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Dissidence: Shanta urges BJP top brass to intervene
BJP anti-graft morcha adds power to
CD case: Virbhadra told to file reply in
two weeks
Court directs SPs to protect inter-religion couple
Fresh trouble for
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Rs 321 cr Japanese funding for organic farming
Manufacturing licence of Baddi pharmaceutical
Land records to go online
Kangra pins hopes on Centre
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Dissidence: Shanta urges
BJP top brass to intervene
Shanta is learnt to have told party chief Nitin Gadkari and national general secretary Jagat Prakash Nadda that the dissenting leaders who had created a forum to fight corruption could not be ignored. He said that all these leaders had remained dedicated towards the party and the high command must give them a patient hearing and address their grievances. Shanta, presently also the party’s national vice-president, had till now refrained from commenting on growing dissidence within the party. “I am pained and aggrieved at the recent developments which is the main reason for my staying away from state party affairs,” he said. Shanta confidants say that he was also unhappy with the manner in which the Dhumal regime acted with tainted officers. “He had vehemently opposed the reinstatement of the State Drug Controller and IAS Sanjay Gupta at the meeting of the core group but his opinion was disregarded, following which he did not attend any meetings,” said a loyalist. Shanta has, however, expressed disapproval over the creation of a separate forum, advocating the need to raise all such issues within the party forum. With the pack of dissident leaders including former MP Maheshwar Singh, former Speaker Radha Raman Shastri and former ministers Mahinder Sofat and Shyama Sharma being referred to as Shanta loyalists, the former chief minister has tried to signal that he too is unhappy and pained over recent developments.
THE PARTY’s DILEMMA l
With the bypoll for the Renuka and Nalagarh seats scheduled for November 30, the high command would not want to take drastic action l
Chief Minister PK Dhumal would also want that there is no trouble when LK Advani’s Jan Chetna Yatra passes through Himachal on November 16 and 17 |
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BJP anti-graft morcha adds power to
Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh lost no time in pronouncing that the development in the BJP, with senior leader virtually revolting and floating a parallel organisation to fight graft, had corroborated the Congress charge that the Dhumal government was steeped in corruption from head to toe. “The fact that seniormost BJP leader Shanta Kumar has been forced to boycott party meetings in protest against the failure of the government to take action against tainted officers, made a mockery of the claim of the government regarding zero tolerance to corruption,” he stated. Shanta Kumar had also demanded action against drug controller Sher Singh and a private nursing college in Palampur, against which there were several complaints. The Congress had also been raising these issues, but instead of taking action the government had been blatantly protecting those indulging in irregularities. It was not surprising that the disillusioned BJP leaders had been forced to set up a morcha to pursue the fight against corruption, said a visibly elated Kaul Singh. He said in such a situation the knee-jerk reaction of Chief Minister PK Dhumal, who had termed the members of the newly set up morcha as “corrupt” and threatened to expose them, was not surprising. Moreover, instead of issuing threats Dhumal should immediately take action against them. Kaul Singh said the Congress would vigorously pursue the corruption cases and build pressure on the government for grant of sanction to prosecute Health Minister Rajeev Bindal, against whom there was a foolproof case of corruption. He was being shielded for the past four years and the Congress had even submitted a memorandum to the Speaker in this regard. He announced that the Congress would step up its campaign against corruption and take out a padyatra in Kangra and gherao the Vidhan Sabha during the winter session to be held at
Dharamsala. |
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CD case: Virbhadra told to file reply in
two weeks
Shimla, November 4 In its reply filed before the court, the state government and the DGP strongly opposed the petition filed by Virbhadra Singh and his wife and submitted that it had been filed only to delay proceedings against them. The state counsel also said that Virbhadra was influencing witnesses in the case, which had resulted in two of them filing two other petitions in the High Court relating to the case. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice VK Ahuja posted the matter for November 25, while the matter is posted before the trial court for November 11. However, the court said that the petitioners may bring it to the notice of the trial court that the writ petition is to come up in the high court on November 25. The case relates to an audio CD released by Vijay Singh Mankotia in a press conference at Dharamsala on May 28, 2007 alleging that it contained the voices of Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, retired IAS officer Mohinder Lal and one KN Sharma, who since passed away.
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Court directs SPs to protect inter-religion couple
Shimla, November 4 The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice VK Ahuja passed these orders on the couple’s petition seeking protection of life and property. The complainants — a Muslim boy from Bilaspur and a Hindu girl from Hamirpur who tied the knot on October 20 — had submitted before the court that both were major and had decided to get married of their own free will. However, the father of the girl, who had converted to Islam to get married, had registered a police complaint against the boy. The couple had alleged that the matter had taken communal colour and they were being forbidden to enter their house at Bilaspur and feared for their life and safety. The high court directed the couple and their parents to be present before the court on November 9 and also called for the record of the police complaint registered against the boy at Hamirpur. |
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Fresh trouble for
Shimla, November 4 A legal opinion was sought during the exercise to revise the faulty memorandums of understanding (MoUs) after various irregularities in allotment of 10 eco-tourism projects were highlighted in these columns. Forest land was allotted for these projects without obtaining clearance under the Forest Conservation Act. However, according to legal opinion, clearance is mandatory and as such the allotment made is illegal. The Forest Department has on the basis of the legal opinion issued notices to the five projects, which were functional, to prepare cases under the Forest Conservation Act and obtain clearance. The exercise will take care of some other infirmities in the MoU as the private parties will have to submit the documents pertaining to the land in their possession and also the other details of the project. In the earlier MoU, even the area to be allotted was not specified. Further, some of the parties had raised permanent structures, creating five-star luxury spas and even obtained license for liquor bar, making a mockery of the state’s eco-tourism policy. The government had tried to justify the allotment of forest land for eco-tourism projects and explained its position to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, which disagreed with its view. The state has also sought some clarifications from the ministry. The government had already decided to cancel non-functional projects while work had been stopped at the Kangra rest house site following major violations. The project at Ala Inspection Hut near Dalhousie is also under the scanner for major violations. All functional projects are located close to the Shimla-Kalka National Highway.
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Rs 321 cr Japanese funding for organic farming
Dharamsala, November 4 He said 2,500 farmers have already been registered as organic farmers in the state. “There were certain areas in the state like the Pangi valley in Chamba district where fertilisers and chemical fertilisers have not reached yet. The entire produce of such areas was organic. The government would try to sell produce of such areas as organic products so that farmers could get maximum benefit,” Dhumal said. He said it was imperative to strengthen the dairy industry. The livestock sector has been consistently contributing to the tune of almost 40 per cent to the net agriculture income of the state. Dhumal said as animal husbandry generates economic opportunity for the poor throughout the year, it is an ideal profession to retain the rural poor in village, he said. SK Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, in his welcome address said the college had produced 573 veterinary graduates, 242 MVSc and 20 PhD students and has commissioned 75 research projects worth Rs 8 crore. He said 29 research projects worth Rs 15 crore were being commissioned and the faculty had published over 1,500 research articles in national journals and 130 in international journals. Earlier, the Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of the Chamundeshwari Girls’ Hostel-II to be constructed at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore. It will have 20 rooms to accommodate 60 students. It will also have a gymnasium, a multi-purpose hall, waiting room and a kitchen.
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Manufacturing licence of Baddi pharmaceutical
Solan, November 4 Drug controller Navneet Marwaha said though a show-cause notice was served to the unit to explain its conduct, its reply was found unsatisfactory and, therefore, its licence had been cancelled. The unit was found manufacturing veterinary and allopathic drugs bearing labels of various firms in Uttarakhand and for supply to the Punjab Government. The authorities had written to drug regulatory authorities there to ascertain the status of the firms. Marwaha said he had directed drug inspectors to keep a vigil on the working of pharmaceutical units. Lack of hygienic conditions at Ten Star Pharmaceuticals had put a question mark on the regulatory mechanism as well. The team of officials that raided the unit on October 28 had found open storage of unlabelled injections without temperature control, which was an alarming revelation as injections were sensitive and needed to be stored under specific temperatures. Medicines were also being packed in unhygienic conditions. Though a pharma unit is supposed to be inspected at least twice a year, lack of staff has hampered effective regulation in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) hub. Though the BBN houses as many as 350 pharmaceutical units, there are only two drug inspectors to monitor the manufacturing processes of these units. Given the inadequate staff, many pharma units are not even inspected once a year. |
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Land records to go online
Shimla, November 4
He said settlement work would be carried out in the state by using the new technology to ensure its time-bound completion, besides providing correct land-related record to the users.
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Kangra pins hopes on Centre
Dharamsala, November 4 Sources here said out of Rs 350 crore spent under the MNREGA in Kangra district in the past three years about half of the amount has been spent on the construction of pucca roads. Kangra Deputy Commissioner RS Gupta said: “We are hopeful that the Centre would accept the request of the state to allow construction of pucca roads in rural areas under the MNREGA. However, in case the Union Government fails to accept the demand of the state government, the grant under the MNREGA to Kangra district is likely to receive a cut.” The Deputy Commissioner further said 2.25 lakh job cards have been issued under the MNREGA in Kangra district. However, just 1.6 lakh persons were availing the benefit of employment under the scheme. About 70 per cent beneficiaries of the MNREGA scheme in Kangra district were women. The Kangra district had credit of providing employment to even 100 per cent differently abled persons (generally blind people) under the MNREGA, he said. The Deputy Commissioner also held a press conference to declare the usage of grants under the rural development programme in Kangra district. He said the District Rural Development Agency had been prompt in sanctioning grants received under various schemes. However, there had been some delay on part of execution agencies in utilisation of grants. Another agency under the name “Integrated Wasteland Management Programme” had been formed at district levels. In Kangra district, Rs 87 crore had been sanctioned to the agency under various programmes for wasteland management, he said. The DC also said a socio-economic survey would be conducted in the state from November 14. The survey would help in ascertaining below poverty line families in the state.
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Shimla, November 4
Shimla, November 4