Shimla, March 15
It was the tussle between Chief Minister PK Dhumal and senior leader Shanta Kumar over finalisation of the name for Rajya Sabha (RS) ticket that had lady luck smiling on Vimla Kashyap, who will become the first BJP woman leader to make it to Parliament.

Seeing the stalemate arising out of the rigid stand adopted by both Shanta and Dhumal in backing their respective candidates, the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the BJP thought it wise to decide on a third name and that too a woman to send a positive signal about the party’s sincerity towards the Women’s Reservation Bill.

Though Vimla Kashyap, former state BJP Mahila Morcha chief, had applied for the ticket, but her candidature was not being considered strong enough as the two main factions had other leaders in mind. It was the high command which felt fielding a woman leader, and that too when her winning was certain, would give due credit to the party.

Party sources said the CEC, which met in Delhi today, sought the opinion of Shanta, Dhumal, state BJP chief Khimi Ram and in charge of BJP affairs in Himachal Satya Pal Jain about the candidate for the RS seat falling vacant on April 2 on the completion of tenure of Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma.

“Since Dhumal backed Chandermohan Thakur from Sirmour and Shanta supported former Speaker Radharaman Shastri, the CEC decided to give the ticket to Kashyap who has been associated with the party since long,” said sources.

It is reliably learnt that senior leader Sushma Swaraj and Jain played a crucial role in getting the name of Kashyap cleared. Kashyap, who is one of the four leaders to be elected to the National Council of the BJP, has headed the Mahila Morcha of the BJP. Till date, no woman leader from the BJP has been elected or even fielded by the party either for the Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha election in Himachal.

The Congress has had several women Rajya Sabha members, including Leela Mohan, Satyawati Parmar, Mohinder Kaur, Usha Malhotra, Chandresh Kumari and now sitting member Viplove Thakur.

“The Congress has had several RS members and if their concern over the Women Reservation Bill is so genuine, they must show respect and honour by not fielding a candidate, especially when they are sure to lose,” said Satya Pal Jain.

Shimla, March 15
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vidya Stokes said today that the BJP regime had disappointed people of the state by presenting an anti-common man and farmers Budget which would further compound their problems arising out of price rise.

Initiating the debate on the Budget proposals presented by Chief Minister PK Dhumal in the House, Stokes said it was an anti-inclusive growth Budget which would severely affect development activities. “Seeing the grave financial crisis that the state is faced with, there is a need for economic reforms as the debt trap is continuously on the rise,” she said.

She said while on one hand the BJP was crying hoarse about the Centre failing to check price rise, at the same time they were themselves burdening the common man by enhancing bus fares.

“After the increase in bus fares, the government is likely to enhance power and water tariff too,” she said.

Stokes said there was bound to be fiscal un-sustainability as out of the 27 per cent expenditure to be made on development, 20 per cent would go on maintenance alone. As such, only a few new projects would be started, she added. She also expressed concern over the poor financial health of most of the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Participating in the debate, BJP MLA Roop Singh, while ruing the raw deal given to Himachal by the Centre, said it was the efficient fiscal management by the Chief Minister which had resulted in the losses coming down from 5.42 to 5.08 per cent. “Considering the constraints, the Budget is pro-poor as a lot of relief has been given to the IRDP, BPL and other weaker sections of society,” he said.

He said it was due to the reduced central tax collection that Himachal had lost out on Rs 175 crore and contrary to expectations, less allocation was 
given by the 13th Finance Commission.

Speaking about the Budget proposals, Congress MLA GS Bali said it was a matter of concern for all that the liabilities had crossed Rs 27,000 and Rs 2,200 crore was being paid as interest against the loans. “When it comes to protecting the interest of the state, the Congress is more than willing but the state government must also show resolve to bring Himachal out of the debt trap rather than just curse the Centre for giving step-motherly treatment,” he said.

Bali said governments might come and go but there should be a continuity and the projects started during the Congress or the BJP regime should not run into rough weathers simply because of change of power as it would discourage entrepreneurs.

Shimla, March 15
Small hydropower generators (upto 25 MW) in the state stand to gain much with implementation of the renewable energy (RE) framework under which power from renewable sources will be priced not only for energy, but also for its environmental attributes.

The RE generators will get additional benefit, over and above the normal price at which electricity is sold, in the shape of RECs (renewable energy certificates) to be purchased by obligated entities at rates determined by the central electricity regulatory commission (CERC).

An REC will be equivalent to 1 MW hour of power which could be traded through the approved power exchanges like the shares within the band of a floor price and a forbearance (ceiling) price to be determined by the CERC from time to time.

The CERC has already notified the regulations for implementation of the REC framework and the state electricity regulatory commission (SERC) has issued draft regulations which will come into force from April 1, 2010.

The Centre has adopted a policy under which it will be obligatory for distribution companies to procure a minimum defined percentage of renewable power. In case of shortfall or inability to meet the obligation, the companies will have to purchase RECs. Failure to purchase RECs will render the obligated entity liable to penalty to be imposed by the SERC, depending on the shortfall of units and the forbearance rate.

The RE generators will have to get registered with the National Load Dispatch Centre, the central registry, for the purpose.

The commission has designated the directorate of energy as the state agency for accreditation and recommending the renewable energy projects for registration and to undertake functions under these regulations. It will submit quarterly status to the commission in respect of compliance of renewable power purchase obligation in the format as stipulated by the commission.

Dharamsala, March 15
Even after six days of the death of three children due to live grenades left in Army firing grounds, near Kangra, the police has failed to register a case in the matter.

The police has failed to register a case as the Army authorities failed to provide technical details regarding the accident. Kangra SP Atul Fulzele said the questionnaire seeking details of the kind of grenades that were lying in the firing ground, their make and other technical details had been sought from the Army authorities just after the accident.

However, they were yet to submit the details. The legal action in the matter could be taken only after the Army authorities submit details.

Meanwhile, the incident had been gathering political storm in the state. Already the issue rocked the ongoing Assembly session at Shimla with the members demanding adequate compensation and inquiry into the incident.

Today, former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member Shanta Kumar took up the issue in the Rajya Sabha. In a press release issued here, Shanta Kumar demanded adequate compensation to the kin of deceased children. He maintained that the children had gone to the jungle for offering prayers to local deities.

He said the Army authorities should have alarmed the local people regarding the live bombs left in the area. They should have kept proper accountability of grenades that did not go off and searched the area for them as the jungle in which firing range was situated was used by the people of four surrounding panchayats. The people of the area often complain regarding damage to their houses due use of heavy artillery by Army personnel for training in the area.

He also demanded that to prevent such incidents in the future the direction of firing range should be changed and extra caution should be exercised by the authorities.

Three children - Rahul, Sahil and Chandan - had lost their lives as allegedly a live grenade in Army firing range went off on March 9.

Shimla, March 15
The government will introduce separate registration of patients belonging to BPL families in all health institutions from April so that a complete record of beneficiaries can be kept.

Replying to a query by G.S. Bali of the Congress during Question Hour in the Assembly today, Health Minister Rajiv Bindal said till now there was no provision for separate entry of BPL family patients in government hospitals.

“It has been decided that from April 1 a differently coloured slip would be used for registering patients from BPL families so that they can be given all benefits,” he said.

He said though members of BPL families were being given free facility of X-ray and other tests but free ambulance facility was not being provided to them. “Once the new emergency response system of ambulances comes into operation, the existing ambulances would be used for inter hospital linkage.

Bali pointed out that people from the BPL families and other weaker sections were not getting free treatment facility.

Kaul Singh Thakur, Congress MLA, also pointed out that patients faced a lot of inconvenience as they were made to shuttle between the medical superintendent office and th DC office for financial help.

He said there should be a norm that the BPL family members be given help immediately when they required it.

In reply to a question about the settlement process and fate of encroachments on government land in the state, Revenue Minister Thakur Gulab Singh said the process of settlement was on in seven districts in the state.

“We are using a new technology for the process but as far as a decision on encroachments is concerned, the mater is under the consideration of the government,” he said. He added since the matter was in court no decision could be taken.

Responding to a question raised by Kaul Singh, Bindal informed the House that 96 bighas of land had been provided to Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, at Kalhog near Kandaghat in Solan district.

“A sum of Rs 17.31 lakh has been paid as market value of the land which has been given on a lease of 99 years at Re 1,” he said.

The HPCC chief pointed out that since Patanjali Yogpeeth was a commercial venture selling expensive medicines they should be made to pay the actual cost of the land. 

Mandi, March 15
Burglars struck at two different places and stole jewellery worth Rs 1.2 lakh from the house of Navtej Singh, a resident of Ramnagar ward, and broke lock of the store of BSNL and stole battery cells worth Rs 20,000 in the second case of theft in the town.

Though on the complaint of Navtej Singh the police has arrested one Jaspal Singh, a resident of the same locality, foe the theft of jewellery and recovered the stolen valuables from him, it is yet to nab the thief in the second case.

The SP said the police arrested the accused in the first case and efforts are afoot to arrest the culprit in the second case.