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BSNL, IPH give harrowing time to residents
SC verdict a jolt to power board
APIL leasing process hangs fire
Panchayat elected unanimously
BJP seeks probe into tender allotment
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HP, Rajasthan ink transport pact
Nephew kills man over money
Heritage buildings in poor shape
Boy killed in bus mishap
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BSNL, IPH give harrowing time to residents
Mandi, December 9 The said bodies were digging private land with the JCV machines, dumping mounds of excavated earth in the ward no. 11 of the MCC, which raised heaps of dust, rued residents. “Not only this, the BSNL and IPH have dug roadsides, littering the excavated earth along roadsides which poses hazards to commuters and residents daily”, said Mr Jankidas Dogra, a local resident. The dry open excavated earth in turn had raised dust, polluting the surrounding houses, including the BSNL’s residential area, Doordarshan Tower and other private houses nearby, complained residents. “Tarna road is potholed and is not maintained by the PWD”, they said. The encroachers have polluted the natural water sources too in Tarna and other places by digging up septic tanks, which in turn have been declared unfit for the human consumption by the IPH Department. “The water is seeping on to the 150 steps leading from Indira Gandhi market to the Tarna temple, which has become a hazard to the walkers. There is no proper lighting during night, said Mr Kushal Saini, a Tarna resident. “The dust is causing respiratory problems particularly among children owing to the dust pollution along the roadsides”, complained residents. “The monkeys litter the waste packets all over the place from the open dumper kept by the MMC, which is cleared once in a blue moon”, added Mr Dogra. “Every day, I have to clean a thick coat of dust from my house here”, rued Mrs Raksha Kapur, a retired college principal who lives in Tarna. “It is a pilgrimage-cum-tourist spot, but it remains unclean”, she added. In another case, the private pump owner, who had set up a pump near the inter-state bus stand had dumped the big boulders and other excavated material in the children park near the Bhima Kali temple complex, complained residents. “The big boulders are an eye sore, posing hazards to the playing children”, said Mr Lokinder Vaidya, a Bhiuli resident. The BSNL and the IPH blamed the MMC as they had to provide services to the residents and gave funds to the council from time to time. But the MMC complained that they lacked funds and staff to cope up with the waste generated in the town. The Sub-Divisional Officer (civil), Mandi Sadar, who is also the chief executive officer, MMC, Mr B.S. Dehal, said they had not received any complaint so far. “But administration will look into the problem and take suitable action”, he added. |
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SC verdict a jolt to power board
Shimla, December 9 The verdict of the apex court has come as a big jolt to the board which has been observing the directions of the commission more in breach. It had not only moved the High Court against almost all the important directions issued in the three tariff orders but also questioned the authority of the commission to monitor the status of compliance of directions. In all, the court had granted stay order in respect of 29 directions, including the summons issued to the chairman and members of the board. An anomalous situation was created when the board challenged the “directions part” of the tariff order for 2005-06 in the High Court and the “tariff part” in the appellate tribunal. The commission maintained that the directions and the tariff were a “quid pro quo” and mutually inclusive as per the regulations. When the High Court stayed the operation of certain directions issued in the tariff order, it stayed the operation of the entire tariff order on the ground that grave prejudice and irreparable damage would be caused to the larger public interest and the 16 lakh consumers if the tariff part remained in operation. The tariff order was an act to balance the interests of all of the stake holders and any change in one part is bound to upset the balance sought to be achieved through it. Allowing the tariff order to continue without the directions would tantamount to betrayal of the consumers of the state, the commission observed. The board moved the court which stayed the commission’s order. The commission had appealed against the order of the High Court in six cases and the apex court has set aside the stay orders in all the cases and directed the board to approach the appellate tribunal instead of rushing to the courts. With the apex court upholding the commission’s view the board will have no option but to ensure compliance of its directions. It will, in turn, set in motion the process of reforms, which had virtually come to a standstill, and help improve both the efficiency and financial health of the board. |
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APIL leasing process hangs fire
Shimla, December 9
The long drawn out process has severely affected its functioning resulting in huge losses due to under-utilisation of machinery, staff and other infrastructure. Only 15 lakh apple-packing cases were manufactured during 2005-06 apple season at the Pragatinagar plant, which has an annual capacity of over 1 crore cases. The accumulated loss has crossed Rs 46 crore. Tenders for leasing out the unit have been invited thrice. While there was no response on the first two occasions, eight parties showed interest when the exercise was conducted for the third time in May last. However, only three offers were received. Initially, the government set up a committee under the Principal Secretary to assess the financial and technical capabilities of the bidders and taking a division. However, within days the government decided to refer the issue to the Infrastructure Development Board, which has been made the nodal agency for public-private partnership projects. There has been no progress in the matter since. Officers point out that if no decision was taken by mid-February, another year will be lost as planning for manufacturing cartons for the next apple season has to be started before March. Moreover, the private party to which the unit is leased out will require time for repair and maintenance of the plant which is not in a good shape. While Mukerian Paper Mills had offered an annual lease money of Rs 50 lakh with a condition that it would assess the working of the employees for two months and retain only those found suitable, Himachal Indage, the second bidder, quoted a lease money of Rs 27 lakh, but agreed to retain 70 employees. It also offered 1 per cent commission to the government on turnover exceeding Rs 10 crore. A newly-registered Agro-Consumer Farm Society has offered a lease money of Rs 10 lakh or a commission of 50 paise per carton in the first year, Rs 30 lakh in the second year and Rs 50 lakh in the third year. |
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Panchayat elected unanimously
Nurpur, December 9 According to the information, five contestants had filed their nomination papers for the post of pradhan of the gram panchayat, whereas 11 contestants had filed nominations for panches of five wards of the panchayat. But some people educated the contestants as well as residents for adopting a unanimous decision for electing the new body of the gram panchayat so that special development grant could be availed. At last, the efforts for bringing unanimity brought the desired results and all contestants withdrew their nomination papers on the last day of withdrawal of nominations. Mr Swaran Singh was unanimously elected pradhan of the gram panchayat, whereas five members were elected as panches. |
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BJP seeks probe into tender allotment
Solan, December 9 The BJP spokesman and local MLA addressing media-persons here today said it was an alarming revelation that 6,000 big and small contractors had been enrolled as contractors by the ruling Congress government ever since it came to power in 2003. Not only had many of them managed to procure A-class contractor registration overnight, but had also grabbed major contracts in these departments in Solan alone. He alleged that these contractors were either henchmen of the Congress or their close kin and were now pressuring officials. The contracts were “grabbed” by congressmen at rates 40-50 per cent higher as quoted in the PWD and IPH tenders. |
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HP, Rajasthan ink transport pact
Shimla, December 9 The Himachal Road Transport Corporation will ply bus services from Manali to Jaipur, Shimla to Jaipur, Nurpur to Gharsana Mandi and Dharamsala to Anupgarh. The Rajasthan Road Transport Corporation will operate bus services between Hanumangarh and Shimla ,Hanumangarh and Chintpurani, Anupgarh and Pathnakot, Jaipur and Shimla and Jaipur and Manali and Jaipur and Dalhousie. The accord was singed in the presence of Mr S.S. Parmar, Chief Secretary, by Mr Avay Shukla and Dr Ashok Singhvi, both Principal Secretaries, on behalf of the Himachal and Rajasthan governments, respectively. |
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Nephew kills man over money
Nahan, December 9 Police sources said late this evening that Nain Singh and his brother, Devi Ram were consuming liquor in their house along with their nephew Khatar Singh today. Under the influence of liquor, Nain Singh and Khatar Singh reportedly had an argument on the issue of returning money which was lent to Khatar Singh by Nain Singh. When Nain Singh pressed hard that his money should be returned to him immediately, Khatar Singh reportedly started beating him up. When Devi Ram came to the rescue of Nain Singh, he was also beaten up by Khatar Singh and pushed from the first floor of the house. Devi Ram died on the spot. Mr S.R. Sharma, SP, Sirmour, said the police had arrested Khatar Singh and the body had been sent for a post-mortem. Nain Singh has been hospitalised and is reported to be out of danger. A case has been registered. |
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Heritage buildings in poor shape
Shimla: Most of the buildings which have been witness to the history of the erstwhile summer capital of the British, are today in a dilapidated condition, needing immediate restoration and conservation.
The Indian National Trust for Culture and Heritage (INTACH) has undertaken an exhaustive listing of 246 heritage structures in the town. Details and the history of the building have been recorded, along with the present condition. The list has been handed over to the government, which intends notifying all heritage structres in various towns all over the state. The INTACH had intended to include 373 buildings but due the decayed condition of some structures, these were dropped from the list. Besides this, very little information was available about these buildings. “Most of these buildings are in need of immediate preservation and restoration as these are in a pretty bad condition,” says Mr B.S. Malhans, convener of the regional chapter of the INTACH. He has been associated with the listing of the heritage buildings within the municipal limits of the town. Despite most of these buildings being the property of the Central Public Works Department and the state government, practically no efforts have been made to keep the buildings in good condition. The State Heritage Advisory Committee, on the directions of the high court, had directed that all heritage structures in the town should be identified so that these could be notified. The list of heritage structures has already been handed over to the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department. Under the Heritage Rules, 2003, any restoration, alteration or repair work on these structures has to be done strictly in accordance with the relevant rules. Conservationists and heritage lovers, while stressing the need for undertaking restoration and preservation of these valuable assets, say that it is a tedious and lengthy process which can only be undertaken by experts. “The main aim behind identifying these buildings is to have a list and then find ways and means to undertake restoration work, which is not only expensive but the returns, too, are very intangible,” admits Mr Malhans. Being a vital component for tourism, the heritage features in all towns of the state will be notified by the TCP Department. The TCP is also undertaking a survey to identify heritage structures. “During this six-month survey, if need be we may include some more structures having heritage value or even delete some from the list prepared by the Intach,” say TCP officials. In fact, the entire stretch from the Secretariat here to the Indian Institute of Advanced Study has been declared a heritage zone. |
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Boy killed in bus mishap
Bilaspur, December 9 Driver Sukha and conductor Gurmel are among the injured. All the 8 injured passengers have been sent to a hospital at Nangal town, while 12 others were allowed to go home after first aid. The bus was going to Una from Naina Devi and the accident occurred at 6 p.m. |
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