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Tainted IPS officer given 10 days
Five-member team inspects97-year-old Emerson House
Woman dies of H1N1
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Conference of apple-growing states in Sept
MoU for Anandpur Sahib-Naina Devi ropeway approved
SP, JD(U) leaders for change in Indian policy towards Tibet
Brij Bhushan Tiwari, national vice-president of the Samajwadi Party, and Javed Raza, general secretary of the JD (U), in Dharamsala on Monday. Photos: Kamaljeet
Samiti seeks probe against bureaucrats
Larji project shut down for 4 hours
Anganwadi workers hold protest
Soon, mutation at tehsil level
State Congress allocates areas, departments
Power utility monitoring work of company
Army recruit runs from pillar to post for justice
Hold medical entrance impartially: SFI
How is Minjar fair ‘international’, asks RTI convener
Delay in ambulance services leads to death of mother, baby
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Tainted IPS officer given 10 days
Shimla, August 8 The Home Department has issued a public notice, stating that in case Indoria does not submit his written statement of defence or present himself before the inquiry officer within 10 days, an ex-parte inquiry would be held against him. The initiation of departmental proceedings against Indoria could finally even lead to his dismissal from service in case he continues to remain missing without intimation. The proceedings for declaring him a proclaimed offender (PO) have already been initiated and the process is on in the court in Kullu where certain formalities need to be fulfilled by the Vigilance Bureau. It is for the first time that an IPS officer has remained absconding for such a long time even though there are other officers who, too, faced serious cases but did not go missing. The government had placed Indoria, who was in the state police service but was inducted into the IPS in 2000, under suspension on April 13 following the registering of a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against him in the Kullu Vigilance police station. The case was registered against him on February 9 earlier this year under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Indoria is facing serious charges of alleged financial gains from a power company executing a hydel-project in Kullu while he was the district police chief. Indoria has remained untraceable since May 4 when his bail application was rejected by the high court. All efforts by the Vigilance Bureau to arrest him have failed. Indoria came under the scanner of the Vigilance Bureau following his recorded conservation with some people with regard to exchange of money. The bureau collected further evidence against him by interrogating officials of the power company who allegedly gave him financial benefits. The police also arrested a close associate of Indoria while he was the SP, Kullu, and interrogated him to collect evidence against the police officer. However, the Vigilance Bureau has failed to trace him despite conducting raids at his native place in Kangra and other possible hideouts. |
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Five-member team inspects97-year-old Emerson House
Mandi, August 8 According to the team, Emerson House with its distinct slate roof, curved wooden-glazed verandahs and high room space give this temple town a distinct aura of an ancient town. The team members comprised state curator MS Negi, CL Kashyap, architectural engineer Naresh Thakur, archaeologist Hari Chauhan, and registration officer, antiquity, and additional regional engineer Sudarshan Thakur. The Tribune had earlier carried reports of how the heritage of this temple town was being allegedly grabbed by property sharks with impunity. The team found that its slate roof had almost collapsed and seepage was rampant in rooms, which was eating into its main masonry structure. Besides, there was no proper drainage system. “A private restaurant, government offices, courtrooms and its offices have turned it into a garbage bin as many rooms are being used as storerooms,” the team said. Talking to The Tribune after the inspection, Negi and Kashyap said the building structure was intact. The building dates back to 1914 before the then British superintendent, Emerson, took over in Mandi. “The then king of Mandi had named this building as Emerson House as it housed all administrative offices of the British Raj,” they said. They said they would send a report on the building to the department for action. |
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Woman dies of H1N1
Shimla, August 8 Health Department officials said a woman belonging to a village in Jubbal was admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) with fever and symptoms of swine flu for which she was tested. She later died at the IGMC where she came after spending about five days at the house of a relative in Sanjauli. Health officials said there was no cause for panic as all those who had possibly come in close contact with her had been traced and put under treatment. But all the same, any case of influenza-like symptoms, including fever, coughing, sneezing, body ache and running nose, must be reported to the nearest health institution, they added. |
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Conference of apple-growing states in Sept
Shimla, August 8 This was stated by Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta after a meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in New Delhi today. He said Pawar had agreed to be the chief guest at the conference which would be attended by the Horticulture Ministers of the states concerned, agricultural scientists, fruit growers and agriculture seed and pesticide companies. Bragta, who is also the chairman of the Horticulture Ministers Forum of the North-Western States, discussed the difficulties being faced by fruit growers of the Himalayan states. The Horticulture Ministers of Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, Trivender Singh Rawat and Shyam Lal Sharma, respectively, and Members of Parliament Saifudin Soz and Anurag Thakur were part of the delegation. He said of the total 32 lakh tonnes of annual apple production in the country, 25 lakh tonnes were produced by Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir. The bulk import from China and other countries was hurting the economic interests of the apple growers. Bragta said Pawar agreed to sanction funds under the terminal market complex scheme for the Rs 100-crore model fruit and vegetable market being set up at Parala in Shimla and an official meeting would be held soon for detailed discussions on various components. He also requested for a grant of Rs 10 crore from the Ministry of Food Processing for setting up an apple juice concentrate plant being set up at Gumma. He demanded that ceiling of coverage under the crop insurance scheme should be raised from the present Rs 1,000 per plant to Rs 3,000 per plant and that the tree spray oil should be exempted from excise duty.
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MoU for Anandpur Sahib-Naina Devi ropeway approved
Shimla, August 8 As per the
MoU, there will be a composite project proposal to be approved by a committee of representatives of the state government, and all project development costs (preliminary costs) will be initially borne by the respective states and later recovered from the qualified bidder. No subsidy or grant will be paid by the state government and the bidding parameter will be based on revenue sharing by the developer and two states will share it in proportion to the land required for the project or preliminary expenses borne by them. It was decided that compliance of local laws, study of all clauses of the
MoU, authority for fixing of rates of passenger tickets for using ropeway and resumption of assets on completion of concession period would be part of the composite proposal. The reversion and the lease period would be 40 years, as applicable in cases of other ropeways. Decisions of the project ropeway monitoring committee must be based on consensus and the ropeway regulations of both the states should be interpreted in an harmonious manner. The liability of the state government for land would be limited to the actual requirement of the ropeway project. |
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SP, JD(U) leaders for change in Indian policy towards Tibet
Dharamsala, August 8 Javed Raza, general secretary of the Janata Dal (United), while talking to The Tribune, said India did not have a firm foreign policy over the Tibet issue since Independence. The JD(U) fully supports the Tibetan cause. It believes that Tibet belongs to the Tibetans and China should give it autonomy as demanded by the Dalai Lama. He said India should play an active role in resolving the Tibet issue. Brij Bhushan Tiwari, national vice-president of the Samajwadi Party, said, “Our party is not satisfied with the stance of the Indian Government towards Tibet. India’s stance over the Tibet issue is paradoxical. On the one hand we are host to more that 2 lakh Tibetans and on the other we are considering Tibet a part of China.” “An independent or autonomous Tibet is in the interests of India. The Indian Government should shed paradoxical policies over Tibet and adopt a clear stance,” he said. Leaders of various political parties had come here to witness the swearing-in ceremony of the Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile on an invitation of the Bharat Tibet Maitri Sangh. Acharya Yeshi Puntsok, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, said a lot of Indian parliamentarians could not come for the function as they were busy with the monsoon session of Parliament. A few MPs, including Ajit Singh, have sent their messages for the occasion. The messages would be read in a public gathering tomorrow to felicitate the newly elected Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile, he said. Former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was among the prominent Indian politicians who attended today’s function. |
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Encroachment on Forest Land
Shimla, August 8 The letter in the form of a PIL, addressed to the Chief Justice, by residents of the Gram Sudhar Samiti, Sargheen, seeks an inquiry into the alleged irregularities committed by members of the IAS Colony, including at least 24 serving and retired bureaucrats. “We want that all 25 members of the society should be asked to file their reply by way of an affidavit so that the truth can be known,” they demanded on condition of anonymity. Sources said the letter had also been received by the Chief Minister’s office and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had directed the Chief Secretary to take it up immediately. The residents have alleged violation of the Forest Conservation Act as the houses have come up on forest land. They have also alleged violation of the Cooperative Societies Act under which the housing society has come up. It was in the late eighties that over four bighas of land was allotted to the IAS Society for building houses in Panthaghatti. The residents have alleged that precious government land was encroached upon by the influential IAS lobby against whom eviction proceedings were also initiated which were later dropped on the submission that the encroachment would be vacated. Another allegation levelled against eight bureaucrats and an IPS officer is that they sold off the houses in less than 15 years of taking possession, which as per the terms and condition of the lease is barred. The samiti has alleged that most of these bureaucrats are occupying government accommodation at a nominal rate and are receiving a hefty amount by renting out their premises to big corporate offices. The allegations against the bureaucrats include violation of the Town and Country Planning Act as there are several violations in the approved building plans. Now it remains to be seen whether the government will order a probe into the allegations levelled against the bureaucrats, who are upholders of law or let them go scot-free by providing them immunity unlike their political rivals, the former Congress legislators who have been booked, including two deceased persons.
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Larji project shut down for 4 hours
Mandi, August 8 “This is for the third time that all the three units of the Larji project have been shut down because of the silt content in the Beas surged from the permissible level of 2,000 particle per minute (PPM) to 3,500 PPM recorded today,” revealed engineers. The shutdowns have cost the board several lakhs of units of electricity that the project otherwise generates during the peak generation season of the monsoons. The inflow in the Beas, however, was less than half of maximum inflow recorded this season. Today the inflow in the Pandoh reservoir of the 995-MW Beas-Satluj Link project on the Beas, run by the BBMB, turned out to be 42,000 cusecs, which is quite less than 77,000 cusecs recorded about 10 days ago - the maximum level recorded so far, said Chief Engineer, BSL, Jaidev Kumar. He said Dehar power house of the BSL project did not face the silt problem as the silt was washed down by the balancing reservoir through dredgers at Sundernagar into the Suketi river. On the other hand, the HPSEB continues to face the silt problem every year. “We have no option other than shutting down the Larji power house when the silt crosses the 2,000 PPM level,” said the executive engineer of the Larji project. He said all three units in the power house had resumed generation after these were closed for four hours today. |
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Anganwadi workers hold protest
Dharamsala, August 8 They started the march from the Martyrs Park and ended it with a dharna in front of the local Mini Secretariat. A large number of women also participated in the march. The workers alleged that they were being paid only Rs 900 per month, despite the increasing work load. The workers also submitted a memorandum of their demands to the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra. |
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Soon, mutation at tehsil level
Shimla, August 8 At present the process of mutation is started at the patwar circle and the entry in the revenue record concerning the transfer of ownership is made by the patwari. It is inspected by the kanungo and the mutation is finally effected by the Tehsildar. The entire process takes quite some time and in many cases the mutation is not carried out for years. As per the amendment to the Act, approved by the State Cabinet today, it will be possible to carry out mutation at the tehsil office itself on the basis of documents and it can be effected as soon as a land sale deed is registered. The Principal Secretary, Revenue, said it would go a long way in ensuring efficiency and transparency and also help prevent corruption at the grassroots. The amendment Bill will be introduced during the coming monsoon session. The Cabinet approved the draft Himachal Pradesh Special Court Bill, 2011, providing for attachment of disputed property of an accused acquired through corrupt means and during the trial period of the case to be introduced in the monsoon session of the Assembly. It also approved the draft State Taxation (on Certain Goods Carried by Road) (Amendment) Bill, 2011, State Passengers and Goods Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2011, State Tax on Luxuries (in Hotels and Lodging Houses) Bill, 2011, providing traders the facility of e-filing of their returns and e-payment of tax. The Cabinet decided to launch the “Mata Shabri Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojna” under which 50 per cent subsidy will be provided to 5,100 eligible women of the Scheduled Caste BPL families on the purchase of a cooking gas connection. It also decided to introduce a scheme for providing alternative self-employment opportunities to sex workers in the state by imparting vocational training to make them self-dependent. It granted extension to independent power producers (IPPs) who failed to achieve the milestones for the execution of hydroelectric projects on the payment of an extension fee of Rs 10,000 per MW per month to enable them to obtain clearances and start construction work within the permitted time frame. It approved an amendment to the Document Writers Licensing Rules, 1971, to help generate employment avenues to more educated unemployed youth in the state. |
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State Congress allocates areas, departments
Shimla, August 8 General secretary Kuldeep Rathore, who earlier looked after the Solan district, has been given the charge of the media department, the youth Congress and the NSUI. Vice-president Sujan Singh Pathania and general secretary Ram Kumar have been assigned Bilaspur and Mandi districts and the Panchayati Raj Sangthan. Vice-president Harsh Mahajan and general secretary Sukhwinder Singh will take care of Kullu and Lahual-Spiti and the intellectual department. Vice-president Satya Parmar and general secretary Ajay Mahajan have been made in charge of Chamba and Solan districts and Mahila Congress. Vice-president Rakesh Kalia and general secretary Sohan Lal will take care of Kangra district and minority department. Treasurer BB Butail and general secretary Vinod Sultanpuri have been made in charge of Shimla (rural and urban), Sewa Dal and teachers department. Vice-president Biru Ram and general secretary Sudhir Sharma will look after Hamirpur and Kinnaur districts and the SC/ST department.
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e-billing package
Shimla, August 8 A spokesperson for the power utility said the work of the company was being closely monitored to prevent any further slippages and without compromising on the quality of the project. It was selected for the implementation of the project in 2006 during the tenure of the previous government. In introducing the new IT software, there were stages of development and the shortcomings noticed at different stages were subsequently rectified. The project was to be completed by September 2010. However, the decision to roll over the software was taken only after it met all the requirements as per the software requirement specifications. In this case, it was true that certain shortcomings were observed in the first and second rounds of testing. The fresher version considerably met the performance standards. The remaining shortcomings would be rectified and the software certified by a committee of engineers, headed by a Chief Engineer. Liquidated damages of over Rs 26 lakh had been imposed on the company on the delayed components as per the provisions of the contract and it would be ensured that provisions were adhered to by all concerned. The billing project had been implemented successfully in 10 subdivisions of Shimla on a pilot basis at a cost of about Rs 7.5 crore. The Rs 30-crore project was being funded primarily from own resources and the Centre was funding the scheme only to the extent of 10 per cent. Computer hardware had been installed in 122 subdivisions of the state, besides Shimla town, and digitisation of consumer data was on. Network connectivity was being expedited and the entire project would be fully operationalised by March 31, 2012. The spokesperson said no favour had been extended to the company in the allotment of the Rs 99-crore R-APDRP phase-II project.
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Army recruit runs from pillar to post for justice
Nurpur, August 8 The tribunal directed the Army headquarters to release the same to the petitioner within three months. But the petitioner received no benefits by the Army. Consequently, he filed an execution petition through his counsellor with the Circuit Bench of the tribunal at Shimla in April 2011. The Bench in its order on May 11 directed the Army headquarters to release requisite monetary benefits, pension, along with Rs 20,000 as compensation to the petitioner within six weeks. Following this, the Army authorities filed an affidavit in the tribunal on July 18 stating that the court order had been honoured and all requisite financial benefits, along with relief money, had been released to a nationalised bank at Fatehpur. But when the hapless recruit approached the bank, he was told that a communication had been received from the Army authorities for stopping payment to him. Now the Army recruit has authorised his advocate for initiate contempt proceedings. In this connection, senior record officer, Dogra Regiment, Major Rehman clarified that the matter of the recruit Amit Kumar was under consideration and soon his case would be settled as per Army rules. |
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Hold medical entrance impartially: SFI
Shimla, August 8 State secretary of the SFI Vijender Mehra, in a letter written to the Controller of Examination, Himachal Pradesh University, has demanded that the entrance for the four seats of cardiology and cardio-thoracic vascular surgery to be held on August 14 be held strictly as per law. “We fear there could be efforts to get the paper leaked at the behest of certain interested parties as in the past. The CPMT question paper was leaked too and it was at the behest of the high court that a retest was held,” he said. |
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How is Minjar fair ‘international’, asks RTI convener
Chamba, August 8 To glean facts and figures about the income and expenditure of the fair, local RTI Bureau convener Swami Bhuvneshwar Sharma had also sought comprehensive information about the auction of different chowgans, cultural nights, fiscal assistance by the hydropower enterprises and the standard of designating the Minjar fair as “international”. In two separate applications submitted to the chairman of the committee, who is also the Pubic Information Officer, Sharma had requested to supply detailed financial statement of the fair under the RTI Act, 2005. Releasing copies of the two applications consisting of 20 glaring points to the media here this evening, Sharma had sought the information with evidence concerning almost all the points. Information about the gifts presented to politicians and bigwigs during the fair had also been sought by Sharma.
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Delay in ambulance services leads to death of mother, baby
Solan, August 8 Having conceived for the seventh time after having six daughters, the desire to have a son proved fatal when Shakuntla failed to get timely medical help. Though her in-laws had called up the 108 Emergency services around 11 pm, the ambulance failed to turn up failing which they arranged a private vehicle to reach Nalagarh. She, however, died one hour after reaching the hospital. BMO Harmohinder Singh said she reached the hospital around 4 am and since her placenta had already detached, she was suffering from excess bleeding and had developed a clot in her uterus. The foetus was born dead. The village is 40 km away from Nalagarh and precious time was lost in transporting her to the hospital leading to her death. The health authorities were now defending the ambulance services by asserting that they had received another call from a woman, who also needed hospitalisation, and the ambulance had to be diverted towards Dadwal village. The callous attitude of the ambulance services was exposed when they failed to even inform Shakuntla’s family about the delay. Health Minister Rajiv Bindal has constituted an inquiry which will be conducted by Director, National Rural Health Mission, Rakesh Kanwar. Shakuntla’s husband Babu Ram and family members were demanding action against the ambulance services for negligence.
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Even as the Vigilance Bureau has failed to trace IPS officer KK Indoria for the past three months, the Home Department has decided to initiate action against him under the All-India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968, as he has remained absent from duty without leave.
Waking up from its long slumber, a five-member technical team of the state Art, Language and Culture Department today inspected the 97-year-old Emerson House in the heart of this temple town
Dharamsala, August 8
