wise recruitment of ayurvedic doctors through employment exchanges, he demanded appointment through Registrar, Ayurvedic and Unani Chiktsa Board, Shimla. He demanded the Chief Minister to formulate a policy to regularise the services of ad hoc and contractual ayurvedic doctors.
|
|
Board urged to change practical exam dates
Chamba, March 13 They have urged the authorities of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) to conduct the practical examinations of physics and chemistry between March 22 and 31 instead of April 1 onwards. A number of parents who met this correspondent here today said the practical examination of physics and chemistry were to be held on February 22, but were postponed due to inclement weather in Chamba district. The HPBSE had fixed the dates of the practical examinations from April 1, but the all-India PMT entrance examination had been scheduled for April 3. The HPBSE had decided to cancel the physics practical examination which was held on February 21 and the students who had appeared in this paper had submitted practical files and models to the old examiners. Now they were unable to study without practical files and could not submit these files and models again to the new examiners.
|
|
Farmers make profits on vegetable crops
Kumarhatti, March 13 He was addressing some farmers at Pipplughat under Arki subdivision during a one-day agriculture workshop organised by the Solan Marketing Committee today. At present, the state was producing 1.25-lakh tonne off-season vegetable cash crops, he said. The state had a total 64,476 hectare arable area. Out of this 40,000 hectares was being used for agriculture purpose, said Mr Thakur. For the coming rabi season, the Agriculture Department had sold the 5,017 metric tonne seeds of rabi crops like wheat and dalhan among farmers, besides the sale of three metric tonne of pesticides, he said. During the next fiscal, it had proposed to spend Rs 1,060 crore on education and Rs 500 crore on health and social welfare schemes, he revealed. Mr Liak Ram Sharma and Mr Kanshi Ram, president and vice-president of the committee, also spoke on the occasion. |
|
Bar opposes professional tax
Palampur, March 13 In its meeting held here this afternoon, the association announced to participate in the statewide agitation if the government failed to withdraw the professional tax. Presiding over the meeting, Mr R.C. Sood, president of the association, said the state government should first assure social security to the advocates, then implement the proposed professional tax. He said the legal profession was passing through serious crises these days because of sharp decrease in litigation matters, therefore, the advocates could not afford this additional burden on them. He said it took minimum of 10 years for an advocate to settle in the profession. There was no social security or other pension benefits available to the advocates in the state. He said earlier the Delhi Government had planned to impose the professional tax but later it was forced to withdraw the same. |
|
Probe ordered into felling of trees
Palampur, March 13 Official sources told The Tribune here yesterday that over 100 trees were felled in the past few months but a lesser number were shown in the record. A section in charge reportedly had brought the scam to the notice of the higher authorities. Thereafter the Vice-Chancellor had called for the records. In the papers, the total value of trees felled was reportedly shown as Rs 11,000 only whereas the market price of these trees ran into lakhs. Meanwhile, most of the officials involved in the scam have been sent on long leave by the Vice-Chancellor, while one official has been shifted to another department. |
|
Model hospital at Baddi soon, says Gaur Parwanoo, March 13 He was presiding over the 33rd regional ESI board meeting here on Friday. He said the ESI hospital, here, would be equipped with more infrastructure. The medical facilities would be enhanced to enable the workers to get quality medical care. Keeping in mind the increasing industrial activities at Baddi the proposal for setting up a model hospital there would be looked into soon, he said. The process of reimbursement of ESI bills of workers would be made fast by reducing internal bottlenecks, he asserted. He instructed the ESI officials to settle the long pending medical bills of workers and ensure the timely payment of claimed medical bills in future.
|
|
|
Dharampur sanatorium left with two doctors Kumarhatti, March 13 With the authorities ordering the deputation of one sanatorium doctor to the Zonal Hospital, Solan only two doctors have been left in the sanatorium now. In a fax message received by sanatorium on Friday from Shimla, a doctor was asked to join the Solan hospital as a temporary arrangement till the post of radiologist was filled. Of the total four doctors at the sanatorium, a doctor had earlier been sent on deputation to the community health centre,
Dharampur. The order has shocked the staff of the sanatorium, who say the decision will affect the functioning of the sanatorium. As many as 70 TB patients are at present admitted to the sanatorium. Ironically, of the two doctors left, one female doctor cannot perform night duties due to health reasons. The sanatorium Medical Superintendent post has been lying vacant since November.
|
|
|
5 held for stealing cement bags
Palampur, March 13 A police spokesman told mediapersons here today that the police had received an information that cement with the marking “HP Government supply” was being sold in the open market. It had put a naka near Panchrukhi. A vehicle (HP-40-4816) was asked to stop. The police arrested five persons, including the driver Bhim Sen. |
|
Work on Chamera-III speeded up
Chamba, March 13 This was stated in a ‘backgrounder’ captioned “Two years full of achievements and initiatives” released this week by the Himachal Pradesh Government headed by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, on its completion of two years in office. This is the fifth term of Mr Virbhadra Singh as Chief Minister. The development of the state, which got a setback during the previous regime, has been speeded up and given a new direction. |
|
Man electrocuted
Chamba, March 13 Giving this information here today, Dr D.K. Chudhary, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Chamba, said the deceased had been identified as Des Raj, a resident of Kamladha village in the district. A case had been registered. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
