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Satellite townships on the anvil
Shifting of income tax office opposed
Reporter roughed up, ASI denies
NIFT experts to help
revive craft
No to resolution on unemployment allowance |
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House adjourned, reconvened
Public hearing over waste plant
held
Mankotia alleges corruption in staff transfers
Half-naked body of man found
Cops “harassing” Nepalese
HC for policy on garbage collection
Telephone out of order for 4 months
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Satellite townships on the anvil
Shimla, March 30 Giving this information in response to a question of Major Vijay Singh Mankotia (Congress), Mr Rangila Ram Rao, Excise and Taxation Minister, today asserted in the Vidhan Sabha that the government was keen on restoring the pristine glory of Shimla and it would ensure strict enforcement of regulations. He said the plan formulated by the Town and Country Planning Department keeping in view the recommendations of the seminar on “Development of hill capital: Shimla — vision 2025” was under the consideration of the government. Prepared for an anticipated population of 3.20 lakh by 2021, the document had major proposals like construction of a circular bypass, transport nagar, tunnels, ropeways, elevators and circular railway to be implemented through public-private partnership on build-operate
transfer (BOT) basis. It dovetails regulations pertaining to restoration and conservation, land pooling and reconstitution and land sub-division. |
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Shifting of income tax office opposed
Palampur, March 30 At a meeting here today the bar association said the Income Tax Department’s move was uncalled for and against the interest of tax payers and advocates. Mr R.C. Sood, president of the association said here. There was no justification to shift this office from Palampur which had been functioning here for the past 30 years. None was taken into confidence by the department before taking the decision. The association passed a resolution to this effect and faxed it to the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, seeking his intervention. The Bar also urged the Commissioner of Income Tax, Shimla, to reconsider the decision. He said Dharamsala was situated in a corner and there were problems of parking and road transport. Besides, being a district headquarter it was overcrowded with government offices. Shifting of office to Dharamsala would result in wasteful expenditure in rent and other infrastructure. Expansion of the building of Income-Tax Office at Palalmpur had been approved by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, and funds sanctioned. Additional accommodation of 4000 square feet in the present complex, would remain vacant if the office was shifted. The Income Tax Department was facing shortage of staff and its six offices were without inspectors and record keepers. New office at Dharamsala, would affect functioning of other offices from where the staff would be shifted. At Dharamsala business activity was negligible but Palampur was big business centre. Meanwhile the Beopar Mandals of Palampur, Kangra, Nagrota Bagwan and Dehra Gopipur in separate resolutions also opposed the move to shift the office of Ward-I, Dharamsala. |
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Reporter roughed up, ASI denies
Mandi, March 30 The city police has registered a case under Sections 451, 323, 34 IPC against four persons. The two traders from Ambala who had sustained injuries were on a business trip and were putting up in a private hotel. In the complaint the duo stated that they were badly thrashed by the four, who were drunk, without provocation last night. Following a call from the complainants when the reporter, Mr Yogesh Kumar, went to the city police station for coverage, he alleged that the city police in charge, ASI Chet Ram, abused him and beat him up. “I called the complainant outside. The ASI also came out and started abusing me, took me inside and thrashed me”, he alleged in the complaint addressed to the SP, Mandi district. But the ASI claimed that the reporter exchanged hot words with him and denied that he had thrashed him. “We were recording the statements of the complainants when the reporter came inside the police station and prevented me from doing my duties”, he claimed. The SP, Mr Ajay Yadav, who called on certain mediapersons and the ASI, listened to both parties and said he would investigate the incident independently and take action so that such incidents were not repeated in future. The police claimed that the “incident took place inside the hotel last late night and the police was informed 30 minutes after the incident.” Both parties were under the influence of liquor and the incident followed after they entered an argument” the police added. |
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NIFT experts to help
revive craft
Chamba, March 30 In his keynote address, Mr H.S. Rana, Project Officer of the DRDA, said the conference envisaged sharpening the skills of local artisans and craftspersons in the popular traditional crafts of “Chamba chappal” and “Chamba rumal” with the chief objective of enabling them to compete in the open market by enhancing technical knowhow and by amalgamating an
aesthetic and conventional touch with the modern technology. “The ‘Chamba chapal’ and ‘chamba rumal’ are an integral part of the cultural heritage of the Chamba region which is nowadays gearing up for the celebrations of 1,000 years of its existence,” said Mr Rana. He said the invaluable high calibre expertise of NIFT professionals would pave the way for bringing advancement in these crafts of the alpine region to the national and international levels. In the session, the NIFT experts laid emphasis on diversification by focusing on smaller articles of daily need like key-chain, towel hanging as well as fashion garments in Chamba embroidery. They also highlighted the traditional legend of famous Gaddi and Gaddan by demonstrating it on the scarf. The NIFT experts, who included Ms Radhika Arora, Mr S.K. Tiranga and Ms Nisha Shared, exhibited their talent during the session and elevated the mindset of the local artisans of these crafts. |
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No to resolution on unemployment allowance
Shimla, March 30 As soon as Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, finished his reply to the debate, Dr Bindal (BJP), who had moved the resolution, was on his legs expressing disappointment over the refusal to accept the demand for granting Rs 500 per month as allowance to mitigate the woes of the unemployed. Thereafter, the entire BJP group staged a walkout in protest. The resolution was put to vote in the absence of the Opposition and rejected. Earlier, in his reply, Mr Virbhadra Singh said the government would amend the contract labour Act to ban employment on contract basis in the manufacturing industry. He said it had already made it mandatory for the industry and hydroelectric projects to employ at least 70 per cent manpower from within the state. Industrial workers would be issued identity cards, which would enable the Labour Department to ascertain whether a person hailed from the state or outside. The labour office would be set up in all industrial areas and labour officers would be posted in big industries to strictly enforce labour laws. He said giving doles to the jobless would not help solve the problem and would put an annual burden of over Rs 350 crore to Rs 400 crore on the state exchequer. Utilising funds for creating productive employment was a much better option. The government was working in this direction and it had approved industrial projects involving an investment of Rs 16,700 crore which would help create over 2.5 lakh jobs. Besides creating jobs in the private sector, over 35,000 persons would be given employment in the government sector during 2006-07. |
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House adjourned, reconvened
Shimla, March 30 Mr Thakur adjourned the House till tomorrow after a resolution urging the Union Government to accord some very backward areas of the state the status of Scheduled Tribe areas much to the surprise of the BJP members who kept sitting in the House even after Mr Thakur left. They accused the ruling party of shying away from discussion which led to angry exchanges. The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, said the government was prepared to discuss any issue. In the meantime, the BJP members also raised slogans. At this stage the Speaker, Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, made his entry and reconvened the House. As little time was left the debate on a
private member resolution remained inconclusive and the House finally adjourned for the day.
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Public hearing over waste plant
held
Baddi, March 30 The occasion was a public hearing organised to gauge the response of setting up of a hazardous waste disposal plant and its environment impact assessment (EIA) at Dhabota village yesterday. The public hearing was conducted under the chairmanship of the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Lokender Chauhan and senior scientific officer of the State Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board, Ms Daksha Gupta. The plant which is being set up in an area of land measuring 191 bighas at Majra village and 71 bighas at Dhabota village would meet the requirements of the prime industrial areas of Himachal, including Baddi, Barotiwala, Nalagarh, Kangra,
Paonta and other emerging areas. The villagers, including members of the panchayat and mahila mandals, raised pertinent issues like the availability of jobs to the locals, far-reaching effects of leakage from the waste disposal plant and its environmental effect, availability of transportation work to the local truck unions and the probable impact on the environment. Cases pertaining to the existing industries were raised where discharge of untreated water had often created problems for the aquatic life and water table of the area. Their fear was allayed by officials of Bharuch Enviro Infrastructure Limited who said that the mechanism of disposal was full proof. The company further promised jobs to about 60 villagers on a permanent basis while a similar number would manage to procure other jobs. With 30 to 40 families of SC/ST community residing in the precincts of the proposed site for the disposal plant fear of being displaced was writ large on their faces. The Zila Parishad chairman Mr Ram
Kumar, while addressing their concerns said that they would be suitably rehabilitated if the need so arose. He urged the locals to come forward and ensure and end to the long- standing problem of industrial pollution in the area. He said the plant would put an end to the recurrent problem of untreated noxious effluents being discharged into the river bodies. Cases of fish mortality due to such discharges would also come to an end, he emphasised. Ms Daksha Gupta said the setting up of this plant would solve the longstanding concern of the industry and the board alike. It was however interesting to note that the state revenue department had till now not finalised the grant of government land which would be run by Shiwalik Solid waste Management which is a conglomerate of local Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries association . The association’s former president, Mr R.S. Guleria informed the gathering in detail about the nitty-gritty of the plant.
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Mankotia alleges corruption in staff transfers
Shimla, March 30 The meeting was convened to discuss the party’s strategy for the private members’ day for which many resolutions were listed. However, as the meeting was coming to a close, Major Mankotia raked up the issue of transfers of government employees. He reportedly said that the certain leaders at whose behest Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, was ordering transfers of employees were making money. He even named a student leader and a non-gazetted services federation leaders in this regard. Mr Virbhadra Singh refuted the charge and maintained that he used his discretion while issuing orders and he was in the know of things. He also said that there could be an isolated instance but that could not be generalised. He promised to take appropriate action if some specific instance with proof was brought to his notice. Major Mankotia asserted that he could get affidavits to prove the allegations that the leaders he had mentioned had been in making money in transfers. He urged the Chief Minister not to patronise such leaders and put them on a leash. |
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Half-naked body of man found
Kangra, March 30 The Subdivisional Police Officer, Mr
V.S. Thakur, today told The Tribune that identified as Nirmal Singh, a resident of Rait village, the man was working as a foreman in the Hero Honda company at Gurgaon Haryana and had left for his home on March 24. As he did not reach his home, his brother working in the ITBP lodged a report in Delhi. A bakery worker found a briefcase on March 26 near the Daulatpur tunnel on the main road which he
handed over to his family following recovery of the address of Nirmal
Singh from the briefcase. This led to the recovery of the body half naked from a nullah 200 feet down the road. The DSP said that the body bore no marks of injuries and mystery still shrouded how the body reached the spot. The post-mortem report indicated the death due to lung failure. A police party has been rushed to Gurgaon, the DSP said. |
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Cops “harassing” Nepalese
Shimla, March 30 Addressing a press conference here, the adviser of the central committee of the
samaj, Mr Deepak Pandey, said the police was harassing innocent Nepalese for having links with Maoists. “We have no idea as to who has put up posters in support of the Maoist movement,” he said. He said despite the fact that various intelligence agencies had identified the Nepalese with Maoist links, yet innocent people were being harassed. “We have sought an appointment with the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, so that we can complain against the police and live peacefully,” he stated. |
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HC for policy on garbage collection
Shimla, March 30 A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta directed the government to make rules for implementing this policy and that the draft of such rules be placed before the court on or before April 27. The petitioner had alleged that the High Court had directed the Shimla
Municipal Corporation in its earlier order to make a policy for door-to-door collection of garbage, but the MC had failed to implement the same in letter and spirit.
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Telephone out of order for 4 months
Kangra, March 30 Mr Rammurti Sharma of Kanol village said today that his telephone (286163) of the Badhal Thor telephone exchange under Dehra subdivision of the district had been out of order since December last year. He said he had been running from pillar to post for the past four months and even met the junior telecom officer, Mr S.C. Kaundal, several times to get it in order, but in vain. Mr Rammurti said he was serving at Dharamsala and his aged ailing father and wife remain at home and need to be in touch with him. He said he had been paying the rent and the other charges to the department for the past four months despite the telephone being out of order. He demanded the intervention of the CGMT to get it restored. |
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