The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Himachal Pradesh Edition

Prabha Rau sworn in as Governor
Tribune News Service

Prabha Rau inspects the Guard of Honour after the oath-taking ceremony. Tribune photo by S. Chandan

Shimla, July 19
Prabha Rau, senior Congress leader from Maharashtra, became the third woman Governor of Himachal Pradesh after she was administered oath at the Raj Bhawan here today.

Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Jagdish Bhalla administered the oath of office to Rau. Chief secretary Asha Swaroop read out the warrant of appointment issued by the President of India.

Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, ministers, Gulab Singh Thakur and J.P. Nadda, leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes, former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, MP Mabel Rebello, state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur and HPCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur were present at the oath-taking ceremony.

Rau was born on March 4, 1935, in a family of freedom fighters and social reformers of Rohini village in Wardha district in Maharashtra.

She has been a minister in the Maharashtra government on four occasions. She also represented the Wardha parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha.

Being a senior Congress leader, she has remained a member of the Congress Working Committee and the Central Election Committee besides being the AICC general secretary.

She was the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief in 1984 and now again, since 2004, she had been holding the post till she was appointed Governor of Himachal.

North Indians’ security in M’rashtra
Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 19
Governor Prabha Rau has said that she will write to the Maharashtra Government to ensure safety of all north Indians, including Himachalis, living in Mumbai and other parts of the state.

Addressing mediapersons after assuming the office here today, she said she was concerned about the safety of north Indians as there were reports that they were being harassed in Maharashtra. She would take up the issue with the Maharashtra Government, she said.

Cops to don new look from Aug 15
Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 19
The state police will have a completely new look from August 15 as the police personnel will be seen adorning a blue uniform from that day.

This was stated by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal while presiding over a state-level police welfare meeting here today. He said the process for recruiting 1,523 constables had been completed and their training would be started at five different places shortly.

He said the government would consider providing police security on demand to power projects. “This will be done to ensure that there is no law and order problem and the state remains peaceful. However, the expenditure in this regard will be borne by the company executing the project,” he said.

“Himachal is the first state to have its own police Act and the department will be fully computerised within a month,” he said. He said the department had separate wings for the maintenance of law and order and conducting investigations. This was a commitment made by the government, he added.

He said the police stations at Dhalli, Una and Mandi had been given ISO 9001:2000 certification. “International-level facilities have been made available at these police stations to deal with crime, law and order and other policing activities,” he said.

Dhumal said the government had decided to create a separate police district for the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area so that the district authorities could be relieved from extra workload. “The police budget has been enhanced by 23 per cent for the current financial year to strengthen the infrastructure for providing better services,” he added.

He said a special drive should be launched to check drug mafia as youths, especially college students, were falling prey to drugs. He also stressed the need to implement the community policing scheme more effectively so that common man has faith in the police and the system.

DGP Ashwini Kumar assured that transparency would be maintained in police services.

Conductors’ Recruitment
Bali likely to get clean chit
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 19
Former transport minister G.S. Bali is likely to get a clean chit in the case of alleged irregularities in the recruitment of conductors. Action would be taken against only those who had got the job in violations of the norms, sources said.

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has completed the inquiry into the alleged irregularities in recruitment of 378 conductors during the previous Congress regime and submitted its report to the government. No evidence had been found against Bali, but appointment of some of the candidates could be questioned and cancelled, sources said.

The bureau has reportedly pointed out that proper examination procedure was not followed while making recruitments. Moreover, there had been certain other shortcomings, too. It is on the basis of this report that an action would be initiated against those found to be erring in the selection of conductors appointed on contract basis in the Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC).

The issue of irregularities in the recruitment of conductors had featured in the chargesheet handed over to the Governor by the BJP while being in the opposition. This was one of the main allegations against the then transport minister G.S. Bali.

The BJP had alleged that about 90 persons had been selected from Nagrota Bagwan, the constituency represented by Bali, and about 40 from Rohru, the segment of Virbhadra Singh. The BJP had alleged that due to shortcomings in the selection procedure and political interference, deserving candidates could not been selected.

It was in May that the Vigilance Bureau had started an inquiry into the case on the basis of the BJP chargesheet. The bureau had sought complete record of the past five years from the managing director, the chief general manager and the administrative officer of the HRTC regarding these recruitments.

Implement Shetty panel report: SC
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 19
The Supreme Court has ordered the state governments to implement the recommendations of the Shetty Commission for staff members working in the subordinate courts. This would mean more perks for staff of subordinate courts in Himachal also.

In a judgment delivered the Supreme Court has ordered the states and the union territories to implement the Shetty Commission recommendations with effect from April 1,2003. The state governments had pleaded that they would have to incur heavy financial burden if the recommendations were implemented.

The states have been directed to decide over the matter within three months. The registrar generals of the high courts have been directed to hold discussions with the state governments and the union territories with regard to the implementation of the Shetty Commission recommendations.

As per the recommendations of the commission superintendent grade-1 post in the subordinate courts would now be re-designated as chief administrative officer. Its pay scale would be revised to Rs 7880-11660 from Rs 7220 earlier. The post of superintendent grade-II in the courts of additional district and sessions judge and civil judge senior division would be re-designated as Sheritedar and its pay scale revised to Rs 7000-10980 from Rs 6400-10640.

The pay scale of reader grade-I in the court of district and sessions judge and additional district and sessions judge would be revised to Rs 7000-10980 from Rs 6400-10640. In case of reader grade-II in the court of civil judge senior division pay scales would be revised to Rs 6400-10640 from Rs 5800 -7200. In case of stenotypists pay scales would be revised to Rs 4200-6200 from Rs 3000-5200. All other categories of subordinate employees in the courts would get one extra increment.

Army cycling expedition reaches Yol
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 19
Troops of the Rising Star Corps carrying out cycling expedition from Ratnuchak to Leh reached Yol cantonment today afternoon. The cycling expedition team comprises of 12 cyclists under the stewardship of Lt Vinod Singh of the Sabre Brigade. The expedition was flagged off on 15 July.

The Army spokesperson here said cyclists covered a distance of 860 km passing through arduous and challenging route of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. As per the planned schedule, the team reached Samba and halted their on the first day. It started from Pathankot covering a distance of 70 km on 16 July. The team cycled to Kotla on 17 July for the next halt. They camped at Kotla and on July 18 despite heavy rains the team again started the journey covering themselves in ponchos.

The “red alert team” as they call themselves reached Yol cantonment wearing their red coloured kit and were given a warm welcome by Lt Gen Vinay Sharma, GOC Rising Star Corps. After covering a stretch of 200 km the team will halt here for two days. The team will be flagged off by Lt Gen Vinay Sharma on 20 July.

The aim of this expedition is to imbibe the spirit of adventure, camaraderie, leadership and team spirit among them which are intrinsic to an army man. The cycling expedition will also serve as a medium to spread goodwill and general awareness among the people regarding issues like environmental protection.

Don’t litter, you may be fined
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 19
Tourists and local residents in the state might be penalised for littering.

The state government is contemplating a law to fine those who drop litter at public places. Minister for urban development and transport Kishan Kapoor said this while talking to newsmen here yesterday.

He, however, failed to specify as to who would be the penalising agency and what offences would fall in the parameter of the new law. The minister said the litter at public places was a burgeoning problem and was scaring the beauty of tourist places.

For implementing the law, the state has to provide adequate dustbins and solid waste collection facilities to the public. Dustbins are rarely available in the state.

At McLoedganj, Bhagsunag and Dharamrot, the three most buzzing tourist places, there is hardly any dustbin.

Some dustbins are placed by the local council at Dharamsala, but their clearance is delayed. The dustbins in localities are filled up to the brim.

Recently, the government had implemented a scheme under the aegis of the union government to keep the local areas clean. Under the scheme, the mohalla committees were to employee sweepers and the government was to pay to them. However, the scheme was not effective.

RTI Act brings relief to commuters
Kuldeep Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Balichowki, July 19
The RTI Act has turned out to be a blessing for the villagers commuting from Kullu to Sudhrani in Mandi and between Balichowki to Sudhrani nala. The RTI exposed that commuters were paying two rupees more as the PWD and the HRTC have calculated the Kullu-Sudhrani distance three km more than the actual.

The “distance blunder” was exposed by RTI activists Lawan Thakur and Sant Ram, president, rural workers association after 13 years.

RTI activists said they suspected that the HRTC was charging extra for the journey between Balichowki and Sudhrani. “We found a difference of four km on information given by the HRTC and the PWD. At this we sought clarification from the HRTC,” they added.

But the HRTC managers kept the blunder under wraps and started charging Rs 2 less from the passengers travelling from Kullu to Sudhrani.

Lawan Thakur said they sought the help of the RTI Act in October. On the other hand villagers demanded that the HRTC should be punished and extra money charged from passengers should be compensated on the basis of tickets sold on these route all these years.

Regional manager HRTC, DK Narang, Kullu, said, “We found that actual distance between Kullu and Sudrani is 61 km not 64 km calculated earlier. One km extra distance resulted due to the fact that bus earlier used to go via Balichowki bazaar. All route distances between Balichowki, Naun, Puajlaidhar, Khaneti, Sudhrani or Sudhrani nala have been rectified by the committee set up for the purpose”, he added.

Narang said the HRTC buses were charging Rs 57 for Kullu-Sudhrani instead of Rs 59 charged earlier.

1 dies while crossing Suketi khud
Our Correspondent

Sundernagar, July 19
Chet Ram (31), a resident of Rara village, Sundernagar, while crossing the Suketi khud got trapped in the flow of silt yesterday and later his body was recovered at Lassi Ka Padhar near Soyra village of Balh valley today.

As per the information the deceased along with his two nephews was going home from Kanaid to Rara, as the existing bridges have been removed by the BBMB, so all of them were crossing the Suketi khud at Maglah.

The police recorded the report under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code and handed the body to the relatives after the postmortem.

Due to the desilting operation conducted by the BBMB, the Suketi khud got polluted as the BBMB dumped silt into the Suketi khud for two months. The residents of Balh valley faced various problems while crossing the khud as the BBMB removed the bridges from various spots which were being used by the local residents to cross the Suketi khud, so in the absence of these bridges local residents have to cross the Suketi khud and sometimes they got trapped in the silt and lose their lives.

Thousand of residents have been raising their demand to provide permanent bridges in Balh valley.

Villagers suffer thirst pangs
Our Correspondent

Kangra, July 19
Residents of lower Ladoh village near Panchrukhi have been moving from pillar to post for the past one and a half years to get the drinking water connection in the village. They had deposited Rs 33,000 under the Swajal Dhara scheme in January, 2007 for the same, but nothing was done till now.

In a letter to IPH minister Ravinder Singh Ravi, Karam Singh Tahkur, former village pradan, said 20 families of the village had applied for the water connection in January 2007 and completed the required formalities.

Thakur said the villagers had deposited Rs 33,000 through the State Bank of India for the purpose, but nothing was done till date.

He said now it came to their notice that the Swajal Dhara scheme was closed and the villagers were left in the lurch. He alleged that there was no communication from any authority till date.

Villagers said a water pump should be installed in the village to save them from the water crisis. The letter, signed by 20 families of the village, was also unattended till date.

Cong leader criticises BJP govt
Our Correspondent

Bilaspur, July 19
Prominent Congress party leader and former forest minister Ramlal Thakur has criticised the failure of the BJP government in getting the needful done for the wildlife sanctuaries rehabilitated areas and villages as villagers living their are facing incalculable difficulties.

Addressing mediapersons here last evening , Thakur, said as forest minister he had completed all the formalities to take these areas out of the sanctuaries and even a team from the Supreme Court had visited as it was decided that the government should ensure the areas which were taken out must be compensated by bringing double areas into the sanctuaries.

Thakur also criticised the sanction of two induction furnace industries which the Dhumal government had sanctioned in Sirmaur district.

HC Bar criticises SAT scrapping
Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 19
The Bar Association of the Himachal Pradesh High Court yesterday urged the government to review its decision of scrapping the State Administrative Tribunal, as it was arbitrary, unfair and against the interest of the employees.

The executive committee of the association held an emergency meeting here to discuss the government’s move of scrapping the tribunal.

“The government must review its decision as it worked against the interest of the subjects,” said the association’s president.

He said under the Constitution of India, the state government was bound to provide justice to all subjects. But by scrapping the tribunal, the government was denying the means of justice to all. He added that the litigants, particularly employees, whose cases were pending, would be the major sufferers.

He said rather than scrapping the tribunal, the government should have strengthened it as it had been in existence for more than 20 years.

Unity my priority: DCC chief
Tribune News Service

Hamirpur, July 19
Newly appointed working president of the Hamirpur District Congress Committee (DCC) Sunil Sharma (Bittoo) addressed the media here today to authenticate unanimity on his appointment.

When he was appointed, a section of the committee had opposed the decision.

He said his priority was to strengthen the party. He would tour all blocks from 20 to 24 July to mobilise people for the party programme that was to be organised on July 26 on the visit of PCC president Kaul Singh Thakur to Hamirpur.

Youth Cong plans 10-day ‘padyatra’
Our Correspondent

Kangra, July 19
The Youth Congress in order to infuse strength among its party cadre has decided to take a 10 day “padyatra” from Chamba to Kangra from August 5-15 which would conclude with a public meeting on August 15.

Manmohan Katoch state president of the Youth Congress said yesterday that a senior Youth Congress leader would inaugurate the padyatra. He said senior Congress leaders and state functionaries would also participate in the padyatra. He said the dream of strengthening the youth of the country cherished by former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi was a goal to be realised by the youth of the state.

Kaul revokes leaders’ suspension
Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 19
Among one of his first decisions, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh Thakur today revoked the suspension of some of the party leaders from Kullu district.

The leaders whose suspension has been revoked include Ses Ram, Sumer Nath Awasthi and Budh Ram Sharma from Kullu and Ghanshyam from Anni Block.

Toilets in schools
Our Correspondent

Kullu, July 19
All schools would have toilets in the district and the Education Department Administration has been directed to keep the toilets open during the school hours. M Sudha Devi, deputy commissioner, here while addressing a meeting with regard to the “total sanitation campaign” workshop said the district would be made “open defecation free” and it was necessary to provide toilets in the community centres, schools and aanganwaries.