Dharamsala, February 23
The state Cabinet yesterday deferred the decision on creation of a separate directorate of energy in the state government. Apart from this, there were more than 50 items put before the Cabinet for approval but only few of them were discussed.

An important item of the creation of a separate directorate of energy was put before the Cabinet for discussion by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who is also the minister in charge of the Power Department, but it was deferred because there were divergent views on the administrative control of the proposed directorate, creation of as many as 30 new posts to run the directorate and creation of an appropriate head by the Finance Department to maintain its accounts.

Sources in the Cabinet said the Chief Minister in its proposal to create the directorate was of the view that the energy sector had become very important in the recent years with the participation of hundreds of private entrepreneurs.

Thus monitoring and execution of power projects had increased manifold. Such works were being looked after by the state government, electricity board and power corporation. But there was no technical/professional skill available at the government level to coordinate the work.

The sources said Dhumal was of the opinion that the workload at the government level was likely to increase manifold in future and some technical and professional support was urgently required.

The major functions of the proposed directorate of energy included hydel project safety, quality control, management of water flows and implementation of hydropower policy 2006, attend all issues pertaining to sale of power, solve inter-project disputes that were likely to crop up in the near future, monitoring of progress of allotment and subsequent execution of private power projects, to advice government on technical issues etc.

A senior official of the state government said most of the matters that were not considered for approval yesterday would be approved later.

Dharamsala, February 23
Abandoning of domestic animals, particularly cattle, may land their owners into trouble in the state. The state government has decided to implement the Animal Cruelty Act effectively to check abandoning of cattle.

Presiding over a state-level meeting held here on Saturday to formulate future plan for the development of more ‘gau sadans’ in association with the NGOs and charitable trusts at various locations in the state, Chief Minister Prem Kumar has announced that the government will soon reconstitute and strengthen the state animal welfare board, implement the Animal Cruelty Act effectively and exploring the possibilities of the registration of domestic animals under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Assurance scheme.

He said the branches of the animal welfare board would also be opened in all districts. He said the board would act as a facilitator to protect the domestic animals from cruelty and abandonment. He said that it had been observed that some people were abandoning cows on finding them useless, which was a practice contrary to the high religious sentiments of the country.

He said that the government had started counting of all domestic animals by tattooing them with specific identification mark to ascertain their belongingness. Dhumal said the state government was exploring the possibility of getting this job done under the NREGA scheme, as it would also generate employment for the unemployed rural youth.

He said this programme would be introduced in the state from the coming financial year. He said that on completion of this process owners of the domestic animals would be held responsible for their abandonment and dealt with as per the legal provisions.

He said that wherever required the animal cruelty act would be enforced to protect the animal from any cruel act committed by any person.

He said that identification marks applied to enumerated domestic animals would help in identification of their owners who could be liable to be charged under different legal provisions enacted to protect the animals.

He said so far, as many as 13,144 stray animals had been identified all over the state that abandoned by their owners. He said that in all there were as many as 42 ‘gau sadans’ in the state, out of which, three were under the government control while 39 under private control run by NGOs and charitable trusts. Dhumal also emphasised on the need to maintain strict vigil on the borders of the state so that the stray animals were not transported into the state. He said that it would be the joint responsibility of the gram panchayat and the police in the border areas to check the increasing number of the stray animals in their respective area.

Kumarhatti, February 23
A health team comprising officials from the central and district health departments today sealed two ultrasound centres at Nalagarh. The centres were sealed after it found violating the norms of the PNDT Act (Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act).

The team, including K. Singh, director, Rajvir Singh, deputy director and M.K. Sharma, legal advisor all from the centre along with Shriniwas Sharma, CMO, Solan, first raided Akash Ultrasound. The team found serious discrepancies in centre’s paper record. Hence the team decided to seal the centre.

Later the team reached Gagan Nursing Home. Here the records were again not complete. The managements of both centres were instructed by the team to update their documents at the earliest.

While confirming the development, Shriniwas Sharma said the decisions to seal the centres were taken to check the rampant violations of the PNDT Act. Meanwhile, the raids would continue in the coming days too.

Solan, February 23
The state Drug Licensing Authority Sher Singh Thakur was sent to police remand till February 27 by the Solan sub-judge here today. Earlier, a bail application was moved by his counsel before the sessions court. It would however be heard on February 25.

The state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau later in the evening searched the residence of Thakur located in Kotla Nullah area here. They had procured a search warrant to search numerous such places where they could find substantiate evidence.

A large number of suitcases, which were locked, were found from his house, which was sealed yesterday. The house was empty at the time of being sealed yesterday.

What was however interesting was the fact that Thakur was the vice-president of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) which is a statutory body working under the ministry of health and family welfare. He was also a member of various committees like the PCI’s law committee, finance committee, education regulation committee, and public relations committee, besides being a nominated member of the state government for the PCI. A huge crowd of manufacturers had turned up at the court premises in support of Thakur.

The police later verified the ownership of the Santro used by Thakur yesterday. It belonged to a local drug manufacturer who later gave an affidavit in the court stating that the money recovered from the car belonged to him. This was done supposedly to prepare grounds for Thakur’s bail.

Nearly, 12 envelopes containing thousands of rupees were recovered from the car and a majority of them bore companies names and addresses. The bureau sources said all such companies would now come under a scanner and they would be interrogated about the money.

Shimla, February 23
While the production of apple in the state has increased significantly over the past five years, HPMC, the state-owned nodal agency for processing and marketing and processing of horticulture produce, is plunging deeper into the red with each passing year.

The accumulated losses of the corporation have reached Rs 40 crore as on March 2007. The financial health of the public undertaking has been worsening and its losses have been increasing progressively. It suffered a loss of Rs 1.28 crore in 2003-04, Rs 1.79 crore in 2004-05, Rs 4.80 crore in 2004-06 and Rs 6.2 crore in 2006-07. It is even finding it difficult to pay salaries of the employees.

Lack in utilisation of the vast infrastructure and manpower has been the main reason behind the perennial financial woes of the corporation. It has two fruit processing plants, 11 grading and packing houses and as many cold storages and about 500 employees and officers but its annual turnover has been ranging between Rs 26 crore to Rs 30 crore.

The corporation has a capacity to process 20,000 tonne of apple annually but it has been utilising only one-third of the capacity. Even this year, when the state had a record apple production of 5.92 lakh tonne, the HPMC processed only about 6,500 tonne to produce 650 tonne of juice concentrate. What could be worse, the corporation even did not procure any fresh fruit for marketing, while the private companies like the Adani Group, a new entrant in the field, marketed over 15,000 tonne.

The Reliance group and Fresh and Healthy, a subsidiary of the container corporation also marketed significant quantity of fresh apple.

In a bid to reduce the mounting losses the government had initiated a move to privatise eight of its fruit packaging and grading houses. Reputed companies like the Reliance India Limited, ITC, Container Corporation of India and the Adani Group had shown interest in taking these on long term lease. However, as privatisation is a politically sensitive issue, the government held back the proposal in the election year.

The only way to reduce the losses is to increase the turnover by making optimum utilisation of the infrastructure and manpower. Besides processing fruit, the corporation should take a cue from the private players and take up marketing to table apple on a large-scale to help make proper utilisation of its cold storages, manpower and other facilities.

It also needs to upgrade the processing technology at its plants. The only other alternative is to go ahead with the privatisation plan. However, both these option require political will, which has been missing.

Shimla, February 23
With trout production expected to double this year, the delectable coldwater fish from the state could find market in the UAE and other countries.

With over 60 private trout farms being set up by farmers, mainly in Kullu and Mandi districts, the state Fisheries Department has got in touch with the Marine Export Development Authority (MEDA) so that fish from the state can be exported. The department has been asked to fulfil the formalities to pave the way for the export of trout.

Though trout farming is also being undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttaranchal, not only does Himachal top in its production in the country the fish from here is also rated as the best in Mumbai and Delhi. The production, which was around 35 tonne last year, is expected to touch 70 tonne this year.

Though the Fisheries Department has set up trout farms at Patlikuhl in Kullu, Barot in Mandi, Sangla in Kinnaur and Dhamwari, it is the coming up of several private farms that has given a boost to trout production. “We have to decide upon the certification agency that will ensure that the fish from here if free from pathogens, virus or bacteria and is fit for export,” said B.D. Sharma, director (fisheries).

The Fisheries Department is still not decided on the certification agency. It could be the State Veterinary Council or the department itself. At present, the farmers are selling their produce at around Rs 270 per kg in the Delhi markets. Once the way is paved for the exports, the farmers will get much more profit and they will not have to bother about marketing.

The total production in the five trout farms in the government sector is around 20 tonne, while the private sector produces around 15 tonne. Seeing the good profit and future of trout farming in Himachal, farmers in Kullu have taken loans up to Rs 50 lakh for setting up trout farms. Once the formalities for exports are completed, he farmers will have to meet the specifications with regard to size and variety of trout wanted in the UAE and other foreign markets.

Shimla, February 23
The government has appointed Balram Sharma, who is on central deputation at present, as the secretary, PWD. He will relieve Ajay Mittal, secretary, power, of the additional charge.

In a minor administrative reshuffle, the government today ordered the transfer one IAS and about a dozen HAS officers.

Meera Mohanty, SDM, Theog, has been posted as the SDM, Nahan, while Rajiv Kumar Shekhar, special secretary, health, has been made the new managing director of Milkfed at Shimla, reliving Amitabh Awasthy of the additional charge.

Rakesh Kanwar, general manager, HPMC, would also hold the additional charge of additional secretary, health.

Kangra ADM H.S. Pundir has been posted as the editor of the State Gazetteer, while Ashwani Kumar Chaudhary, assistant commissioner to divisional commissioner, Kangra, has been made as the SDM, Bhattiyat, at Chowari.

Amrit Lal Sharma, land acquisition officer, PWD, Kangra, has been made registrar, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur. He will also hold the additional charge of secretary, Ex-Servicemen Corporation, Hamirpur, relieving the SDM, Nadaun, of the additional charge.

Yashpal Sharma, RTO, Solan, will be the new SDM, Banjar, while Pankaj Raj, SDM, Ghumarwin, has been transferred as the SDM, Dehra, Pradeep Kumar Thakur, under transfer as the registrar, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur, has now been posted as the SDM, Kangra. He will also hold the addition charge of land acquisition officer, PWD Kangra.

Ashwani Raj, SDM, Pandoh, as been named the SDM, Theog, while Reema Kashyap, land acquisition officer, HPSEB, Mandi, has been made the RTO, Solan. Sumit Khimta, SDM Nahan, with now be the SDM, Ghumarwin.

Bilaspur, February 23
Randhir Sharma, BJP state spokesman and Kot Kehloor MLA, has ridiculed Thakur’s statement regarding alleged disappointing performance of the Dhumal government in the past two months of its installation.

Addressing mediapersons at the circuit house here today and replying to every point raised by former forest minister, the BJP leader said it was not Dhumal, who was misusing the state government’s helicopter but it was actually former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who had setup a record in misuse of this government facility and had spent crores of rupees on it. This money could have been well saved for the poor.

Sharma said the recent use of helicopter by Dhumal was for meeting the common mass and listening to their problems and grievances and solving those difficulties on the spot.

Sharma said the contention of Thakur that Dhumal government had done nothing in the past two months only proves that former forest minister had stopped remaining in touch with the happenings.

The BJP spokesman said within less than 60 days of this government, it had taken more than 60 decisions, most of which had provided relief to almost every family of the state and a large section of society.

Kangra, February 23
The Himachal Pradesh Educational Consultant Forum today demanded that criminal proceedings should be initiated against former director of education Anita Rao, who was allegedly dancing to the tunes of the political bosses of the previous government headed by Virbhadra Singh and destroyed the educational fabric by appointing 15,000 PTAs in the state.

Dr R.D. Sharma, president Himachal Pradesh Educational Consultant Forum and former deputy director of Education, disclosed this here today.

He said by the appointment of the PTAs the educational standard in the state has deteriorated and needs an immediate attention of the government. He said it was the responsibility of the then director of education to suggest to the government the implications of the appointment of the PTAs, which she allegedly failed to do.

The forum suggested that a uniform policy for regularisation should be framed by the government applicable to all departments without resorting to ‘pick and choose’ method.

The forum, however, lauded the decision of the Dhumal government to keep one minister available at Dharamsala to listen to the grievances of the people in future.

The forum demanded that law-enforcing agencies should check the activities of the anti social elements in view of their spreading wings, particularly in Kangra, so that the state was saved from getting a bad name.

Sundernagar, February 23
Minister for horticulture and technical education Narinder Bragta today paid a surprise visit at the boys’ hostel of Sundernagar Engineering College, technical directorate and premises of the college where construction work was going on.

According to information, the minister was on way to Shimla from Dharmasala and suddenly inspected rooms and toilets of the boys’ hostel of the engineering college. Later, he talked with the inmates of the hostel separately.

The minister was not satisfied with the cleanliness and state of affairs in the hostel and expressed his displeasure over it. He warned the authorities to provide basic facilities to the students.

The minister also inspected the premises of the college where the construction work was going on and directed the authorities to complete it by June.

While talking to mediapersons, he said now it is the time of technical education and the government is promoting it by starting job-oriented courses. He said soon nine Industrial Training Institutes would be upgraded (including four for women).

He also interacted with the staff and invited suggestion for better promotion of technical education in the state.

Dharamsala, February 23
One-day workshop on agricultural plans was organised in the state agriculture university at Palampur today.

Dr P.C. Kapoor, principal secretary of the Agriculture and Horticulture Department, while presiding over the workshop stressed upon the need to accelerate farm growth in the state, as there was an urgent need to expand and strengthen the irrigation facilities.

He asked all departments, universities and institutions concerned with agriculture to work collectively for the socio-economic development of the farming community in the state.

He said the 11th five-year plan had set a target of four per cent growth for agriculture sector and nine per cent for the overall economy. To accomplish this rate of growth, the Union government had set targets to extend benefits to the most vulnerable sections of society.

Dr. Kapoor said a number of initiatives had been taken to revive growth in agriculture sector by the Union government.

Shimla, February 23
Cases of political victimisation registered against teachers, employees and students during the Congress regime would be reviewed by the executive council of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). The council is likely to place the facts before the members in 15 days.

The council met here today. It was its first meeting after the BJP came to power in the state. As expected, the issue of political victimisation was raised by newly inducted member and former Rajya Sabha member Kripal Parmar. He said the termination of four persons on the basis of the Kaul Committee recommendations without giving them a personal hearing was against the doctrine of natural justice.

He said similar cases in which five employees had been chargesheeted by the council were also clear-cut cases of political vendetta. “So there is a need to place all relevant documents before the council, which should take a fresh look at all such cases. This should be done in 15 days so that it can be examined if the due procedure was adopted while ordering their termination and chargesheet,” he demanded.

Parmar also raised the issue concerning expulsion of some students. He said an academic institution should not be made a penalizing institution and expelling students was not the right approach to bring the student community on the right track. He said students should not be forced to move court on such issues.

Vice-chancellor D.R. Anil Wilson raised the issue of speeding up the decision-making process. It was decided that an expert committee be constituted to suggest measures to bring in better mobility and promptness in the process.

Among other decisions taken by the council was the promotion of 15 readers as professors and three lecturers as readers. The report of the recruitment and promotion committee for non-teaching employees was also placed before the council along with its recommendations on the review of earlier promotions while new promotions were duly approved.

The council also approved the amendment in the promotion and recruitment rules concerning raftsmen. It also decided to frame rules and regulations to ensure that the private colleges fulfilled and adhered to affiliation requirements.