Dharamsala, March 5
The former executive officer of the Dharamsala municipal council who allowed a tenant to further sublet a government building might finally face action.

The principal secretary of the local Urban Development in a report submitted to the government a copy of which is available with The Tribune, has held that the executive officer is guilty of overlooking the rules while granting no objection certificate (NOC) for subletting the building. He has recommended that a show-cause notice may be issued to president and other members of the Dharamsala municipal council who agreed to the condition of allowing subletting of government building.

The case pertains to subletting of a guest house built by the municipal council, Dharamsala. The council after constructing the guest house using public money further sublet it to a private person at a rent of about Rs 20111 per month. The person further sublet the building to the bank at much more rent, thus earning at the cost of public investment.

The principal secretary in his report has stated that construction of a shopping complex was carried out by the municipal council in the kotwali market area of Dharamsala using funds provided by union government under the IDSMT project. The guest house was constructed on a prime land after raising a loan of Rs 29 lakh from the Punjab National Bank. The building of guest house was constructed up to two floors and pillar of third floor using the said amount.

The lease deed through which the building was sublet mentions it as a guest house. There is no provision for leasing out guest house by any local government under the Leasing out of shops/stalls constructed by municipalities in Himachal Pradesh rules, 2001.

The Principal Secretary has also expressed doubts about the objectivity of tendering process for subletting the building. The report mentions that tender for subletting the building was floated in two least circulated Hindi newspapers in violation of prescribed rules of giving maximum publicity.

The NOC for further subletting the building by the licensee Devinder Kumar was given by the executive officer without approval of municipal council house. The executive officer is not competent to issue any such NOC on his own. The interest of the municipal council was not kept in view while giving the NOC, Principal Secretary has stated.

Earlier, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had ordered an inquiry into the subletting case.

Shimla, March 5
Taking a serious note of the failure of the Mandi municipal council to check unauthorised constructions, the high court has termed it as “a fit case where the state government may exercise its powers to supersede the municipal council”.

The Bench comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice VK Ahuja made these observations while perusing the compliance affidavit filed by the executive officer of the council pertaining to unauthorised construction carried out in the town. In the affidavit, the officer informed the court that the council was aware of 294 cases of unauthorised construction out of which 56 cases pertained to unauthorised construction on government land. While six structures were demolished, notices had been issued in four cases.

The court said the information supplied by the executive officer in response to court’s earlier order clearly showed that officials of the council were either incompetent and not aware of their duties or they were hand in glove with the persons who were raising illegal constructions. There could be no third eventuality, the court observed.

“The information given in the affidavit makes depressing reading. The court couldn’t countenance such a situation where administrative bodies failed to protect government land, which was a public property. The state government has the power to supersede a municipal council, which fails to perform its duties as per the provision of the Municipal Act. This may be a fit case where such action may be required,” the Bench further observed.

Keeping in view the gravity of the case, the court directed the secretary, local self-government of the state, the president and the executive officer of the municipal council to personally appear in the court on the next date of hearing. It also directed the executive officer of the council to file an affidavit to inform the latest status of cases of unauthorised construction detected by it and the action taken by it. It also directed the officer to place before the court the records of all buildings that had been raised without or in violation of the sanctioned plan.

Shimla, March 5
The government will issue e-ration cards to all consumers covered under the public distribution system (PDS) to make the system online and enable daily monitoring and distribution of commodities. This was stated by Chief Minister PK Dhumal here today while witnessing a presentation on making the PDS system online. The presentation was given by SAN Media Limited, Chennai. “All fair-price shops under the PDS system will issue cash memos to ration card holders drawing ration from retail outlets so that the system can be made online,” he said.

The Chief Minister said by issuing e-ration cards to various categories of consumers, the entire network would get connected to the state headquarters. “There are about 16 lakh domestic consumers in the state and making the system online would ensure against misuse of the facilities at any level,” he said. He directed the authorities to prepare a pilot project and explore the possibility of getting it funded from the Centre.

He said issuing e-ration cards would make the entire system transparent, putting a complete check on pilferage and misuse of ration cards. “Himachal has been given the national award in e-governance and most of the official working was already being carried out through e-governance,” he said.

Almost all departments had their own websites providing full information on their functioning, activities, achievements and targets. He said switching over to e-ration cards would also help consumers in getting these transferred from one station to another easily. “This will also help in checking duplication where the same person draws ration from two different places,” he said.

Solan, March 5
Taking a stern view of the report of the Rajasthan Drug Authorities declaring samples of an ophthalmic solution, Manrovisc, which was manufactured at Baddi, substandard, the health authorities have cancelled the licence of the unit to manufacture any ophthalmic solutions and pre-filled syringes.

Health Minister Rajiv Bindal said action had been taken following the receipt of the report and the licence of the unit for manufacturing this category of drugs was cancelled on February 28.

He said this would send a clear signal to all wrong doers, as no such laxity in health products would be tolerated.

The ophthalmic preparations comprised about 30 per cent of the unit’s products and it would now fail to manufacture hundreds of such products. This was the first such case in the state after the grant of 2003 central industrial package where a unit’s licence had been cancelled for substandard drug manufacturing.

Drug controller Navneet Marwaha when quizzed said the drug inspector had been directed to oversee that no drugs falling under the said category were manufactured after the cancellation of the licence. He added that the unit was initially served a show cause notice after the receipt of the preliminary report from the authorities. But since their reply was not satisfactory, the licence was cancelled.

The said ophthalmic solution was found to have an adverse side effect on the users in the Suratgarh area of Rajasthan. Information gathered about the case revealed that several people who had come for an eye camp at Suratgarh initially developed an infection and later lost their eyesight.

While three drugs were found to have been used at the camp, one of them comprising a pre-operative lubricating solution was manufactured by a Baddi-based pharmaceutical company.

The Rajasthan government has stopped further purchase from this unit and also blacklisted the firm. The same unit was earlier too blacklisted by Karnataka after another of its product had failed to be of standard quality.

Shimla, March 5
The CPM has demanded that the Shimla municipal corporation (MC) must continue with exemption in tax to the residents of the merged areas of Totu, Dhalli and Kasumpti till basic civic amenities are provided in these areas.

In a statement issued here today, secretary of the CPM’s Shimla unit Sanjay Chauhan said it was totally unjustified to charge tax from the people of these three areas when even basic facilities like sewerage, street lights, proper roads and adequate water supply were not being provided to them. In its last meeting, the MC had decided to impose tax on the residents of these areas after their merger with the MC.

Chauhan said the residents of these areas were not even being provided sufficient water supply. Moreover, they were being charged at much higher rates than their counterparts in areas falling under the Shimla MC. “Our party will oppose the decision. The MC must withdraw it immediately,” he said.

He also criticised the MC for outsourcing its services by engaging private parties for various tasks. “The perfect example in that case is that of the cleanliness of the town, work for which has been assigned to private parties,” he said.

Shimla, March 5
Even as the ruling BJP has tried to quell the possibility of undercutting by disgruntled HN Kashyap, contender for the ticket from the Shimla Lok Sabha constituency, by appointing him co-in charge for the seat, the man in question says he still hasn’t lost hope of being made the official candidate.

In a bid to pacify Kashyap, state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur today appointed him as the co-in charge for the Shimla seat from where he was a front runner for the party ticket. He had openly stated that in case the party high command did not have a rethink on its earlier decision of giving the party ticket to Virender Kashyap, he could explore any possibility, including contesting elections against the BJP.

Even after his appointment as the co-in charge for the Shimla seat, Kashyap, who is also the state secretary of the BJP, today said he still hadn’t lost hope of a change in the party ticket in his favour. “Ours is a party of seasoned and sensible leaders and I am confident that they will change the decision on ticket in the interest of the party,” he said. He would take a decision about campaigning for the party only after consulting his workers, he added.

“The party leadership has tried to pacify Kashyap by giving him the latest appointment, but it remains to be seen whether this will pacify him or not,” senior leaders maintain.

Keen to wrest the Shimla Lok Sabha seat, a traditional stronghold of the Congress, the ruling party does not want to leave any stone unturned in that direction. The situation this time is quite favourably placed in favour of the BJP that has the highest-ever tally of eight MLAs from the Shimla Lok Sabha seat, comprising the districts of Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur.

Kangra, March 5
At least 10 persons were injured when a private bus on way to Hamirpur from Jawalamukhi over turned at Basdi Kohala this afternoon on the Dharamsala-Shimla national highway falling under Jawalamuklhi police station.

According to eyewitnesses the private bus (HP 67--7541 ) overturned on the national highway and the injured were locally treated. The bus was reportedly on the way to Hamirpur from Jawalamukhi and overturned near Basdi Kohala, 4 km from Jawalamukhi.

Dr Vivek Sood, BMO, Jawalamukhi, said they were put on readiness following the accident but no patient was brought to Jawalamuhki hospital for treatment. He said that the injured might have been locally treated.

No police case was registered till the time of filing this news.

Dharamsala, March 5
Decks have been cleared for expansion plans of the judicial complex, Dharamsala. The Supreme Court has rejected the SLP filed by the state government against the High Court decision to allot 6 kanals of land for the expansion. The land is adjoining the judicial complex.

The president of the district bar association, Dharamsala, Tek Chand Rana gave this information while taking to The Tribune here today.

He said that bar members had moved the Himachal High Court in 2007 after the state government allowed construction of police building in the area adjoining the Dharamsala judicial complex. The bar members in their plea before the High court had pleaded that land on which police quarters were being built was adjoining judicial complex.

It was required for expansion of judicial complex. Already the space in existing judicial complex was short.

The fast track court and labour courts of Dharamsala were running in the SDM office building. Owing to depleted condition of SDM office it is anticipated that the building would be dismantled and courts would have to be shifted.

The court observed the land should be transferred for expansion of Dharamsala judicial complex and police department could be allotted land at any other place for construction of staff quarters.

The High Court had also formed a committee comprising DC, Kangra, District Judge, Kangra, SE, PWD, an officer of the High Court registry nominated by the Chief Justice and an architect nominated by Chief Architect, PWD, to look into the matter.

Tek Chand Rana further said now when even the Supreme Court has upheld the decision that the land in question should be used for expansion of judicial complex, the government should act prompting in the matter.

Solan, March 5
Alleging maltreatment at the hands of a private linguistic institute, ISEL, a group of three Mongolian students has complained to the deputy commissioner in this regard.

In their complaint, the students alleged that they were being cheated at the hands of the mediator, who had facilitated their admission to this institute located at Salogra, near here, but the institute later failed to provide them promised facilities, including 24-hour internet and quality hostel.

Interestingly, the three students, including two boys and a girl, had sought admission here in August and had gone missing suddenly in December.

The institute management had then reported the matter to the police when they failed to trace them here.

However, an inquiry conducted into the matter later revealed that the students had taken admission at another institute in Chandigarh, as they were unable to follow the system of study adopted at this institute.

Additional SP Mahinder Singh said the students had appeared before them today on their own to inform them that they had sought admission at a Sector-35 institute at Chandigarh.

Their statements had been recorded whereby they stated that their mediator later arranged for their admission at Chandigarh and they were leaving Solan today evening.

He also added that information had been sent out to the Ministry of External Affairs and their embassy after they had gone missing in December suddenly.

The DC had marked an inquiry to SDM Vivek Chandel, who said they would inquire into the matter and see if their allegations carried any substance.