Shimla, April 2
With the high court directives concerning the final disposal of cases received under the retention policy still being awaited, the government will be filing an application for consideration and issuing of directions so that the 3,153 cases could be settled.

The government had set the deadline of March 31 for settling cases of unauthorised constructions under the latest retention policy. But the high court is yet to give its direction, so the matter stands pending. It was on the basis of a PIL that the high court had directed the government not to dispose of any case till its further orders.

The government will soon move an application before the high court for consideration and issuing of directions so that the 3,153 cases received from 34 Special Areas and 20 Planning Areas of the state can be settled.

Even though the number of cases that have been received by the government for regularisation after paying the compounding amount is very less, yet it is keen that their disposal is done at the earliest.

The total number of cases that have been received by the government from all over the state is 3,153. The last date for applying under the fifth retention policy was December 31 last year, but with very few cases that had come in, the government had extended the deadline to February 28. Contrary to the expectations of the government, even after extension of the deadline, only 408 new cases were received.

Out of the total number of 3,153 cases received from all over the state, 2,289 are alone from Shimla itself. This was the fifth retention policy that the government had come out with so that all unauthorised structures that had come up in violation of the regulations of the Town and Country Planning Act could be compounded.

The government was expecting that at least 10,000 cases would come for compounding under the retention policy but surprisingly; the number is even less than half. As per the government estimates, at least 4,000 persons should have applied for the policy in Shimla itself.

The second highest number of over 150 cases has come in from Kangra followed by Kullu and Solan. The small number of cases that have been received from Kangra too is very surprising, as unauthorised constructions in violation of the norms are in plenty in Mcleodganj, Dharamsahala and Palampur.

Once the process of retention is over, thousands of buildings with major violations all over the state will be regularised. This is the fifth retention policy that has been offered by the government with the earlier ones coming in 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2004.

Mandi, April 2
Tightening its noose around the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) colleges in the state, HP University vice-chancellor Dr Anil Wilson, has ordered a time bound inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of funds and overcharging of fees from the students in the Blooms College of Education in Mandi district. Not only this, university has constituted a team to probe all the private B. Ed colleges in the state.

According to the notification issued by the vice-chancellor, the copy of which is with The Tribune, HP University Students' Welfare dean Prof Suresh Kumar, has been appointed as the inquiry officer who would submit a comprehensive report on the matter to the VC.

The university has received a lot of complaints from the students, teachers and the Himachal Pradesh Teachers Educators Welfare Association (HPTEWA), alleging large-scale bungling in funds and excessive charging of fees from the students by the college management.

Though the Blooms College Management has denied the charges, but the VC has ordered an inquiry into the affairs of the college.

Taking note of the mushrooming private B.Ed colleges in the state, the HP University has constituted an inquiry team to scan the affairs of private B.Ed colleges, which are alleged to be running like "teaching shops".

The team will submit the report on the functioning of the private B.Ed Colleges to the VC shortly, sources added.

President, HPTEWA Dr K.S. Katoch, said that the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) has laid down norms like for every 100 student there should be seven teachers and at least four teachers should be regular teaching faculty in the college. "But these norms are flouted by a majority of colleges", he claimed, welcoming the thorough inquiry into the affairs of private B.Ed colleges in the state.

The association alleged hat many colleges are run without proper infrastructure and facilities for the students and charge hefty fees from them. "The B.Ed colleges which have proper facility and faculty be recognised and others should be shut down".

Mandi, April 2
The future of over 870 information technology (IT) teachers in over 587 government schools in the state remains uncertain as their pleas for regularisation of services have fallen on deaf ears so far.

Though the government is talking about "producing IT literates in government schools", it has yet to regularise IT teachers, complained members of the IT Teachers Union. They rued though the government had promised to regularise their services, nothing had been done so far. "We are at the mercy of the DOEAC society that runs the IT courses in Himachal".

As IT teachers have completed the first two years of their contractual appointment with the DOEAC on March 31, they have been relieved from schools as the DOEAC has yet to issue them fresh appointment letters. Pointing out that the DOEAC pays them just Rs 3,000 per month, their counterparts in Punjab get Rs 7000 -Rs 8000 per month. Director, education, Anita Rao said the IT teachers were the employees of the DOEAC as government had signed an MoU with it till 2008.

Additional director, DOEAC, Vivekananda Sharma, claimed that the salary of the IT teachers was hiked from Rs 1500- 2000 to Rs 3,000 per month last year. "The society charges Rs 130 per student per month. The society is running into losses as there is not enough strength in schools as IT in Himachal is an optional subject", he added.

Bilaspur, April 2
The district credit plan prepared by UCO Bank for the current financial year worth Rs183 crore has been launched. It was launched by DC and chairman district Credit Planning Committee Munish Garg here today.

Presiding over the meeting, he said last year’s the plan for the district was worth Rs 148 crore and almost all targets under this plan had been achieved. He said the current year’s plan was 24 per cent more than that of last year.

Garg further said Rs 159.80 crore had been allocated for priority sector, including rupees 64.35 crore for agriculture and allied subjects and Rs 12.82 crore for small-scale industries and Rs 82.62 crore for other sectors under this head. He said Rs 23.20 crore had been provided for the non-priority areas.

Dharamsala:The annual credit plan of Kangra district for the current financial year has been fixed at Rs 616.26 crore with a growth rate of 17 per cent.

Revealing this, Knagra DM Bharat Khera said a total of Rs 89.65 crore was allocated under the non-priority sector, which was Rs.13.64 crore more as compared to the last plan.

The plan would generate new employment opportunities. It included Rs. 214.91 crore for the agriculture sector and Rs. 69.35 crore for the small-scale industry sector.

Kumarhatti, April 2
The management of PA Group of Industries, Dharampur, claimed that the two-week long strike by workers had come to an end today.

As the management said the workers had ended the strike unconditionally, president of the state unit of the AITUC Jagdish Bhardwaj who was leading the workers protest had belied the management claims of workers joining unconditionally.

Talking to The Tribune he said the workers had joined following a Labour Court stayed order on their transfer to Nalagarh by the management. To maintain status quo as ordered by HP Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court, the workers had joined the services, he clarified.

No compromise had been made with the management over demands, he asserted.

Bilaspur, April 2
A traffic constable Nand Lal (35 years), of village Soldha-Chakoh, who was on traffic duty at Barmana chowk at Barmana near here, was critically injured when a speeding truck No: HP-65-4141, virtually crushed him down on the road today noon. Confirmed reports said that the driver Besar Ram, who is son of truck owner Udhishtar of Kothi-Leda village in Mandi district, immediately fled from the scene of accident but was later apprehended by the police. Superintendent of Police Balbir Thakur, accompanied by several other officers rushed to the spot of accident and immediately carried the injured constable to the Regional Hospital here, from where he was referred to PGI Chandigarh. Later S.P. Balbir Thakur said that the injured constable breathed his last near Bharatgarh, on way to PGI Chandigarh. He said that the driver, Besar Ram, a young boy of 18 years, has no driving license and investigation is on and a case has been registere.

Bilaspur, April 2
BJP leader and former health and family welfare minister Jagat Prakash Nadda will lead some 3,000 party activists to Hamirpur on April 6, to participate in the BJP’s Parivartan Rally.

Reviewing preparations for the rally in Bilaspur sadar assembly segment here today with party leaders, including state executive member Subhash Thakur, Bilaspur sadar mandal BJP president Brijlal Thakur, general secretary Brahamdas Thakur and secretary Rooplal Thakur, former health minister said the BJP workers would leave Bilaspur for Hamirpur in 40 buses and 60 other smaller vehicles.

Solan, April 2
The seriousness of the state’s health department has been exposed with it’s Kandhaghat based lone Composite Testing Laboratory (CTL), working without a permanent head and lacking requisite facilities to carry out crucial drug testing. The charge of this drug laboratory was given to the Food Analyst last year after witnessing retirement of many heads.

Despite a lapse of nearly a year, the government has neither advertised for the post nor placed a suitable official as laid down in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The health department has accepted this fact in a recent reply to the high court where it has said that another incumbent was heading the lab on a temporary basis.

This has landed the department in a soup in a recent case where fungus-ridden glucose had been sent for testing here. With no sterility testing facility available, these samples had failed merely on the basis of physical testing. Experts said sterility testing facility was mandatory for intra-venous fluids as it was injected directly through the blood. While it was a crucial parameter to test the purity of an intra-venous fluid, the lack of it had raised question marks on the lab’s functioning.

The Jalandhar-based firm, which had supplied the fungus-ridden glucose samples, has now challenged the lab report on the basis that firstly the official signing was not qualified as per the Act and secondly the lab had no sterility testing facility. The director health was not available for comments as he was busy in a meeting.

The CTL head Vijay Sharma, when contacted agreed that the lab lacked the sterility facility but added since some expansion work was underway it would soon be provided.

The absence of a permanent head had severally affected the working of this laboratory. Being the only lab in the state to test drug samples drawn from various retail and wholesale outlets as well as manufacturing units, the absence of a Government Analyst has created legal hassles for other cases as well. In case a drug sample is found spurious, the government’s stand in the court would be weakened as the government analyst fails to meet the requirements of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940. This would adversely benefit the offenders. 

Despite lapse of nearly a year, the government has neither advertised for the post nor placed a suitable official as laid down in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Nurpur, April 2
Following the direction of state high court, the revenue department undertook much awaited demarcation of Chakki rivulet in the bordering areas of Khanni upper, Khanni lower, Pargana, Maira gram panchayats in this sub division. The unabated and unscientific mining on Chakki rivulet bed in this sub division by the JCB machines (earth excavation machines) of the stone crushing units set up in neighbouring Punjab state has endangered these rural areas. The identification of boundaries of both Punjab and Himachal Pradesh has raised hopes among the local populace to check ongoing reckless quarrying. The residents especially the farmers of the affected villages had been demanding to undertake demarcation of the Chakki rivulet for the past many years so that boundaries of both states could be established. The unabated quarrying on Chakki bed has created big trenches on it, converted fertile land into barren and played havoc with the ecology in lower Kangra district, bordering Punjab state.

Lauding demarcation of Chakki rivulet, the farmers of this region have urged the government agencies to keep a strict vigil on the forcible and clandestine quarrying by outsiders in the territory of Himachal Pradesh.

The inhabitants of some affected villages recently, approached the local police and civic administration against the rampant and unscientific quarrying in their villages. Inquiries reveal that when the local DSP and SDM visited the affected villages on Wednesday, some startling facts came to light. A few villagers had constituted a committee and leased out Shamlat Deh Chakki area illegally for mining to stone crushing units.

Sources revealed that the so-called committee in the shape of royalty had allegedly cornered lakhs of rupees during the past many years without any knowledge of the mining department and local administration. This royalty was supposed to be deposited with the state exchequer. The official information revealed that the committee had leased out Chakki rivulet for Rs 1.81 lakh for the current year. 

Palampur, April 1
Golden mahseer fish, categorised as an endangered species by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), Lucknow, in 1992, has been fast disappearing from the erstwhile luxuriantly stocked waters of Himachal Pradesh.

The major causes of this loss include distortion of rivers due to construction of river valley projects, multipurpose dams, shrinking habitat and poaching. While over exploitation and poaching deplete the fish population, barrages acts as physical barriers in migration of the fish preventing them from breeding, feeding and rearing their progeny.

Despite pumping in substantial money, research institutions have failed to develop a standard technology for controlled breeding of golden mahseer. The state government is in the process of finalising its tourism policy, but experts feel that no such policy will be complete without the inclusion of sport fishing component for attracting tourists.

Experts of the Himachal Angling Association have formulated and submitted a Rs 2.75-crore project on mahseer fishing to the government with the twin objective of rehabilitation of sizable population of golden mahseer in suitable water bodies as well as what should be done to make angling tourists’ stay in the state more comfortable and satisfying.

Secretary general of the HPAA K.B. Ralhan said the issues that needed to be addressed to achieve these goals were: release of more water from dams into the residual rivers, education of the population on better local management of their fishery resources, improvement in the watch and ward services and control of infractions against the cause of mahseer and to devise clear-cut regulations on sport fishing tourism.

“The project is proposed to be jointly executed over six years by the Department Of Tourism and Fisheries by constituting a governing body. Letting such a species become extinct will not only be a conservationist’s nightmare, but also a national shame,” Ralhan said.

Kangra, April 2
According to a survey conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Water and Sanitation Mission, 70 to 80 per cent of diseases were endemic in the state were water borne. They were diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, jaundices and cholera etc. The survey report said every year several deaths particularly among children occurred due to water-born diseases. This was because of deteriorating quality of drinking water.

The report quoting WHO said more people, in fact would die of consuming unsafe drinking water and insanitary conditions by the year 2020 than from AIDS, if steps to improve water quality were not taken on war footing.

Under the Swajaldhara Yojna under the Rajeev Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission Sanitation campaign and Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance was being carried out in the state. Anil Sharma, Nikhil Sharma and Vijay Kumar, lecturers in DIET, who carry out the mission work here, said today that only 0.24 per cent water was worth drinking. The water was getting contaminated due to negligence of people. They said in the state, level of underground water was reducing due to global warming. They further said common people should realize the grave situation and should help themselves and adhere to the ethics of proper sanitation.

As many as 4,080 villages are facing scarcity of water in the state, but the IPH authorities claim that by the end of 2007 the entire village will get sufficient water. IPH sources said now the department would stress on the quality of drinking water in future. But the consumers will have to pay for that.

Mandi, April 2
Though Himachal Pradesh has missed the Japan Buddhist tourist bus, the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation (DTCA) has designed a website in Chinese language and has tied up with the Chinese travel agency to rope in outbound Buddhist tourists from China in the state.

Talking to The Tribune, tourism commissioner Tarun Shridhar said the department had developed the website in Chinese language to promote Himachal Pradesh in the Buddhist tourist markets in China. “The website and tie-up with the Chinese agency will promote Himachal as a major Buddhist tourist destination in China”.

Sources revealed that China has approved 59 countries, including India, for outbound Chinese citizens. “Out of the three million Chinese tourists who travel abroad in a year, only 0.1 percent comes to India”.

The prime attraction for Chinese is not only the Buddhist circuit of Lamaistic Buddhism, but also the ancient Silk trade route that winds through  the cold desert Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, added officials.

The Himachal Government has also requested the Centre to open the pilgrimage route to Mansrovar Lake that lies in the Chinese territory. 

Dharamsala, April 2
The cooperative agriculture service society of Tiara village, functioning in Kangra district since 1919, was recently conferred with the national award of excellence for 2006.

A cash award of Rs 50,000 has been given to the society by National Co-operative Development Corporation, New Delhi, in recognition of the excellent performance and contribution to Cooperative development.

A look at the performance of Tiara cooperative agriculture society revealed that the society has rendered yeoman service to the farmers by inculcating a sense of savings besides providing loans to them on easy instalments.

According to Pancham Singh Minhas, secretary of the society, there are 1,500 members of the society who have deposited money ranging from Rs 100 to a maximum sum of Rs 10,000 with the society.

Presently, there are as many as 1,507 members of the and the total value of the investment of the members was Rs 14.45 lakh as on March 31.

There are 1,200 non-members of the society also who have made deposits in the society to the tune of Rs 4.19 crore at the end of the last financial year. The total deposits from all sources were to the tune of Rs 5,10,65,000 at the end of the last financial year while the working capital during the same period was Rs 6.59 crore and the net profit of the society was Rs 11 lakh.

The agriculture service society has been catering to the needs of around about eight villages of Badiara, Tiara and part of Samirpur panchayats having a total population of 10,000.

Apart from the supply of essential commodities to the consumers, the society is also distributing fertilisers, pesticides, agriculture implements, feed etc. to the farmers. 

Dharamsala, April 2
Japan is interested in importing flavoured tea that is grown in the Kangra Valley.

This was expressed by a 17-member Japanese delegation led by All-Japan Tea Wholesalers Association vice chairman Y. Tanimoto who visited the tea cultivation areas of Kangra, this week.

The Japanese delegation was impressed by the unique flavour of Kangra tea that would suit the taste of the Japanese.

After holding a meeting with Manjhee Valley Sidhwari tea factory chairman Abhai Singh, Marubeni Tea Trading Company Limited director N. Nishio has placed an initial order of 10 tonnes of flavoured tea, which would be exported to Japan by the end of this month.

Singh said the Japanese liked light-flavoured tea that was available in Kangra. The Manjhee valley tea factory of Sidhwari has also started exporting flavoured tea to Germany and few other European markets. 

Chamba, April 2
No doubt, Himachal Pradesh, has topped in the field of education in the country, still it has areas, which are under the shadow of illiteracy. Tissa and Salooni in Chamba district are such areas, which has the lowest percentage of literacy.

Tissa and Salooni are among the most backward blocks in the country, with regard to education and health. In schools, the dropout rate of children is almost 50 per cent as compared to other blocks in the district.

According to an official survey conducted in 13 block resource centres, under the ‘Sarv Siksha Abhiyan’ (SSA), there are still 709 girls and 497 boys in the age group of 6 to 10 years from class I to class V, who have never attended school. Similarly, there are 296 girls and 146 boys in the age group of 11 to 13 years from class VI to class VIII, who have never attended school.

The dropout figure in the district is very alarming. There are 201 girls and 138 boys, in the age group of 6 to 10 years, from class I to class V, who have never attended school. Similarly, there are 507 girls and 220 boys, in the age group of 11 to 13 years, from class VI to class VIII, who have never attended school, the survey report reveals.

Considering the worrying reports, the government took stock of the situation and enrolled children all over the state. They even enrolled those who had never been enrolled by the centres run by the education guarantee scheme (EGS) under the SSA. For this, about 8,000 children were enrolled in the state, including 5,000 in Chamba district, which was the highest number in the state.

161 centres under the EGS, including 22 centres for minorities, four mobile and two madarsas were functioning in 12 education blocks in the district. The Centrally- sponsored programmes like the National Programme of Education for Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalya (KGBV) were also launched simultaneously with the SSA. For these programmes, only three districts of the state - Chamba, Mandi and Shimla have been identified.

Around Rs 11.76 crore were being utilised under the SSA. According to official sources, all programmes relating to elementary education, which also included the SSA, the NPEGEL and the KGBV, are being implemented, managed and monitored by the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) all over the state. At present, each district has a DIET.

The 2001 census reveals that the female literacy rate of Chamba district is 49.22 per cent but it is still below national female literacy rate of 54.16 per cent and also below the state’s literacy rate of 68.08 per cent.

Also due to poverty and lack of facilities like medical care, schools, roads, water etc, most of the community development blocks of the district, viz. Tissa, Mehla, Salooni have been declared as backward.

To zero in on the ‘Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalya’ programme, the government has opened eight hostels of model-III functioning in the district at Himgirikothi, Kihar, Chilli, Bhageigarh, Karian, Mehla, Bharmour and Saach (Pangi).

Kulu, April 2
The 85th amendment of the Constitution enabling governments to have separate roaster for the promotion of SCs and STs was implemented in all states but Himachal Pradesh, said Yuv Raj Bodh, newly appointed general secretary of the BJP Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe Morcha here yesterday.

He said if the present government did not implement the amendment, the one led by the BJP would do that.

Earlier, Yuv Raj was welcomed by BJP workers here.