Mandi, December 7
The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today said the government had kept the option of allotting the 700-MW Luri hydro project on the Sutlej to the newly created Himachal Power Corporation (HPC) open.

He added that the option was under an active and positive consideration of the government given the fact that it was so desired by many project and power engineers associations in the state.

Talking to The Tribune before he left for Parwanoo after the inauguration of the Hindi Writers' Shikhar Conference here, Mr Virbhadra Singh though asserted that the Luri project had not been allotted to any company or corporation so far.

He added that that there was neither a shortage of funds nor engineers in the state. "The government is the owner of the HPC, which will function as an independent public sector company like the NTPC or so. The government is allotting a slew of good projects to the HPC and it has already starting functioning,” he added.

He asserted that the equity participation in all projects would be a new strategy to tap the remaining hydropower potential in the state. "The government will own the HPC and hence the projects, which it will execute," he said.

Responding to the media queries on the debt burden on farmers, Mr Singh said the government was aware of the problems the small and marginal farmers were facing owing to the debt from the moneylenders.

"The moneylenders exploit them by charging interest from them while the principal amount stands unpaid," he said.

He assured that the government would soon find a way to bail out such farmers from this "debt situation".

"But farmers in state are not committing suicide as is the case in Punjab and Haryana," he added.

Shimla, December 7
The state government is considering to formulate a drought policy, revise the relief manual and set up a separate disaster management authority to effectively deal with natural calamities.

Stating this while addressing senior officers during a review meeting of the Revenue Department here last evening, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said there was an urgent need for a drought policy to provide adequate relief to the affected people.

The relief manual also required to be revised to ensure reasonable compensation to the victims, he observed.

The government also proposed to create a separate authority to deal with disaster situations and undertake relief and rehabilitation activities.

The composition of the authority would be decided by senior officers in consultation with experts in the field.

The state fell in the seismic zone and was prone to earthquake for which necessary preparations are needed to be made. The authority would be responsible for undertaking all such responsibilities, besides creating awareness among people and educating them about the precautions to be taken.

The Chief Minister emphasised the need for preparation of a master plan for carrying out “revenue settlement” in the state in a time-bound manner considering “kanungo” circle as a unit.

He said the process required to be expedited and next circle should be taken up only after the completion of the process in the first circle.

He said officers carrying settlement required to sign the final document for its authenticity. Modern technology needed to be used to speed up the process, he observed.

He said unauthorised colonies, change of land use, deviation from approved plans and encroachments on the government land were being viewed seriously and asked the local revenue authorities to take immediate effective steps in this regard.

He said the Revenue Department was related to the poorest of the poor and best services were required to be delivered to them without any loss of time, adding that cases of demarcation, mutation, partition, consolidation must be given top priority.

The Revenue Training Institute at Jogindernagar would be developed into a model centre. Services of revenue experts would be requisitioned to train staff and modern modes of communications would be used, he said.

He also directed the authorities to process the applications of eligible persons for allotment of two “biswas” of land for house-building in rural and one “biswa” in urban areas on priority.

The government would distribute free kisan passbooks to land holders wherein complete details of their landholdings would be documented.

He said with computerisation, people would be able to retrieve any required information without any loss of time. He also released the Himachal Pradesh Land Revenue Act (as amended up to 2006) brought out by the department.

Shimla, December 7
The state’s Agriculture Department has cautioned farmers against false and misleading claims by some companies, distributing agencies and traders that no act and rules are applicable to fertiliser which have not been labelled either inorganic or organic.

Mr J.C. Rana, Director of Agriculture, said the claim was baseless as organic fertilisers had been covered under the Fertilisers (control) Amendment order and any violation would attract action.

The Government of India has fixed standards of organic fertilisers and bio-fertilisers in the category of organic fertilisers, the city compost, vermi compost and press mud and in case of bio-fertilisers, rhizobium, azotobacter and phosphate solublising bacteria had been notified.

As per the amended provision the registration of every manufacturer and dealers of organic fertilisers and bio-fertilisers had been made mandatory.

To ensure check on the quality of there fertilisers a target 200 samples had been fixed. Instructions had been issued to notified fertiliser inspectors to take samples of organic fertilisers in their jurisdiction, besides ensuring that manufacturing and sale of organic inputs were carried out only after obtaining licence and adhering to quality standards.

The department has advised the farming community to procure quality organic fertilisers and bio-fertilisers manufactured by registered manufacturer. Some companies and dealers had simply changed the labels of their products to escape the provisions of the FCO to confuse the farmers and quality control agencies.

The samples of all these products would be drawn and sent for analysis. It was mandatory to that each packet had proper label, marking and detail of the contents, manufacturer name, licence number and date of manufacturing. 

Kangra, December 7
Himachal youths who were earlier making a beeline for BEd colleges, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan, hoping to get a government job on batch basis now feel depressed.

The growing number of unemployed BEd youths and fading government job opportunities have cast a gloom on their faces.

Mr R.D. Sharma , former Deputy Director of Education, told The Tribune today that earlier a boy or a girl preferred to do BEd after graduation given exciting job opportunities but now it was not so.

Infact, BEd pass-outs of 1986 were still unemployed. The same was fate of science graduates who had got BEd degrees in 1994-95.

Mr Sharma said the state had 47 private BEd colleges producing nearly 4,700 trained graduate teachers (TGTs) annually.

He said thousands of the unemployed TGTs were awaiting adjustments in government schools and annually more than 6,000 TGTs were joining the fleet of the unemployed TGTs which would result in a crisis in near future.

Mr Sharma said the present situation had dampened the spirit of the youths and they were now shy of doing BEd.

He said that this year a large number of the seats in 47 colleges, which included 13 new colleges opened this year, remained unfilled forcing the university to hold counseling twice because there was no encouraging response.

He said despite the fact that some seats remained vacant in these colleges, the state government even then opened two new BEd colleges at Shimla and Rohru in the middle of the session.

He said it was unfortunate that seats meant for sScience graduates were being filled by the arts graduates.

He also expressed concern that the new education colleges in the state were lacking proper infrastructure, adequate staff and the lecturers were not being paid as per the UGC norms, thus affecting the quality of the education.

Mr Sharma said each college was earning at least Rs 21 lakh annually from 100 students on one hand and on the other hand the TGTs had no scope of employment. The university was getting 10 per cent contribution from the students extra.

He said that government should come out with a clear-cut policy about these unemployed TGTs. He suggested that the appointments should be made on batch-wise basis so that the backlog could be cleared first.. 

Dharamsala, December 7
Even though work is in progress on a war-footing at the site of the Vidhan Sabha complex in Tapovan, near here, the venue for the coming Winter Session of the Assembly on December 26, it is no less than a challenge for the Public Works Department (PWD) to complete the structure before the session, especially with incessant rain stalling work during the past two days.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr R.S. Sipahia, Assistant Engineer, PWD, said the roof of the main hall was expected to be completed in a week's time, after which they would focus on the visitor's gallery and the Press gallery.

"The furniture is simultaneously being prepared and would be installed the moment the structure is complete," he said.

A total budget of Rs 5 crore has been earmarked for the main block, while the minister's block will be completed at a cost of Rs 2 crore. Separate budget allocation will be made for landscaping of the entire area, which will include the parking lot and internal roads.

Mr Sipahia said that location of the main block and the minister's block had been planned in a way to make sure that the architectural beauty of the Chinmaya Ashram, which is right behind the main block was not blocked.

The massive activity in the run-up to the session would definitely disturb the peaceful environs of the Chinmaya Ashram. The ashram authorities said though initially they had expressed their view to the district administration that the Vidhan Sabha complex be constructed at some other location, they now had no option but to accept it with the assurance that the peace of the ashram would not be disturbed.

On the brighter side, the massive developmental activity in the area would definitely lead to better facilities to the residents. The roads have already been re-carpeted and the entire area is being landscaped.

Kangra December 7
The charges and counter charges between the local MLA, Mr Surender Kaku, and former Agriculture Minister Vidya Sagar on amassing of wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income has rattled the political scenario here.

Kaku today alleged that Vidya Sagar had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income, which included a B.Ed College, a showroom and other assets. He sought an inquiry into the matter.

Kaku refuted the charges of the former Agriculture Minister that Kaku was patronising his own kith and kin by providing them with government contracts. He said development works worth crores of rupees were in progress in this constituency and none of his kin were engaged here.

Solan, December 7
The District Congress Committee (DCC) today demanded resignation of the local MLA and state BJP spokesman, Dr Rajiv Bindal, and the chairman of the local municipal committee, Mr Devinder Thakur, after the duo was booked by the Vigilance Department for cheating, forgery, conspiracy and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act along with an HAS officer and a former councillor.

A case under Section 420, 468, 471, 120-B of the IPC and Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered by the newly constituted State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. It pertains to irregularities in appointments made in the local municipal committee in 1998 during the former BJP regime. The appointments committee was headed by Dr Bindal and comprised the present municipal committee chairman among others.

Addressing mediapersons here today, the DCC, including it's president, Ms Shanti Pundir, general secretary Sanjay Awasthi, secretary Vinod Dutta, vice-president Surinder Sethi and others said since cases of serious nature had been registered against them they should resign on moral grounds. Their resignations were necessary in order to ensure a free and fair probe. Since the matter pertained to the local municipal committee, continuance of the BJP-supported chairman would impede the smooth inquiry.

The then councillor, Mr Sanjay Awasthi, further said it was a nexus between the then chairman, Mr Rajiv Bindal, and the councillor, Mr Devinder Thakur, which led to award of a tender for installing a musical fountain to the highest bidder. Ignoring the lowest bid of Rs 12 lakh, the tender was granted to the highest bidder who had quoted Rs 18 lakh. Causing loss to the state exchequer, it had attracted audit objection in the CAG's report. The report had pointed out that the fountain had remained functional for merely 144 days.

The BJP in a separate press conference convened by Dr Rajiv Bindal and Mr Devinder Thakur, chairman, municipal committee, today said the appointments made in 1998 were totally fair and impartial. They said ever since the Congress had assumed charge in March 2003, it had allegedly been settling scores with BJP leaders. Numerous criminal cases had been ‘slapped’ on BJP leaders merely due to political vendetta. Defending these appointments, he said the due process was followed where advertisements had been issued and financial approval had been sought.

Lashing out at the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, he said it was shocking how an FIR had been registered without any inquiry, notice or a hearing. Rejecting the demand of the Congress men, he said if the Chief Minister and other ministers, including Mr Singhi Ram, Mr Rangila Ram Rao, Mr Kaul Singh and Mr GS Bali resign for their role in various “irregularities” then they would willingly offer their resignations. 

Mandi, December 7
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today declared that award winners of "Nasha Niwaran" poster and slogan-writing competitions would become ambassadors of the programme. He urged parents, teachers and NGOs to join hands with the law enforcing agencies to wage a war against the drug menace that was spreading its grip among the youth in the country.

Addressing students, teachers and local residents at a state-level award giving ceremony of the “Nasha Niwaran” programme at Government Senior Secondary School here, Virbhadra Singh said more young people were falling into the drug trap and it needed a campaign to stop it from getting worse. Virbhadra, who was accompanied by IPH Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, said the government was creating awareness on the health hazards of tobacco, alcohol and drugs.

He gave away prizes to the first three winners of the posters and slogan-writing competitions.

Kangra December 7
The local Managing Committee (LMC) has at last sent a letter to the president of the DAV Management Committee in Delhi for resolving the issue of lecturers of MCM DAV College here.

Dr Sandeep Mahajan, LMC member, told The Tribune that the LMC had no role to play in the financial matters of the college and it was to be resolved by the DAV management. He said, besides him, LMC members Daulat Ram Chaudary, S.C.Uppal, Subhash Bhasin in a letter to the president of the DAV management, New Delhi, said, "They are aggrieved at the unfortunate situation existing in the college and request the DAV Management Committee to look into the matter and resolve the issues".

Dr Sandeep Mahajan, expressing shock, said there had been no proper LMC meeting for the past two and a half years.

Meanwhile, the dharna of the protesting lecturers at the college gate entered the 28th day today. He, however, said the evaluation of the answer-sheets would be carried out only after the settlement reached between the HPNGCLA and the DAV management.

Mandi, December 7
The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today pulled up the “Shikhar officials” who organised an All-India Writers Conference here, pointing out that more and more budding writers of “all convictions” from the state should have been invited for interaction with leading writers coming here for the conference.

Addressing the gathering of writers, who came to the conference hall after the CM’s arrival, Mr Virbhadra Singh was upset that not many younger writers from all over the state participated in the conference that he inaugurated. “You could have invited local budding writers/learners for this important cultural exchange”, he pointed out, towards the organisers of the two-day-long conference.

Mr Virbhadra Singh, who honoured five writers from outside, said the government had decided to start the Urdu language in 100 schools and had adopted Hindi as its official language. “The government is promoting the Pahari language and literature, which has score of local dialects and is shaping up its commonly accepted avatar. It has a good crop of writers in the state”.

He added that the government had set up Writers Homes at Dharamsala, Hamirpur and Shimla.

School building gutted in fire
Our Correspondent

Nahan, December 7
The building of High School, Jadol Taproli, in Rajgarh subdivision of Sirmaur district, was gutted in a fire that broke about last night.

The Subdivisional Magistrate, Rajgarh, Mr Vivek Chandel, after visiting the site of the incident, said the examination scheduled for December 7 had been postponed. He said that rest of the papers would be conducted as per schedule and datesheet conveyed to the students.

He said he had talked to the Secretary of the HP School Education Board, in this matter and added that a new set of question papers would be despatched to Jadol Taproli, in time to ensure timely conduct of the examination.

Mr Chandel said that from the initial findings, the cause of fire was an electric short-circuit and the entire incident was being inquired into by the police.

Shimla, December 7
One person was killed and two others were injured seriously when a Maruti car rolled into a nullah near Theog on the Theog-Jubbal road, 36-km from here late last night, the police sources said.

The deceased was identified as Prakash Chand while the injured persons were Jagat Ram and Kishori Lal. — PTI