Shimla, September 7
Close on the heels of the meeting of some BJP dissidents with party chief Nitin Gadkari recently, now it is the turn of state party chief Khimi Ram, who is on the hit list of these leaders to undertake a damage-control exercise.

Khimi Ram, whose removal is one of the major demands of the dissident group comprising some sitting legislators and former ministers, is camping in Delhi along with some of his supporters, including state BJP vice-president Ram Swaroop, general secretary Chandermohan Thakur and former minister Praveen Sharma, to seek an audience with the party high-ups.

Leaders belonging to the Dhumal camp are waiting for an audience with Gadkari and other senior leaders to counter the propaganda launched by the anti-Chief Minister camp. Though the Dhumal camp is “dismissive of” the issues raised by the rival faction, all the same it felt that it should also apprise the high command about these leaders who had aired their resentment over some issues.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said that anybody was free to meet the party chief or any other leader and all was well within the party in the state. It is learnt that the Chief Minister has already spoken to Gadkari and explained the situation.

The Dhumal camp is now likely to launch an offensive against the rival faction and it has already apprised the high command about the performance and political standing of these leaders opposing Khimi Ram and expressing their displeasure at the functioning of the BJP regime in the hill state.

“There is a big question mark over the political standing of a majority of these leaders as they have repeatedly lost elections; so morally they do not have the right to dismiss anyone as party chief,” said an MLA belonging to the Dhumal camp.

Amid these political developments within the ruling party, there is also talk of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle. This exercise by the Chief Minister could be aimed at hitting out at some his detractors, as there is speculation that he could drop a minister from the rival camp along with one or two of his own loyalists.

Dhumal could also try to reduce the influence of some of the defiant ministers and MLAs by inducting their archrivals within their districts into the Cabinet or give them some important appointments.

There is also a stalemate over the issue of appointment of a new state party chief as the name of Health Minister Rajiv Bindal, being backed by the Dhumal camp, is not acceptable to the Shanta group and vice versa they are not wiling to accept Rohru MLA Khushi Ram Balnahata as the party president.

Dharamsala, September 7
The high-powered committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has given nod for the exclusion of 135-sq-km area from the Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary area. This area that will be excluded includes the habituated area of 15 panchayats in Chota and Bara Bhangal areas of Kangra district.

However, the decision to exclude the 135-sq-km area has come with a rider. The state government will have to include 37 sq km as compensation for the area that will be ousted from the Dhauladhar sanctuary.

Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, RS Gupta has been appointed Collector for the sanctuary to identify the said 37-sq-km area. He has to submit his report within two months. The state government will have to submit it further to the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests.

The decision will come as a great relief for residents of Chota and Bara Bhangal areas. The villages are the remotest and declared backward areas of Kangra district. The area has a population of about 15,000. People have been residing in this area since ages as Bara Bhanghal, that has now been reduced to a small village in the remote area that is source to the Ravi, was once an independent state.

The area was included in the Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary in 1999. However, with the declaration residents of the area had lost their rights to adjoining forests areas. Since most of the people in the said remote areas were dependent on forest produce, they started protesting. The people alleged that they were dependent on fuel wood, animal fodder and even wood for the construction of houses on their adjoining forests. Most of the houses in the area are still wooden and not connected with roads.

They were not even allowed to graze their animals in the restricted area. There were reports that due loss of income from forests, certain residents had taken to poppy cultivation in Chota Bhangal areas. The district police had to carry out a drive to eradicate poppy from forest areas near Chota Bhangal.

The sources here said the wildlife sanctuary also added a spoke in the development of the area. Grants worth crores sanctioned for the development of roads in the area were lying unutilised.

The residents of Chota and Bara Bhangal also boycotted the last parliamentary elections to protest against the inclusion of their villages in the wildlife sanctuary area.

After repeated petitions from the people of Chota and Bara Bhangal areas, the state government recently moved a case before the Supreme Court for the exclusion of certain areas from the sanctuary area. The high-powered committee appointed by the Supreme Court then visited the areas and recommended that 135 sq km that includes habitations could be excluded from the wildlife sanctuary area.

The DC said, “We are already on the job of identifying 37-sq-km area that can be included in wildlife sanctuary that can compensate for the exclusion of villages.”

Mandi, September 7
The plight of students enrolled in 16 private engineering colleges, four of them in Mandi district, is miserable as most of these are being run by societies through “ad hoc, less-qualified and underpaid staff”, making a mockery of the norms laid down by the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE).

As a result, 30 to 60 per cent BTech seats are lying vacant in these colleges this time. The AICTE has given the colleges one year to improve infrastructure and appoint faculty having at least MTech qualification or face action.

MG Engineering College, Badu, run by a dhaba owner from Hara Bagh on the NH-21, has no proper road connectivity and is located in a remote village, 50 km from Sundernagar.

Students have to climb a 800-metre-long steep path daily to reach the bus stop. College buses charge Rs 8,000 per student per semester and these take them three hours to reach their paying guest houses at Sundernagar and Chail Chowk as 90 per cent of the 1,300 MG college students, including girls, stay as paying guests.

Worse, some senior students have been asked to teach junior classes, allege students.

The college lacks proper labs and workshops, though college Principal Abhinandan Singh claims that the college has enough staff and labs, and the hostel facility for over 150 students.

Construction work is on in shabby buildings that remotely befit an engineering college and stray dogs roaming on the campus are a common sight.

The college has no proper playground and no first aid facility. Little wonder then that over 270 BTech seats are vacant in the college this year.

The Abhilashi group of RK Abhilashi runs two engineering colleges at Chail Chowk at a non-descript village at Tanda in Balh, 15 km from the highway, and runs its fleet of buses and charges Rs 6,000 for transport from students, who stay as paying guests.

This college has no first aid facility and construction work and classes go side by side.

The toilets stink as you enter the academic block of the college. The lecture theatres do not have enough headroom and students are crowded in small classrooms as the college admits 420 students in each batch. However, this year 70 seats are lying vacant.

The college Principal, Dr SK Shukla, says they have faculty with BTech and MTech qualifications, and labs and workshops have been set up as per the AICTE norms for 880 students enrolled in the college.

The Shirda Institute of Engineering and Emerging Technology for Women, run by a brick-kiln owner at Nau Lakha near Sundernagar, is no different as far the faculty, labs, workshops, power cuts and other infrastructure are concerned. As many as 210 BTech seats are lying vacant in the college this year.

However, Shirda college Principal DS Mankotia claims that the college has enough labs and six lecturers with MTech qualification, besides a “better campus” than other colleges.

Shimla, September 7
Notwithstanding the image of Himachal being a peaceful state with a low crime rate, the findings of a study have indicated that political interference in police matters, men in khaki seeking gratification from the public and special treatment meted out to accused VIPs are spoiling the image of the service.

These are the findings of a study undertaken by the public administration department of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) on “Public Audit of Police Services in Himachal Pradesh”. The findings were placed before the top brass of the police, including DGP DS Manhas and other officers here today.

Even as the law and order situation and the image of the Himachal police is far better than most other states, the study reveals that 49 per cent of the respondents had admitted to police personnel in police stations seeking gratification with regard to case investigation. Similarly 65.4 per cent of the respondents said the cushy treatment meted out to VIP accused like serving them food, fruits, alcohol and fulfilling their other demands was adversely affecting the image of the police.

Another serious aspect which was revealed by the study was the fact that 41.7 per cent respondents said they had been forced and pressured by the police to accept the charges levelled against them. Similarly 45.8 per cent said they would never want to act as a witness to help in any case as this was completely avoidable.

The lack of public cooperation, proper service conditions, undue pressure from civil society and the media and above all political interference were listed as the main reasons for growing frustration among police personnel.

DGP Manhas said efforts would be made to look into the shortcomings that had been pointed out in the study.

The study undertaken jointly by Prof SS Chauhan, Prof Sanjeev K Mahajan, Prof Mamta Mokta and DR Simmi Agnihotri of the HPU took responses from 1,300 persons about their perception about the police and its functioning. They brought under their scanner the functioning of 37 police stations in 13 police districts.

Shimla, September 7
The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has offered to finance housing, urban development and hydro-power projects in the state.

The issue was discussed during a meeting between Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and a team of HUDCO, led by its Executive Director, Dr D Subramanium, here today. Dhumal welcomed the offer and informed that a large number of projects were under execution, which were being financed by World Bank, NABARD and Asian Development Bank.

The government was implementing the Atal Awas Yojna and the Indira Awas Yojna to provide housing facilities to the poor and some other housing development projects were also being executed for the general category through HIMUDA for which HUDCO had been extending financial support. He said there was still demand for such housing projects and more projects would help meet the future demand.

He said the state would welcome HUDCO funding in the hydro-power sector as the state had huge hydel potential and a large number of projects were already under execution.

He said the state would explore the possibility of identifying prominent religious shrines for the construction of night shelters with funds from HUDCO for the convenience of devotees.

Dr Subramanium offered financial assistance for housing, urban development and hydro-power projects in the state, besides for water supply, sewerage scheme and the transport sector.

Mandi, September 7
Only 13.12 per cent BTech-I students of 19 engineering colleges, including Jawarharlal Nehru Engineering College, Sundernagar, have passed the examinations. The poor result has exposed the casual manner in which engineering colleges are being opened and run without proper teaching standards and infrastructure.

This in turn has reduced engineering courses to run-of-the-mill undergraduate college courses in the state.

Students having poor aptitude are being lured into the engineering stream by private college as “there is no transparency in filling seats in private engineering colleges once the counselling is over”.

To top it all, the government is opening yet another government engineering college at Pragatinagar.

This year 6,079 BTech students appeared in the examinations, of whom only 798 were declared pass by Himachal Pradesh University. Interestingly, none of the 119 students of the Abhilashi College of Engineering, Chail Chowk, where the Abhilashi group is planning to open a private university, passed the BTech examinations.

At least 11 private engineering college could not cross the double digit pass percentage mark, painting a dismal picture of how engineering students are being enrolled in colleges in the state.

All five colleges in Mandi fared poorly. In MG College, Badu, only 45 of the 534 students (7.83%) passed; in TR Abhilashi Memorial College, only 30 of the 473 students (6.34%) passed. In the Sirda College for Women, Naulakha, only 16 of the 118 students (13.55%) passed. In Jawaharlal Engineering College, the pass percentage was 11.9.

In Green Hills, Kumarhatti, 156 of the 927 students (16.82%) have passed. In Vashni Devi College, Nurpur, only two of the 226 students have passed and in the HIET, Shahpur, only seven of the 118 students have passed.

Akal Badu Sahib college had a pass percentage of 32.6; Kala Amb College 24.17 per cent and the IEET, Baddi, 23.59 per cent.

HPU Controller of Examinations Narender Awasthi said pass percentage in engineering colleges was 13.12 per cent.

Hamirpur, September 7
Students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur, have bagged one of the highest campus placements this year.

As many as 94.16 per cent students of the 2011 batch have got placements in various reputed companies. Of the 257 eligible candidates who have obtained the BTech degree in various disciplines this year, 242 have already got placements.

The highest number of those who have got placements is from the electronic and communication engineering department with 57 of the 59 passouts having got jobs.

In the computer science engineering department, of the 62 passouts, 60 have got placements.

Similarly, in the mechanical engineering department, 54 of the 56 BTech passouts have been recruited through the campus placements.

The highest annual pay package of Rs 10.46 lakh has been offered through campus placement by a computer company. The NTPC has offered an annual pay package of Rs 9.97 lakh through campus placement.

Similarly, Ashok Leyland has given an annual pay package of Rs 7.1 lakh to mechanical engineering students. Other companies have given annual pay packages in the range of Rs 3 to Rs 6 lakh.

Other prominent companies which had come to recruit NIT engineering graduates include Samsung, Punj Lloyd, Infosys, Wipro, Patni Computers, Samtel, Tata Motors, Reliance Power, Johnson & Johnson, Colgate, Maruti Suzuki, L&T and Ambuja Cements. More than 60 companies had come for campus placements.

The Director, NIT, Dr RL Sharma, said, “We are very happy with the campus placements as top companies have hired our students, which is very encouraging.”

He said, “We have established a separate placement cell here which helps our students get their dream jobs through training and guidance.”

Solan, September 7
The Rayat-Bahra Education Society, in collaboration with the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training, will be organising the biggest recruitment drive for ITI and diploma holders of the region.

Chairman of the group Gurvinder Singh Bahra said here today that it was for the first time that 15 leading automobile giants in cars and two-wheeler sector would be offering 1,800 jobs to ITI holders and 600 to diploma holders.

The recruitment drive would be held at the Kharar campus on September 10.

He said the industry nationwide was facing an acute shortage of skilled workers. In the auto industry alone about 25 lakh jobs would be created in the next decade.

Gurvinder said the Rayat Bahra group had entered into MoUs with leading players in the auto sector. An auto training centre had been set up at the Kharar campus where school dropouts and ITI holders would be trained in collaboration with the industry. The auto industry had already provided its technology and technical support to the institute to provide skilled manpower.

Elaborating on their other ventures to deal with the burning problem of lack of skilled manpower, he said to bridge the gap between the industry and the educational institute they intended to open more such institutes in Himachal and other states.

Solan, September 7
Acting on a complaint of villagers, a team of officials, led by Deputy Commissioner, SDM, Mining Officer and others, today inspected an illegally operating screening plant at Gullerwala village and ordered its immediate closure.

Mining Officer Suresh Bhardwaj said the machinery had been confiscated. Since largescale irregularities had been detected, they would assess the embezzled amount and impose penalties.

Pawan Kumar, former Pradhan of Karsoli panchayat where the plant was operating, said under the RTI Act they had learnt that no permission had been obtained by the screening plant to run its operations here and it had been given a lease to operate in an area lying about 10 km away from the site. He said it was surprising that though this lease period had expired in September, 2010, the plant continued to operate and pollute the riverbed.

With no power connection, the plant was operating surreptitiously in the odd hours on a generator set and it polluted the river water with the quarry material. The indiscriminate mining undertaken by the plant had led to soil erosion with fertile soil of the villagers being washed away. The common paths leading to the fields had been disrupted and water supply schemes had been put at risk due to excessive mining. Even the Deoli bridge had been endangered due to pilferage of stones from its base.

The committee later visited other riverbeds in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area and inspected the mining activity.

He, however, rued that the paucity of staff created a handicap in checking illegal operations and it was found that villagers too indulged in such activities on the sly.

Shimla, September 7
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed that the widening work of Karcham-Sapni (Kinnaur) road can be completed from the Local Area Development Authority Fund (LADA) and directed JP Company to start the work.

While passing this order, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rajeev Sharma further observed that in case fund is available with LADA and widening work can be completed without burdening the public exchequer, there should be no objection from any corner.

The court passed this order on a petition wherein the petitioner resident of the area had submitted that LADA had sufficient funds for widening the Karcham-Sapani road. The respondent JP Company also submitted before the court that it had no objection to complete the widening work from LADA funds and same were available with the company.

The state government also appraised the court that the project was under the consideration of the HPPWD.

Considering the public interest and availability of funds as well as the willingness of the company executing the Karcham Wangtu hydro power project, the court directed the company to execute the work.

Shimla, September 7
The public sector Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) has paid a final dividend of Rs 213.33 crore to the Government of India, which is holding 64.5 per cent equity in the company. The SJVN had declared a total dividend of Rs 330.93 crore for the financial year 2010-11.

The total dividend included Rs 84.40 crore towards the 25.5 per cent equity share of Himachal Pradesh and Rs 33.20 crore as 10 per cent shares held by the public.

The dividend cheque was handed over by Chairman cum-Managing Director of the SJVN RP Singh to Union Minister of Power Sushil Kumar Shinde in Delhi recently.