Shimla, June 1
Criticizing the steep hike in power tariff, the Congress said today that the government should come out with a subsidy for domestic consumers as the common man was feeling burdened.

Congress legislature party (CLP) leader and former power minister Vidya Stokes said that the people were agitated over the manner in which the government had made the hike in power tariff. "Surprisingly, a very nominal increase has been made for the industrial sector despite the fact it is already enjoying many concessions and incentives," she remarked.

She said the Congress regime had made a provision for a Rs 130-crore subsidy for domestic consumers. "The BJP regime is trying to burden the people indirectly and claiming that it has not imposed any taxes and presented a tax-free budget," she said.

She said there was a lot of resentment among the people over the hike in power tariff. "In case the BJP does not come out with a subsidy package, the Congress will have no option but to oppose the move," she said. She said the BJP regime had come to power with a lot of fanfare and the people had a lot of expectations from them.

Stokes added the government should have passed on a greater burden on the industrial sector as it was being provided with quality uninterrupted power supply.

Expressing concern over the recent violence in the Himachal Pradesh University campus, she demanded stern steps should be taken to ensure that there is peace and the academic atmosphere is not vitiated.

The CLP leader said it was strange that whenever the BJP came to power the HPU witnessed a lot of violence. "The government should take all measures to bring about normalcy on the campus so that students who are not affiliated to any political outfits do not suffer," she said.

Shimla, June 1
SHO Amar Singh, under suspension for the use of force against ABVP activists, was today booked for trespass, damage to public property and causing injury in connection with the lathi charge in the HPU boys’ hostel.

A case was registered at the Boileauganj police station under sections 323,452, 147 and 148, IPC, and section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act on the basis of the findings of the magisterial inquiry ordered into the incidents by the deputy commissioner. SDM Gian Negi, who conducted the injury, concluded that the SHO had used indiscriminate force without the permission of senior officers. The samples of the SHO’s blood and urine were found to have presence of alcohol.

Superintendent of police R.M.Sharma said that the case would be investigated by additional superintendent of police Jaipal.

The incident took place when some students allegedly pelted stones on a police party and attacked and injured a policeman with a screw driver while search was being conducted in the hostels for weapons and other such material. It found about a 12 bags filled with stones, khukris, swords, iron rods and sticks.

ABVP activists protested against the search which led to a scuffle with the policemen, making the police resort to a lathi charge in which over 10 students sustained minor injuries. The ABVP blamed the police for the incident and alleged that the SHO was under the influence of liquor. The inmates were dragged out of their rooms and beaten up.

As the incident acquired political overtones, the government suspended the SHO and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

The SFI had condemned the government action and alleged that the university authorities and the district administration were acting as the RSS and BJP agents. With the government deciding to proceed against the SHO, the police would find it increasingly difficult to maintain law and order.

Shimla, June 1
The police has asked the university authorities to ensure strict implementation of the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee report and the high court directives so that miscreants in the garb of students cannot vitiate the academic atmosphere on the campus.

DIG (south) Pradeep Kumar on Friday shot a letter to vice-chancellor Prof Sunil Kumar Gupta asking him to ensure that these directives were implemented, failing which it would amount to contempt of the court.

The police has asked the university authorities to appoint a nodal officer or, in his absence, a senior officer to ensure that these recommendations are properly implemented.

Had the university authorities taken precautionary measures to ensure that miscreants did not enter the university and the hostels in an unauthorised manner, the incident of May 28 could have been avoided, the DIG has said. He has also regretted that despite repeated requests by the police, no action has been taken against students, who have been repeatedly involved in acts of violence and clashes, leading to lawlessness on the campus in the past.

The police has observed that the university authorities have not bothered to implement the Lyngdoh report where it has been pointed out that no dharna, gherao, gate meeting or pasting of posters is allowed within 200-m radius of the campus.

The vice-chancellor said the letter written by the DIG about the Lyngdoh report and the high court directives had been given to dean, students’ welfare, and the chief warden. “No violation of law will be allowed as this not only amounts to contempt of the court but also vitiates the academic atmosphere,” he said.

He said videography of all such incidents would be done so that action could be taken against the guilty. He said corrective measures would be taken and checking of hostels would be ensured on regular basis.

The police has pointed out that miscreants are staying illegally in the hostels in the garb of students and intimidating students for their vested interest. The university authorities have been asked to intimate the SCA and all student organisations about the strict implementation of the Lyngdoh committee report and the high court directives.

The police has also suggested that the university must have some kind of system at the access of the campus as well as the hostels to check against entry of outsiders and miscreants who spell trouble. The Security Officer has been asked to prepare a list of students who are defaulters and have indulged in acts of violence time and again.

Mandi, June 1
Transport minister Kishan Kapur said the government has expedited efforts for the diversion of forest land for the construction of new bus stand in the town with the ministry of environment and forests and would build it either on boot basis or by its own agency.

Inspecting the old bus sand after presiding over the ITI sports meet for women here today, Kapur said the government could not invite tenders as long as clearance did not came from the ministry. But the government had sped up efforts and would build bus stand either on boot basis or by the government agency, he added responding to queries.

The minister also summoned the records of the bus stand and pulled up the bus stand in charge for not maintaining the register properly. He got the first hand knowledge of pathetic condition of the bus stand and instructed the department to maintain it properly.

Kapur said irregularities committed in appointment of bus conductors and in purchase of new buses by former transport minister G.S. Bali would be probed and guilty would be punished under the law. Earlier, he addressed a gathering on conclusion of the ITI sports meet and gave away the prizes to winners.

He also said the government was hunting for land to build three satellite towns, one each in Mandi, Shimla and Dharamsala to decongest these towns in the state.

Kapur said these three satellite towns would be developed in the peripheries of Mandi along Sakoh side and in Shimla and Dharamsala. The idea is to accommodate the expanding population in these over congested towns, he added.

He said the government has started the process to identify the land for development of these towns. Moreover, satellite towns would decongest Shimla, Mandi and Dharamsala, he added.

Shimla, June 1
Having persuaded the Centre to grant an extension of three months for the state electricity board to continue as an “unbundled entity”, the State Power Engineers Association will soon propose a new model before the Union Ministry of Power for achieving the objectives of the Electricity Act, 2003, through internal restructuring.

General secretary of the association Suneel Grover asserted that there was no legal obligation on any state government to create separate generation, transmission and distribution companies. As per the law the state utility could not be trifurcated without the consent of the state. Even in the MoU signed by the state with the Centre regarding reforms in the power sector there was no clause mandating corporatisation or privatisation of the board. The association was not against reforms but it maintained that these could be carried out effectively without unbundling of the board and it had been able to convince Union Power Minister Sushil Shinde about it.

He said the matter was now being pursued by the state government and Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal would meet Shinde at New Delhi on June 3 in this regard. It would be followed up by an officers-level meeting on June 5 during which a concept paper on the proposed model would be presented. The detailed plan for restructuring and reforms without unbundling would be presented in due course. The Centre should leave it to the state government whether or not to unbundle the board and focus on reforms.

Under the new scheme of things the board would be a distribution licensee and also the state transmission utility that would also own the generation assets. There would be a separate entity under the direct control of the government to take care of sale and purchase of power with outside agencies.

Grover said the goal was not “unbundling” but improving efficiency, economy, enhancement of power generation and ensuring a competitive environment which could be better achieved through vertically integrated structure. 

Naggar (Kullu), June 1
The Special Area Development Authority (SADA) constituted to promote Naggar as a heritage village has yet to appoint an architect, leave alone operating an office from here.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and the UNDP sponsored a tourism development project here in 2003 to involve villagers as stakeholders in tourism, selecting 36 sites in Naggar-1, Naggar-II, Chanalti, Jok and Baman Kothi under this heritage village project phase-1.

However, there is not even a single architect to monitor the progress. The authority has not held even a single meeting for the past one year, although it is mandatory to hold at least two meetings of the Village Development Committee (VDC) under the project every month.

The result: Little development. Tourists face potholes and craters on the Manali-Naggar highway. Even the link road from lower town to Naggar Castle and International Roerich Art Gallery is in bad shape. Drains open out on street paths emitting stench.

The villagers said SADA has complicated problems for them as they could not build even a cowshed.

Rich hoteliers and the International Roerich Memorial Trust (IRMT), which looks after the International Roerich Art gallery, are engaged in a blame game, accusing one another of promoting their own “commercial interest” at the cost of heritage.

Local hoteliers say they have developed their property long before the village was declared as a heritage village. Even the IRMT has constructed a commercial complex and runs a restaurant within 100 m of the gallery, shunting out village vendors.

On the other hand, IRMT executive director Alena Adamkova said, “We wrote to the government to promote the real heritage spirit, but government is interested more in allotting wine shops, hotels and commercial centres.”

President of the Naggar gram panchayat Janki Thakur said the villagers opposed the way the SADA was functioning from Kullu. “Poor 60 families at Chanalti village have got nothing from the project, except a public toilet.”

She added, “An amount of Rs 8 lakh has been spent on the renovation of Gol sarai, Rs 3 lakh on the renovation of Tripur Sundri temple and Rs 6 lakh on amphitheatre, but they all remain incomplete because of paucity of funds. Dumping sites, solar lights and public toilets are yet to be constructed as there has been no meeting of SADA for the past one year,” she added.

She said the panchayat had demanded 5 per cent contribution from Naggar Castle manned by the HPTDC and the IRMT for village development, but to no avail.

Kullu DC-cum-chairman of SADA M. Sudha Devi said, “It has been decided to hold a meeting of SADA at Naggar itself shortly to take stock of the heritage project. We will invite all stakeholders and ask them about their problems.”

Palampur, June 1
The government has ordered a high-level probe into the allotment of big tenders in the PWD and the IPH Department in the past five years. The intelligence agencies have been asked to look into the allotment of single tenders allotted to some influential contractors which had caused a loss of crores of rupees to the state exchequer.

Official sources told The Tribune here today that the government had also called for the records from three chief engineers pertaining to the upgradation of classes of contractors. The government had received complaints that a few contractors had submitted fake documents for their enlistment in the PWD and IPH Department for the allotment of “A” Class works. Besides, a contractor could not be allotted more than two tenders in a year but in many cases this condition was violated by PWD and IPH officials on the recommendations of ministers and MLAs.

The government had also directed all three chief engineers to curb the pooling of tenders and encourage a healthy competition so that quality of works could be maintained and the loss to the state exchequer checked.

The heads of the IPH Department and the PWD had also been directed to monitor the allotment of big tenders personally.

The government had received omplaints against certain PWD and IPH officials for amassing huge wealth in the past five years. The BJP had named a few such officers in its chargesheet submitted to Governor V.S Kokje last year. Such complaints were being handed over to the Vigilance Bureau for further investigation. 

Dharamsala, June 1
The three-day conference, for delivering holistic response to climate change concluded at Palampur today. During the conference that was organised under the aegis of Madhav Mehra, president of world council for corporate governance, UK, experts from industry, institutions and government sector exchanged views on maintaining economic growth and preserving environment.

Experts, including, Lt Gen (retd) J.S. Ahluwalia, lamented the fact that climate change can be seen as violation of human rights or world poor and future generations. In a period ranging from 2000 to 2004, 98 per cent of people affected by climate disasters were from developing countries. The PROACTIVATE model presented in the third conference can help tackle the problem if adopted by governments and corporate world.

M.J. Cadbury in his paper presented the approach of world leaders to global issues is ‘all or nothing’. Elaborating the issue, he said that world has 42 giga tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The biggest source of emissions is electricity generation and road transport. The emphasis is on reducing energy related emissions. However, there are also very significant missions from non-energy related activity as deforestation and agriculture. The issue can be addressed on individual basis by countries.

Pradeep Chaturvedi, vice-chairman of world environment foundation, presented his views on business strategies for climatic change. He said carbon emissions have grown at roughly half the pace of the GDP. To reach the levels deemed safe by world scientific community, they must decline by 5 per cent in a year. Achieving this without constraining economic growth would require fundamental shift in attitudes towards energy efficiency. The countries would have to look for drastic de-carbonisation of energy, heavy industry, agriculture and transport sectors and protect rain forests especially those near oceans.

Presently a survey conducted has revealed that one third of executives feel that their companies seldom or never consider climate change when developing over strategy.

John D. Daneils from University of Maimi, USA, stressed on having certain contingency plans to counter the climatic change. He said presently much concentration is on preventive measures, however, it would be bad if certain contingency plans were in place.

Various other experts presented their views on using agro-forestry as alternative, promotion of environmental awareness in Indian industry and role of biogas generation and communication technologies for rural energy during the conference.

Shimla, June 1
The state electricity regulatory commission has advised the government to explore the possibility of engaging distribution franchisees (DF) in the license area of the state power utility enhance customer service and increase operational efficiency of distribution functions.

With the board failing to carry out most of its directions issues to help improve its functioning and the government dithering over the issue of “unbundling” the commission has come out with an alternative to remedy the ills plaguing the power sector. The DF could be engaged in areas where transmission and distribution losses are above the state’s average and collection efficiency is poor. Owing to its smaller size, a DF is directly accountable to the customers for efficiency and supply quality. It can certainly reduce distribution losses and improve collection efficiency in circles where the losses exceed 30 per cent.

The commission has also underlined the need for harmonising the State Hydro Policy with the National Hydro Policy (2008). Further, the government should go for tariff based bidding for assigning projects where the entire power is to be procured by the board and free power based bidding (higher than the minimum 12 per cent), besides settling for allocation of higher share of free power during winter months. It has also called for constitution of an Independent Monitoring Committee to oversee the hydel projects being set up by independent power producers and simplification of procedures for clearance of the projects through single window system.

Expressing concern over the failure of unbundled entity to start the actual construction work of transmission infrastructure in the state in spite of two years of persuasion, the commission has suggested the public-private partnership mode for carrying out the job to ensure congruity between creation of capacity in both generation and transmission activity. It also observed that decision to set up Himachal Power Corporation in the state was not based on any cogent thinking. However, since it had come into being, the government should consider transferring all generation components from the board to it. Simultaneously, the asset values of these entities be passed on to the board so that its investment needs in distribution and transmission business were taken care of. The government should also ensure that the newly set up directorate of power was fully manned as expeditiously as possible.

The commission has disapproved the promotion policy being followed by the board which only served the interests of individuals and enabled retiring personnel to get posted in top positions even though they had spent just two to three months at the exit levels. Its overall impact on the organisation was extremely negative and unless the board developed a system wherein adequate tenure for a pro-active work function was built-in, it could lead to large-scale distortion in decision-making processes.

Mandi, June 1
Villagers in Mamel panchayat in Karsog block are up in arms against an influential contractor, K.L. Gupta, accusing him of using his “money power” for extracting stone and other minerals illegally from the compound of the Senior Secondary School, Mamel, with impunity under the nose of local administration for the last one week.

Local administration claimed that an FIR has been lodged against the contractor, but over 39 villagers led by Mamel Gram Panchayat pardhan Kali Chouhan rued that the authority has yet to book the contractor and impound his tractors and JVB used in the illegal work.

In a signed statement along with the complaint released to media here recently, Kali Chouhan alleged that the contractor had no permission for mining at the compound of the school, but he had been extracting minerals from there without fear as he enjoyed a political patronage.

“We have made complaint to the SDO and the police on May 25, but no action has been initiated against him,” the villagers rued, demanding stern action against him as he was also issuing threats to the pardhan on phone.

Though the contractor had denied the charges, but the villagers alleged that he was using two tractors (HP30-9306 and HP-30-9316) for ferrying minerals from the school compound to his site. “But the police have yet to impound the tractors used in this illegal work,” they added.

The villagers said the contractor had extracted minerals and have damaged trees on school compound, raising menace of dust for schoolchildren. Principal of the school Baldev Sharma when questioned ignored the complaint. Even the police did not act despite repeated reminders as the contractor was looting the school mineral property with impunity, they alleged.

SDO Civil, Karsog, Vijay Kumar said he inspected the spot and it was found that the contractor had no permission for mining from the PWD or other authority. The work had been stopped and action would be taken against him as per law an FIR has been lodged in the case, he added.

Sundernagar-Karsog DSP Gurdev Sharma said the police has lodged an FIR against the contractor and he is not aware about the threats to the pardhan. The police is investigating the case, he claimed.