Shimla, November 11
A final decision regarding cancellation of the twin mega hydroelectric projects allotted to the Brakel Corporation will take some more time with the government granting an opportunity to the company to present its case before the committee, headed by the chief secretary, set up for the purpose. As such the matter will not be put up before the Cabinet tomorrow.

According to sources, representative of the company will appear before the committee on November 15 and respond to various issues raised in the show-cause notice served on it for the cancellation of the Jangi-Thopan and Thopan-Powari projects. The company will also submit some documents to the government before the meeting regarding which doubts were raised.

Simultaneously, the matter was being examined by the Law Department, which has after a few rounds of discussion sought some more information from the Power Department. The government will take a final view only after receiving recommendations of the committee and the advice of the Law Department.

The Power Department had proposed cancellation of the allotment to the company on the grounds that it had misrepresented facts and given wrong information regarding its financial status. The Cabinet deliberated on the matter in its last meeting and deferred a decision. It constituted a committee headed by the chief secretary and having principal secretaries of finance, power, industries and law as members. The committee will hear the representatives of the company in person before giving its opinion.

Brakel had secured the two projects by offering highest upfront premium in the first ever global bids invited by the state for allotting hydroelectric project in 2006. The BJP, which came to power subsequently, issued cancellation notice to the company in January 2008, maintaining that the previous Congress government had allotted the projects without a proper evaluation of the technical and financial capability of the company, which had misrepresented facts.

However, in April it accepted the reply and also accepted the upfront premium along with interest and decided to allot the projects after amending some conditions. Thereafter, a second notice was served on the company which gave a detailed reply to it and also sought personal hearing to clear doubts regarding certain issues.

Shimla, November 11
In order to ensure that there are professional driving schools in the state, the government has started the process of identification of land to be given to Tata and Ashok Leyland, who have agreed to set up national-level institutes in the hill state.

Transport minister, Kishan Kappor said here today that the two automobile giants had agreed in principle to set up their world class training schools in the state. “I will shortly visit the driving schools being run by them in other states so that we too can have professionally trained drivers, especially for the passenger heavy vehicles,” he said.

He said though land was scarce in the state as a large area was required for setting up driving schools having their own tracks but seeing the need for good driving schools, the district authorities were in the process of identifying suitable land which would be handed over to Tata and Ashok Leyland so that they can come up with their driving schools at the earliest.

At present the governemnt has three driving schools of its own at Jassur in Kangra, Mandi and Dharamsala. Besides this there is only one private training school for heavy passenger vehicles at Sundernagar. The Industrial Training Institute at Una too provides training to its students in driving heavy passenger vehicles. The drivers who are engaged by the HRTC are already trained and after their selection they further undergo a 15 days’ refresher course at the transport driving schools.

In case of light vehicles there are eight government run driving schools while in the private sector their number is 104 all over the state.

Eversince the accident near Kufri which claimed 45 lives the transport authorities and the police have stepped up campaign to check rash driving, overloading etc.

Dharamsala, November 11
A national seminar on threat being posed by Bangladeshi immigrants to the security of the country organised at the regional centre of Himachal Pradesh University here today has courted a controversy. A section of students alleged that the regional centre authorities used funds meant for self-financing schemes for holding the seminar.

They alleged the funds for the self-financing schemes should have been used for improving infrastructure of the centre or for organising academic seminars. However, the management used the funds for a political seminar, which was illegal.

The students alleged that windowpanes in their hostels were broken and other infrastructure was also in poor shape. Whenever the authorities were asked for repairs, they took the plea that there were no funds available. However, now they were wasting funds on political seminars, they said.

Director of the regional centre Kuldeep Kumar Agnihotri, however, denied the charges. He said seminar was organised by political science and law departments and funds from the NRI-sponsored quota were used for the purpose. No illegality had been committed in the usage of funds, he said.

Meanwhile, during the seminar, experts discussed the threat being posed by Bangladeshi immigrants to the security of the country.

Chandan Mitra, Rajya Sabha member and editor of the Pioneer, said the intelligence agency of Bangladesh, DGFI, was acting as a branch of the ISI. ULFA militants were also finding safe heaven in Bangladesh. As per rough estimates, there were about 2 crore illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the country.

Sunil Ambekar, a social activist, said about 3,000 new villages had come up in Assam as per the latest census. Most of these villages were occupied by Bangladeshi immigrants. These illegal immigrants were carrying out ethnic cleansing of local tribals from various areas. The recent riots that claimed lives of many locals in north-eastern states were also a part of a conspiracy.

Other experts, including Rajya Sabha member Bal Aptay and HPU vice-chancellor Sunil Gupta stressed the need to take strong steps to check the menace of illegal immigration, especially from Bangladesh.

Dharamsala, November 11
The mock drill carried out by the National Disaster Management Authority in collaboration with the district administration here today brought to the fore many loopholes that can prove costly in case of any natural calamity in the region.

As part of the drill, it was presumed that earthquake hit Tibetan Children Village (TCV) and the Himachal Pradesh School Education Board (HPSEB) buildings. From both places, 45 seriously injured patients were referred to the local zonal hospital.

However, there were just two ward boys at the hospital to carry patients to the intensive-care unit. There were not enough ambulances to tackle the situation. The drill proved that in case of a natural disaster, the hospitals might prove ill-equipped to manage the situation.

Member of the Disaster Management Authority J.K. Sinha said there was enough scope for improvement of facilities in case of disaster management.

Kangra district is in zone 5, the highest-risk area in case of an earthquake. There had been a deadly earthquake in 1905 in which about 80,000 persons were killed.

He said eight trainers would be provided in each citizen security wing of each district to educate people about the ways to tackle the situation during a natural disaster. These trainers would visit even the remotest areas to educate the people about such things.

Deputy commissioner of Kangra K.K. Pant also took part in the exercise. He said all facilities would be provided to government departments to tackle emergency situations in case of natural disasters.

Shimla, November 11
The high court today extended the anticipatory interim bail to Meera Ahluwalia, wife of IAS officer Subhash Ahluwalia who has been booked in a disproportionate assets case, till November 19.

Justice Surinder Singh, while extending the interim bail to Meera Ahluwalia, who is serving as a principal in a government college, directed the police authorities to produce the entire record pertaining to the case before the court on November 19.

During the course of hearing, the counsel for the state sought some time to file a detailed reply in the case. The court allowed the plea and extended the anticipatory bail till then.

Subhash Ahluwalia, who has been in trouble ever since the BJP assumed power, was arrested by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau in connection with a disproportionate assets case. The bureau had claimed that over Rs 1.34 crore deposits had been made in 16 accounts held by Ahluwalia, his wife and two children, which was far more than their known sources of income.

After having remained in police and judicial custody, although he was lodged in hospital all this while, he got relief from the high court as he was granted bail.

Apprehending arrest, his wife Meera also moved to the high court seeking anticipatory bail. Now the matter will come for further hearing on November 19.

Shimla, November 11
After having unsuccessfully taken up the matter with the Delhi governemnt on a number of occasions, Himachal has decided to knock at the doors of the court with regard to charging of 8 per cent commission on the sale of apples in the Azadpur Mandi in the national capital.

The apple growers from Himachal are being fleeced by traders and middlemen who charge 8 per cent extra from the apple growers from the hill state. Majority of the apple growers from Himachal sell their fruit to the traders in the Azadpur Mandi in Delhi and as such crores of rupees are being illegally being charged from the growers.

“Since our pleas have not been heard by the Delhi government we have decided to take the matter to Delhi court so that the injustice being meted out to our growers can be ended,” confirmed Narender Bragta. He said the matter would be legally examined so that legal recourse can be taken to give relief to the growers who have to give huge amounts to the middlemen as commission, which is being charged illegally.

He said even after the horticulture and agriculture ministers from three states of Himachal, Uttrakhand and Jammu and Kashmir took up the matter with the Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit, nothing had been done so far.

The minister said this year about 2.40 crore apple boxes had been transported out of the various apple growing belts of Shimla, Kullu, Sirmaur and Mandi, most of which was sold in Delhi market. With only a small percentage of apple from the higher reaches of Kinnaur left to be sent out, this year too the production figure is likely to touch last year’s production of 2.75 crore boxes, he added.

Bragta said during the tenure of Sahib Singh Verma in 2002 the APMC Act had been amended so that 8 per cent commission was not charged from the apple growers of Himachal. “Even though there is legal provision to charge 6 per cent but during the tenure of the BJP in Delhi, even 6 per cent had not been charged, which gave great relief to the growers,” he said.

In fact the BJP is likely to make the 8 per cent commission an issue in the elections, especially in the apple growing belts of the state. The BJP has been trying to drive home the point that when the BJP governemnt led by Sahib Singh could give relief to growers then why can’t the Congress regime in Delhi follow the same pattern.

Manali, November 11
A 10-day basic paragliding course organised by the Himalayan Institute of Adventure sports and sponsored by the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Himachal Pradesh, started today at Solang valley, 13 km from Manali.

According to Roshan Lal Thakur, managing director of the Himalayan Institute of Adventure Sports, Burua village, the Department of Tourism has selected 20 candidates and the entire expenditure will be born by the state government. The training will offer self-employment opportunities to young candidates.

Paragliding is a relatively new sport, which is fast gaining ground in this hill state. The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation offers free courses to unemployed youth of the state. Many of them later get their own paragliders and operate them in various parts of the state. These courses have helped generate self-employment among the unemployed.

Thakur, a well-trained and experienced paraglider, said the paragliding, which began in the West, is gaining enormous popularity in western Himalayas. He added that this sport, besides being a big draw for tourists and adventure lovers had also been instrumental in boosting tourism and generating employment in the state.

Dharamsala, November 11
How long does it take to complete an 18-km road stretch in a semi-hilly area? The Public Works Department (PWD) has created a record in delaying the construction of the 18-km stretch of the Dehra-Ranital road, a vital link to Kangra valley.

The work for the construction of the road was started three years ago and has not been completed so far. From the Ranital side, about 3-km stretch of road is a carpet of sharp-edged stones that were once laid for laying bitumen on the road. From the Dehra side also, the work is going on at a snail’s pace for the past three years.

Sources said the work was allotted to two contractors. Each contractor was given the work of constructing 9-km stretch of the road. Completing a 9-km road stretch take around six months only. However, the contractors have not been able to complete the work for the past three year and are still enjoying the generosity of the PWD at the cost of public money.

Executive engineer, PWD-Dehra, B.S. Bhardwaj said the work had been delayed as the contractors had fled in between. “We have managed to bring them back. While the work on the Dehra side of road will be completed by November 30, nothing can be said about the other end of the road,” he added.

A penalty of 10 per cent of the project amount has already being levied on erring contractors, he added.

It is, however, strange that the department wants to persist with the same contractors who have failed to complete the work as per the tender agreement. The work could have been easily given to other contractors having adequate infrastructure to complete the project as per terms of the agreement.

Shimla, November 11
Congress legislator from Chopal Subhash Manglet has charged Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal with discrimination against Shimla in the matter of development and victimising employees hailing form the region on political considerations.

In a statement issued here today he said in the blatant regionalism being practised by Dhumal the Shimla Parliamentary constituency had no existence. While employees had been posted to remote distant places, the elected panchayati raj representatives were being subjected to political vendetta and pradhans were being sacked. The schools were mostly without teachers and medical institutions without doctors, particularly in Shimla district, which was being singled out for step motherly treatment. Even the development projects completed during the Congress regime were not being made operational. Many bus routes had been cancelled causing hardships to commuters.

Nurpur, November 11
The state Congress while accusing the BJP government of being anti-people and anti-unemployed youths has appealed to Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal to appoint trained patwaris against vacant posts sanctioned during the previous regime along with 5,000 ASHA health workers.

Addressing a press conference here at the Press Club last night the state Congress general secretary Ajay Mahajan said the previous government had not only given nod to these posts from the state cabinet and Finance Department, but also imparted training to them and now the BJP government after coming to power had shelved these appointments.

He also rued over failure of the Dhumal government to recruit Central Government funded sanctioned post of 5,000 ASHA health workers notwithstanding, the Chief Minister had announced to appoint them after taking reign of the government.

Lambasting the state government for ousting PTA teachers Mahajan demanded regular appointments of teachers being recruited batch wise on contract basis.

He alleged that Dhumal had inaugurated only development works completed during the previous regime and failed to lay even a single foundation stone to kick start work on any project in Nurpur Assembly constituency and added all development activities had come to halt during the present regime.

Mahajan, who is also in-charge of the state Congress trading cell and workers organisation INTUC (Congress frontal organisations), revealed that he was holding an inquiry into the recent constitution of parallel INTUC body in the state, reports of which would be handed over the state Congress chief shortly.

He also informed that he was touring the whole state to strengthen workers’ organisation and constituting Congress trading cells on grassroot level.

Nurpur, November 11
Tributes were paid to martyr and first freedom fighter Wazir Ram Singh Pathania on his martyrdom at his native place Bassa Waziran near here today.

The martyr who laid down his life on November 11, 1849, at the age of 24, while fighting against the British rule had launched tirade against it even 10 years before the first freedom movement of 1849.

Former minister Kewal Singh Pathania whose family is successive generation of the martyr and former Rajya Sabha member Kirpal Parmar paid tributes to the costumes of the martyr. On this occasion schoolchildren presented a programme to commemorate sacrifice of the martyr.

Mandi, November 11
President Sushila Sonkhla and vice-president Yog Raj of the 13-member Mandi Municipal Council were voted out from their posts here today.

A general house meeting of the council was held here to consider a no-confidence motion against them. The meeting was held under the supervision of the chief executive officer-cum-SDM (Sadar).

Eight councillors out of the total 13 members were present at the meeting and they voted in favour of the no-confidence motion against Sonkhla and Yoga Raj. Five councillors abstained from the meeting.

The councillors who voted in favour of the no-confidence motion were H.R. Vaidya, Suman Thakur, Sarita Handa, Anil Kapur, Asha Chopra, Anand Kumar, Tosh Kumar, Krishan Devi.

Neither Sonkhla nor Yog Raj was present in the meeting. Three other councillors who abstained from the meeting were Pushp Raj, Mahender Singh, and Gagan Kashyap.

Congress president Kaul Singh Thakur was here till afternoon for monitoring the developments as pro-BJP councillors (Suman Thakur, Sarita Handa, Vaidya and Anil Kapur) and pro-Congress councillors (Kumar, Tosh, Asha Chopra) joined hands and ousted Sonkhla and Yog Raj, ending the hold of Sukh Ram cult in the council.

SDM (Sadar) Arun Sharma said the no-confidence motion was passed by eight votes to nil. The meeting for appointing the new president and the vice-president would held within 15 days, he added.

Solan, November 11
Reacting to media reports on the naib tehsildar of Arki sub-division being directed to deposit Rs 1.49 lakh after an audit, the divisional Commissioner has directed the deputy commissioner to send a report in the matter.

DC Amandeep Garg said he had directed the SDM, Arki, to submit a fact-finding report at the earliest which would be furnished to the divisional commissioner.

The case involves naib tehsildar, Arki, Keshav Ram who while officiating as secretary, Nagar Panchayat, had been drawing honorarium of Rs 3,000 per month which according to the audit objection was contrary to the rules as no official holding an additional charge could claim such an honorarium.

Though the Department of Urban Development had time and again termed this honorarium as contrary to the rules but the official continued to draw this amount.

The official had been holding this charge since 2003 and in June, 2004, a resolution was passed unanimously by the nagar panchayat to pay him this honorarium. Its copy was later sent to the Department of Urban Development for approval. The department had, however, refused its permission on the plea that any official who held such an additional charge was not entitled to such an allowance.

Shimla, November 11
The Students Federation of India (SFI) staged a rally against privatisation and commercialisation of education system in the country.

Students from all over the state participated in the rally.