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Power tariff hike on cards
Protest continues against Hul power project
Virbhadra in firing line again
Vocational Courses |
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HC gets tough on illegal mining
Cops destroy illegal poppy crop
State team in Gujarat to study health schemes
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Power tariff hike on cards
Shimla, April 20 As against the expenditure of Rs 2,687.84 crore approved by the commission for 2010-11, the board has projected a revenue requirement of Rs 3,308.29 crore for the current
financial year. If the ARR is approved as it is, the average power tariff will go up steeply from the existing Rs 3.84 to Rs 4.45 per unit. The domestic consumers may have to bear the brunt of the hike as power subsidy has been capped at Rs 163 crore under the agreement signed by the government with the
World Bank for availing Rs 900-crore development policy loan. The implementation of revised pay scale has sharply increased the employee cost, which is projected to go up from Rs 773 crore approved for the last year to a whopping Rs 1,069.14 crore. Much will depend on the actual payment of arrears to be made during the year. Last year, the board had projected the employee cost at Rs 860 crore but the commission allowed only Rs 773 crore. The board follows the government in the matter, if the government decides to release more arrears the outgo on account of salaries and pensions will go up. With over 21,000 employees on rolls the employee cost which is already highest in the country at Rs 1.20 per unit, will jump further to Rs 1.45
per unit. The high cost of power purchase due to declining surplus is the other major factor contributing to the increase in expenditure. No major project of the board is likely to come up and it will have to purchase power from other sources to meet the increase in demand from 6,573 million units to 7,100 million units (projected). The additional power available as the state’s share from new projects in the region will be costly as only hydropower projects are coming up for which the tariff is high in the initial years. There will be virtually no surplus power available for sale outside the state like the past and, thus, the net power
purchase cost will increase sharply. The board has over 21,000 employees and about 900 employees retire annually. After taking into account fresh recruitments the net decrease will be around 650 and as such it will take almost a decade to downsize the over-staffed organisation. The board is working on a scheme to redeploy about 1,500 surplus employees after training. The board has sought increase in tariff ranging from 25 paise per unit (domestic supply) to Rs 1.25 per unit (extra high-tension supply) but the commission will work out its own rates in accordance with the tariff policy. |
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Protest continues against Hul power project
Chamba, April 20 Their contention is that there will be no water left for the ongoing and future drinking water and irrigation schemes for Sillagharat, Jadera, Barour, Sungal, Kaila and Paloohin gram panchayats if this project is allowed to be constructed. Also the 5-km-long channel to be built for the project will take a toll on the rich oak forests on which the Gaddis and the Gujjars depend for fodder. Due to these reasons the residents of the area have been protesting against the construction of this project ever since its survey in 2002. Last year, the area had witnessed an unprecedented incident of firing by certain people on peaceful protesters. Despite this attempt to breach the peace of the area, the government has been dithering on the decision to cancel the controversial project. The consent of the affected gram sabhas is necessary before the construction of any project. However, the state government has been trying to push this project despite all the local gram sabhas having passed resolutions against the project. In the light of the long-standing protest by the public and firing on the protesters, the state government had held a public hearing on March 26, 2010, to assess peoples’ opinion regarding the project. The people of the area had gathered in thousands at Jadera to register their protest against the project. “The report of this public hearing has been sent to the state government more than a year ago but its contents have not yet seen the light of day. The people of the area have demanded this report to be made public and to cancel the project if the report presents a true assessment of the peoples’ sentiments,” said Man Singh, pradhan of the Jadera gram panchayat where the project is to be constructed. “In the state’s water policy, priority is given to drinking water, irrigation, environment, bio-diversity, forestry and tourism over hydropower and industry. Then why does the government want to contravene its own policy in case of the Hul-I hydroelectric project,” said Kulbhushan Upmanyu, president of the Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, at a press conference in Chamba today. “The government is trying to violate the fundamental rights to life and livelihood of the people of the five panchayats by promoting this project. The government should cancel this project to show that it really cares about the common people’s rights, the decision of gram sabhas and environment,” said Rattan Chand, an eminent environmentalist and a leader of the Sal Ghati Sangharsh Morcha. |
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Virbhadra in firing line again
Dharamsala, April 20 The ministers alleged that the Union minister, who was here to attend the engagement ceremony of the son of Nagrota Bagwan Congress MLA GS Bali on Sunday, had left his entire security and gone
to an undisclosed destination, along with two Congress MLAs. The minister said Virbhadra should explain to the public why he had left his security. The security was provided to the minister by the state as well as the Union Government. They also said on the one hand Virbhadra had taken up the issue of his security and phone tapping, and on the other he was leaving his security to visit undisclosed places in the night. They also said Virbhadra should now take rest as per the advice of HPCC President Kaul Singh. The Congress leader has, however, termed the statement of the BJP ministers as irresponsible. GS Bali said the Union minister had left the venue of the party along with his entire security. The two
MLAs, who left with him, were in a separate vehicle. “I have no knowledge if he had gone to an undisclosed destination. However, raising such an issue is below the dignity of a Cabinet minister,” he said. The HPCC spokesperson for Kangra district and Virbhadra’s close aide Kewal Singh Pathania said the entire police and security establishment was under the state government. It seemed that the BJP ministers did not have trust in their own security. |
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Vocational Courses
New Delhi, April 20 In the verdict, the SC reprimanded the state High Court for quashing the Cabinet decision, thereby undermining the government’s “constitutional authority and powers to frame policy, especially in such vital areas like imparting technical education.” The HC’s quashing the Cabinet decision and “as a consequence issuing several directions is unacceptable and contrary to the well-established principles,” a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan ruled. Pointing out that the HC had reserved its judgment in the case on July 3, 2009 (15 days before the Cabinet decision), the apex court observed that the HC should not have dealt with the Cabinet decision without reopening the case. The courses that were discontinued were Art and Craft, Library Science and Physical Training Instructor (PTI). “The HC has lost sight of the fact that education is a dynamic system and courses/subjects have to keep changing with regard to market demand, employability potential, availability of infrastructure, etc”, it said. “No institute can have a legitimate right or expectation to run a particular course forever and it is the pervasive power and authority vested in the government to frame policy and guidelines for progressive and legitimate growth of the society and create balances in the arena inclusive of imparting technical education from time to time,” the apex court held. Ultimately, the SC pointed out, it was the responsibility of the state to provide good education, training and employment and as such it was best suited to frame a policy or modify or alter a decision depending on the circumstance based on relevant and acceptable materials. “The courts do not substitute their views in the decision of the state government with regard to policy matters. In fact, the courts must refuse to sit as appellate authority or super legislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation or policy decision of the government unless it runs counter to the mandate of the Constitution,” the SC Bench ruled. Further, the courts “cannot interfere lightly as if the government is unaware of the situation.” The SC verdict came on an appeal filed by the state government, challenging the HC judgment in a case involving the HP Nizi Vyavsayik Prishikshan Kendra Sangh. |
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HC gets tough on illegal mining
Shimla, April 20 The court has also directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) to take effective steps to stop illegal mining. The court also directed the Member Secretary, HP Science and Technology Council, to visit the spot and inspect the present status of the site. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Sanjay Karol passed this order yesterday on a petition wherein the issue of illegal mining in Damtal had been raised. While passing the order, the Bench further observed that affidavits of government officials revealed that about 4 lakh metric tonnes of mineral was extracted and unfortunately the government had done nothing except compounding the offences. The court also said though the notification was issued for the ban of mining at Chakki Khud from the railway bridge in Kangra district, despite that mining lease was granted and illegal mining continued. The court observed that it was unfortunate that more than 541 challans were made in a small area. This showed that the government had completely failed in protecting its minerals. The court directed all officers of the Mining, Pollution and Industry Department to take action against illegal miners as per the provisions of law and file their status report by May 3. |
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Bid to offer head at Jwalamukhi temple
Kangra, April 20 Dehra DSP Paras Ram said Raj Kumar had arrived at Jwalamukhi last evening and entered the shrine this morning. The DSP said he took out a sword and attempted to offer his head before the idol of the goddess. He said the temple security officials overpowered him and foiled his attempt. However, Raj Kumar was able to slit his throat and it started bleeding. He was rushed to the local hospital. He said a case under Section 309, IPC, had been registered against the youth. Senior Medical Superintendent of Tanda Medical College Sataya Bandoo Sood said Raj Kumar was brought here with a cut in his throat and he was under treatment. He said he was out of danger. Raj Kumar told this correspondent that it was his devotion for the goddess that he wanted to make that offering. When asked about Dhyanoo Bhagat who had come here from UP and offered his head at the Bajjreshwari temple, Raj Kumar said he was not inspired by him, but he had devotion for the goddess. The police had informed his family members about the incident. Earlier, a devotee had offered his tongue in the Jwalamukhi temple. |
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Cops destroy illegal poppy crop
Mandi/Kullu, April 20 The police teams destroyed illegal poppy plantation on over 30 bighas of private land and has registered six cases under the NDPS Act. The police team, led by Kullu SP Abhishek Duler, detected the poppy plants in full bloom in the Bhalan area under the Bhuntar police station. The 10-member team entered Gehri village which had poppy plants 5-ft in height. Surprisingly, it was in this area that the police and the district administration had an anti-poppy awareness camp early this year in which over 400 villagers participated. The SP said some villagers had grown illegal poppy along with the pea crop to avoid detection. “We have destroyed the poppy on over 30 bighas of private land and registered four cases in the Bhalan-II panchayat. No arrest has been made as the villagers deserted the village and no field kanungo was present to identify the land owners,” he added. He said the police also launched its operation in Manali, Ani and Sainj areas and registered three cases in the Sainj valley and one case in the Ani area. “The drive will continue till all the illegal cultivation is destroyed,”
he added. Duler said the police had done the videography of the area and would take the kanungos tomorrow to identify the private land owners and arrest them. “The police has also detected the crop destroyed by the villagers and will not book them,” he added. |
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15 Mandi youths cheated of
Rs 26 lakh
Mandi, April 20 Talking to The Tribune here today, chairman of the anti-corruption society Amarjit Singh, who led the complainants to the SP, said the agent had been identified as Megh Singh of Chakkar village, Mandi. He had allegedly collected over Rs 26 lakh from the local youth promising them foreign jobs. The youth and their families had approached him as the agent had given an advertisement in a newspaper as Chandigarh his head office, which was also fake, he added. Sukh Ram and his brother Hukam Chand from Kothi Gehri village in Mandi, the victims, who also met the SP, told The Tribune that the agent had taken Rs 1.5 lakh each from them for sending them to Dubai. But when they landed at Dubai they demanded more money and they managed to get back after a month, the victims rued. Meanwhile, all 25 youths accompanied by the anti-corruption NGO held a protest in front of Megh Singh’s house, demanding their money back. Mandi SP DP Prasad said he had ordered an inquiry and a case would be registered in this connection. |
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State team in Gujarat to study health schemes
Shimla, April 20 The minister, along with Principal Secretary, Health, PC Dhiman, and other officers, visited the Public Health Centre (PHC), Sugar, in Gandhinagar district, to study the “e-mamta yojana,” a scheme under which special attention is being paid to women from the time of the birth of the child till the attainment of one year of age to help reduce infant mortality rate. The team visited the Randheja Sub-health Centre, where it was appraised about the mother and child safety measures being adopted in Gujarat. The minister in a meeting with health officers of the state held a discussion on the issue, particularly the schemes which could be implemented in HP. The team also studied about the Gujarat Hospital Management Information System at the Regional Hospital and met Chief Minister Narender Modi. Dr Bindal also held a meeting with his counterpart Jai Narayan Vyas at which senior health officers of both the states discussed the various ongoing special health schemes. |
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