Shimla, July 20
BPL consumers will be spared the power tariff hike effected by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission while other domestic consumers will get a relief with the government announcing a subsidy of Rs 166 crore.

Consequently, the electricity charges for BPL consumers will remain at 70 paise per unit up to a monthly consumption of 40 units. The other consumers will have to pay Rs 1.10 in place of Re 1 per unit up to 125 units and Rs 2.20 in place of Rs 2 per unit for 126 to 250 units. However, the big consumers will have to bear the brunt of the tariff hike as for the last slab (250 units and above) the charges will be Rs 3.25 per unit, up from Rs 2.75 per unit. The commission has issued the revised tariff order after the government informed it about its decision to increase the subsidy by Rs 20 crore.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who also holds the power portfolio, said the subsidy on power for domestic consumers had been enhanced from last year’s Rs 146 crore to Rs 166 crore to absorb the impact of the additional burden following the revision of the tariff by the commission. The impact on domestic consumers up to a consumption of 250 units would be marginal and they would not have to pay excess charges. He said the agriculture tariff for LT supply would also remain unchanged at the rate of 50 paise per unit. The tariff for other categories such as street lights, commercial supply and small industries had not been be increased.

The Chief Minister said 9 per cent increase in the tariff by the Electricity Regulatory Commission had been necessitated due to the increase in the cost of power generation and also on account of the implementation of the revised pay scales to the employees. 

Kangra, July 20
The Congress party today lambasted the BJP government, led by Prof PK Dhumal, for an unreasonable 12 per cent hike in power tariff in the state and demanded immediate rolling back of this anti-people decision of the government.

This demand was raised by AICC member and sitting MLA from Nagrota Bagwan GS Bali while addressing a press conference here today. He said last year 20 per cent hike in power tariff was made by the government and this year 12 per cent which he described as unjustified and anti-people.

Bali expressed concern over the deterioration in the law and order situation here, which was evident from the usage of sharp-edged weapons during a gang war near the newly constructed Fortis Hospital here yesterday in which two members of a gang were seriously injured.

He was critical of the state government for trying to encash the achievements of Central Government schemes which included the NRHM scheme and demanded an inquiry into the misuse of NRHM funds by a High Court judge.

He said on the one hand hundreds of seats were lying vacant in the existing universities in the state, and on the other private universities were being opened all over.

He alleged the Health Minister was misleading people regarding opening medical colleges and added that he had promised to open three medical colleges in merged areas, but no such medical college was opened. 

Dharamsala, July 20
The district Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau has booked five persons - four brothers and a sister - for getting government jobs in the Education Department in the state on fake degrees.

SP, Vigilance, Pritam Thakur said the five accused in the case were Rajesh Thakur, Yashvir Thakur, Anuj Thakur and Varinder Thakur, all brothers, and their sister Kiran Bala, who had been booked under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

Sources told The Tribune that Yashvir Thakur had obtained his fake BCom degree, Anuj Thakur and Rajesh Thakur their MA, BEd degrees, Varinder Thakur his intermediate degree and Kiran Bala her Prabhakar degree from Maghad University in Madhya Pradesh.

On a complaint, the Education Department got their degrees verified and it was found that the degrees of all the accused were fake.

The accused were also running the Thakur College of Education at Dhaliara near Dehra. In March this year, the CBI raided the college to investigate the approval granted by the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE), Jaipur, for an additional 100 BEd seats to the college.

The NCTE had allegedly approved the additional BEd seats and other courses to the college in violation of the rules. A case was registered against the college authorities by the CBI.

The college authorities are also facing charges of employing people with fake degrees. The sources said the college was granted approval by the NCTE to fill 100 seats of BEd and 50 seats of Bachelor’s in Physical Education in 2007. The approval was granted in violation of the rules. According to the rules, education colleges can be granted approval for running just one course in one unit in one year. However, the said college was given approval to run two courses in one unit in 2007.

In 2008, the NCTE further granted approval of an additional 100 seats of BEd, 30 seats of MEd and 50 seats of Master’s in Physical Education to the said college.

Once again two new courses and 100 additional seats of BEd were approved for the college allegedly in violation of the rules.

In case of BEd there is another rider in the rules of the NCTE according to which “the completion of three successive sessions of the course in which the additional seats are sought and accreditation from NAAC are mandatory for granting the additional seats”. However, these rules were allegedly overlooked by the NCTE authorities. According to another rule the additional seats of colleges which did not take the NAAC accreditation till April 1, 2010, were to stand withdrawn for the session 2010-11. However, in case of this college, students were admitted even without the NAAC accreditation.

Shimla, July 20
An intensive campaign will be launched in the state soon to remove obnoxious weeds like lantana, congress grass and crafton which have not only invaded forests but also agriculture fields, affecting farm productivity.

Stating this while chairing a meeting of a high-level committee to discuss the “congress grass hatao, chargah bachao abhiyan” here today, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said a steering committee would be constituted under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary, Forests, and having the Principal Secretaries of the departments concerned and Vice-Chancellors of all universities in the state as members for the purpose.

He said there was a need for launching a coordinated campaign in association with the departments concerned, gram panchayats and nagar parishads to plant environment-friendly bamboo, broad-leaved and other fast-growing species after removing the weeds.

He said over 3,600 sq km area in the state was affected by the weed problem.

Committees would be constituted under the Deputy Commissioners, which would prepare district-wise plans to be funded under the CAMPA and the MNREGA.

Shimla, July 20
Keen on gaining a global foothold and entering into institutional collaborations with foreign universities, Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) is exploring the possibility of having students from Syria and Dubai study here and setting up its distance learning centres in South Africa, Guiana, Trinidad, Fiji, Tobago and Mauritius.

The Vice-Chancellor of the HPU, Dr ADN Bajpai, has already held talks with the Syrian Ambassador to India, Dr RK Abbas, in this regard.

“A delegation from Syria will soon visit India as about 100 students from there are keen on seeking admission to various courses in the HPU,” said Dr Bajpai. He added that similar talks were also being held with the authorities in Dubai.

He said though the HPU was undertaking some joint collaborative research programmes with counties like Russia and Sri Lanka, he was keen on having more such institutional collaborations, enabling faculty exchange and better exposure. In fact, the Syrian Ambassador was likely to attend the 42nd founder’s day celebrations, commencing on July 22.

The HPU has come a long way since it was set up on July 22, 1970, and it was among the first universities to start the International Centre for Distance Education and Open Learning (ICDEOL). “We are keen on setting up ICDEOL centres in South Africa, Guiana, Trinidad, Fiji, Tobago and Mauritius so that foreign students can enrol for various courses,” he said.

At present, the ICDEOL, despite an enrolment of about 18,500 students, has only four examination centres at Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Noida.

As a first step towards achieving this ambitious goal of providing a global foothold to the HPU, the VC intends to fill 140 vacant posts of teachers.

“We have a sanctioned strength of about 400 and at present we have only 260 teachers, but I am in no hurry to fill the posts as we want quality teachers so that the academic standards can be raised,” he said. The HPU, Shimla campus, has a strength of about 4,500 students.

Admitting that paucity of space was proving to be a major inhibiting factor, he said efforts had been initiated to get land near Potter’s Hill and Ghanahatti so that new departments could be added. “The other grey areas that I feel are hampering the growth of this institution are lack of good faculty and financial constraints,” he admitted.

He said as a measure to generate internal resources, the possibility of enhancing the examination fees was being explored and a committee had been constituted to examine various aspects.

Shimla, July 20
Even though the setting up of private universities in Himachal has become a hot political issue, Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) ADN Bajpai, feels that HPU must have two more centres to cater to the educational needs of students in view of geographical constraints.

Addressing a press conference here today, Dr Bajpai stressed the need for having at least two more campuses under HPU. “If you offer quality education and good courses, students will always prefer the HPU brand name rather than private universities, which talk big of maintaining high academic standards, but definitely cause major disparity,” he said.

He said he would go all out to seek funds from the state and central governments, corporate houses and even MPs and MLAs and other funding agencies to generate resources for improving the infrastructure at HPU. He said Vision Document for HPU would be ready by August 15.

He said a number of initiatives that he had taken would finally take shape in the form of the release of a research journal and an HPU newsletter called “Him Shikhar” during the founder’s day celebrations. He said a lecture series would be held at regular intervals and ad hoc bodies of the HP Association of Economists, Geographers, Sociologists and all other 28 faculties had been formed which would be registered soon.

The VC said Governor Urmila Singh, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and the Syrian Ambassador would be the dignitaries at the opening day function of the 42nd founder’s day celebrations on July 22 when there would be a “chintan shivar.” The keynote address on “Ethics in governance” would be delivered by Padma Vibhushan Trilokinath Chaturvedi, a former bureaucrat. There would also be a kavi sammelan.

On July 23, the Vice-Chancellors of all four government and seven private universities would deliberate on “Higher education in HP” followed by a cultural evening.

On the concluding day, renowned academics will hold discussions for preparing the “Vision Document” with Sachin Pilot, Union Minister of State, being the chief guest. 

Future Plans

Setting up of a Centre for Disability Studies

Filling of 140 vacant teaching posts

Setting up varsity’s own printing press

Major reforms in the examination system

Dharamsala, July 20
The government will revive the state-run silk mill at Nurpur. Minister for Industry and Labour Kishan Kapoor said this while talking to mediapersons here today.

He said the Industries Department would soon send a project to the Centre to revive the mill. The mill would help in promotion of silk farming in the Nurpur area.

The mill had been lying closed for long and was allegedly closed down as it was incurring losses due to the old machinery and lack of viability.

The minister, however, said the present government had given a grant of Rs 7.5 crore in the past three years for the promotion of silk farming in the state. There had been a record silkworm production in the state this year.

The state government was also giving a grant of 90 per cent for the establishment of silk producing units in the state, he said.

The minister further said during his recent visit to Delhi, the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry approved a grant of Rs 76 crore for providing subsidy to the industry coming up in Himachal.

In the Baddi area of Solan district, a parking space for trucks is being constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore. It will have a capacity to provide parking facility for 1,500 vehicles. A road to the inland container depot is also being constructed at a cost of Rs 3 crore.

He added that though the Centre had discriminated against the state by ending the industrial package, with the efforts of the state government many big investments were coming up in the state.

Later, the minister also heard the grievances of people at the mini secretariat in Dharamsala.

Shimla, July 20
The latest census data has revealed an overall improvement in the sex ratio in the state from 968 to 974 over the decade but the declining trend in rural areas is a cause for concern.

According to the provisional data on the “rural-urban distribution” released by Chief Secretary Rajwant Sandhu here today, the sex ratio in rural areas has slid to 988 from 989 in 2001 by one, but the downward movement assumes significance in view of the big improvement in the case of urban areas. In fact, the overall improvement has been only because of the leap from 795 to 853 in the sex ratio in urban areas. There is a decline in six of the 12 districts, with Una registering the maximum decrease from 997 to 977.

However, a redeeming feature is that the child (0-6 years) sex ratio has improved by a significant 10 points from 896 to 906, with an increase of nine points from 900 to 909 in rural areas and thirty-four points from 844 to 878 in urban areas.

The urban population increased to 6,88,704 (10.04 per cent) in 2011 from 9.80 per cent in 2001 while the rural population declined to 61,67,805 (89.96 per cent) from 90.20 per cent in 2001.

However, the state still remained predominantly rural when compared to the urbanisation at the national level, which increased from 27.81 per cent to 31.16 per cent with the rural population declining to 68.84 per cent. The number of towns increased from 57 to 59 and the number of villages shot up by 572 from 20,118 to 20,690.

The rural population in the state has been steadily declining since 1991 (19.39 per cent) and 2001 (16.11 per cent). During 2001-11, the growth of the rural population has been 12.5 per cent as compared to 15.64 per cent in the urban population. The pattern is similar to the 2001 census when the growth in urban areas was 32.59 per cent compared to 16.11 per cent in rural areas.

Another notable feature is that the child population has declined by 29,273 (or -3.69 per cent) between 2001 and 2011. In the rural areas, it declined by 30,541 (or - 4.18 per cent), but the urban areas registered an increase of 1,268 (or +2.03 per cent). The improvement in the literacy rate in the rural areas is three times as compared to the urban areas and the rural-urban literacy gap, which was 13.87 percentage points in 2001, has come down to 8.48 percentage points in 2011.

The improvement in female literacy is more than men in both rural and urban areas.

Mandi, July 20
Villagers today found a mysterious electronic device hanging from a tree in the Nieri jungle under Karsog police station and informed the SDM, Karsog, about it.

Though the police has sealed the device for further examination, it remained clueless about what it was. But it has ruled out the possibility of any hazardous instrument. The police suspects it to be a device used either in communication tower or a gadget used by some phone service providers. — TNS

Chamba, July 20
The district administration is all set to celebrate the eight-day-long International Minjar Fair at the historic hill town of Chamba from July 24 to 31. Himachal Pradesh Governor Urmila Singh will inaugurate the fair.

Giving this information here today, Additional District Magistrate Ashwani Chaudhary, who is also the officiating Deputy Commissioner of Chamba, said the district administration had made all requisite arrangements to mark the gala event in a traditional style.

He stated that to ensure the smooth and successful conduct of the festival, sub-committees had already been formed under the control and supervision of responsible officials who had been assigned the job to see to the facility of visitors.

Importance was also being given to folk artistes from different parts of Himachal Pradesh in addition to renowned singers who would perform traditional musical entertainment during the Minjar nights, Chaudhary informed.

Besides this, sports events and exhibitions would be the attractions of the Minjar carnival, Chaudhary added.

Mandi, July 20
The parents of Manju Bala, who died at the IGMC, Shimla, on May 21 under mysterious circumstances have suspected foul play in her death. Her husband, Jagdish Kumar, had claimed that she had consumed poison.

Led by the Tyamla panchayat president, Manju Devi, villagers today met Deputy Commissioner Amandeep Garg and requested him to order an inquiry into the death of the woman.

In a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, Anju’s parents, Sukh Ram and Achni Devi, residents of Tyamla village, alleged that their daughter had not committed suicide by taking poison as was being made out to be by her husband and the police at the Gohar police station.

“We suspect foul play as Jagdish has not informed us about the postmortem report so far and he is trying to hush up the matter,” they alleged.

They claimed that Manju Bala and her two minor children had left for her husband’s village on May 19, but she stayed for the night at Sundernagar at her sister-in-law’s place. The next day she reached the village. However, Jagdish informed them on the phone at 1.30 am the next day that she was being taken to the IGMC as she had taken poison, the parents stated.

They said their suspicion grew when Jagdish refused to give them the postmortem report and other documents despite repeated requests.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, said he had marked the complaint to the SP for investigation.

Solan, July 20
BJP leader Farooq Banwa was allegedly poisoned and he died at the local Regional Hospital where he was admitted in a serious condition last evening.

The police has registered a case under Section 306, IPC, for abetment to suicide against three persons on the basis of a written note left behind by the deceased. The note, which was written in Urdu, stated that he was forcibly poisoned by three persons who were his associates in property dealing.

According to his wife’s statement, Banwa, who was also an office-bearer of BJP’s State Minorities Wing, had some dispute with Aman, Vijay and Vikram over property dealing. They also had an altercation over some issue about two months ago and for the past three days he had been receiving intimidating calls on his cellphone.

His wife also stated that they had been residing in Solan for the past 20 years and had shifted to the Sunny Side area of the town recently. Banwa had received a call from Vijay when the husband-wife duo was home around 11:30 am yesterday and he was asked to come to Chambaghat to meet them. However, she was informed by Vijay at 4:30 pm that he had consumed poison and had been admitted to the local hospital. She found him dead on reaching the hospital.

The police had sent his body to IGMC, Shimla, for post mortem as they wanted to ascertain if the struggle had taken place in an attempt to force him to take poison by the culprits.