Shimla, September 27
The Supreme Court verdict upholding the state’s claim to 7.19 per cent power share in BBMB projects will go a long way in easing the perennial financial crisis plaguing the state with an outstanding debt of over Rs 27,000 crore.

While it will take some time to work out the exact amount of arrears along with interest as decreed by the court, the immediate impact will be that the state will have 203 MW of power from the BBMB projects. At present, it is getting only 52 MW by way of 2.5 per cent share in the Bhakra project (37 MW) and 15 MW in the 990 MW Dehar project. It is not getting anything from the 360 MW Pong Dam project. The increase of 151 MW will provide over 70 crore million units of power to the state annually which at the prevailing market rate of Rs 3 per unit will help fetch an additional revenue of over Rs 200 crore annually.

The arrears till date will also add up to a substantial amount, though the amount up to June 1996, when the suit was filed, may actually work out to be far less than Rs 570 crore claimed by the state. The arrears were worked out on the basis of the then prevailing rate of the Bhadarpur Thermal Power Plant, whereas hydro power is much cheaper. However, the total amount till date will be quite substantial and the state government will not have to kneel before the Centre for grant of a special package of Rs 2,500 crore to pay the arrears of salaries and pension on account of pay revision.

The state has been maintaining that its financial position had worsened due to faulty recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission which under-estimated the burden on account of salary at Rs 3,600 crore and pension at Rs 1,400 crore. Thus, against the actual combined expenditure of Rs 5,800 crore, the estimated amount came to only Rs 5,000 crore. The gap has already crossed over Rs 1,000 crore.

Further, the borrowing limit of the state was fixed at Rs 1,566 crore, which further aggravated the crisis. The SC verdict has come at a time when the state needed additional funds the most. Once the state gets the arrears, it will be able to pay the arrears of the employees and also spare more funds for development.

Shimla, September 27
Chief Minister PK Dhumal said today that the Supreme Court judgment granting relief to Himachal by allowing 7.19 per cent share in the power generated at all the hydro electric projects executed by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) from the date of commissioning was a historic decision.

Talking to mediapersons here today, he said the state had taken up the matter with the Centre several times and ultimately had to knock the door of the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court had allowed 7.19 per cent power share in the Bhakra project from November 1966 while the equal power share would be made available to the state from the date of commissioning of the Beas-Sutlej link and the Pong Dam projects, also executed by the BBMB,” Dhumal stated.

He added that the Punjab and Haryana governments had also been directed to pay Rs 5 lakh each to Himachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister said Himachal had staked a claim of Rs 2,199.77 crore as compensation for the failure of the BBMB to give 12 per cent free power from the projects executed and 7.19 per cent share of Himachal as per the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966.

“It is due to the efforts made by the BJP regime, which has resulted in the landmark judgment coming in favour of Himachal,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP and senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar said the historic judgment had vindicated the stand of Himachal.

“It took a long period of 45 years and a legal battle for Himachal to finally get justice but the verdict has vindicated the stand of the hill state,” he said.

He said he had been raising this demand of Himachal getting its share right from 1977 and later by the successive governments.

Shimla, September 27
The Congress has hailed the Supreme Court verdict accepting the state’s claim to 7.19 per cent share of power in BBMB projects and has asserted that the state has been able to get its due only because the Virbhadra Singh government took the bold initiative to move the apex court against the partner states and the Centre in June 1996.

Union Minister Virbhadra Singh said the verdict would be a big help to the people of the hill state who bore the brunt of the fallout of hydropower projects by way of dislocation and submergence of fertile land.

Terming it a historic judgment, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh said the matter would have been decided much earlier had the Dhumal government pursued the case in right earnest during the 1998-2003 period. Dhumal had, in the floor of the House, made a statement that the government would settle the issue amicably outside the court as the NDA was in power at the Centre then and the SAD-BJP combine was ruling Punjab. It did not pursue the case vigorously and as a result five years were wasted.

Leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes has also welcomed the verdict and said the Congress had, by moving the apex court, demonstrated its commitment to the people.

Shimla, September 27
With Himachal overtaking Goa in terms of beckoning more foreign visitors, the Tourism Department is deliberating upon involving senior citizens in tourism promotion considering the fact that they are repository of knowledge and cultural heritage.

On the occasion of the World Tourism Day today, the Himachal Chapter of Age Care of India lent its wholehearted support towards tourism promotion and environment protection so that the state emerges as the number one tourist destination in the country.

“We may be old, but the experience and knowledge that we have can contribute towards tourism promotion in a very meaningful way,” said GK Nag, president of the Age Care of India, Himachal Chapter.

With there being a sizable population of senior citizens in the state, the senior citizens said they were willing to pitch in, whether in terms of compiling folklore and culture, acting as tourist guides or even manning tourist information centres, both in urban and rural areas. “With several of us being experts in our respective fields, a skill bank should be created and out services utilised in different fields,” said Nag.

Manisha Nanda, Principal Secretary (Tourism), said efforts would be made to dovetail the skills of senior citizens so as to involve them in tourism promotion. She added the experience they had was invaluable and would help in tourism promotion. The tourist inflow into the state had been on the increase and last year a total of 1.32 crore tourists had visited Himachal, including 4.53 lakh foreigners, which was higher than Goa.

“At this stage in life when many of the senior citizens are fighting loneliness, involving them in tourism promotion would be a great idea, provided they are willing to contribute in any capacity,” said Srinivas Joshi, a retired bureaucrat and a columnist. He said though there were many schemes that the government had started for senior citizens, what mattered more to them was respect and care and not monetary concessions.

Raja Bhasin, a historian and eminent writer, also suggested that senior citizens were a huge free reservoir available, which should be used in tourism promotion activities. He said some of them could even be involved in providing information to the tourists at the information centres including the ones in rural areas.

Manali, September 27
The World Tourism Day was celebrated in Manali today with great enthusiasm in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, HPTDC and Manali Hoteliers Association.

A large number of domestic and overseas tourists, including all tourism-related organisations in town, took part in the celebration. On the occasion tourists were presented with traditional Kullu caps and garlands. A colourful Kullu folk dance by local artistes was also presented.

SDM-cum-District Tourism Development Officer, Manali, Balbir Thakur said this year day was celebrated under the theme “Tourism Linking Cultures”. He added that this international occasion would also draw attention to the significance of promoting and preserving cultures of the world in all their forms.

He said all the tourist destinations in Kullu-Manali were still related to ancient traditions and this was evident in the folk culture, dances, art and traditions.

President of the Manali Hoteliers Association Gajender Thakur said the occasion was being celebrated to promote the World Tourism Day in Manali and that would help generate more domestic and foreign tourist influx in the Kullu valley. Moreover, the tourism industry was a major revenue earner and employment generator in the Kullu-Manali region.

Shimla, September 27
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said the government was in the process of formulating a policy for senior citizens and they too should come up with suggestions.

He was speaking at the state-level World Tourism Day function organised jointly by the Department of Tourism and the Himachal Chapter of the Age Care Association of India here today. He said the state had gained immensely from the experience its senior citizens had as they had been the guiding force behind various developmental and social welfare activities.

Dhumal said Himachal Pradesh had emerged as a favourite destination as the tourist inflow to the state had increased to 17 per cent compared to 12 per cent at the national level. The state had 2,100 registered hotels with 23,000 rooms and over 55,000 bed capacity, besides availability of seasonal camping accommodation at different destinations of the state.

He said the number of visitors was increasing every year and the state government was working over the 20-Year Tourism Master Plan to attract high-end tourists and prolong the stay of visitors in Himachal. He said the government was encouraging public-private participation in the creation of quality tourism infrastructure to facilitate visitors with higher paying capacity.

“We are keen to strengthen the tourism infrastructure even in rural areas, and as a result of these initiatives, 370 units have been registered in remote far-flung areas under the Home Stay scheme,” he said. He said everyone, including rural population, should reap benefits from tourism.

The Chief Minister said Himachal had succeeded in procuring Rs 428-crore Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan for giving fillip to the tourism sector. “We intend to undertake restoration and conservation of the Town Hall building and give a facelift to the area around the Gaiety Theatre at a cost of Rs 17 crore,” he said.

The Chief Minister expressed concern over the adverse impact of global warming and climate change which included much less snow in Shimla and erratic monsoons resulting in flashfloods and dry spells.

Hamirpur, September 27
Putting an end to “ad hocism” in the National Institute of Technology (NIT), and after a long wait, the institute will have its new regular Director soon.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has appointed Dr Rajneesh Shrivastav, as the new Director of NIT, Hamirpur, and orders in this regard have also been communicated to the institute here.

Dr Shrivastav is at present the Director of NIT, Jamshedpur, and likely to join Hamirpur NIT soon.

The appointment of a regular Director in Hamirpur NIT will bring an end to “aphorism” in the institute. In the absence of the regular Director, the post was being held by the seniormost professor of the institute, Dr RL Sharma.

The MHRD took almost 10 months to appoint the regular Director for the institute after the term of the earlier incumbent ended in November 2010 and the ministry had also advertised to fill the post.

In the absence of the regular Director, several decisions were pending since the policy decision could only be taken by the Director. About 100 posts of faculty are lying vacant here as these can only filled by the Director.

The matter of appointing a new registrar had also been hanging fire since November 19, 2010, when the then Registrar of the institute, Munish Jindal, resigned from the post and Dr AS Singha had been officiating as the Registrar in NIT, Hamirpur.

The appointment of the regular Registrar could also be made by a regular Director only, as per norms of the institute.

The MHRD, through a letter, has informed the NIT authorities about the appointment of Dr Shrivastav as the new Director here, for a period of five years, last week.

Confirming his appointment, Dr Shrivastav told The Tribune: “I have received the appointment letter from the MHRD and will be joining the office soon.”

Shimla, September 27
Accusing the BJP regime in the state of meddling in the affairs of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), the CPM today demanded that elected student representatives must be allowed to take over the responsibility put on them by the students community.

“Despite the elections held over a month ago, the elected representatives have not been allowed to take oath, which is a despotic attempt and infringement of the overwhelming support extended by the students community,” said Tikender Singh Panwar, Member, State Secretariat.

He added that this act only reconfirms the “anti-democratic and fascist face” of the BJP regime and its nominee, the Vice-Chancellor.