Shimla, March 24
The move of the government to supply its share of free power from various projects to the State Electricity Board at market rate will make a steep hike in electricity tariff inevitable.The government provides about 600 to 700 million units of power to the board to meet the domestic demands and, so far, it was being supplied at the rate determined by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Accordingly, the board had to pay only Rs 2.87 per unit in 2009-10 which was much lower than the average sale price of Rs 3.60 per unit. It indirectly helped the fund-starved board, which had accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 260 crore and running an overdraft of over Rs 570 crore.

However, during a recent meeting of the State Regulatory Commission advisory committee, the government indicated that it would supply power to the board at market price, equivalent to the rate at which the power finance corporation was purchasing from it. As such, the government power will cost the board around Rs 6 per unit, raising its power purchase cost by over Rs 200 crore.

The board has projected the aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) of Rs 2,872 crore for 2010-11 as Rs 2,340 crore was approved by the commission for the current financial year. The average tariff will shoot up from Rs 3.60 to Rs 4.49 per unit if the ARR is approved as it is. In case the government sticks to its stand, the tariff will go up to Rs 4.79 per unit, 50 paise higher than projected in the multi-year tariff plan.

The domestic consumers will have to bear the brunt of the hike as power subsidy has been frozen at Rs 140 crore under the agreement signed by the government with the World Bank for availing Rs 900 crore development policy loan. A senior official of the board said the only alternative to a steep hike in the tariff was to impose power cuts on industries. The board worked out that a three-hour cut would save Rs 1 crore a day which meant a saving of Rs 365 crore through the year.

The implementation of revised pay scale has sharply increased the employee cost, which is projected to go up from Rs 605 crore approved for the current year, to a whopping Rs 860 crore. The commission had not allowed the hike on this account in the current year as the Pay Commission report was not implemented when tariff was announced. However, now that the report has been implemented, the additional financial burden will be included in the ARR. 

Bassi, March 24
Chief Minister PK Dhumal laid the foundation stone of a cattle feed farm and agriculture produce market under the Bhoranj assembly constituency today.

Using the occasion, the Chief Minister also took Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh to task over his alleged remarks about the state being “sold” by the present government.

Addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation stone of a mini secretariat here today, Dhumal said, “In 1998, Virbhadra had abdicated 191 bighas of land to the state government saying the land was wrongly registered in his name by the revenue department after the death of his mother.

However, interestingly, out of this piece of land, 80 bighas was again transferred to his name by a revenue official who was later elevated as a judge in the administrative tribunal during his regime,” he said .

Ridiculing the claims of Congress leaders about starting many projects under their regime, Dhumal said, “Some people are in the habit of speaking. However, we believe in action and not in mere speech.”

Talking about various projects undertaken by the state government for the development of villages, Dhumal said, “Our aim is to create employment opportunities in the rural areas and for this purpose, we have started poly-house project for which the state government is providing 80 per cent subsidy and also the Doodh Ganga project,” he said.

Education Minister ID Dhiman and MP Anurag Thakur also addressed the meeting. 

Dharamsala, March 24
The new mining policy adopted by the state government for Kangra district is likely to increase cost of construction. Under the new mining policy the department of industry has decided to go for open auction of mines in just Kangra district. In other districts the old policy of giving mines on lease is still in tact.

Maximum mines in the state are concentrated in the border district of Kangra. The mining cartels of the adjoining state as Punjab have maximum interest in sand and gravel mines of Kangra district adjoining Gurdaspur. In Punjab these cartels that are dominated by politicians are controlling the gravel mines of the Chaki river that are feeding over 300 stone crushers in the area. Since the Chaki river has been exhausted on the Punjab side, the cartels are now eyeing the river areas falling in Himachal along the borders of the state.

Earlier, the mining department used to give yearly lease of mines to locals. This kept prices of construction material in check. The lease policy also kept in consideration the employment provided to locals through mining leases. In lower areas of Himachal due to ample availability of construction material the cost of construction was generally lower than adjoining areas of Punjab where the mines are being controlled by cartels.

The district administration of Kangra had also expressed strong reservations about the new policy. The officers had written to the government to at least fix per cubic meter rate of the material being mined. They were of the view if there is no check on price of auctioned mines the people taking them would sell the material at inflated rates. This would not only affect the common people but also government works going on in the state.

The government has, however, not paid any heed to the advice of Kangra officials. The government is just eyeing extra revenue of just a few crores at the cost of common man, said an officer while speaking to The Tribune on the condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, affected parties have moved the Himachal High Court pleading for early auction of mines. The sources in the district administration here told The Tribune that the court had now directed them to hold the auction of mines at the earliest.

The mining officials when contacted also expressed the apprehension that the mining cartels from other states are likely to dominate the auctions of mines in Kangra district. 

Mandi, March 24
Despite in-party tussle, Congress leaders today made a “united attack” on Chief Minister PK Dhumal, accusing him of granting the state’s valuable land to land mafias in violation of Section 118 of the HP Land and Tenancy Act.

Addressing a press conference here, Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, state president Kaul Singh Thakur, former Excise and Taxation Minister Rangila Ram Rao and other Congress leaders alleged that development, which started during the Congress regime, had come to a standstill and the present government was out to make Himachal a safe haven for criminals.

Virbhadra Singh alleged that Dhumal was playing with the cultural ecology and peaceful atmosphere of Himachal by allowing industrialists from outside the state to set up base here.

“In a bid to make fast money, the government is allotting land to outsiders on a large scale, violating Section 118 of the HP Act,” he alleged.

“Eighteen private universities in a small state like Himachal is nothing but a ploy to grab precious land,” said Kaul Singh.

He said bus fares had been hiked by 55 per cent in the past two years in the state. “The common man has been burdened and the the party demands an immediate rollback in the hike,” Kaul Singh said.

Sundernagar, March 24
The five-day Devta Mela concluded here today. MLA Roop Singh Thakur was the chief guest on the occasion. He along with other BJP leaders took part in the shobha yatra taken out today. This year 120 hill gods participated in the mela.

On the concluding day of the mela, the hill gods were brought to the Mahamaya temple where puja was performed and then the procession started from here. The hill gods were first taken to the Royal Palace where members of royal family performed puja of hill gods. Afterwards, the shobha yatra made a round of the town and concluded at the Jawahar Park, where the chief guest offered “najrana” (gifts) to the deities and the fair concluded.

Singh said the government was committed to preserve the fairs of Himachal being part of the hill culture. He further said this year the government had hiked “najrana” of devtas by 25 per cent.

Devotees who participated in the shobha yatra complained that the mela committee had not made proper arrangements for drinking water.

Bilaspur, March 24
Himachal Kisan Manch, an organisation devoted to farmers, has urged Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to look into grievances of lakhs of farmers of the 10 lower hill districts of the state. They asked the CM to declare khair trees as agriculture produce on the pattern of the Punjab government, which had declared safeda and poplar trees as the same.

They also urged the CM to fix rates of khair wood according to the prevailing prices in other states of the region and save them from exploitation.

State chief convener of the association Krishan Kumar Kaushal said here today that a deputation of the state kisan manch met the Chief Minister and presented him a memorandum giving details of exploitation of poor farmers. They sought his immediate intervention into this matter as Forest Department officials were compelling farmers to sell khair wood at lowest price of Rs 600 per quintal before the March 31 deadline after which they would not be allowed to fell these trees for another 10 years.

However, this price was fixed by the state government in 1993.

Kaushal pleaded that prices of all commodities have increased about 10times since then and it was injustice to force farmers to sell their produce at the price fixed 17 years ago, knowing that the prices of final products made out of khair wood had increased 15 to 20 times in the market.

Dharamsala, March 24
The anglers’ meet that was held about a fortnight ago at Pong Dam reservoir has brought to the fore decline in Golden Mahseer population in the Beas.

The anglers, who had gathered here, found it hard to find the famous game fish of Indian rivers in Pong reservoir.

While talking to The Tribune, KB Rahlan, secretary general of the Himachal Angling Association, said over the years the population and size of Golden Mahseer had been going down in the rivers of Himachal. The government was not taking any step to check the declining population, he added.

He said in 1976, the National Commission on Agriculture, in its report under the fisheries chapter, pointed out the decline in Mahseer population all over the country. In 1978, immediately after its inception, the angling association had sought that Golden Mahseer should be included in the list of endangered species.

After hectic lobbying by environmentalists, in 1990 the fish was declared as endangered species.

However, neither the state nor the Union government took any serious step towards protecting Mahseer. As per data collected by the angling association, in the past 10 to 15 years, the appearance of Mahseer in the catches of local fishermen using cast nets had dipped to as low as 2 per cent.

The decline is more alarming due to the fact that scientists have not been able to breed the fish variety under controlled conditions as yet. The fisheries department of Palampur Agriculture University has been trying to breed Golden Mahseer under controlled conditions since long. However, the experiments have not yielded any results.

Fish experts revealed that construction of dams that had obstructed the smooth migration of Mahseer brooders, destruction of migratory routes and breeding grounds were the basic reasons for declining population of the fish.

Illegal mining from the rivulets has devastated the migratory routes and breeding grounds of the fish. During the upward journey to cold streams, brooders, heavily loaded with eggs and slowly moving in shoals, are easily killed with chemicals, leading to destruction of future population.

The state government should spread mass awareness regarding breeding routes of Mahseer fish. The rivulets that are being used as breeding routes by the Mahseer should be protected from mining activities.

The government should also fund a research project for producing Mahseer fingerlings in captivity so that they can be released in wild to maintain the population, the anglers demanded.

Kasauli, March 24
Narendra K Verma, GM-basin manager, Frontier Basins, Dehradun, today initiated drilling work at Gosan village, near Kasauli, where exploratory work was undertaken earlier. It was for the first time that the ONGC was going to explore the sub-thrust prospectively in the imbricate belt in the outer Himalayas.

Verma told The Tribune that, “Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited was hopeful of succeeding in hydrocarbon discovery in the area for commercial purposes. Continued and sustained efforts put in by the team made it possible to initiate exploratory drilling in the area despite several odds.”

He said, “The surface data thus collected has created an optimism about its commercial exploitation which failed to be materialised at their earlier site located at Jwalamukhi in Kangra district.”

State geologist Arun Sharma expressed optimism for the ONGC succeeding in its commercial exploration. It was various geo-scientific studies in the area, which led to the identification of Kasauli prospect and subsequent release of exploratory location, which would be probed by drilling. This in turn forms a part of minimum work programme commitment in the block in phase II of exploration. Drilling depth of 5300 m was planned so as to achieve the target for which a time period of one year had been fixed initially. About Rs 40 to 50 crore would be incurred on the project which if successful would largely revolutionise the economy of the region as well as the country.

The ONGC had sought an exploratory and drilling licence from the state government to undertake this venture under the NELF policy so as to meet the increasing demand of petroleum products.

Mandi, March 24
Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh categorically stated that the Dhumal government was not serious about extension of the industrial package that would expire on March 31.

“Interests of Himachal are safer in the Congress-led UPA government and the BJP leaders only indulge in double talks, blaming the UPA for its own failures,” he remarked.

Responding to media queries on the extension of industrial package for Himachal, Virbhadra Singh, who is here on a week-long tour, alleged that the present government had trivialised the issue of extension of industrial package before the Centre by asking for extension till 2020.

“This only shows that the Dhumal regime is not serious about the issue,” he said.

The Union minister said the state government did not seriously plead its case before the Centre except haranguing in the media over extension of the package till 2020.

“I have taken up the matter with the Centre and hopefully the package will be extended till next 
year,” he added.

On the objections being raised by the neighbouring Punjab and Haryana, including Gujarat, against industrial package for Himachal, Virbhadra Singh said the states had no reasons to oppose the package. They should revel in the progress of Himachal rather than feel jealous, he added.

He said Himachal continued to be a special-category state and had been getting 90 per cent central grants and 10 per cent loans to be raised by the state itself.

“The Centre has sanctioned Rs 3,000 crore for the state this year and the state’s Budget of Rs 15,000 crore will fall short if it fails to raise the loans,” he said.

Meanwhile, the minister said certain “nefarious elements” were creating trouble at the work site of the ESIC medical college near Ner Chowk and he urged the state government to enforce law and order there as the progress of the work was suffering over a period of time.

He also added that work on the Rs 3000 crore IIT, Mandi, at Kamand would be started soon as the HRD Ministry was already on the job.

Mandi, March 24
Even as patients continue to suffer at Mandi zonal hospital here as the Rs 3 crore CT scan machine has been out of order for the past 10 months, health authorities are wrestling with a typical problem whether to pay Rs 16 lakh bill to repair the machine or discard it and outsource CT scan facility to private laboratories.

The machine has been out of order for the past 10 months at the hospital, giving a tough time to patients. “We have to go to expensive private laboratories for CT scan,” the patients said.

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities have yet to make their minds as the private company, which had installed the machine in 2000, are demanding Rs 6 lakh annual maintenance charges from the hospital.

However, the fact is that even a company mechanic was caught red-handed by hospital officials fitting substandard parts in the scan machine a few months ago, raising questions about the genuineness of the entire machine, according to sources.

It was found that the machine’s camera, mother board and other parts had run out of service. The company mechanic repaired the machine in October last but it broke down after five days, said officials.

Mandi CMO AB Gupta said they had constituted a committee to look into the problem. “We have been asked to pay Rs 16 lakh on the machines for both repairs and maintenance. However, the company is not giving us any guarantee that the machine will function or not,” he added.

Dr Gupta said the decision whether to outsource the CT scan facilities to private labs or pay the Rs 16 lakh bill on the machine had been left to the higher authorities for the time being. 

Kangra, March 24
Tension gripped Gupt Ganga locality of the town today when a private tourist bus from Uttar Pradesh dashed into a 250 KVA transformer of the HPSEB while reversing. This resulted into damage to the transformer and the HPSEB authorities demanded compensation to the tune of Rs 50,000 from the pilgrims.

Kangra SDPO Jeet Singh Thakur said the bus (UP83M-9372) was being reversed by the driver at the parking place of the local municipal committee in Gupt Ganga when it dashed into the transformer, which got tilted.

The SDPO said a major tragedy was averted as an 11 KV line, which could of have electrocuted the passengers, just missed touching the bus. He said there was no fencing around the basement on which the transformer was set up which could have saved the situation.

He said tension gripped when HPSEB officials headed by the local SDO demanded compensation of Rs 50,000 from pilgrims for damaging the transformer.

The pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Delhi protested against the officials. They said the transformer had been established in the centre of the parking place and there was no fencing around the basement of the transformer, which could have averted the accident.

Following intervention of the police, the pilgrims paid Rs 5,000 to the HPSEB authorities and the situation was defused.

Meanwhile, executive engineer of the HPSEB Uppal said the transformer was fenced.

Shimla, March 24
Accusing Darlaghat police officials of being on the payrolls of Ambuja Cement, the CPM has demanded a vigilance inquiry into the assets and functioning of senior police functionaries posted there.

Member of the state secretariat of the CPM Tikender Singh Panwar on Monday demanded a vigilance inquiry into the assets of Darlaghat police officials.

“There is a treacherous connivance of senior police officials posted at Darlaghat with the management of Ambuja Cement, which needs to be looked into,” he demanded in a representation given to Chief Minister PK Dhumal, here today.

He also demanded immediate release of Pyare Lal Verma, member of the Solan district secretariat. “Pyare Lal is a popular leader among peasants and for the last three months he has been fighting for their rights which finally resulted in his arrest today on very frivolous grounds,” he said.

He further demanded that people of the area should get adequate compensation for their land, proper rehabilitation and resettlement of land losers and employment for the landless and affected families.

“Those who have tampered with the land records at the behest of Ambuja management be arrested and suitable action be taken against them,” he added.