Shimla, January 8
The Himachal government has proposed to upgrade major national highways (NHs) and state highways into expressways to help reduce travel time. Stating this while presiding over a meeting on national highways, here last evening, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said he would personally monitor the progress of road projects every month to ensure that they were completed within the stipulated time period.

He said detailed project reports for upgrading Garha Mora-Manali via Bilaspur-Sundernagar-Mandi-Kullu, Pathankot-Mandi via Nurpur-Shahpur-Palampur-Jogindernagar, Pathankot-Dalhousie and Shimla-Matour via Jukhala-Ghumarwin-Hamirpur-Jwalamukhi-Kangra highways into expressways would be prepared in the first phase and posed for funding to the Government of India. These projects would be executed on BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) basis.

The Chief Minister said “sadak, shiksha and swasthya” were the main priorities of the state government, followed by “swarojgar, swablamban and sampannta” to improve and strengthen the basic services and generate sufficient employment and self-employment avenues for the youth.

He said the budgetary provision for road construction had been enhanced substantially during the past two years and improvement and widening of all major national highways was under progress. The major highways were being widened in a phased manner and the effort was to provide best wayside amenities, including food plazas and shopping complexes, on the major roads entering the state from adjoining states. To make driving through the hills a pleasant experience emphasis will also be laid on landscaping and flowerbeds be developed as attraction, he added.

Dhumal said Parwanoo-Solan section of Kalka-Shimla NH being upgraded to four-lane which would be extended up to Shimla. He said the possibilities of constructing alternate highways alongside the main roads, wherever possible, would be explored. He said during the last calendar year over Rs 200 crore had been spent on maintenance and improvement of the existing road network in the state. He also called for exploring the possibilities of assigning land acquisition work to the concerned sub-divisional magistrates to expedite the process.

Chief Secretary Asha Swaroop underlined the need for constitution of a separate committee to monitor the progress of the road projects so that the same were completed within the allotted time frame. The authorities should identify the highways, which had the scope for upgrade into expressways.

Shimla, January 8
The state government has decided to provide cash incentives to gram panchayats for achieving the target for health smart cards to help extend critical illness expenses up to Rs 1.75 lakh per annum in addition to Rashtriya Bima Yojna to BPL (below poverty line) families out of its own resources.

This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal here today at the launching ceremony of the second phase of the Rashtriya Bima Yojna, extending the health insurance cover of Rs 30,000 per annum to all 2.98 lakh BPL families to cover all 12 districts of the state. A MoU was also signed in his presence between the state government and New India Insurance Company Limited for implementing the scheme from March 1, 2010.

The CM said the state had been conferred with an award from the Government of India for successful implementation of the first phase of the scheme on pilot basis in Shimla and Kangra districts. Smart cards were prepared within the allotted time frame. He said the government would provide a cash award of Rs 50,000, second prize of Rs 25,000 and third prize of Rs 10,000 to a gram panchayat in each district for best performance in preparation of cent per cent smart cards. The objective was to motivate panchayati raj institutions to come forward in taking up the initiative.

He said the process for preparation of smart cards would start with immediate effect and completed by March end. He said the gram panchayats could play pivotal role in successful implementation of the programme by ensuring that every eligible family was benefited by the scheme.

The government had formulated a scheme for critically ill members for extending a health insurance cover of Rs 1.75 lakh per annum per family for meeting the expenses of hospitalisation and surgical procedures in case of cardiac and cardio thoracic surgeries, genito urinary surgery, neurosurgery, radiation oncology, trauma, transplant surgeries, spinal surgeries and surgical gastro enterology and other procedures.

The government would fully fund the scheme from its own resources on which Rs 10.81 crore were likely to be spent during the current financial year. The package would include provision for transport allowance of Rs 1,000 per visit subject to annual ceiling of Rs 3,000 per person and critical illness up to 15 days prior to hospitalisation and 60 days from the date of discharge from the hospital. In all, Rs 21.15 crore would be spent over providing basic and critical care coverage to the targeted group during the next year.

Solan, January 8
Demanding enhanced compensation for the land acquired by Ambuja Cements Limited, villagers from affected Barsoon and Banog villages are now protesting against the mining activity on the land.

The villagers, who were protesting under the banner of Kisan Sabha, Sanghoi, said the revenue authorities were misleading the land losers and police force was being used to undertake mining activity on their land whose acquisition had not been executed in the right way.

SDM Balbir Thakur, who was endeavouring to resolve the issue, said the dispute arose when Ambuja Cements Limited initiated mining activity on a stretch of about 12 bighas of land which had been acquired way back in 2001 and 2005. Though compensation at the rate of Rs 1.4 lakh per bigha had been decided at that time, the land losers were dissatisfied with this amount and demanded an enhanced compensation of Rs 20 lakh per bigha.

He said the demanded rate was preposterous but he had directed the villagers to hold talks with the company to resolve the issue amicably. He added that additional policemen of one reserve had been stationed while two more reserves had been demanded to avert any law and order situation as some skirmishes had taken place yesterday between some mediapersons and policemen.

Kisan Sabha members, including its pradhan Roop Chand, secretary Mohan Lal Thakur and others, however, said the local administration had failed to resolve the dispute and mining work was in progress under the police protection. They demanded immediate stop to the mining till negotiations were held and families of land losers were granted employment and their rights secured. They asserted that the mining had adversely led to loss as cracks had appeared in the buildings due to blasts in the course of mining and many houses had been endangered.

The villagers also rued that their agricultural works were suffering as natural sources of water had dried up and even the public roads bore the brunt of blasts and had been damaged.

Company officials said they were ready to discuss the issue with the villagers so as to resolve it amicably, but the demand to put on hold all work till the issue was resolved was not agreeable as it incurred losses to the company.

Shimla, January 8
Bowing to pressure from various quarters, the government today revised fares being charged in the local buses plying under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in the state capital.

A number of organisations had time and again protested against the exorbitant fares being charged in the local buses plying in the town under JNNURM. The government today issued directions to the State Transport Authority to charge the fare in these buses at the rate of 83.25 paisa per passenger per kilometre.

It was the CPM, which had most strongly raised its voice against the steep fares with a minimum of Rs 5 being charged from people. In fact, the party had held a number of protests and also given several representations to the government in this regard.

The local legislator, Suresh Bhardwaj who also met the transport minister Mahender Singh in this regard also welcomed the pro-people decision.

An official spokesperson said here today that besides charging 83.25 paisa per km, fare of 50 paisa or more would be rounded off to the next rupee while fare below the fraction of 50 paisa would be ignored. He added that the State Transport Authority had been asked to bring into force the revised charges with immediate effect.

The decision will come as a major relief to many commuters who were feeling the pinch as they had to pay from Rs 10 to Rs 15 for travelling in these buses within the town.

The fact that all other local buses were charging much less fare at the rate of 83.25 paisa per km was causing a lot of heartburn to people.

Nurpur, January 8
Academic future of students in Thora and Bhaloon gram panchayats in this subdivision is facing rough weather as controversy between teaching staff and management committee of a private but 95 per cent government-aided senior secondary school at Thora has been intensified over the appointment of officiating principal of the school.

The school is catering to the needs of both gram panchayats, as there is no other senior secondary school in the area. Following directions of the director, secondary education, deputy director P. Sonam yesterday visited the school and made an unsuccessful daylong exercise to resolve the ongoing dispute.

After visiting the school, the deputy director said he could not persuade the management committee to appoint senior most teacher as officiating principal of the school.

“The committee has defied the government rule and direction of the Education Department by nominating a junior teacher for the post that sparked off controversy and tension in the school,” he added.

He said residents seemed dismayed over the present tension between the two factions of teachers and the management committee and demanded government takeover of the school.

Shimla, January 8
The HP High Court has directed the state government on to maintain status quo on the admission process of BSC Para Medical Course in the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Tanda Medical College.

The high court issued notices to the secretary health, director health, principal of the medical college and director medical education and asked them to file reply.

The petition finds mention that the state government this year has relaxed the educational qualification for BSc Paramedical course for technicians working in the health department. The state has reduced the same from Class XII science to matriculation. The state has also allowed the technicians working in the Ayurveda department to take admission in this course.

The petition further mentions that the state has reserved more than 80 per cent seats for the employees for academic session 2009-12. The entrance test for the admission to the course is for Class XII level and the entire BSc syllabus deals with the science terms.

Shimla, January 8
The state government today decided to lease out 96.02 bighas of land in Mauja Kahlog in Solan district to the Patanjli Yogpeeth Trust, Haridwar, for development of herbal research centre. The proposal for leasing out land for 99 years to Yog guru Ram Dev was taken by the State Cabinet which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. The centre will promote cultivation of various medicinal herbs to help boost health tourism in the state.

It also decided to lease out land to the rural development department for 33 years on an annual token lease payment of Re 1 for setting up of Rural Self-Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) in Kangra, Solan and Hamirpur districts.

The Cabinet granted permission to convert 22 posts of beldar into pump operator-helper in the department of irrigation and public health. It granted permission to fill four posts of youth coordinator in the department of youth services and sports on contract basis and two posts of statutory officer in Chaudhary Sarvan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur. It decided to revive the post of deputy director (statistics) (class-I gazetted) in the department of animal husbandry.

Kangra, January 8
Dr Pardeep Makkar, a gynaecologist, working in this hill town was given ‘Rashtriya Gaurav Award’ for his meritorious services, outstanding performance and remarkable role while rendering his services in the state.

Makkar was born in Hodal (Haryana) but brought up and educated in Himachal. He did his MBBS and MD in gynaecology from IGMC, Shimla, and served the state in different capacities and was at present working in Shri Bala Ji Hospital in the town since 2004 as a gynaecologist.

Makkar had done all types of surgeries with expertise, which include cesarean deliveries, total abdominal and vaginal hysterectomy, and cancer surgeries, besides infertility treatment with both medical and surgical methods with high success rate.

In view of his contributions as a gynaecologist, the Indian International Friendship Society presented the award to him in the form of citation at a seminar on ‘Global Participation in India’s Economic Development’ in New Delhi yesterday.