Solan, August 7
The state Anti-Corruption and Vigilance Bureau today arrested Dharamsala special secretary to the Chief Minister-cum-settlement officer S.C.Kalsotra and Purshottam Chowdhary, presently serving as executive officer of the Parwanoo Municipal Committee, in a case relating to irregularities in the recruitment of drivers, keymen and meter readers in the local municipal council in 1998.

Arrests have created a furore in the BJP circles, as the cases pertain to 1998, when local MLA and state BJP’s vice-president Rajiv Bindal was the committee’s chairman and the committee’s sitting chairman Devender Thakur was its councillor.

Kalsotra was then serving as the additional deputy commissioner here. Where as Chowdhary was the executive officer of the local municipal committee then. DSP R.C. Chhajta, while confirming the arrests said they were produced before the local sub-judge where their specimen signatures as well as handwriting samples were taken. They were later bailed out by the court.

The arrests have created a furore in the BJP circles, as the cases pertain to 1998, when the local MLA and state BJP’s vice-president Rajiv Bindal was the committee’s chairman and the committee’s sitting chairman Devender Thakur was its councillor.

The vigilance bureau had registered a case against Bindal, Thakur, Kalsotra and former Councillor Hemraj Goel. They have been charged with cheating, dishonesty, forgery, using forged documents as genuine and criminal conspiracy under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 120-B and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in December last.

Reacting sharply to the arrests, Bindal said today, the cases were politically motivated and aimed at settling scores with their political detractor. He said the cases were motivated by political vendetta and the Congress was now gunning for him as well as the chairman of the local municipal committee.

He accused the Congress of having arrested their former councillor Goyal too in the case yesterday and said it was a part of the conspiracy.

According to sources, the council had advertised various posts of clerks, drivers, keymen and meter readers during the tenure of Bindal in late 1990s. A four-member committee had been constituted to recruit candidates which included Thakur, Goel and Kalsotra and the then ADM of Solan. It was alleged that all four had committed irregularities where favourites had been adjusted, while ignoring genuine candidates. It had been alleged that the documents where marks were noted had been tampered with and favourites had been adjusted.

The case had come to light after the former Congress-led committee had adopted a resolution in the general-house meeting demanding special audit of the council. They had later made this request before the Chief Minister consequent to which the government had ordered an enforcement probe into the irregularities which had figured in the audit reports as well.

New Delhi, August 7
The legal agreements for the World Bank-assisted Himachal Pradesh State Roads Project that aimed at reducing transport costs and improving traffic flows on priority segments of the core road network of the state was signed here today between the Government of India and the World Bank.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $303.43 million with the World Bank-assistance of $220 million. The state government would meet the balance amount of $83.43 million.

The agreements were signed by Madhusudan Prasad, joint secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India, Isabel M. Guerrero, country director of the World Bank, and Subhash Chander Negi, principal secretary, PWD, on behalf of the Himachal Government.

The WB assistance for the project is in the form of IBRD loan that has a variable spread over LIBOR and is a dollar-denominated loan with a moratorium on principal payment for 5 years and a maturity of 20 years.

However, Himachal Pradesh, being a “special category state”, 90 per cent of the loan amount would be passed on to it as grant from the Government of India and the remaining 10 per cent as loan. The project will be implemented over a period of five years.

The project has been divided into two components - core road network improvement and core road network maintenance and management.

Under the core road network improvement, upgrading of roads in the core road network, including widening of formation, realignment, new structures and pavement strengthening of around 450 km of road, would be completed in two phases. Implementation of ancillary social, resettlement and environmental measures would also be taken up in this phase.

The core road network maintenance and management would comprise periodic maintenance and minor rehabilitation of around 2000 km of the core road network.

Shimla, August 7
Launching a frontal attack on the Congress state BSP president Vijay Mankotia today alleged the party high command was "politically impotent" in taking action against tainted leaders and dealing effectively with corruption as a result of which people had to suffer the misrule of Chief Ministers like Virbhadra Singh.

Addressing a press conference here today he said that Congress was fast losing ground across the country because of its failure to act against leaders who were protecting corrupt elements. The latest state to feel the heat was Delhi, which had been rocked by the Ashok Malhotra land grab scam.

However, in Himachal Pradesh the situation was worse as Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had been playing godfather to not one but many such elements. He cited the example of ADGP B.S.Thind, who actually wrote a letter seeking protection from the god father.

The deeds of a minister close to the Chief Minister had been seen by all on television. Virbhadra Singh, who had been at the helm for more than 15 years, had single-handedly destroyed the hill state which was reeling under rampant corruption and indifferent governance.

He had created his own republic within republic and the extent to which he had centralised power could be judged from the fact that he had kept as many as 22 important portfolios.

He said the BSP would undo the "pact" between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP to ruin the state by rotation by emerging as the third political force. 

Solan, August 7
Accusing the BJP of creating hue and cry over the implementation of an ambitious Rs 52-crore Giri Water Scheme, the Congress said today, local MLA and vice-president of BJP Rajiv Bindal was misleading the public over non-inclusion of certain villages in the scheme.

Addressing mediapersons here today Congressmen, including district Congress committee’s general secretary Sanjay Awasthi, organising secretary of state seva dal, panchayat pradhans, councillor Ajay Mittal and others said today, it was grossly unfair to let loose a propaganda that those villages which had surrendered land for the scheme had been denied water under the scheme.

Producing documents in support of his assertion Awasthi said Bindal was merely trying to create a controversy over the issue as he didn’t want the present government to take credit for the scheme which was slated to provide water to a population of 703,000 persons spread over Solan and parts of Kasauli constituencies.

Taking the MLA to task for having given a memorandum to the DC yesterday for excluding certain villages Awasthi said it was during the previous BJP regime that the detailed project report (DPR) of this scheme was prepared. Panchayat pradhans Sham Lal and Rup Chand said the government had invited resolutions from all panchayats facing water scarcity to be included under the scheme.

While the scheme was finally approved on June 24, 2003, by the present government, a recent notification had invited applications from those villages which had been left out from this scheme. Various lift potable water schemes like Nauni-Jatoli, Seri Gravity Scheme, Dharo-Ke-Dhar, Jaunjee-Singher, etc, had been proposed.

The Congressmen said the MLA had failed to carry out developmental works rather he had sought a high court stay against a sewerage scheme which was in its final stages of completion. Instead of viewing the whole constituency as one entity, the MLA endeavoured to fragment the area and trumpet the cause of discrimination which did not exist.

While he had never raised the issue of non-inclusion of villages in the Vidhan Sabha, he was now unduly raising a hue and cry to stop its timely commissioning in October this year they added.

Shimla, August 7
One person was injured while a truck, a car, two shops and some agricultural land were washed away as a downpour in the higher reaches of Kinnaur district caused flash floods in four rivulets in Pooh and Kalpa subdivisions last night.

According to reports received here, an ITBP truck carrying 99 barrel of kerosene and an Alto car were washed away due to floods in the Thingi nullah in Pooh. Two tea shops were destroyed by floods in the Thungse nullah in Kalpa.

A vast stretch of agricultural land was also washed away. One person, who was injured in floods, was provided Rs 5,000 as relief by the administration.

In the adjoining Rampur area, a cloud-burst caused extensive damage to the Rampur- Rohru road disrupting movement of vehicular traffic. The road link to Taklech was also disrupted.

Elsewhere, light to moderate rains lashed mid and lower hills of the state during the past 24 hours, the met office said.

Shimla with 29 mm of rain was the wettest place in the state during the past 24 hours, while Nurpur in Kangra district recorded 19 mm, Kasol in Bilaspur 12.7 mm, Rohru and Jubbal, both in Shimla district, recorded 11.9 mm and 10 mm, while Arki in Solan district experienced 11.4 mm rains.

The meteorological office said Una town recorded 7.2 mm rains followed by 7mm and 6.2 mm rains at Sangla and Kalpa, both in Kinnuar district, Jhanduta in Bilaspur district recorded 6.3 mm rains.

The famous tourist resorts of Kullu, Manali, Dalhousie and Dharamshala recorded no rainfall during the past 24 hours, it said.

Chamba, August 7
The state government is working for the interests of power consumers and about Rs 130 crore subsidy is being given to domestic and agriculture consumers of the state.

In an official communiqué issued today, the Himachal power minister Vidya Stokes said in order to bring efficiency and transparency in the system, computerization was a sine-qua-non and so the use of IT was being encouraged for automatic operation of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB).

Online billing had started in Shimla, the power minister stated; adding that unmanned power stations had started coming up on the power map of the state in order to optimize manpower requirements.

The power minister said the HPSEB had planned to replace all wooden poles within next two years. At least 70 per cent employment had been ensured in hydropower projects under execution and operation in the state, she further said.

Mentioning about the newly formed power policy of the state, the power minister said environment needs had been safeguarded, besides making many path-breaking provisions in the policy to develop the untapped hydropower potential in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The provision for allotment of various projects in the private sector had been made in such a manner that while doing so the state could protect the riparian rights of residents of the state, the power minister said.

With a view to mitigating the low-voltage problem and improving the quality of service to the power consumers of the tough tribal Pangi valley in Chamba district, the power minister said a 33-KV substation had been proposed to be constructed at Killar, subdivisional headquarters of the valley.

The power minister said 20,793 MW of hydropower potential was available in the state, out of which 6,370 MW had so far been harnessed through various agencies; stating that, at present the hydropower projects with a capacity of 5,605 MW were under construction.

The state government had planned to harness 5744.10-MW capacity of power under the 11th Plan which included 1,150 MW in the state sector, 2,763 MW in the central and joint sectors while 1,831 MW in the private sector, the power minister said. Besides a programme called ‘Accelerated Power Development Reforms Project (APDRP) was also in progress for upgrading, strengthening and improving the power network in the state, she further added.

Shimla, August 7
Buoyed by the success of its rally at Kangra the BSP will hold a mega rally at Rohru, the home constituency of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, shortly to kick off its “Satta parivartan” campaign.

Stating this here today national general secretary and in charge of party affairs in Himachal Maan Singh Manhera said that the Rohru rally would be followed by a rally at Bamsen, the home of former Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal. The party would organise meetings in all districts to put the organisational setup in place up to August 24.

He said the party would set up its units right down to the polling booth level by appointing 25,000 office-bearers by September. The process was on and already 4861 office-bearers had been appointed. The state had been divided into three zones and over 800 sectors, each comprising six to seven polling booths.

Each office-bearer would establish contact with 10 families to bring 2.50 lakh families into the party fold. The aim was to create a committed vote-bank of 10 lakh.

When asked which party the BSP would support in the case of a hung assembly he said the party was not only going to from the government in the state but it was also working on a plan to install Mayawati as the next Prime Minster after the 2009 Lok Sabha poll.

Vijay Mankotia would be the party’s chief ministerial candidate. The party had already emerged as the third major player in national politics after the Congress and the BJP. It had well-established units in 25 states and it had representation in state Assemblies and the Lok Sabha in nine states.

Shimla, August 7
Buoyed by the success of its rally at Kangra the BSP will hold a mega rally at Rohru, the home constituency of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, shortly to kick off its “Satta parivartan” campaign.

Stating this here today national general secretary and in charge of party affairs in Himachal Maan Singh Manhera said that the Rohru rally would be followed by a rally at Bamsen, the home of former Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal. The party would organise meetings in all districts to put the organisational setup in place up to August 24.

He said the party would set up its units right down to the polling booth level by appointing 25,000 office-bearers by September. 

Kangra, August 7
Parents of more than 700 students of Bagali and nearby schools today served a legal notice on the chairman and the secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education demanding the re-establishing of examination centre at Bagli government senior secondary school that was cancelled in 2006 due to alleged mass copying.

Heading the parents, A.B. Rajbansh said the board authorities had cancelled the mathematics paper held there on the ground of mass copying. He said the board authorities later cancelled the examination centre and 700 students of a government and four private schools were forced to take their examination at Government Senior Secondary School, Mandal, which is far away from Bagli with poor transport connectivity.

He said the cancellation of the centre was illegal. He demanded that the board should take decision to re-establish the centre in seven days or the parents would be forced to take appropriate legal action against the board.

B.R. Rahi, chairman of the board, said the centre was cancelled in 2006 following detection of mass copying. He said the board had no intention of putting students and parents to inconvenience, but copying would not be tolerated at any cost.

He said nine centres were cancelled in 2006 and there would be a collective review of the situation. He said the board would convene a review committee meeting to take stock of the situation next month.

Nahan, August 7
Women from various villages under the Badag panchayat in Sangrah Tehsil, around 95 km from here, locked in panchayat president, members and some other functionaries in the Panchayat Bhavan after an altercation on the issue of granting an NOC for a liquor vend in Badag village here today.

A large number of women and men of the area came to the panchayat meeting and started questioning president and other functionaries as to how an NOC was issued for a liquor vend in Badag village without consulting the local residents, who were opposing the move. An altercation ensued between panchayat president Promila Chauhan, her supporters and local women.

Situation went out of control after the village women were reportedly asked to vacate the Panchayat Bhavan. They were reportedly also threatened that a case would be registered against them for creating hindrance in government work.

This infuriated the protesting women and they locked the Panchayat Bhavan with president Promila Chauhan, panchayat members Dhanbir Singh, Ramesh and Raksha Devi, a primary school teacher Kali Ram (posted at Sanag Primary School) and a resident of Lawali village Tulia Ram inside the building. The incident took place in the afternoon.

The Renuka SHO said in the evening that the lock was opened by the police and those trapped inside the building released. A case hads been registered.

Bilaspur, August 7
Human rights must not be violated and dignity and sanctity of life and personal liberty of an individual and offender must be maintained at all costs while doing investigation of cases and trying to identify the culprits. This call was given by SP Balbir Thakur, while presiding over one-day seminar on “Education and Awareness Programme on Human Rights” for police officers here last evening.

Thakur exhorted all police officers and investigating officers to take to humane approach, while dealing with criminals and offenders and to adopt scientific methods of investigation and equality before law and dignity of individual be respected even in relation to known criminals.

Thakur said officers should make all out efforts to seek help and cooperation of citizens to prevent crime and to control unsocial activities and also to identify and pin point criminals and offenders and law breakers.

Law officer Naresh Ghai detailed directions of the Supreme Court in relation to criminal justice while maintaining human rights at all costs. Giving details of these instructions, Ghai said no criminal or individual would be compelled to be a witness against himself and while arresting a person, grounds of his detention had to be disclosed and he could not be kept in custody for more than 24 hours without sanction of a competent of court and concept of human right had to be honored, respected and obeyed on every step of investigation of a case. 

Shimla, August 7
The monsoon session of the Himachal Vidhan Sabha will be held from August 27 to 29.

A notification to this effect was issued by Raj Bhavan here today. Speaker Gangu Ram Musafir said there would be three sittings in all during the session. One day had been earmarked for the private members’ business.

Some important legislative business would also be transacted along with issues of public importance demanding urgent attention. 

Chamba, August 7
At least 20 cases of gastroenteritis in Uaan belt of Bhattiyat tehsil, was reported here, till yesterday.

According to official sources, a team of doctors from the nearby government hospital had rushed to the spot along with paramedical staff and requisite material, including necessary medicines and camping in the area, thereby bringing the situation under control.

The residents of the area demanded probe into the local water supply schemes and demanded the chlorination of the source of wate supply to curb the outbreak of gastroenteritis . — OC

Hamirpur, August 7
Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner R. Selvam speaking at a meeting of the permanent committee of the district-level Swaran Jayanti Gramin Rojgar Yojna said Rs 60.65 lakh loans had been given to create employment avenues under the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Yojna.

He said other agencies like the SC and ST Development Corporation (Rs 16.70 lakh), Women Development Corporation( Rs3.80 lakh) and the Village and Khadi Board ( Rs 64.45 lakh) had also disbursed loans for this propose.