Shimla, May 21
Even as Chief Minister PK Dhumal has said today that he will be personally meeting Chief Justice Kurian Joseph to press for a probe into all benami land deals by a sitting judge of the High Court, the public response to his appeal seems to be yielding results as within the past one week 10 complaints of such illegal land deals have been sent to him by common people.

Besides the earlier probe ordered into a land deal in Manali, the Chief Minister has ordered three more inquiries into such illegal deals at Batta Kufar in Shimla, Poanta Sahib in Sirmaur and one in Palampur, while in about six other cases verification is being done before ordering an inquiry.

Ever since Dhumal last week urged the public to come forward with details of all such shady land deals or violation of Section 118, his office is receiving almost three-four complaints daily.

In the three fresh inquiries, the Principal Secretary (Revenue), the Divisional Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner concerned have been asked to hold detailed inquiry and report back to the CM office. While in the case of Poanta Sahib they have been asked to submit a detailed inquiry report by May 27 and in the Batta Kufar case in Shimla, directions have been issued to inquire and take action by May 31.

“I have already ordered a probe into the case of land purchase in Manali by a person from Punjab by securing a fraudulent agriculturist certificate, while in the three other cases from Poanta Sahib, Shimla and Palampur, inquiries were ordered today,” Dhumal said.

In complaints where proper revenue records and the proof of violation are attached, inquiries have been ordered straight away, while in other cases details from the department are being sought before ordering probe.

Reiterating his commitment to ensure a fair probe into all such benami land deals, which are in violation of Section 118 of the Tenancy and Land Reform Act, he said he was still keen on a probe by a sitting judge of the high court. “The high court has expressed its inability to spare a judge for probing these cases, but I will still take up the issue with the Chief Justice personally or else go with the only option of having a retired judge to probe it,” he added.

Reacting to demand by Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Kaul Singh Thakur, Dhumal said it was simply not possible to fix a time frame for the inquiry. “It is surprising that while the HPCC chief has welcomed the move, Union Minister Virbhadra Singh rejected it though his own party MLAs had demanded it,” he said taking a dig at the contradictions within the Congress over the issue.

Shimla, May 21
Chief Minister PK Dhumal and senior Congress leaders paid tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 20th death anniversary observed as Anti-Terrorism Day here today.

Dhumal offered flowers at the statue of Rajiv Gandhi installed at the Sadbhawna Chowk, Chhota Shimla. He also administered a pledge of Anti-Terrorism, Non-Violence and Communal Harmony on the occasion.

Leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes, HPCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur, legislators Suresh Bhardwaj, Harshwardhan Chauhan, Sukhvinder Singh, Sohan Lal, Yog Raj and Mayor Madhu Sood also offered tributes to the former PM.

The leaders also held meeting at the Congress office to pay tributes to the late Prime Minister. Thakur said the nation would always remember Rajiv for his vision of a modern India, dedication and sacrifice. “It was he who ensured that youth get the right to vote at the age of 18, besides ensuring reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions,” he said.

Shimla, May 21
Emerging as a major education hub, Himachal has raised a demand for the setting up of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in the state with the Government of India.

Chief Minister PK Dhumal said this in his address at a seminar on Academic Excellence in Management and Technical Education in Himachal Pradesh “A Road to Employability” organised by the Himachal Chapter of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today.

Dhumal said Himachal was poised to emerge as a “knowledge hub” where best vocational educational facilities would be available to students from all over the world. “After the setting up of national-level institutes like an IIT at Mandi and Central University at Kangra, we are pursuing the opening of an IIM and IIIT in Himachal so that students from the state do not need to go out,” he added.

He said vocational education was being given added priority and the state had 17 engineering colleges, 30 polytechnics and 81 industrial training institutes. He said besides this, three major nursing colleges had also been started.

“We are encouraging private participation in imparting quality education to the students so that centres of excellence come up in the state,” he remarked.

He said in view of the importance of professional and job-oriented courses “Atal Shiksha Kunj” was being set up at Kalu Jhanda in the Baddi area of Solan. He said Rs 62 crore were being spent over the setting up of five polytechnics in Kinnaur, Sirmaur, Bilaspur, Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts while a hydro engineering college had been proposed to be opened at Bilaspur.

He said, “Himachal Pradesh happens to be the first state which is spending 18 per cent of its budgetary provisions on education, the highest in the country.”

Salil Bhandari, chairman, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Dhian Chand, president, Himachal Pradesh Chapter of PHD Chamber of Commerce; Dharam Veer, former Chief Secretary of Haryana; Dr Suresh Kumar, director, HP University of Business Studies; and CM Krishna also spoke at the seminar. 

Kullu, May 21
Many parts of the district faced excessive damage of fruit and vegetable crops due to heavy rain, hailstorm and strong winds during the past 24 hours. Reports said the hail storms lashed the Neol area near Bajaura yesterday where hail stones weighing around 50 gm each not only damaged fruits and vegetables, but also vehicles parked in the open, water storage tanks on roof tops, dish antennas and window panes.

Similarly, the reports from the Lug, Gadsa and Parbati Valleys confirmed that crops were damaged due to hail last evening.

Areas around Kullu and Bhuntar experienced strong winds following hail in the evening damaging crops.

Deputy Commissioner BM Nanta said the departments concerned were advised to assess the loss. He said the government had been requested for the necessary relief to the farmers. He called upon the farmers for using the facility of crop insurance so that they could be compensated against such losses.

Meanwhile, the president of the Lower Kullu Fruit Growers Association demanded that anti-hail guns should be installed in the lower fruit belt of the district at 
the earliest.

He also demanded that provisions be made so that the farmers could be compensated for their losses due to natural calamities.

Palampur, May 21
Hundreds of villagers from the Rajhoon area of this sub-division today lodged their protest against the closure of extension counter set up by the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (HP Government Undertaking) in 2006.

They said if the extension counter was closed over 12 villages would be deprived of bank facilities.

In a memorandum sent to the state government, the villagers pleaded that instead of opening new branches in the rural areas the bank management was closing its counter that too in a remote village.

They said the account holders had been asked by the bank authorities to immediately close their accounts as the extension counter would be non-functional from the first week of June.

If the present extension counter at Rajhoon is closed the villagers will have to go to Nagorta Bagwan, 15 km from here, to avail bank facilities.

An official of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank said the bank had finally decided to close the extension counter since it was not in profit.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Bipan Parmar said he would take up the matter with the Chief Minister and not allow the bank management to go ahead. 

Dalhousie, May 21
Bawa Sonam Gyatso, head lama, Padma Chhokharling Bodh Gompa, has urged the government to impose a ban on the sale and purchase of land in the Bhanodi area of remote Churah subdivision in Chamba district.

In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister PK Dhumal, the head lama said Bhanodi was an isolated holy place of Buddhists where an ancient Buddha monastery, popularly known as gompa, was situated. He said most of the land in the area belonged to the gompa, some of which had been grabbed by tenants who now had started selling it to outsiders. — OC

Shimla, May 21
The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Saturday transferred three higher judicial officers. As per the notification, CB Barowalia, District and Sessions Judge, Mandi, will be appointed as one of the Registrars of the High Court.

Virender Singh, District and Sessions Judge, Kullu, has been transferred to Mandi, and Baldev Singh, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Solan, as District and Sessions Judge, Kullu.