Shimla, March 5
Lambasting the Dhumal government for rampant corruption, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh said the CD case and timber distribution (TD) policy would spell doom for the BJP in the state.

Participating in the debate on motion of thanks on the Governor’s Address in the Vidhan Sabha today, he said it was for the first time that senior IAS and HAS officers were being caught red-handed with cash by the Vigilance department.

He said there was nothing new in the Governor’s Address and it sounded more like the President’s Address to Parliament as the state government only harped on the schemes and programmes of the UPA regime for the implementation of which it was receiving huge funds from the Centre. The only schemes for which the BJP government could take credit were the Pandit Deen Dayal Kisan Bagwan Samridhi Yojna and the Doodh Ganga Yojna, he said.

The state government was surviving on the crutches of the UPA government, which was providing it liberal funds, but there was not even a word of gratitude towards the Centre in the address.

The BJP could not take claim for achievements of the state in improving road connectivity, education and health sectors as successive Congress governments had given priority to these sectors.

The reality of the present regime was that schools were without teachers and health institutions without doctors and nurses. There were over 17,000 vacancies in the education department. The teachers recruited by the government were mostly deployed in schools where PTA appointees were doing a good job. Out of the 479 doctors who were given appointment, 254 did not join duty and another 25 resigned soon. The primary health centres (PHC) in interior areas, including his own Drang constituency, were without doctors.

He said the new appointees should be sent to tribal and backward areas and postings should be rationalised according to the strength for the students in schools. The district, which had low road density (around 100 km per 100 sq km), should be given priority in road construction.

Shimla, March 5
Various trade unions including the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the Central Industrial Trade Union (CITU), INTUC, AITUC and BAMS today held demonstrations all over the state against the failure of the Congress-led UPA regime in checking price rise.

Leaders and members of various trade organisations held a protest on the Mall. Hundreds of CITU members were arrested by the police as they raised slogans against the government for failing to check price rise.

CITU leaders, including state president, Jagat Ram and secretary Kashmir Singh, also courted arrests along with other members. Addressing the gathering, the two leaders demanded that the government must take concrete steps to check price and strengthen the public distribution system.

They demanded that there should be strict implementation of Labour Laws so that the workers were not exploited.

HAMIRPUR: Activists of the AITUC and CITU on Friday staged a protest demonstration before the DC office to observe the state-wide call of protest against price rise.

The activists marched through the bazaar, raising slogans against the Centre and state governments and staged a dharna in front of the DC office.

In a release, trade union leaders flayed the central government for failing to control prices of essential commodities.

Criticising the UPA government, trade union leaders said the government was bent upon selling profit-making PSUs to private players and had decided to sell 10 per cent of these companies every year which was not in the interest of the country.

MANDI: In response to the nation wide call for protest, activists of the Joint Action Committee, comprising trade unions the CITU, AITUC, INTUC and the BMS, on Friday staged a protest rally against price rise, violation of Labour Laws and privatisation of the country’s Navratna public sector companies and volunteered arrest under section 107/51 of the IPC to lodge their protest. They were later released by the police.

CPI state secretary Des Raj and CPM general secretary Bhupender Singh stated that the government was no doing justice to the labour class and other sections by making appointments through contract.

After the rally, as soon as the activists tried to make their entry through the closed gates of the DC office, the police boarded them in the bus after they volunteered their arrest. They were later released at Paddal. No untoward incident took place as the protest ended peacefully.

SOLAN: The AITUC and the CITU on Friday took out a protest march here in protest against the unprecedented price hike and violation of various labour laws in the district.

The unions also gave a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Commissioner.

They demanded an immediate curb on the skyrocketing prices and asserted that the state should strengthen its public distribution system.

As many as 50 workers courted arrest. State AITUC chairman Jagdish Bhardwaj, CITU district president ND Ranot, AITUC district president Satish Sharma and others said the state government was siding with the investors who were using oppressive policies to violate labour laws.

Shimla, March 5
While asserting that the government would strictly follow the central service rules for granting pensionary benefits to employees, Chief Minister PK Dhumal cautioned that the increasing liability on account of pension and salaries would land the state in a deep financial crisis as the 13th Finance Commission had recommended a much lower revenue deficit grant.

“The commission has grossly under-assessed the committed liability on account of pension, salary and interest burden. The pension liability had increased from Rs 126 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 1,298 crore in 2009-10 and the annual burden of salaries amounted to Rs 4,400 crore. However, the commission had assessed the salary liability at Rs 3,800 crore and also under-estimated the pension and interest liability,” he informed the Vidhan Sabha while replying to a question of Congress legislator Yog Raj.

The state had been following the central pension rules since 1972 under which there was no provision for providing pension or retirement benefits to daily wagers. Only those who became regular employees of the state were entitled to such benefits. In all, 362 daily wagers, who had not completed the requisite years for regularisation, had retired without regularisation.

Referring to the court orders in various cases in this regard, he said the government would go by the rules and wherever require it would move the Supreme Court.

The increasing pension liability was a matter of concern and the Centre was also finding ways to reduce the pension burden and a new contributory pension scheme had been introduced from May 15, 2003. Recently, another pension scheme had been started for all people aged between 18 and 55 years.

Shimla, March 5
A total of 13 applications have been received by the BJP from contenders for the Rajya Sabha seat falling vacant on the completion of tenure of Union Minister Anand Sharma on April 2.

However, names of Satya Pal Jain, in charge of BJP affairs in Himachal, and Mahendra Pandey, state organising secretary, are missing from the list of leaders who have staked claim for the seat. Incidentally, today was the last date for the application to be submitted.

With senior BJP leaders Satya Pal Jain and other members of the core group of the BJP expected to be here for the state-level rally tomorrow that the ruling party is organising against price rise, a discussion on the person to be elected for the Rajya Sabha is expected.

“Today was the last date for applying for the Rajya Sabha seat and the applications will be placed before the state election committee of the party so that names can be forwarded to the central election committee for a final decision,” said Khimi Ram, state BJP chief.

The leaders who have staked claim for the Rajya Sabha seat include former Speaker Radha Raman Shastri, former MP Maheshwar Singh, former MP Kripal Parmar, former minister from Una Praveen Sharma, Chander Mohan Thakur from Sirmour, Ram Swaroop Sharma from Jogindernagar, HN Kashyap, Vimla Kashyap, Chandersen Thakur from Kullu, retired bureaucrat PS Negi, Sushil Kumar from Fatehpur in Kangra, Pramod Kumar Verma from Mandi and Lochen Tulku Lama from Kinnuar.

Though Jain was being considered a very strong contender for the Rajya Sabha seat, with Chief Minister PK Dhumal categorically stating that no outsider would be accommodated against the Rajya Sabha seat falling vacant from Himachal, his candidature is being ruled out. It is on similar grounds that Mahender Pandey too might not qualify for getting Rajya Sabha nomination.

Though the Chief Minister has, so far, not indicated any name, but he could back Chandermohan Thakur, Praveen Sharma or Kripal Thakur. Shanta Kumar is likely to back Maheshwar Singh but ultimately Dhumal is likely to have the final say on the issue. With the Chief Minister likely to visit Delhi next week, he might discuss the issue with the high command.

The Rajya Sabha election will take place on March 26. Some of the contenders are already camping in Delhi to lobby while others are expected to be there when the Dhumal too would in the national capital.

Dharamsala, March 5
The state government has failed to protect the interests of students from outside state universities who are running illegal distance education centres in Himachal.

The education department has not checked the mushrooming of distance education centres of outside state universities despite clear-cut directions from the University Grants Commission (UGC). As per the documents available with The Tribune, the UGC wrote a letter to all state governments in 2008.

It has been stated in the letter that there is a growing trend of establishment of private universities by state governments. Till April 2009, 37 private state universities had been established according to the information available with the UGC. The opening of campuses or study centres in the name of distance education programmes beyond the territorial jurisdiction of their respective state by state universities is not permissible in the light of Supreme Court (SC) judgment in Prof Yash Pal case, the UGC letter states.

It has further stated that the SC has held that Parliament alone is competent to enact laws for any part or whole of the country. The state legislature can enact law only in respect of its territorial jurisdiction confined to the state concerned.

Keeping in view the SC judgment, the UGC has directed the state governments to ensure that no off campus centres are opened by state universities outside their territorial jurisdiction. It has also directed that off campus centres, already running, must be closed immediately.

Despite instructions from the UGC, the Himachal government or the education department has not done anything to stop the mushrooming of off-campus centres of outside state universities.

Education secretary Shrikant Baldi said necessary instructions had been passed to the department of technical education. It is the duty of the department to check such centres, he said. However, inquiries by The Tribune revealed that the district officials did not have any information regarding explicit directions by the UGC in this regard.

The complacency of the state government is costing very dear to students. Many students, who were doing MBA through distance education mode from ICFAI University, Dehradun, and ICFAI University, Tripura, at Dharamsala centres, have been left in the lurch.

Recently, a student who had done MBA from such centre of the ICFAI had applied for appearing in NET conducted by the UGC. However, her application was rejected.

Besides, ICFAI centres of many other universities from Manipur and other states are running here openly and illegally.

Shimla, March 5
The BJP will hold a state-level rally against price rise in the state capital here tomorrow in which senior leaders, including Shanta Kumar and state party chief Khimi Ram, will participate.

State BJP chief Khimi Ram said party workers and leaders from all over the state would take part in the rally to be held at the Ambedkar Chowk in Chaura Maidan. The chief minister and ministers will, however, stay away from the rally as it was being organised against the Congress-led UPA regime.

Khimi Ram said the UPA regime had failed to check price and no serious efforts had been made to give relief to the common man from rising prices. “The union budget will further compound the miseries of the common man who is finding it difficult to make ends meet,” he said.

Dharamsala, March 5
The Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department has finally taken note of the five-star hotel being constructed by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) at Dharamsala. While the wooden structure is half complete, the department has issued a notice under Section 39 of the Town Planning Act to the HPCA.

According to sources, the notice has been issued as the HPCA has not got the site plan approved from the TCP Department before starting the construction.

Spokesperson of the HPCA Sanjay Sharma said the HPCA had not received any notice as yet. However, in case the notice was received they would reply to the same. He said since they had not planned any commercial activity in the proposed facility and the area in which it was being brought up falls in the rural area, they had not submitted the plans with the TCP Department.

The sources, however, told The Tribune that the HPCA started the work in a hurry as the date for IPL match was approaching. The association had to bring up the five-star facility before the matches as it was a mandatory condition for holding the matches. The HPCA had contracted a News Zealand-based company to construct the wooden facility within three months.

However, now the notice seems to be a move to get the building regularised by paying the requisite fees.

Nurpur, March 5
The police has arrested Mango Ram (26) of Kandwal village late last evening for allegedly raping an eight-year-old girl studying in class III.

According to the police, following statement of the rape victim a case has been registered against the accused.

The police said the accused was a cousin of the victim and it was alleged that he had been abusing her for the past a few days. The victim had been living with her aunt, as her mother had died a few years back.

On Thursday she refused to return home from school and when her teachers inquired she narrated her tale of woes. The teachers informed the panchayat pradhan who further informed the police. — OC