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PFC keen on funding N-power projects
Shakti peeths to be made hi-tech
No rail expansion plan lets down industrialists
State’s per capita debt stands at Rs 29,000
Cold wave continues in Himachal
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Welfare of minorities top priority: minister
Clout determines rights: expert
FM radio station to start broadcasting from Shimla
Scribes decry govt on housing facility
Baddi to get police station soon
Resident doctors' demands
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PFC keen on funding N-power projects
Shimla, March 12 Stating this at a press conference here today, Mr V.K. Garg, Chairman-cum-managing director of the corporation, said the corporation had enough resources to fund nuclear power projects. So far it had not received any such proposal. It would favourably consider any proposal as and when it came up. He said the PFC was the only financial institution in the country which was providing loans for hydroelectric projects, which not had a long gestation period of five years and even longer repayment schedule spanning 20 to 25 years. It was among the top 10 performing public sector companies in the country and consistently rated in the top “excellent” category since 1993-94. He said the corporation had simplified and streamlined its procedures for processing of loan applications and the borrowers could now file applications online. With borrower-friendly measures in place, the corporation aimed at achieving an annual disbursement target of Rs 50,000 crore by 2012. He admitted that there was a huge time and cost over-run in the 126-MW Larji Project being executed by the state power board but added that it was not the ideal example of hydroelectric project. The funding agencies had to put up with such aberrations as hydroelectric projects were frequently affected by floods and geological surprises during construction. The PFC had already decided to fund the Sawara Kudu project and the state power board was likely to pose the 100-MW Sainj and 400-MW Shongtong-Karcham projects for funding soon. The corporation was coming out with an initial public offer (IPO) to offload its 10.3 crore shares and 5.15 crore shares of the government. He declined to give any figure regarding the expected amount from the sale of shares but said that the current book value of a Rs 10 share was Rs 65. Mr Garg was here in connection with the meeting of the chiefs of public sector utilities and state power utilities, energy secretaries and other senior power sector officers from states to evolve a common strategy and reorient the operations of the PFC for a mutually beneficial and faster growth. |
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Shakti peeths to be made hi-tech
Kangra, March 12 Disclosing this here on Friday evening, Mr Bharat Khera, Deputy Commissioner of Kangra, who is looking after the temples in the Kangra valley, said the development master plan regarding the Bajjreshwari, Jawalamukhi and Chamunda temples in this district would be prepared with help from the Department of Town and Country Planning in this connection. He said Rs 19 lakh would be spent on the beautification of eight temples within the Bajjreshwari temple complex and its sanctum sanctorum reconstructed. The walls of the main temple would be plated with silver. He said in view of the ensuing Navrtaras, better facilities for the pilgrims needed to be made in the temple complex and out side. He said a meeting of the temple trust was held in the Bajjreshwari temple in this connection which was attended by officers of different departments and emphasis was laid on providing better healthcare, sanitation, drinking water and parking facilities to the pilgrims. He said all shakti peeths in the district would be connected through the State Bank ATM and this would help the pilgrims to offer the donations to these temple trusts safely and quickly. |
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No rail expansion plan lets down industrialists
Solan, March 12 This has largely disappointed the investors who have set up industries in the region. The Punjab Government, on the contrary, has not only managed to extend the existing railway line from Chandigarh to Morinda but the project has now received adequate funds. This would largely benefit the emerging information technology industry around Mohali. Despite attracting investment worth Rs 1467.70 crore in this region after the announcement of the central industrial package in 2003, the state government could not plead its case properly for extension of rail network. It is interesting to note that though the Prime Minister himself had announced the Baddi-Chandigarh rail link as a national project during his last visit to the state it has failed to find funds in the union budget. The ambitious Baddi-Chandigarh rail link would have largely benefited the investors by reducing the distance by as much as 20 km. A railway land located on the Bharatgarh-Nalagrh road, which was earlier used to carry stones, could have been put to use. With an LPG filling plant existing in the region and a proposal of an inland container depot being in its final stage, the railway expansion could prove profitable to the Railways. Even an earlier announcement made by the union railway ministry in 2004 to survey the area between Darlaghat and Parwanoo to lay a railway track remained a mere announcement. |
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State’s per capita debt stands at Rs 29,000
Shimla, March 12 Obviously, the increasing per capita income does not reflect a true picture of the state's economy as the borrowings of the government, mostly used to pay the salaries and pension of employees, are rising more rapidly. The gravity of the situation could be judged from the fact that the per capita interest liability had shot up to Rs 3,250. The growing debt liability of the government is indeed a matter of concern as the outstanding loan of about Rs 17,900 crore comes to 80 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP). As per fiscal norms the debt liability should not exceed 40 per cent of the GSDP which means that the loans of government should be pegged at Rs 8,900 crore. The annual interest liability is more than the state's own income and almost equal to the Annual Plan expenditure of Rs 1,800 crore. The situation will turn worse as no measures have been announced in the Budget for raising resources or curtailing unproductive expenditure. The government is looking for long-term soft loan from some international funding agency like the World Bank to restructure its outstanding loans. However, such a step will not help improve the situation unless the government stops raising fresh loans and prunes its heavy set-up. At present over 6 per cent of the state's population was in government (including Central Government and central public undertakings) employment. In other state it was around 1 per cent. |
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Cold wave continues in Himachal
Shimla, March 12 The minimum night temperatures ranged from -7°C to -15°C in the tribal valleys of Lahaul, Spiti and Pangi, while it shot up by 10 to 15 degrees as bright sunshine greeted the region during the day. The snow started melting fast in the Lahaul valley as temperature rose to 11°C. Shimla had 16.7 mm of rainfall till the afternoon, while the sky remained heavily overcast. The minimum temperature stayed at 5.3 degrees, while the day temperature increased marginally to 12.3 degrees. Sundernagar and Bhuntar recorded a high of 23.2 and 22.4 degree and a low of 12.5 and 10.5°C, respectively. Chilly winds
continued to sweep Shimla and its adjoining areas, while weather remained clear in Kullu, Manali, Mandi, Kangra and other places.
— PTI |
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Welfare of minorities top priority: minister
Nahan, March 12 Mr Kaul Singh Thakur said the state government had made arrangements to teach Urdu in 100 schools of the state and more schools would be brought under this scheme as per the demand of the local residents, minister added. He said the state government had constituted the Gujjar Welfare Board to rehabilitate them and address their problems. On this occasion, Mr Guljar Bharti, Chairman, HP Wakf Board, highlighted the welfare schemes being pursued by the board and state government for the uplift of minorities. Mr Naseem Mohammad Deedan, state president, All-Himachal Muslim Welfare Society, and Mr Pervej Iqbal, president, All-Himachal Muslim Welfare Society, and Mr Pervej Iqbal, president, Sirmaur District Muslim Welfare Society, listed the efforts their respective organisations were making for the welfare of the Muslim
community and other sections of society. Later, Mr Kaul Singh Thakur said at a press conference that Rs 25 crore had been allocated for the Sirmaur district for the drinking water and sanitation
scheme. |
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Clout determines rights: expert
Bilaspur, March 12 This was stated by Mr Prabodh Saxena, HP Government Home Secretary and Director Vigilance, while addressing a distinguished gathering of intellectuals and scholars after inaugurating a two day national seminar on human rights at Bhachat Bhavan, here yesterday. Mr Saxena said that no rights were exclusive or extreme and all rights here subject to certain duties and responsibilities according to the situation at a given point of time of place. Prof Jai Narayan Sharma of Panjab University presented the key note address and said that all humans were born free and with equal rights but the prevailing situations decided the extent of rights and freedom they enjoyed. All culprits in the Jessica Lal murder case had been set free and there was a long list of criminals who escaped punishment only due to their clout, he said. A poor person spent 32 years in a jail in Assam as he was caught stealing bread from a shop. It was a newspaper which brought this injustice to the light and it was the Supreme Court which set him free. The other scholars who addressed the seminar included Dr Kamal Jeet Singh, Prof Som P. Ranchan, Dr T.R. Sharma and Dr Ashu Pasricha. |
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FM radio station to start broadcasting from Shimla
Shimla, March 12 BAG Films Limited has been given the license to launch the FM radio station from Shimla. Addressing a press conference here yesterday, chief executive officer of BAG Films Rajiv Mishra said the FM station would start functioning within nine months. The radio jockeys would be selected locally and would undergo two-month training at New Delhi. |
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Scribes decry govt on housing facility
Palampur, March 12 In a press statement issued here today, Mr Sanjiv Soni and Mr Sanjay Sani, president and general secretary of the union said the government should reconsider the decision and should not
discriminate with the district-level reporters . It may be recalled that the Himachal Government in its recent orders has discontinued the concessional facility accommodation for all district and subdivisional -level accredited reporters at Himachal Bhavan in New Delhi and Chandigarh. Earlier all reporters accredited at district and state level were availing this facility and were paying concessional tariff of Rs 50 per day. According to a notification issued by the state government now
all press reporters accredited at district or subdivisional level will have to pay commercial tariff of Rs 500 per day. |
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Baddi to get police station soon
Baddi, March 12 The police station would be accommodated in the local police chowki that would later witness further expanding as per requirement, sources revealed. The police station at Baddi would cater to an area of 14 Gram Panchayats as against five Gram Panchayats left under the Barotiwala police station, they said. The move is seen as an effort to build a police network in area that at present is facing several problems, including staff shortage. The crime graph in twin industrial belts of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh and Parwanoo has risen alarmingly. The belt has witnessed a record increase in migrant labourers’ population due to setting up of new units. As per estimates, over 1 lakh of the workforce comprises migrant labourers from Bihar, UP and MP. The high number of the migrant labourers was not the only cause for the rise in crime. It was also due to the severe shortage police personnel in this belt. As per crime data, the smuggling of illicit liquor and narcotics, rape, assault and theft cases had been on the rise. In the past few months, the accident cases considerably increased in the Baddi area. The reason was attributed to bad and congested roads, no proper parking places and lack of traffic police. The theft cases in units and residential areas were on the rise. The understaffed police was unable to perform night-patrolling. |
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Resident doctors' demands
Shimla, March 12 |
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