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Power to get cheaper in HP
CM: no proposal to downsize bureaucracy
No single-teacher schools in HP now
Production hit in cement plant
BJYM stages dharna against MoU on fiscal reforms
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DYFI holds protests against unemployment
Revise height standard for armed forces, seeks committee
Dam oustees seek land near town
Bid to loot petrol station
Nalwar Fair concludes
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Power to get cheaper in HP
Shimla, March 28 It also rejected the plea of the state electricity board for deferring the kvah based two-part tariff for consumers with connected load above 20 kw in respect of all categories, except domestic consumers, till July 2005 and directed the board to implement it from April1, 2005. The order was passed by the commission on the application filed by the state electricity board on April 1, 2005. The order was passed today by the commission on the application filed by the state electricity board for extension of the current tariff order till the new tariff for the year 2005-06 was determined. While allowing conditional extension of the July 5, 2004, tariff order for one month at the first instance, the commission expressed its anguish over non-compliance of its directions. It was of the view that the board was not entitled to the additional revenue of Rs 167 crore allowed in the last tariff order for breaching trust of the consumers and the commission. There was a strong case for reverting to the tariff prevalent before July 2004. However, keeping in view the fact that this could severely hurt the fiscal sustainability of the board, it took a lenient view and gave a last opportunity for showing tangible and definitive compliance of some of its directions. Interestingly ,the government also opposed the continuation of the existing tariff in the present form and made it clear that it will dispose of the free power available to it as royalty at competitive rates in the market from April 1,2005 and not give it to the board as earlier. The board should arrange power from its own resources to bridge the gap. The commission made it clear that the extension will expire on April 30,2005, and any further extension will be subject to the compliance of its seven important directions. These included establishment of a public redressal forum to settle the grievances of consumers , settlement of outstanding dues from the government and various departments by March 31,2005 and submission of reports of
special audit into purchases along with action taken to recover the amount
on account of excess purchases. The board was forced to seek extension of the tariff order as it failed to file application for the determination of power tariff for 2005-06 on time. |
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CM: no proposal to downsize bureaucracy
Shimla, March 28 Replying to a question of Major Vijay Singh Mankotia (Congress), he said there were only 121 posts of the IAS, 67 of the IPS and 102 of the IFS. Out of these, five posts each of the IAS and the IPS and nine of the IFS were vacant. He said there were in all 1,441 officers, including advisers, engineers and state services officers, as against 1.90 lakh employees in the state. As such, the ratio of officers to employees came to 0.75, which was not high. He said the annual financial burden on account of the salary of these officers was about Rs 34.73 crore and an additional expense of Rs 1.14 crore was incurred on travelling allowance. Answering another question, the Chief Minister informed the House that from March 2003 to February 28, 2005, the government created 25,083 employment opportunities against which 6,161 persons had been actually recruited up to November, 2004. Out of these, 1,714 appointments were made on contract basis, 1,415 on compassionate grounds, and 1,675 as para teachers. He also informed the House that as many as 1,772 cases of appointments on compassionate grounds were still pending as on January 31, 2005 He said that like the previous BJP government, roaster was not followed in the case of contract appointments made so far. However, in future, roaster would be applied and reservation would be provided to various categories in recruitments. Mr Sat Mahajan, Revenue Minister, told Mr Mohinder Singh (BJP) that as many as 4,803 oustees of various hydro-electric projects were yet to be allotted land. In Bilaspur district, only 365 oustees were yet to be given plots. In a written reply the Forest Minister, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, informed the House that natural breeding of lion in the Renuka Safari was stopped in 2001 to prevent inbreeding. The inbred cubs had symptoms of common abnormalities like weakness of hindquarters, bent neck and swaying movement before death. Because of inbreeding, the cubs had low resistance to diseases. |
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No single-teacher schools in HP now
Shimla, March 28 Stating this while replying to the debate on demands pertaining to education the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, said the government had decided to appoint 910 assistant primary teachers to ensure that every school had a minimum of two teachers. The process of recruitment would get underway next fortnight. He admitted that there was a shortage of teachers but maintained that the situation was not as bad as was being made out by the members. There were 37,359 posts of teacher in secondary schools out of which 4,175 were vacant. The shortfall came to just about 11 per cent and that was not very high. He said the problem was being compounded because of the shortfall was not being shared evenly. In some schools all posts had
been filled while in others a large number of posts were lying vacant. He said the government had already sanctioned 714 posts of TGTs and requisition had been sent to the state subordinate services selection board for filling them. He said JBT training could not be started as the written examination for the selection of candidates had to be conducted afresh due to increase in the number of posts. The process could not be completed even after conducting the examination for the second time as the policy of granting a weightage of 10 marks to candidates of rural areas was quashed by the High Court. Underlining the need for the rationalisation of staff the Chief Minister said there were as many as 128 schools which had very few students and the government would take decision regarding their merger with adjoining institutions on merit basis and in consultation with the local legislators. Regarding the demand of members for supplying dry ration instead of giving cooked food to students under the mid-day meals, the Chief Minister said it was being done as per the Supreme Court order. He said the food was not being prepared by teachers as had been alleged by the members. Each school had been provided a cook and a helper for the purpose. As the members persisted with the demand the Chief Minister said it could consider taking up the matter with the court. The demand amounting to Rs 987.37 crore was passed after rejecting the cut motions of the Opposition. |
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Production hit in cement plant
Solan, March 28 Peeved at not being allocated a separate percentage of transportation work, the union has also blocked water supply to the unit from Pajina village. Union members said since 1,000 bighas was being acquired by the company, the landless who had no other source of income should be given a higher percentage of work. Blaming company officials and the district administration for giving them a raw deal while dividing work as per the February 15 order, the union alleged that their interests had been totally ignored. They further added that when 703 trucks belonging to transporters, who were not even land losers, could be given work why were they discriminated against. They said during the past 15 days their 80 trucks had remained without work. This number was likely to go up to 250 with fresh land acquisition. If no decision regarding the allocation of work was taken soon they would be forced to lead a hand-to-mouth existence, they rued, adding the drinking water supply to the nearby three villages and a housing colony of the unit was released for six hours each day. However, the water supply to the cement plant was withheld for the third day today. The SDM, Mr T.G Negi, however, managed to convince members of the Golden Land Losers’s Society to hold talks with the Deputy Commissioner on March 30 after visiting their office at Chandi this evening. The company officials said they were strictly abiding by the February 15 order of the Deputy Commissioner and had enhanced production by one lakh tonnes to provide work to the union. With the water supply getting hampered and crushing work coming to a standstill, losses ran into crores. |
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BJYM stages dharna against MoU on fiscal reforms
Shimla, March 28 All senior BJP leaders today got together as they shared the dais at a demonstration and dharna organised by the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) outside the state Assembly. Party workers from all over the state took part in the dharna. Former Chief minister and leader of the opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal, said the Congress, which had itself signed the MoU on fiscal reforms was blaming the BJP for it. “It is clearly written on page one of the MoU, signed by the Congress that the previous regime did not sign it for three years resulting in huge loss to the state,” he clarified. Mr Dhumal, said it was the youth of the state who would be severely hit by the MoU as all avenues for employment would be closed. “The Fiscal Responsibility Bill, brought in by the state government is only to ensure the implementation of the strict conditions laid down in the MoU,” he said. He further clarified that the claim of the government that the term of the MoU would end on March 31, 2005 was totally wrong as only the fiscal reform facilities would come to an end on March 31 and not the conditions. “The people of the state will have to suffer the adverse implications of the MoU for all times to come as the interest of youth, farmers, employees, horticulturists and agriculturists had been bartered by the government,” he said. Addressing the gathering former Union Minister, Shanta Kumar, said the Congress regime had failed to get any financial assistance or package from the centre. “The Virbhadra regime failed to protect the industrial package given to HP by Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which would have ensured almost Rs 20,000 crore investment in the state,” he said. He said the Congress government should take the opposition into confidence as far as the interests of the state and its people were concerned, “We are willing to cooperate with the government as far as demanding the restoration of the Industrial Package for the state is concerned,” he remarked. He added that the Congress had failed to fulfill its election promises as development had virtually come to a standstill and the common man was burdened by the rising prices. “Both the central and the state budgets have been prepared under the
shadow of World Bank restrictions and are against the interest of the common man,”he added. The state BJP chief, Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, former minister J.P. Nadda, Satpal Satti, state BJYM chief also addressed the party workers. All party MLAs too joined the dharna organised by the BJYM. |
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DYFI holds protests against unemployment
Shimla, March 28 Hundreds of youth, under the banner of the DYFI, held demonstrations and rallies at Mandi, Kangra, Kulu, Shimla and other places. In Shimla, CITU also joined the protest. The DYFI ridiculed the management of Toshali Hotel for trying to hush up the case pertaining to the death of Chander Pal, a worker, who allegedly committed suicide. The federation warned the police to desist from treating it as a suicide case as the act was committed out of frustration. The victim was not allowed even to move out of the hotel premises and was not allowed to make any calls to his family members in Aligarh. Going by the tale of woe, as narrated by his colleagues, the workers were still treated as bonded labourers. The federation termed the growing unemployment as a direct fallout of the economic policies of the government. The Vajpayee government had promised 1 crore jobs annually but actually the reverse happened. |
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Revise height standard for armed forces, seeks committee
Chamba, March 28 In a memorandum submitted to the state government today, the president of the committee, Lieut-Col Ravi Vaid (retd), revealed that most of the youths did gain height after their schooling, but common fixed physical standard laid down by the armed forces for plain and hill areas did not cater to the time frame of physical development of human beings which remained the fact of nature based on which the height standard of Gurkha, Kumaun, Garhwal hills were kept low in the armed forces. But, regrettably the hills of Himachal had totally been overlooked, Colonel Vaid added. He demanded that the average height might be got analysed by the medical authorities and the case be taken up with the Ministry of Defence for the purpose of amending the height aspect of hilly region of Himachal Pradesh so that the maximum youths of these remote hills were able to join the uniform services and raise the icon of their nation. “If a Gurkha soldier of 157 cm height can fire the weapons of the Indian Army, then why an Indian soldier of the same height is considered incompetent of joining the armed forces” Colonel Vaid pointed out. |
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Dam oustees seek land near town
Bilaspur, March 28 The sources in the district administration told The Tribune that the problem started recently when the oustees rejected the Kothipura site on the basis that the site is located about 10 km away from the town. “All land available around the town is forest land for which we need to get Centre’s permission as per the norms of the Forest Conservation Act”. Pleading their case, the oustees revealed that the Kothipura site was too far from the town. “Since all the oustees have been settled in the town, we are also entitled for the same”, they said. Under the rehabilitation policy, each oustee is entitled for the 1800 square-foot plot. The Additional Divisional Magistrate (ADM), Bilaspur district, Mr J.S. Pathania, said the administration was in the process of identifying fresh land for the oustees. |
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Bid to loot petrol station
Mandi, March 28 About Rs 9 lakh kept in the chest was saved as attendant Rakesh refused to hand over the keys. He was hit on the head with the butt of the pistol. When he raised the alarm, two other attendants came to his rescue, but the culprits snapped the telephone connection and cut power supply. Their efforts to decamp with Rs 9 lakh were foiled as a newspaper van
arrived at the filling station and the miscreants fled in the car waiting outside and took away Rs 6,619 from the bag of the attendant. The incident was immediately reported to the police and all exit points were sealed. A massive manhunt was launched but no arrest had so far been made, Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav said. Rakesh, who was admitted to the hospital, said that the robbers, who were speaking Haryanavi, also took away his golden ring and wristwatch.
— PTI |
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Nalwar Fair concludes
Sundernagar, March 28 On the closing day a procession started from P.W.D Rest House to Nagaun Khud where the wrestling bouts were going on and culminated at Jawahar Park. The chief guest gave away prizes to the various breeders and farmers and the wrestler. He said the Nalwar fair reflected hill culture of the state and the govt was making efforts to preserve its glory. |
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