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Shady land deals pushed govt on the back foot
CM pats his back, claims common man happy
State to amend Lokayukta Act
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Boy, girl commit suicide
Kala manch renovation puts MC under scanner
Experts want industry to use solar energy
SP directs hotels, banks, malls to install CCTVs
Streamline admission process from next academic year, VCs told
Man gets life term for murder
BJP MLA’s brother taken into custody
Delhi-Dharamsala flight from March 1
MRI unit inaugurated
Cong to observe ‘rosh diwas’
State seeks Japanese aid for development
Workers of power projects hold protest
Dhougris await rehabilitation
Ex-servicemen rally behind Anna
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Shady land deals pushed govt on the back foot
Shimla, December 28 The Congress and the CPM fiercely targeted the government for abusing Section 118 of the State Land Reforms and Tenancy Act and the Apartment Act to oblige outsiders. They alleged that the provision meant to protect agriculture land had been converted into a convenient instrument to facilitate its sale, that too to non-Himachalis. The controversies surrounding the Bantony heritage structure and the permission granted to a private builder to raise apartments on a thickly forested area near Bamloe in Shimla caused much embarrassment to the government. The main thrust of the Opposition attack has been that outsiders have been allowed to acquire huge chunks of land, much more than the genuine requirement, in the state in the name of private universities, tourism projects, housing colonies and other projects on extraneous considerations. The charges were especially levelled when the government brought a Bill to amend the Land Ceiling Act to exempt certain categories from the maximum permissible limit of land specified under it. The campaign of the Opposition apart, the ruling BJP’s own MP Rajan Sushant put the government in the dock by levelling serious charges of corruption, mostly pertaining to land deals. The problems of the party seemed to be multiplying with dissidents floating the Bhrashtachar Mukti Morcha under the leadership of former state BJP chief Maheshwar Singh last month. The only defence the BJP could put out was that the previous Congress government had also given permissions under Section 118 and the Apartment Act. Sensing that these issues will be raised during the Assembly elections next year, the government has started taking pre-emptive measures. The select committee of the Vidhan Sabha has already recommended that the State Apartment and Property Regulation Act should be repealed but the relevant Bill was not brought during the recent winter session of the Assembly. A one-man commission under Justice DP Sood, a retired judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, to inquire into benami land transactions and other related issues was appointed. It also enacted the Himachal Pradesh Special Courts (Attachment and Confiscation of Property) Bill providing for speedy trial in corruption cases and for confiscation of ill-gotten money and property. A policy for grant of permission under Section 118 is being formulated on the directions of the high court. The developments towards the end of the year made it clear that the BJP government will have to contend with the issue of land deals and corruption and face renewed attacks not only from the Opposition but also its own dissidents in the run up to the Assembly poll next year.
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CM pats his back, claims common man happy
Shimla, December 28 “However, it is not an easy proposition as it required a lot of effort to come up to the expectations of the aam aadmi. Good governance and delivering on the promises made during the poll were the pre-requisites and I can say with confidence that my government has done well on both fronts,” he said while interacting with mediapersons. He said the government had at the very outset adopted the party’s election manifesto as a policy document and there was still about one year to go but almost all promises had been implemented. In the final year the focus would be on consolidation and ensuring that the schemes already under implementation were put on a firm grounding to ensure their success in the long run. There were reasons for the common man to be happy as the programmes and policies implemented by his government over the past four years had indeed improved the quality of life which was the main purpose. The per capita income had taken a quantum leap from Rs 42,076 to Rs 58,493 and the gross state domestic product (GSDP) from Rs 33,962 crore to Rs 52,426 crore over the period. Despite a tight financial position, the minimum daily wage had been increased from Rs 75 to Rs 120 and the social security pension from Rs 200 to Rs 330 per month. The government was providing pulses, two edible oils and salt on subsidised rates, besides wheat, rice and sugar supplied through the public distribution system. The state was on the way to becoming an education hub with the opening of a large number of premier institutions, including the National Institute of Fashion Technology at Chheb, the Indian Institute of Technology at Mandi, Indian Hotel Management Training Institute at Hamirpur, Atal Shiksha Kunj at Kalu Jhanda near Baddi, Atal Bihari Engineering College at Pragtinagar, Central University in Kangra and 11 private universities. Besides, projects to set up an ESIC Medical College and a college of hydro-engineering in Bilaspur were in the pipeline. Special emphasis was being laid on improving farm productivity and several schemes like the Rs 321-crore Crop Diversification Project and the Rs 300-crore Doodh Ganga Yojna and the Rs 85-crore apple rejuvenation project were being implemented. The government had taken steps to check the monkey menace by opening three more mass sterilisation centres and plans were afoot to set up 21 more such centres.
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State to amend Lokayukta Act
Shimla, December 28 Chief Minister PK Dhumal said Himachal was one of the first states to have a Lokayukta but in view of the changed scenario, the Act would be amended to take care of the issues being raised by civic society and make it an effective tool for curbing corruption. The matter would be discussed with Justice Panta, who would take over as the Lokayukta around the middle of next month. Criticising the Food Security Bill, he accused the Centre of imposing its policies on the states. The governments in the states came to power on the basis of promises made to the electorate and they had their own agenda to implement. Programmes like food security created more problems as in the Bill introduced in Parliament many responsibilities had been shifted to the states. He said in his view the proposal to supply rice at Rs 3 per kg and wheat at Rs 2 per kg would have long-term implications on foodgrain production as availability of cheap ration would discourage farmers from growing their own food. It would be a far better proposition to double the wages under MNREGA rather than supply ration as such cheap rates. The country was not surplus in foodgrains and the only way to ensure food security was to increase production. He said he would study the Bill and give a detailed opinion on it. Referring to financial problems, he said the state had won a legal battle to secure 7.19 per cent share in BBMB projects, and the financial woes would end if the principle of 12 per cent free power as royalty applicable to hydropower projects set up after 1990 was also applied to the BBMB projects.
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Boy, girl commit suicide
Bilaspur, December 28 Reports said Anil was an accused under Section 376, IPC, for having first kidnapped and then raped a girl of his village. He was arrested by the police on October 30 when the girl’s mother lodged an Anil was in jail under judicial custody since November 4. He had prepared a rope-type of device by tearing his shawl or bed sheet and hanged himself. Incidentally, the girl also committed suicide on November 4. SP Santosh Patial said the incident had been reported to the Human Rights Commission and according to its direction the postmortem examination of Anil would be videographed and all directions observed. |
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Kala manch renovation puts MC under scanner
Palampur, December 28 These facts came to light following information gathered by local RTI activist Naveen Pathania under the RTI Act. It was revealed that the council had spent over Rs 23 lakh on the renovation of the manch with a covered area of 180 sq m only. The cost of construction per sq m came to Rs 13,000 which is not only unusual, but also high according to the existing PWD schedule applicable in the state. The MC, in its reply, admitted that in the new building, foundations and external walls of the old structure were used. Shanta Kumar, MP and senior BJP leader, had given Rs 20 lakh from his MPLAD funds for the renovation of the manch. Later, the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, transferred these funds to the local MC for further execution. The MC is under severe criticism for the way it handled the construction work which not only drained the state exchequer, but also put a question mark on the honesty and integrity of MC officials. A senior officer of the state Public Works Department (PWD) said in such buildings the normal cost of construction should not have exceeded Rs 7,000 per sq m. He quoted that mini-secretariats and other buildings coming up at different places in the district had a per sq m cost of only Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 as per the PWD schedule. Chaman Kapoor, Executive Officer, MC, said he had recently joined here. The construction work of this building was awarded by his predecessor, and he had no knowledge under what circumstances the work was allotted at this rate. He said the design of the building was approved by the PWD. However, local officials of the PWD clarified that their role was only limited to designing the project and the rates per sq m were approved by the EO of the MC and the PWD never figured anywhere while awarding the work.
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Manali gets Tribes India showroom
Manali, December 28 Speaking to mediapersons, Sneh Lata Kumar, Managing Director, TRIFED, said the federation was an organisation under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and was engaged in marketing and development of tribal products, including tribal art and craft, under the brand name Tribes India. She added that the main mandate of TRIFED was capability enhancement of the tribals, promotion of tribal products and creation of marketing opportunities for the tribals with a view to ensuring them fair prices for their products and augmenting their income on a sustainable basis. She said TRIFED was engaged in retail operations for marketing of unique and ethnic tribal handicrafts and natural products in high-end markets through a chain of retail outlets under the brand name Tribes India across the country, besides international marketing. Tribes India showrooms offered a range of tribal products of different parts of the country, which included metal craft, tribal textiles, jewellery, tribal paintings, cane and bamboo, pottery, gifts and novelties, organic and natural products, she added. Local MLA Govind Thakur, Manali SDM Balbir Thakur, TRIFED General Manager Sudhir Gullaiya, TRIFED Regional Manager Mohammad Suhaib and RS Meena, Executive Director, were also present on the occasion.
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Experts want industry to use solar energy
Baddi, December 28 Welcoming the participants, Dalip Sharma, Regional Director, PHD Chamber, said India was the world’s fifth largest energy consumer, accounting for 4 per cent of the global energy consumption. In India, energy cost had risen by more than three fold in the last decade and therefore solar energy development could prove to be an effective tool to the industry. A shift towards renewable energy was necessary to meet the rapidly increasing energy needs, he added. In his keynote address, Dr SS Chandel, HOD-CEEE, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, said the available renewable energy was very large and could meet the energy requirements of the world but only a small portion was recoverable as yet. He said India had launched a National Solar Mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change to produce 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020. Speaking on the occasion, BM Sood, Director, HIMURJA, said promoting renewable energy had assumed great importance in view of the high growth rate of energy consumption, the high share of coal in domestic energy demand, heavy dependence on imports for meeting the demand for petroleum fuels and volatility in the world oil market. Anand Narvane, scientific officer, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, urged the industry to install solar panels. The seminar laid stress on promoting renewable energy, basically solar energy technologies, in the industrial and commercial sectors.
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SP directs hotels, banks, malls to install CCTVs
Solan, December 28 In a meeting convened yesterday, Gurdev Chand Sharma, SP, Baddi, directed owners of pharmaceutical units, petrol pumps, shopping malls, bank staff and hoteliers to instal CCTV cameras at various locations, including at the entrance, so that they could be identified when crimes took place. Sharma said since all vehicles entering or leaving the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area could not be manually scritinised, the installation of CCTVs would help identify and nab miscreants. He directed the banks to specially instal such cameras outside ATMs as everyone was aware of the presence of CCTVs inside ATM chambers and miscreants often covered their faces while in. Bank officials were also directed to conduct awareness programmes among customers about probable ways of misuse of ATM cards. Since precautions can help reduce the incidence of crime to a certain extend, the police was urging entreprenuers to remain vigilant as the area was vulnerable to crime from various inter-state gangs which operated here. The police had managed to nab a gang of thieves who had stolen chemicals worth lakhs from a pharmaceutical unit with the help of such camera.
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Streamline admission process from next academic year, VCs told
Shimla, December 28 In case any management or any institute admits any student without the certificate of having passed the qualifying examination, be it may polytechnic colleges, ITI, college, the Head of the institution shall be liable for appropriate action for contempt and also for other permissible action under the law. In case they are private institutes, they shall be deaffiliated/derecognised forthwith. It was brought to the notice of the court that there has been unscientific and impermissible practice of students who have passed in one or more subjects being provisionally admitted to higher courses subject to those students clearing the same before the date of registration of examinations in the first year of higher courses. The Director of Higher Education was also present before the court and apprised the court that as per UGC guidelines only those students who have passed the qualifying examination as on the date of admission can be admitted to higher courses. But in the court it was pointed out that the ordinance of the university permits such admission. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Sanjay Karol passed this order on the petition of a student, Khwaja Bahuddin, who had alleged that he was studying in a private polytechnic institute at Kala Amb, where he was admitted without passing his matriculation examination. He alleged that he had paid all the fees, but he was not being assigned roll number to sit in the first semester examinations scheduled to be held this month. It was also pointed out before the court that students who have not cleared one subject and are put in the category of compartment will lose one year. Failed candidates can certainly appear in the next available chance. Admission to higher courses shall only be after passing the qualifying examination.” The court listed the matter for further hearing on February 28.
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Man gets life term for murder
Chamba, December 28 According to the judgment, on June 23 last year at about 10.30 am, Diwan Chand of Bharera village telephonically informed the Dalhousie police station that the body of Om Parkash, who was an employee in the state electricity department, was lying at the village. Police officials, headed by the DSP from Dalhousie, reached Bharera village. Om was found dead near the Bharera jungle. Some injuries were noticed on the body. Om Parkash was married 10 years back to accused Radha of Bharera village. She was 18 years younger than him. Ravi was allegedly having illicit relations with Radha. Some years ago Radha left Om’s house to stay with Ravi. On June 22 last year both the accused murdered Om Accused Radha has been acquitted for want of sufficient evidence against her.
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BJP MLA’s brother taken into custody
Kangra, December 28 SDPO, Nurpur, Rajender Kumar Jaswal said on Monday some youths of Dah village, falling under Indora police station, stopped a pick-up vehicle (PB 06 H 8682) and found more than 7 quintals of wheat, 16 quintals of flour and 1 quintal of rice meant for ration holders of Dah village being transported to Punjab. DSP Jaswal said the youths informed the police which reached the spot and impounded the vehicle. He said the driver of the vehicle was identified as Ashok Kumar of Nangalbhur, Pathankot, Punjab, the third person as Ashwani Kumar also of Nangalbhur and the salesman as Tara Chand. He said a case under Sections 3 and 7, Essential Commodities Act, was registered against the three.
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Delhi-Dharamsala flight from March 1
Palampur, December 28 Official sources said here today that the new flight would start from New Delhi in the morning and would have a 30-minute stopover at Chandigarh and then proceed to Dharamshala. It will fly back to New Delhi in the afternoon. The exact schedule and time would be intimated later, he added. Meanwhile, the Kangra Valley Travel Agents Association has welcomed the introduction of the flight between New Delhi and Dharamsala. Naveen Sareen, a spokesman for the association, said it was long-standing demand of the association, which had been accepted by the Union Minister for Civil Aviation. |
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MRI unit inaugurated
Shimla, December 28 He said the government was encouraging the private sector to upgrade the health infrastructure in the state so that the people did not have to go outside for specialised medical services. He appreciated the contribution of the Indus Medical Foundation, particularly its chairman Dr BR Verma, for providing quality services to the people. Such endeavours help supplement the efforts of the government to improve the medical services. He said the people should come forward to serve the humanity and discharge their responsibility towards society. Administrative officer of Indus YK Joshi said the open magnet MRI machine was suitable for children as mothers could sit along with them during scanning. Those suffering from claustrophobia could also benefit by the facility. Local MLA Suresh Bhardwaj, Mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation Madhu Sood, and other officers were among those who were present.
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Cong to observe ‘rosh diwas’
Shimla, December 28 The party will organise protests at the state and district headquarters and submit a memorandum addressed to the Governor enlisting the acts of commission and omission committed by the government over the past four years. General secretary of the party Kuldeep Rathore said the theme song of the protest would be “Bhajapa hatao, Himachal bachao aur Congress lao”. He said people were anguished and angry with the rampant corruption, with the BJP government virtually putting the state on sale. He said all Congress MLAs and office-bearers had been asked to mobilise workers in their respective districts for the protest. The party organised a function at Congress Bhawan to mark its 127th foundation day. Rathore exhorted party men to work for the party with dedication and uphold the principles laid down by its great leaders like Mahatma Gnadhi, Jwawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. |
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State seeks Japanese aid for development
Shimla, December 28 Speaking at the India-Japan Global Partnership Summit-2013 in New Delhi last evening, Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said there was a tremendous scope for bilateral cooperation in the field of hydropower as the state had an identified potential of about 23,000 MW, out of which only 6,500 MW had been harnessed so far. He said six major hydropower projects and 16 mini and micro projects had been identified for execution. Bindal was participating in the summit on behalf of Chief Minister PK Dhumal. He said a Rs 321-crore crop diversification scheme and the Rs 160-crore Swan Nehar Project were already being implemented in the state with the Japanese assistance. The state had prepared the Rs 85-crore Apple Rejuvenation Project to replace old and senile root stocks over 5,000 hectare area under the scheme. He sought financial assistance for the project from the Government of Japan. The state had opened a number of health institutions to provide health services to the people at their door steps for which funds were needed. He sought Rs 100 crore for construction of buildings of health institutions and Rs 300 crore for creation of infrastructure for the three new medical colleges proposed to be opened in the state. Further, funds were required for construction of tunnels and aerial ropeways.
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Workers of power projects hold protest
Palampur, December 28 Earlier, the agitators walked through the main streets of the town and later joined the dharna in front of the SDM office, where other workers were already sitting. A rally was also held where workers criticised the management of the power projects for not accepting their demands. Later addressing mediapersons, employees’ leaders said their major demand included regularisation of their services, implementation of labour laws, better working conditions and immediate checking of exploitation of workers by the authorities. They said small hydroprojects in the state had proved as goldmines for its owners as they had not to pay any royalties to the government on the natural resources being exploited by them. They had to pay only 12 per cent free power to the state. But on the other hand, in the next five years power projects would clear its liabilities out of its income. Despite the high income, they were still exploiting poor labourers and were not following the labour laws.
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Dhougris await rehabilitation
Dalhousie, December 28 There are at present 75 families living in this habitation on five bighas six biswas. Their total population is about 654. The huts in which they are living are temporary. Since the habitation falls in the forestland of Kalatop-Khajjiar wildlife sanctuary, residents here cannot raise new constructions and make addition or alteration in the existing huts, an official of the wildlife wing of the Forest Department said.
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Ex-servicemen rally behind Anna
Bilaspur, December 28 The programme was organised under the aegis of the District Ex-Servicemen Kalyan Samiti, led by Subedar Prakash Chand, in favour of the demand of Anna Hazare for a strong Lokpal Bill so that corruption can be ended at all levels. Leaders Kishori Lal Sharma, Krishan Kumar Kaushal, Shankar Das Thakur, advocate Pravesh Chandel, advocate Chaman Thakur, Major Lekh Ram Sharma (retd), Subedar KR Chandel, Abhimanyu Singh, Sohan Kumar Sharma, Prem Lata and Lekh Ram Sharma warned that this agitation would not end with the passing of a “weak and crippled Bill”. — OC
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“Himachal on sale” became the buzzword in the state during 2011 as sustained campaigns by the Opposition on the issue of corruption and shady land deals pushed the Dhumal government on the back foot, forcing it to constitute a judicial commission to probe benami land transactions and have a re-look on the State Apartment and Property Regulation Act.
Maintaining that the perception of the common man was the best indicator of the performance and image of the party in power, Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said his biggest achievement over the past four years was that the “aam aadmi” identified with his government.
The Palampur Municipal Council (MC) is under the scanner over the high cost of construction of the Holi Kala
Manch, as its per square metre cost has touched a new high (Rs 13,000), much more than the cost of such buildings constructed in Shimla and other parts of the state. The MC had spent over Rs 23 lakh on the construction and renovation of the Holi Kala Manch in the town last year.
