Dharamsala, May 19
Chief Minister PK Dhumal has flayed Union Minister Virbhadra Singh for playing politics over the issue of Central University. Talking to The Tribune here today, the CM said on his recent visit to Dehra, Virbhadra Singh had stated that the entire campus of Central University should have been brought up at Dehra.

Ironically, at Dharamsala, the minister opposed the Central University centre at Dehra, Dhumal alleged. He said the statements of Virbhadra Singh illustrated that he was just playing politics over the issue.

He said a decision regarding having two centres of Central University at Dehra and Dharamsala had been taken by the Union Ministry of Human Resources.

If Virbhadra Singh had some problem, he should take it up with the government as he was a Cabinet minister.

Dhumal said the government was trying to bring private universities in Kullu, Mandi, Chamba and Bilaspur district. These were four districts where there was no private university as yet.

The Symboisis education group had shown interest in opening a private university in Bilaspur district. A few other groups had also shown interest in opening private universities in Jogindernagar of Mandi district.

He also said the state government was just acting as a facilitator for private universities. It had not provided any government land for opening the private universities. The people setting up private universities had brought land directly from the owners, he said.

About the statement of Virbhadra that the inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court would delay the inquiry, he said it was unfortunate that the Union minister did not even have faith in the judicial system of the country. The government has handed over the inquiry to a sitting judge of the High Court to carry out an impartial probe into the matter.

The CM, who was here for LK Advani, left this morning to attend the planning board meeting.

Mandi, May 19
It was a déjà vu for Justice Swatantra Kumar, sitting judge of the Supreme Court here, in this temple town when he addressed students and teachers of his alma mater, Government Vijay Boys’ Senior School, Mandi, and later members of the Mandi Bar and judicial officers where he once served as the Additional District Judge.

Addressing the students, including alumni of the school at the morning assembly, Justice Swatantra Kumar said students should respect their teachers and should not be disheartened by failure. They could rise in life by doing hard work, he added.

Sharing his experience with the students of the school where he had studied from Class IV to X in the 1950s, the justice said, “I was a good speaker, but did not excel in studies. Our Hindi and Sanskrit teacher JP Shastri used to pull us up for committing mistakes. But we respected our teachers”.

When school Principal Madhu Varsha pointed out the dilapidated condition of the old school building he said if he were in some position of power in the state, he would have renovated the building.

Later, he launched the website of the schools www.gsssvijay.com. He announced Rs 3,500 as monthly scholarship in the name of his father, OP Sharma, who had served in Mandi as District and Sessions Judge in the 1950s, for the topper of the board school examinations from this school for two years.

After the school function, he addressed judicial officers and members of the Mandi Bar and urged them to work hard to strengthen the roots of the institutions.

Kullu/Manali, May 19
After cancelling his fake agricultural certificate, Kullu Deputy Commissioner (DC) BM Nanta has served a show-cause notice on Avinash Garg, a benami land owner, who has built his plush residence near the summer residence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Prini and bought four other land properties at Bahang and Solang in the uphill of Manali.

The DC has issued a show-cause notice under Section 118, HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, on him asking Avinash as to why his five properties should not be vested with the government.

But Avinash seemed to have gone underground after Chief Minister PK Dhumal announced an inquiry into the benami land deal that aimed at pinning the Congress down on corruption.

As per official inquiry conducted by the DC, Solan, and the DC, Kullu, Avinash and his father Amritlal were on a property hunt in Manali since 1990. In fact, Amritlal, a resident of Chota Kheda, Ropar, bought one bigha land in 1990 at Dhabota mohal in Nalagarh.

But then tehsildar had written a note on the jamabandi stating that Amritlal did not qualify for getting the agriculture certificate”.

But the benami dealer sat quiet till 1995-96 and then Avinash procured the copy of the “patvar jamabandi” wherein the original note that dismissed his claims for getting the agricultural certificate was surprisingly missing or was deleted, revealed the inquiry report.

After 17 years, Avinash managed to acquire an agricultural certificate countersigned by then tehsildar, Nalagarh, in 2007. The tehsildar finally issued the agricultural certificate on January 30, 2008, to Avinash Garg.

Avinash then used this “fake certificate” and bought five land properties measuring 2,539 sq ft of land about (3.10 bighas) in Prini, Bahang and Solang, the ski resort in the uphill from Manali subsequently, revealed the inquiry report.

It found that Avinash had built a plush residence at Prini nearby the summer residence of Vajpayee and constructed a building at Solang and running other business from Bahang near Manali.

When the benami land deal was detected from the note in the “sarkar jamabandi”, which was missing from the “patvar jamabandi”, the DC, Kullu, asked the DC, Solan, to verify the matter. The DC, Solan, in his report on July 19, 2010, cancelled the agricultural certificate issued to Avinash.

DC Kullu BM Nanta said they had issued a show-cause notice to Avinash under Section 118 and asked him to reply within 10 days as to why his five properties he had acquired by the fake agricultural certificate should not be vested with the government.

Dharamsala, May 19
Congress leaders today launched a scathing attack on the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) alleging that the organisation had been made as a political platform by the BJP.

Senior Congress leader and former MP Chander Kumar and HPCC spokesperson Kewal Singh Pathania, while addressing a press conference here today, alleged that if voted to power, the Congress government would take over the Pavillion hotel being brought up the HPCA.

“We will take over the hotel and give it for making the office of the VC of Himachal Pradesh Central University,” they said.

They alleged that while the state government was maintaining that it did not have land for setting up Central University at Dharamsala, it had given about 80 kanal land on lease to the HPCA for bringing up a five-star hotel.

The Congress leaders went on to even oppose the Akshardham temple in Dharamsala. They alleged that the land being given for bringing up the Akshardham temple should be used for setting up some education institute.

Meanwhile, GS Bali, another senior Congress leader and MLA from Nagrota Bagwan, in a separate press conference, claimed that Kings XI Punjab was forced to refund Rs 100 per ticket to the students after he offered to provide subsidy on his own.

Kangra (OC): Senior Congress leader GS Bali today warned the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association to desist from indulging in politics and suggested HPCA officials to restrict themselves to the game of cricket only.

Bali said this while addressing a press conference at his residence here today. He described it unfortunate that the HPCA had started indulging in politics which would have serious repercussions.

Bali said the HPCA was not a political organisation. So it had no right to indulge in politics and issue statements against senior Congress leaders.

He suggested the HPCA to improve cricket as a game and not use cricket as a political tool for its political vested interests.

Shimla, May 19
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said he had requested the Planning Commission to provide a special financial package to Himachal to fill the void caused due to the reduced Special Plan Assistance and lowering of the borrowing limit.

He was presiding over the Planning, Development and 20-Point Programme Review Committee meeting held here today. “Himachal has been provided Special Plan Assistance of Rs 1,000 crore only against the demand of Rs 1,500 crore raised during the finalisation process of the Annual Plan for 2011-12 and the loan limit fixed at Rs 1,647 crore against the current price loan limit of Rs 1,911 crore,” he disclosed.

He said the Planning Commission had been urged to provide the Special Central Assistance to the state or allow the state to borrow additional loans from the market to match the financial assistance shortfall.

He said the Centre was evaluating the loan limit based on the evaluation of the State Gross Domestic Product by the 13th Finance Commission and if one looks at the GDP based on the current market prices, the loan limit of the state should have been Rs 2,034 crore.

He said the 13th Finance Commission had provided Rs 7,888 crore against Rs 10,202 crore provided by the 12th Finance Commission, which was affecting all Annual Plans of the state.

He said the state had ranked at number one in the implementation of 20-Point Programme during 2009-10 in the country and achievements in all indicators of the programme for 2010-11 had exceeded the target of 90 per cent and the state was likely to retain number one position in the country during 2010-11 as well.

He told the officers to ensure complete utilisation of funds to avoid any shortfall which would be viewed seriously. The Chief Minister exhorted the officers to make objective and realistic use of the Plan funds so as to accelerate the pace of development and ensure that the funds allocated were used fully.

Dhumal said the Annual Plan of Rs 3,300 crore had already been approved for the current financial year. He said the speedy and balanced development of every section of the society was being ensured.

Palampur, May 19
Dr Rajan Sushant, BJP MP, today visited the site of the15-MW Om Power project, being executed on the Neugal river, 5 km from here, which had been under attack from environmentalists for the violation of laws.

He expressed concern over the violation of environment laws and large-scale environmental degradation done by the project authorities causing damage to the public property and affecting the life of local people.

Addressing mediapersons at Bundla village, Dr Sushant said the project authorities had disturbed the fragile eco-system of the Dhauladhar hills which had resulted in major landslides.

He said drinking water supply schemes feeding 90 villages of the Palampur region had been adversely affected and local residents had been forced to consume contaminated water, which had resulted various gastro disease in the area. Besides, a number of local irrigation channels had also been damaged because of unscientific cutting of hills and dumping of debris in the Neugal.

Hundreds of affected villagers stopped Dr Sushant and lodged a protest and demanded immediate action against the project authorities, who made their lives hell.

The said they had been living in constant fear because of felling of boulders from the hills damaging their houses. He was also apprised that no compensation was paid to villagers whose houses were damaged by landslides.

Dr Sushant said the government should immediately take legal action.

Even the project authorities had also failed to deposit the local area development funds in the state exchequer, there was none in the administration to check it.

Officers of the IPH and Forest Departments accompanying the MP were answerless to the queries to the local residents.

Nurpur, May 19
The mortal remains of Sukhdeep Singh (34), a sepoy of the CRPF, who was killed in a landmine blast near Dantebara in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday evening, were consigned to the flames with full state honours at his native Jarolli village in Sadwan gram panchayat, this evening. The body of the deceased was received by the local administration, along with MLA Rakesh Pathania, at Kandwal barrier. Baldeep Singh, brother of the deceased, lit the pyre. Sukhdeep is survived by his parents, wife and four-year-old son. He was recruited in the CRPF in 2000.

The funeral was attended a large number people of the area. Pathania while paying tributes to the martyr announced to construct a metalled road to the house of the deceased. Tulsi Ram, Speaker of HP Assembly, and Ajay Mahajan, state general secretary of the Congress, also attended the funera. 

Shimla, May 19
The Wildlife Department authorities today brought here an injured female leopard caught in a trap illegally laid by villagers in the Jehar area of Sarahan in Sirmour district.

The leopard was caught in the trap laid by the villagers, but she managed to set the trap free and moved along with it. When the matter came to the notice of the DFO, Rajgarh, he sought the help of the Wildlife wing at Shimla. They rushed a team to bring the animal to the Rescue Centre at Tutikandi here.

“This is the third such incident in recent months where leopards have been caught and seriously injured in traps laid by villagers illegally,” said RK Raj, DFO, Wildlife. He added that he had directed the DFO to lodge an FIR so that the culprits could be arrested.

A male leopard had been severely injured after he was caught in a trap near Girinagar, close to Rajgarh in December. The animal was so seriously injured that he died within two days after coming to the Rescue Centre. Another cub caught in a trap near Bashadhar near Theog is still struggling for life. — TNS

Bilaspur, May 19
Breaking from several social barriers and deeply ingrained traditions, Mansha Ram, Seva Bharti state convener and retired teacher of Brahamali village under Ghumarwin subdivision, near here, celebrated the marriage of his son Vivek in a different way on Sunday, making a stark departure from unwholesome and cheap celebrations.

Reports said there was no “band, baja”, no ear-tearing tunes of cheap film songs, no clumsily dancing drunk youths, no cold drinks, except “nimbu paani” and litchi juice, and of course no liquor. Instead there were soft bhajans and patriotic songs, including the ever-green “dhun” of the “Hanuman Chaalisa”.

There was no ostentatious wastage and show of wealth and the social, religious character and piety of the event was fully maintained.

Master Mansha Ram had even persuaded his 85-year-old mother and the entire family to go in for this departure from the unhealthy practices so deeply rooted with traditional marriages.

Villagers were all praise for this initiative of the retired teacher and said, “After all somebody has to be bold enough to take the initiative and say goodbye to all that is unwholesome”.

As the barat returned home with the bride, the couple did “Bharat Mata poojan,” joined by all members of the family and villagers.

Kangra, May 19
A youth strangulated his elder brother following alleged illicit relations with the wife of the victim. The police arrested 22-year-old Amit Kumar of Kairi village in this connection, the police said here today.

The police said Amit and his elder brother Anil had gone to collect wood from the nearby forest.

Amit strangulated Anil with a nylon rope and returned home.

The police said during interrogation, the marks of nylon rope were detected on the hands of Amit and later Amit confessed to the crime.

Amit was today taken to the site of the crime to correlate the sequence of the events.

The police said the accused was working at Hamirpur and was a bachelor. Anil was a daily wager. The police said illicit relations between the accused and the wife of the victim was the cause of the crime.

Amit was arrested under Section 302, IPC, and investigation was in progress.