Mandi, September 22
The “fund-starved” Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) has failed to recover an outstanding amount of Rs 468 crore from “faltering” independent power producers (IPPs), executing power projects in the state.

The board was supposed to charge this amount as cost from each IPP while preparing the project report.

The HPSEB had constituted a special cell recently to recover this huge amount, which had accrued over the years. However, the board had so far failed to recover the amount, sources said.

The IPPs are allegedly flouting the terms and conditions laid down in the MoUs and the implementation agreements (IAs) signed with the government from time to time. The IPPs are using their “political clout” to waive off the amount.

According to Clause 20 of the MoU that each IPP has signed with the government, a copy of which is with The Tribune, each IPP has to pay the cost that the HPSEB has incurred while preparing each project report.

Besides, Clause 5.4 of the implementation agreement states that the cost that has been incurred while “investigating the project” will be included in the overall cost of each project and each IPP will have to pay this cost to the board, the main investigating agency before executing the project. The cost also includes the drilling, drifting and establishment expenditure incurred on each project.

Besides, each IPP has to pay 10 per cent as compound interest in case it does not pay the charges during the signing of the MoU and the IA.

The board had identified 23,000 MW hydropower potential in the state while identifying and “investigating” the projects.

The government and the board have allegedly given a long rope to the IPPs, who reportedly wield a clout among politicians.

The board had failed to recover Rs 468 crore from the IPPs, including the JP Group, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam and the Himachal Power Corporation, the sources said.

Board Chairman RD Dhiman said the board had asked the IPPs to pay the outstanding amount. “We are issuing notices to the IPPs as the MoUs and the implementation agreements clearly mention the terms and conditions,” he added.

Shimla, September 22
The “ill-conceived” and “ill-timed” move of the Dhumal government to allow change of land use to industries which failed to utilise the land acquired under Section 118 of the Land Reforms and Tenancy Act has provided a potent weapon to the Opposition Congress, which has made “Himachal on sale” its theme song for the next Assembly poll against the BJP.

Losing no time in announcing its action plan, chief spokesperson for the Congress Kuldeep Pathania said his party would launch a statewide stir taking along all like-minded organisations to defeat the “nefarious designs” of the BJP regime to reduce Himachalis to “second-grade citizens” in their own state. He said it was a serious matter as the future of the state and its people was at stake and the Congress would go to any extent to stop the BJP in its tracks.

He alleged that the Dhumal regime had become synonymous with the land mafia as never before a government had tailored its policies to serve the vested interests of land sharks from outside the state. It made a mockery of Section 118 by allowing outsiders to acquire excessive land on the pretext of private universities and other ventures, and in its eagerness to oblige them it even forgot that a land ceiling Act was in force.

To legalise its illegal actions, it first brought a Bill to exempt certain categories from the land ceiling Act and now it had set up a sub-committee to frame a policy for change of land use to further oblige the defaulters who failed to utilise the land for the bona fide purpose.

The move was illegal as under the law the land acquired under Section 118 had to be redeemed and vested in the government in case the person concerned or party failed to utilise it for the purpose within two years. However, instead of taking action to redeem the land, the government had decided to frame a policy for change of land use and allow defaulters to construct shopping malls and start other commercial activities in industrial areas.

Sanawar, September 22
The 165-year-old Lawrence School, Sanawar, will soon have a royal Bhutanese connection with a former student, Jetsun Pema, all set to tie the knot with the King of Bhutan in October.

While there is palpable excitement and joy among the staff, the few who have been invited for the royal occasion are eagerly waiting to witness the royal event.

Pema, who studied here from 2006 to 2008, completed Class XI and XII in the humanities stream with history, economics, geography and painting as her subjects.

School Headmaster Praveen Vashisht said they were pleasantly surprised to hear the news and now waiting for the royal event.

Teachers recall her as an “ever-smiling girl” who carried a royal persona with a deep sense of tradition. Recalling her years of schooling, Neelam Tehlan, who was the house mistress of her parent Himalayan House, says, “She was an elegant and brave girl who despite being injured after a bugle band display had braved an injury to complete her act in a dance during the founder’s day celebrations of the school. Though she had to receive stitches later for her injury, she had put up a brave face to ensure that the dance performance was completed.”

Terming this as rare sportsman spirit, Tehlan adds that Pema was an ever-smiling girl who was gracious in her mannerisms. She is now keenly awaiting to attend the royal wedding, that is slated to begin on October 13 and will last five days.

“Studying in Lawrence School, Sanawar, has been a tradition with the royal family of Bhutan as the school provides a cosmopolitan exposure to students and also because it is among the few co-educational residential schools of the country,” explains Shonu Mukherjee, a senior mistress.

She added, “We have had other children from the royal family of Bhutan in the school. Even Pema’s younger sister, Serchen, and her cousins, Lhenzin and Yuelha, are studying here at present.

With a keen interest in reading, Pema would often ask her teachers to assist her in selecting the right books. Recalling her student days, Ashima Bath, a senior house mistress and coordinator, training and development, says, “She was meek, soft-spoken and appeared to be cut-out for a royal job. Her delightful persona made her a popular figure in the school. She had a focused approach and was a prolific reader.”

Terming her as an affectionate and sweet girl, Anita Sharma, who taught her economics, recounts her as a girl having a royal dignified bearing.

Dharamsala, September 22
The 11th meeting of Tibetan religious heads, convened by the Dalai Lama, began at a hotel in McLeodganj here this morning.

The three-day meeting has evoked interest among the Tibetans after reports that the Tibetan religious heads will hold discussions on the issue of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. Sources said the issue could come up for discussion on the second day of the meeting that would be presided over by the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama will address the Buddhist monks who have come to attend the meeting tomorrow.

Tibetans-in-exile are concerned over the move of China to “control the reincarnation process of the Dalai Lama”. Chinese officials have also been stating that the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama will take place in China. They have also made moves to revive the old Golden Urn method to select the new Dalai Lama.

China has already installed its own Panchen Lama, while the Panchen Lama identified by the Dalai Lama has been missing since the age of 5. Traditionally, the Panchen Lama is a key member of the committee that identifies the new Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama, in a statement issued recently during his Europe tour, had stated that he would discuss the reincarnation issue with Buddhist heads in September.

The other issues that are likely to be discussed include introduction of scientific studies in Tibetan-Buddhist institutes and monasteries.

The meeting will also deliberate on the Geshema degree (Buddhist doctorate degree equivalent to PhD) in Tibetan Buddhism.

The meeting will also discuss the steps required for conferring the Geshema degree on nuns. Till date the degree is not given to nuns. The Buddhist monks may decide the issue in the current meeting.

Representatives and heads of Buddhists from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon religion will attend the high-level conference.

Representatives from the Himalayan Buddhist region and Kalmyk Buddhists will also participate for the first time. One of the participants, Tsona Rinpoche, said the issue of Dalai Lama’s reincarnation was a matter of great significance, not just for the Tibetans but also for several Buddhists and followers across the world.

The Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, accompanied by his cabinet colleagues, Penpa Tsering, speaker of the Tibetan parliament, and members of the Tibetan parliament, also attended the inaugural function of the closed-door conference.

The heads of various religious traditions and Bon will join the Dalai Lama in a special prayer congregation tomorrow at the Theckchen Choeling temple here.

Shimla, September 22
After having staged a walkout over the Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Bill in the Assembly, the Congress today further toughened its stand as its two legislators Sujan Singh Pathania and Dr Prem Singh declined to be the part of the Vidhan Sabha select committee, to whom the Bill has been referred.

The two senior Congress leaders yesterday submitted their resignation to the Vidhan Sabha Secretary, expressing their inability to be the part of the select committee.

The duo, along with BJP legislators, had been named by the Vidhan Sabha to be the part of the committee, headed by PWD Minister Gulab Singh Thakur.

“It is in line with our party stand of opposing the proposed amendment in the Land Ceiling Act that our two legislators have refused to be the part of the select committee,” confirmed Vidya Stokes, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader.

She added that even when the proposed Bill, which would have paved the way for amendment in the Land Ceiling Act, was discussed in the House, the Congress had opposed it vehemently.

The Congress during the monsoon had launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP for bringing in the proposed Bill on land ceiling.

When the Bill was referred to the select committee of the Vidhan Sabha despite their opposition, they staged a walkout on August 26.

They pointed out that agricultural land must be preserved and alleged that the people settled outside the state purchase land on the pretext of setting up projects and institutions.

The Congress members had in the Assembly also made it clear that since they were opposed to the amendment they would not be the part of the committee to present their view point. The Bill aims at exempting entrepreneurs and religious groups involved in creating educational and sports facilities from the provisions of the land ceiling law.

Shimla, September 22
The Public Works Department (PWD) has switched over to constructing concrete roads in slushy areas where it is difficult to maintain roads because of the water table being too high.

Stating this here today, PWD Minister Gulab Singh Thakur said so far 9.3-km road had been constructed in different parts of the state.

He said the construction of concrete roads had been taken up as a pilot project for the convenience of commuters, especially in densely populated areas.

He said 2.10-km-long concrete roads had been constructed in Shimla zone, 6.55 km in Kangra zone, 0.45 km in Hamirpur zone and 0.25 km in Mandi zone.

He said the construction cost of the concrete road was Rs 45 lakh per km as compared to Rs 12 lakh per km of bitumen road.

He said the life of the concrete roads was four times higher than that of bitumen roads and it was difficult to construct concrete roads on existing single-lane roads.

He said 13 concrete roads of 6.62 km had been constructed under Palampur circle.

Thakur added that the state government would also take up the matter with the Centre to include construction of concrete roads under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna and provide special financial assistance to the state.

Shimla, September 22
Taking a serious note of the inactive attitude of the Jwalamukhi police (Kangra) into the investigation of the alleged rape of a minor girl, the state high court today issued a notice to the SHO of the Jwalamukhi police station, investigating officer, on the petition of the girl of Dareen village, Jwalamukhi, to transfer the investigation to the CBI.

The order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rajiv Sharma.

The nine-year-old student of Class V, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste family, in her petition filed through her mother, has alleged that she was raped by Nitin Kumar on March 1, 2010, but the accused has not been arrested till date and the DNA test conducted by the police through the State Forensic Science Laboratory, Junga, was not correct as the blood sample of some other person was allegedly sent for chemical analysis.

According to the petitioner, the victim was taken to Jwalamukhi Government Hospital on March 2, 2010, by the police, but referred to Dharamsala Zonal Hospital as no woman doctor was available there. She was later referred to RPGMC, Tanda, as she was in a serious condition.

The accused was brought before her for identification on March 6, 2010, but the victim could not identify him allegedly on account of her ill health.

Later, the victim had identified the accused from his photograph shown to her by the CIA staff, but the police had failed to arrest the accused as the report his DNA test was negative.

The petitioner also prayed to the court to get the DNA test of the accused conducted through the CBI afresh.

The petitioner submitted that the locals staged a dharna on the national highway and blocked traffic on the 10th day of the incident, at which they had been assured that the culprit would be nabbed soon, but the police had failed to nab the culprit even after one-and-a-half year of the crime.

Mandi/Keylong, September 22
Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Virbhadra Singh’s ongoing tour of the tribal belt of Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi subdivision in Chamba has exposed the chinks in the Congress, intensifying the “war” for supremacy in the party between him and state Congress president Kaul Singh Thakur.

Though Virbhadra Singh reportedly has a larger clout in the tribal belt as compared to Kaul Singh, differences among their supporters came to the fore during Virbhadra’s visit to Keylong, Sissu and Udaipur.

The Congress is yet to resolve the issue pertaining to the post of DCC president in the tribal belt. The main contest is between Raptam Dorje, Virbhadra’s supporter, and Sansar Chand, a Kaul Singh loyalist, according to party workers.

Senior Congress tribal leaders, including Lahaul-Spiti Congress ex-MLAs Raghubir Singh Thakur and Phunchok Rai, Raptam Dorje and others were present at a meeting in Keylong presided over by Virbhadra on September 19.

However, former Chief Secretary AN Vidyarthi, a contender for the party ticket, former DCC president Norbu, and Ravi Thakur remained conspicuous by their absence.

Taking credit for the construction of the 8.82-km-long Rohtang tunnel, Virbhadra inspected the construction work on it. He pulled up district officials for not maintaining the DC office complex properly.

He gave Rs 35 lakh for the construction of a serai of Kardang gompa and Rs 3 lakh for the Yuvak Mandal Bhawan in Keylong.

Shimla, September 22
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today stressed the need for making information technology (IT) more people-friendly as it was a vital link between the government and the people.

He was addressing the first general house meeting of the Society for the Promotion of IT and e-Governance (SITEG) in Himachal Pradesh here today.

The CM said Himachal was using IT dissemination to provide efficient Government to Citizen (G2C) services to people, besides creating a strong e-governance network by setting up core infrastructure facilities in all government departments.

He said the state government would try to enroll all Class IX and X students so that readily available data was prepared for holding the board examinations.

Dhumal said 3,366 Lok Mitra Kendras were being set up to provide G2C services of which about 2,400 had already been opened. The kendras had been authorised to accept electricity, water and telephone bills, besides providing jamabandis, bus tickets and e-samadhan services to people.