IG, North Zone, Dharamsala, PL Thakur admitted that the section under the FCRA had been added in the case as the foreign currency was recovered from the Karmapa monastery. It was part of contributions from foreigners to the trust. However, it did not have permission from the Union Ministry of Foreign Affairs to receive foreign contributions, he said.

Officials of the Enforcement Directorate, who are also investigating the case, have, however, different views over the matter.

The deputy director, Enforcement Directorate, Chandigarh Zone, V Neerja, said they were investigating the violations made by the trust under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The investigation was still going on and they would submit the report to headquarters, she said.

When asked if they would also investigate the FCRA violations allegedly made by the trust, V Neerja said: “It is the exclusive jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Until the ministry issues a notification and authorises the agency, it cannot investigate the case under the FCRA”, she said.

The IG, PL Thakur, when asked if the Himachal Police had got permission from the ministry for proceeding a case under the FCRA against the Karmapa trust, he said no such permission had been sought as yet.

He said, “We have added the section since there was enough evidence of the FCRA violations in the case. If required, permission will be sought from the ministry later”, he said. Sources here said the permission from the ministry for investigations into the FCRA was mandatory as its probe might extend beyond countries borders, which was not within the jurisdiction of the state police.

Shimla, March 16
Instead of harping on the BJP’s pet theme of “discrimination against the state by the UPA regime”, national general secretary of the party JP Nadda today appealed to the Congress to join hands with the government to help secure the state’s due from the Centre, particularly the special package, to tide over the financial crisis created by the erroneous recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.

Participating in a debate on the budget, he said the gross under-assessment of the state’s committed liability on account of salaries and pensions by the commission had pushed it into a serious crisis. The actual liability worked out to Rs 5,800 crore whereas the commission assessed it at only Rs 3,900 crore.

As a result, the government was finding it difficult to clear the arrears of pay revision and had sought a special package of Rs 2,500 crore for the purpose. Chief Minister PK Dhumal had raised the issues with the Prime Minister and the Planning Commission as a result of which a committee was set up to find out a solution to the problems being faced by special category states. However, the committee had not held any meeting so far.

The Centre had also agreed to grant green bonus to the states which protected forests on the basis of environment index and a sum of Rs 3,000 crore was earmarked for the purpose. Himachal was at the second place as per the index but no funds had been given so far.

He said the Congress should cooperate with the government and support its endeavour to secure the much-needed financial package. It was his first speech after he resigned as the Forest Minister to join the team of Nitin Gadkari at the national-level.

The problem of the state had been compounded due to high rate of inflation for which the wrong policy of the Centre in allowing future trading in foodgrain was mainly responsible. The data of the commodity exchange revealed that as against the promised trading of 10,84,633 crore, the actual translations amounted to jut Rs 3,591 crore, which came to a meagre 0.33 per cent. The government must take out food items from commodity teasing to hold the price line.

Shimla, March 16
Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala told the House that availability of cooking gas in the state would improve with the opening of 73 new outlets in the rural areas under the Rajiv Gandhi Gas Agency Scheme.

Stating this during the Question Hour in the Vidhan Sabha today, he said the new agencies would be set up in areas with a population in excess of 5,000 and a minimum of 1,000 connections. In the urban towns, a new agency was set up for a minimum of 6,000 connections.

He said the state faced shortage of refills due to problems at the Panipat refinery as supply was reduced. The situation had improved but there was still a backlog of over 1.1 lakh refills. The government had taken steps to check misuse of domestic refills for commercial purposes and seized 668 refills and recovered a fine of Rs 7,32,188 from the offenders. There were 13,92,549 domestic connections in the state and 17,937 commercial connections.

In a written reply, the Public Works Minister informed Kaul Singh that the government had given permission under Section 118 of the State Land Reforms and Tenancy Act to 862 non-Himachalis to purchase land in the state from January, 2008, to February 15, 2011. As many as 328 non-agriculturist Himachalis were also granted permission for purchase of land during the period.

Health Minister Rajiv Bindal informed Khushi Ram Balnatah that out of the total 13 posts of doctor and 40 posts of paramedical staff in 11 primary health centres in Rohru, seven posts of doctor and 32 posts of paramedical staff were vacant. He sad the government would consider his suggestion to allow local recruitment of paramedical staff to meet the shortage.

Mandi, March 16
In two significant judgments, president of the District Consumer Forum Rajiv Bhardwaj today directed the HRTC to pay Rs 8,000 as compensation for overcharging Re 1 from a senior citizen and in the second case, it asked the Reliance general insurance company to pay a compensation of Rs 3,71,500 to a resident of Kinnaur in a road accident case.

In the first case, the president directed the HRTC to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation to complainant Murlidhar Gujjar, a resident of Randhara in Mandi. The judge also asked the HRTC to pay Rs 3,000 as cost of litigation to the complainant.

Gujjar has pleaded that he travelled from Mandi to Rewalsar in an HRTC bus. The conductor overcharged him Re 1 as he was the holder of the smart card meant for the senior citizen. He made several pleas to the conductor but he did not budge. He moved forum and sought compensation.

In the second case, the president directed the Reliance general insurance company to pay Rs 3,71,500 as compensation to the complainant.

Rakesh Kumar Negi, a resident of Kinnaur, had moved forum after the company refused to pay him his due compensation for the vehicle he had insured with it. He had pleaded that his vehicle met with an accident, but the company did not compensate as per its terms and conditions.

The president heard both sides and gave his verdict in favour of the complainant and directed the company to pay him Rs 3,71,500 as compensation and Rs 3,000 as the cost of the litigation. The forum also imposed Rs 3,000 as fine on the company.8,000

Shimla, March 16
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today laid the foundation stone of the Central Training Institute for Home Guards and Civil Defence at Sargeen on the Shoghi-Dhalli bypass estimated to cost Rs 1.46 crore.

The Chief Minister said with the construction of the new institute latest training facilities would be made available to the trainees of the Home Guard volunteers who had been rendering yeoman service in supplementing the efforts of the police in maintaining law and order, besides supplementing the emergency services.

Dhumal said Rs 74 lakh had been provided to start the construction work on priority and the project would be housing an administrative block, parade ground, rescue tower, water pool, barracks, armoury and store.

He said the government had enhanced the daily allowance of Home Guard volunteers, besides rank allowance, benefiting 1,660 rank holders of the organisation. He said with the completion of the new training centre over the next one year, the Home Guards and civil defence organisation would be equipped with latest techniques of dealing with various emergency services.

B Kamal Kumar, Additional Director General of Police-cum-Commandant General, Home Guards, said efforts would be made to complete the centre within a year. He also detailed various skill upgrade activities of the organisation in the present day context.

Shimla, March 16
The state government will soon formulate a Comprehensive Special Policy for regularisation of encroachments by the Bhakra Dam oustees on the government land in Bilaspur as a special measure.

Revenue Minister Thakur Gulab Singh said this while presiding over a meeting of the Bhakra Oustees’ Rights Protection Committee here today.

He said the Bhakra Dam Project had been constructed at the cost of people of Bilaspur district who had sacrificed their ancestral land and houses to pave the way for the construction of the dam.

He said since the most fertile land had been submerged under the dam water and thousands of families rendered homeless, it was important to ensure that all of them were properly rehabilitated.

The minister said 364 eligible oustees of the Bhakra Dam were yet to be allotted plots and the process of plot development was in progress.

He said it was due to the deep concern of Chief Minister PK Dhumal that rehabilitation of the left out Bhakra Dam oustees had been revived.

New Delhi, March 16
The Himachal government today concluded its arguments in the Supreme Court over its power sharing dispute with the Centre and neighbouring states, strongly pleading for 12 per cent free power from the Bhakra and the Beas projects on the basis of submergence and a 7.16 per cent share on account of the transfer of population transfer under the Punjab Re-organisation Act 1966.

A Bench comprising Justices RV Raveendran and AK Patnaik heard the arguments on HP’s original suit filed in 1996. The state’s pleadings spread over several days were made by senior counsel AK Ganguly and JS Attri, besides additional advocate general NK Sharma.

HP’s counsel relied on an agreement “initialed” by the erstwhile Raja of Bilaspur and the chief engineer of Punjab prior to the enactment of the Indian Constitution which had stipulated compensation and royalty.

They said the hilly state, however, reduced its claim to 12 per cent, from 50 per cent demanded on the basis of being the mother state, after the 1985 Union Cabinet decision under which the states, where the hydro-power projects were located, would get 12 per cent free power.

The hearing will continue tomorrow. At present, HP is getting 2.5 per cent from Bhakra and 15 MW from Beas one project and nothing from Beas two.

Nurpur, March 16
The police today booked in-laws of Sapna Devi of ward number 1 here for allegedly harassing and beating her for dowry.According to the police, the complainant, Sapna, has alleged that her father-in-law Prem Lal and mother-in-law Kamlesh were torturing her and demanding money from her parents. She was married to Hitesh of Bhanolla in Chamba district in 2003. He runs a private clinic at Dunera.

She alleged that on March 14 she was mercilessly beaten by her in-laws. She intimated her parents who brought her back the next day.

After reporting a complaint today, the police conducted a medical examination of the victim and registered an FIR against the duo.