Dharamsala, November 18
Kalon Tripa (Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile) Samdhong Rinpoche has said that the ball is now in the court of China to reciprocate to the memorandum submitted by the envoys of the Dalai Lama to them during the eight round of talks.

“As far as the ongoing meeting to decide the future course of action in dealing with China is concerned, the Central Tibetan Administration is sincerely committed to a genuine democratic system in reflecting the Tibetan people’s opinion on the future of Tibet,” he said.

Kalon Tripa said this while talking to mediapersons at his office in Dharamsala today.

He said the atmosphere in the ongoing meeting was powerful and emotionally charged as delegates were having open discussions on a wide range of matters, particularly concentrating their focus on fundamental issues of Tibet.

“The delegates have mixed feeling of hopes and frustrations in finding a way forward to resolve the issue of Tibet. They are concerned over the lack of positive response from the Chinese leadership and increased repressive policies being adopted in Tibet,” he added.

He said the recommendations made during the special meeting would be submitted to Tibetan parliament that had the supreme authority to take a final decision.

“We are sincerely committed to a genuine democratic system to reflect public opinion,” Kalon Tripa added.

Responding to a question on the present situation in Tibet, he expressed concern that people were living under constant fear as heavy repressive measures continued to prevail there. He referred to reports by western media that the Chinese government had imposed a heavy armed security around Lhasa.

“We are also waiting for reports from the Norwegian parliamentary delegations over their visit to different parts of Tibet from November 9 to 17, he said.

Answering a question on opinion collected from people in Tibet, he said 99 per cent of Tibetan people in Tibet, including communist party cadres and government officials, had unshakable faith in the Dalai Lama.

On the future contacts with the Chinese government, he said, “We are always open to continue the dialogue process with the Chinese leadership and bear no intentions to block it.”

Shimla, November 18
All government officials and contractors found guilty of causing irregularities in the execution of the Giri water supply scheme will have to face action as an inquiry has been ordered to fix responsibility in the case.

Addressing a press conference here today, irrigation and public wealth minister Ravinder Singh Ravi said there had been inordinate delay in the completion of the project. Even now, only up to 7 MLD water was being supplied to quench the thirst of the residents of the state capital against a capacity of 20 MLD. “An inquiry has been ordered after it was detected that there has been callousness and irregularities in the work on the Giri water scheme,” he said.

Despite having already spent Rs 62.5 crore out of Rs 65 crore meant for the scheme, the scheme was not running to its full capacity. The reasons: Less pumping due to low voltage and leakage. “It was shocking when I learnt that in a scheme to be executed in 2008, a 1978-model generator had been installed. This generator is the main reason behind the low-voltage problem, which affects pumping,” he said.

Whosoever was found responsible for the problem would have to face action. “There are huge transmission losses as the substation was set up at a long distance from the designated site, leading to low voltage,” he said. He said it was the common man who had to suffer on account of callousness of the officials and contractors concerned.

Against a water requirement of 42 MLD for Shimla town, about 36 MLD was being supplied. He added that a storage tank of 34 lakh litre capacity was still under construction at Bekhalti. Damage had been caused to pipes due to digging work undertaken by the BSNL resulting in huge leakage that was being plugged.

He criticised former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and HPCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur for misleading the public about the Giri scheme when the facts were otherwise. “It was during the Congress tenure that instead of global tenders work of the scheme was given to 50 contractors leading to complex problems,” he said.

He said the detailed project report of Rs 1,307-crore Pabbar water supply scheme had been sent to the Centre for seeking financial assistance. “The gravity scheme will provide 45 MLD water daily which will be sufficient to meet the water requirement of the state capital till 2037,” he said.

He said Rs 1,350 crore would be spent for creating facilities for water supply, irrigation, water harvesting, hand pump installation and other projects during the current financial year.

Shimla, November 18
The guidelines framed by the state government for processing and allotment of self-identified hydroelectric projects up to 25 MW has raised many eyebrows as they vehemently go against the announced policy of assigning all projects above 5 MW through competitive bidding.

Under the guidelines application for self-identified projects could be submitted anytime to the agency concerned and after examining the proposal decision will be taken at the earliest. The agency will examine if the scheme was overlapping with any of the already allotted project and, if so, the proposal will be returned. No application will be kept pending and allotment will be made on first come first serve basis. It is being seen as a ploy to award project to favourites through the back door bypassing the competitive bidding route.

Engineers of the state electricity board point out that the concept of self-identified projects was introduced for mini and micro-hydel projects up to 5 MW way back in the 1990s to enable exploitation of the hydropower potential of small streams and khuds in the interior pockets. A 25 MW project involved an expenditure of Rs 175 crore to Rs 200 crore and it had to be properly designed on the basis of reliable discharge data and elevations and could not be awarded on the basis of half-baked self-identified proposals. The slipshod manner in which projects are investigated could be judged from the fact that recently the government allowed enhancement of capacity of allotted projects from 5 MW to as much 24 MW making a mockery of the allotment procedure.

“ A self-identified project is not something like Marie Curie discovering the radium but only a proposal to harness the known potential of a stream. These were mostly the sites which were rejected by the board for various reasons. Moreover, the same influential parties had submitted proposals for self-identified schemes, both for the small projects up to 5 MW and big projects from 5 MW to 25 MW on the same streams,” says a senior engineer.

Interestingly, the Dhumal government has taken a diametrically opposite view on the Himalayan Ski Village Project, which was not only a self-identified project but, unlike hydropower schemes, a unique project. It is reviewing the project on the plea that it should have been allotted through competitive bidding.

Shimla, November 18
In order to conserve depleting species of wild herbs in the state tissue culture approach will be adopted by the Ayurveda Department along with other agencies.

This was stated by health minister Rajeev Bindal, while presiding over the review meeting of the Himachal Pradesh State Medicinal Plant Board. “We are keen to make Himachal a herbal state and a detailed plan is being prepared to turn this dream into reality,” he said.

The minister said the forest, ayurveda, agriculture and horticulture departments would prepare a detailed report about the species of herbs which were endangered and the action plan to save these from extinction. He further said over 50 species of medicinal herbs have been identified for being planted in different parts of the state depending upon the suitability of the agro-climatic conditions.

Bindal said the state medicinal plant board along with the Ayurveda Department would provide information regarding the medicinal value of the herbs to the farmers so that it can help in their economic uplift.

He said different species of wild medicinal herbs were being provided to 138 farmers so as to motivate farmers all over the state to take to commercial cultivation of herbs and other medicinal plants. “A financial help of Rs 1.28 crore will be extended to these farmers so that it can help in their economic uplift,” he said.

Dharamsala, November 18
The government has decided to shift cases of corrections in revenue records to the deputy commissioners in Kangra, Chamba and Mandi districts. The orders in this regard have been received by the settlement office at Dharamsala.

The move will come as relief for the residents of the said districts who had to travel to Dharamsala from far-flung areas.

Earlier, the cases for corrections in revenue records used to come to the settlement office at Dharamsala. The office used to cater to revenue correction cases from Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, Chamba and Mandi and Kullu. The people from these districts had to travel to Dharamsala for getting even petty corrections made in revenue records.

Sources available here said the settlement work had been finished in Chamba, Mandi and Kangra districts. Due to this, the secretary revenue has ordered the shifting of correction cases to deputy commissioners. The deputy commissioners can further delegate the powers to SDMs for settlements at subdivision level.

Settlement officer-cum-ADC, Kangra, Mamta Khan Chaudhary admitted the directions regarding shifting of new correction cases to respective deputy commissioners had been received. She, however, said the clarification had been sought from the government regarding correction cases of said districts that had been already admitted by the settlement office. The status of such cases would be decided after requisite directions were received.

About 3,000 correction cases are reportedly pending with the settlement office, Dharamsala. The pendency is increasing due to failure of the government to put a regular officer against the post of settlement officer. The present government had posted Subash Ahluwalia as the settlement officer, Dharamsala. Since the officer was facing vigilance cases, he remained on leave for most of his stint.

Solan, November 18
With the VAT collection witnessing a meagre increase of 15 per cent for the first six months in the state as against a hike of nearly 38 per cent in Punjab the state’s revenue has declined abysmally.

This was the lowest collection as compared to the corresponding periods in the two previous years when the hike was nearly 24 to 25 per cent. The state had switched over to the VAT regime in 2006-2007 and this was the third year of VAT regime.

What was indeed astonishing was the fact that while Punjab had about 400 items under its 4 per cent VAT it still managed to show an increase of 38 per cent. However, in Himachal though as many as 111 items were charged 12.5 per cent VAT its tax collection showed an increase of mere 15 per cent.

The major tax spinners for the state comprised sale of petrol and diesel which comprised nearly 25 per cent, liquor, steel mills, pharmaceutical units, etc.

A glance at the VAT collections of the previous years revealed that while an increase of nearly Rs 180 crore had been brought about in 2007-2008, which was about 24 to 25 per cent, the south zone which comprises three districts: Solan, Sirmaur and Shimla had contributed the lion’s share of Rs 160 crore. The overall VAT collection had shown an increase of 30 per cent in 2006-2007 and about 24-25 per cent in 2007-2008.

As per the mandates of the Central Empowered Committee every state was supposed to bring about a hike of 24 to 25 per cent for the first three years at least. However, the low collections meant the Excise and Taxation Department had to do much more to meet the national average of 25 per cent.

Commissioner of the Excise and Taxation R.D. Dhiman when quizzed confirmed that VAT collections witnessed a hike of 15 per cent, but added that it would increase further. He, however, expressed satisfaction over the hike and added that major recurring factor for the decline was the reduced consumption of petrol and diesel owing to the overall economic slump.

Interestingly, while the HRTC had enhanced its fleet by about 100 buses there was no reduction in the number of commercial vehicles like trucks, which transport goods in the industrial areas. Further, with several automobile agencies in the state the number of new vehicles too had witnessed a sharp increase. On an average nearly 200 to 300 new vehicles were being registered in Solan subdivision alone giving an indication of the fast rising number of private vehicles. Hence, the plea of fuel consumption declining in Himachal failed to hold ground.

Shimla, November 18
The Congress has demanded an inquiry into the extensive damage caused to the apple procured under the market-intervention scheme because of indifferent handling and failure of the administration to promptly restore the roads blocked due to heavy rain.

Spokesperson of the Shimla district unit of the party I.L. Mehta said here today that 1,03,000 bags of apple, worth over Rs 3.5 crore, were spoiled due to negligence of the government agencies. It clearly indicated that the government had failed to properly stock and transport the fruit. There was no such problem last year when the state achieved a record output of 2.92 crore standard boxes, which was almost 75,000 boxes more than the quantity this season.

Last year, only Rs 10 crore was paid to growers whose fruit was procured under the market-intervention scheme, whereas this year the total amount came to Rs 30 crore even though the production was less. Obviously, growers were forced to sell their fruit to the government agencies as they could not take it to markets because of road blockades.

As per norms, each bag contained 60 to 62 kg of apple, but a large number of bags received at the Parwanoo plant had 15 kg to 20 kg less quantity. He urged the government to conduct a probe into all aspects and take action against the guilty officials.

The growers had been put to loss because of the inefficiency and negligence of government agencies and those responsible for the lapses must be held accountable.

Solan, November 18
Inverter manufacturing unit Su Kam today restarted its production activities at Baddi after a fortnight following receipt of orders for its product. This has come as a sign of relief to about 200 workers who were fearful of being laid off after the unit closed its production from November 4.

The unit management which had been battling market recession finally managed to procure some orders for its product and also managed to find buyers for the goods lying stacked in the godowns. The strenuous efforts made by the unit helped it survive this temporary phase of market slump and it had now decided to begin production from today.

It may be mentioned it was the first unit in the area which had suspended its production following market recession. The employees had been asked to mark their presence in the mornings so as to make them eligible to get their wages while the production activity had been brought to a halt earlier.

Apprehending the slump to continue for a longer period the workers had started looking for other jobs. The company sources, however, said barring a few not many employees had gone elsewhere as they reported back for work today. It also resumed production of about 1500 inverters from today.

Mandi, November 18
Illegal mining in the fertile Balh valley in Mandi, Gadsa valley in Kullu and along the Beas and Sarvari river in the Mandi-Kullu belt is going in full steam as the Mining Department remains “unequipped and understaffed” to check this menace and take action against mining mafias in the region.

The police today nabbed a tractor driver, Prem Singh, who was carrying sand from the Balh valley in a tractor without the mandatory M-from from the Mining Department. He was booked under the Mining Act.

This is not the only case. Farmers in Balh said illegal mining was going full steam and tractors can be seen carrying tractor-full of sand and bajri, dispatching the consignments to contractors, private house builders in Mandi, Kullu-Bhuntar and Manali.

Several khads in Mandi Sadar, Riwalsar area, Dharampur area, Suketi catchments in Balh valley and Gadsa valley in Kullu, have rendered the embankments of the Beas and Sarvari rivers in Kullu without sand and boulders as boulders are mined for stone crushers by the mining mafias, revealed sources.

The auction of mining sources have been banned under the Forest Conservation Act as all wasteland have been declared as forest land under the Act, encouraging mining mafias to go for illegal mining during odd hours, the sources added.

Over 1,200 tractors registered in the Balh valley are being used for illegal mining, as they have no other source of income for unemployed youth in the region, disclosed a tractor owner. “We have to give bank EMIs as we have taken loan from the bank, they added, requesting anonymity.

Over 20 per cent illegal mining goes for domestic purpose and about 80 per cent goes for commercial purpose used by the government and private contractors, the sources revealed.

Mining officer Puneet Guleria said they had raided the Chatru area in Balh and seized a vehicle from the site, but the persons fled from the scene. “We have shortage of staff and need a vehicle to speed up monitoring,” officials added.

State Geologist Industry Department Arun Sharma said three vehicles have been sanctioned for Mandi, Kangra and Solan, but there is shortage of drivers. The government is considering how to auction the site, he added.

Hamirpur, November 18
Preliminary inquiry into the burning of official record in the office of deputy director of the Sainik Welfare Board about two months back here had given a clean chit to the then OSD, but further inquiry had revealed few glaring irregularities in the alleged use of funds.

Sources said, “While burning the record, a few files pertaining to funds amounting to about Rs 30 lakh received from the Centre in 2003 had also been allegedly burnt which in fact were taken into the office accounts in 2006.”

At the time of burning of the office record by the then OSD just few days before his retirement had caused suspicion in the minds of few concerned people as a result of which the state government had ordered the district administration to conduct an inquiry into this matter.

Officers conducting inquiry had then said, “Office record was burnt by the OSD by duly constituting a board adopting a proper official procedure and prima facie no irregularity was committed.”

However, later on the basis of an anonymous complaint in which few irregularities were alleged the government had ordered to investigate these points too.

“Though final action on the inquiry report would be taken by the state government, not taking funds of about Rs 30 lakh into the office record is a serious matter,” an insider said.

Interestingly, this irregularity was not even pointed out in the audit report.

Hamirpur DC Abhishek Jain said, “The inquiry in this matter has been conducted as per government orders and report for further action is being submitted to the state government.”

Dharamsala, November 18
Cement companies Ambuja Cements Limited and ACC would bring up synthetic athletic tracks at Dharamsala and Hamirpur. The cost of each track would be around Rs 4 crore.

The officials of Ambuja Cements Limited along with principal secretary, sports, VC Pharka inspected the site in Sports Authority of India complex here where the synthetic tracks are to be laid.

Dinesh Sharma, commercial head of Ambuja from Shimla while talking to The Tribune said both the cement companies had agreed in principle to lay the tracks. After laying, the synthetic tracks would be handed over the state government for maintenance.

The final agreement for the purpose is, however, yet to be signed with the Himachal government, he said.

Pharka later also inaugurated the district-level sports event organised for physically challenged youth at the police grounds here today. About 120 physically challenged youth participated in the events. They were given away prizes by the joint director, sports, Suman Rawat.

Shimla, November 18
Transport minister Kishan Kapoor today lashed out at former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for taking credit for all development works undertaken during the BJP regime.

In a statement issued here today, he said Virbhadra was trying to mislead the people by taking credit for most of the works done during the BJP regime. “It is common knowledge that Virbhadra Singh could not do much for Himachal despite the fact that the Congress was in power even at the Centre, putting a serious question mark on his leadership,” he said.

Under the leadership of Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, the Centre had sanctioned a central university, an IIT and a medical college. “Even the recognition from the Medical Council of India and strengthening the infrastructure and facilities at Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College at Tanda in Kangra was undertaken during the BJP regime,” he claimed.

He said the Congress-led Virbhadra government had failed to secure the interests of the state with the Centre and till date Himachal had not been given its due under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, by the neighbouring states.

Hamirpur, November 18
District Congress Committee president Sunil Sharma released the list of office-bearers of the executive committee today.

It includes Atam Prakash, Chamel Singh, Wattan Singh, Paras Ram Dhiman, Anil Verma, Rajesh Chaudhary, Rakesh Handa, Rajesh Thakur, Kanta Chaudhary and Leela Devi (all vice-presidents).

Tej Nath, Brij Mohan Soni, Jagdish Sharma, Nikka Ram, Ram Sharma, Suresh Dogra, Raj Kumar Sharma, Rekha Kumari and Jagjit Thakur (all general secretaries).

Rakesh Verma, Vinod Sharma, Ranjit Singh Dhiman, Sikander, Madan Lal, Sudesh Kumari, Neelam Kumari, Sunil Ranaut, Kamal Pathania, Savita Minhas, Sudershan Sharma, Yashvir, Nirmala Patial, Neeraj Chaudhary, Ved Prakash, Kanta Chaudhary, Baljeet Sandhu, Rohit Sharma and Rakesh Katoch (all secretaries).

Tara Chand Chaudhary has been nominated as chief adviser and Satish Pathania as treasurer.

Ajay Bandralia, Jugal Kishor and Joginder Singh have been nominated as the party spokesperson.

All senior leaders of the party have been included in 43 member executive committee and 16 members have been made as special invitees to this committee.

Shimla, November 18
A month-long campaign for creating awareness about gender issues organised by the Women’s Studies and Development Cell of the local Rajiv Gandhi Government Degree College concluded today.

A slogan writing competition for the students on the theme of “female foeticide” was the highlight of the concluding function. A guest lecture on "understanding gender" by Subhash Mendhapurkar, director of non-government organisation SUTRA, was also organised. It was followed by an interactive session with the audience. The students also recited poems against female foeticide and presented a group song.

The prncipal of the college V.P. Mahajan said the programme would go a long way in sensitising the students about the gender issues.

Shimla, November 18
Executing agencies will specify muck dumping sites in the detailed project reports in respect of all the road construction works in future to ensure that there was no damage to environments.

Stating this while addressing a meeting of state contractors welfare association here today the minister for public works Gulab Singh said haphazard disposal of debris was causing extensive damage to the fragile hill environment and the government had no option but to make dumping sites mandatory for road construction projects.

He said roads were the top priority of the government and it planned to link all villages having a population of 500 by motorable roads by 2009. He said the PWD had been directed to decide tenders of road projects within a period of 45 days to help accelerate the pace of work.

In another remedial measure the government had decided to hold camps in each district every month at which superintending engineer, arbitration, would redress grievances. He said a post of chief engineer, design and quality, had been created to ensure quality of works and it had been decided to renew the licences of contractors after a period of three years instead the existing two.