Shimla, January 2
The failure to recover dues amounting to about Rs 250 crore has worsened the financial position of the state power utility. Its actual losses are likely to cross the Rs 1,500-crore mark by the end of this fiscal.

Instead of recovering the dues, the board has been resorting to short-term borrowings, making things worse as the interest on such loans is not admissible and, thus, not included in the aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) on the basis of which tariff is determined by the state electricity regulatory commission. With the board raising more and more short-term loans to bridge the revenue gap, the interest burden is increasing with each passing year. By the end of the current financial year, the short-term borrowings will reach Rs 1,650 crore and the total outstanding loans Rs 4,200 crore.

Apart from various government departments which owe Rs 114 crore to the state electricity board as on October 31 last, big industrial consumers are the main defaulters. The Irrigation and Public Health Department, which operates a number of lift drinking water and irrigation schemes, alone owes Rs 82 crore. The outstanding amount against industrial consumers is over Rs 90 crore, while commercial consumers and domestic consumers together owe Rs 34 crore (Rs 17 crore each).

The high dues of industrial consumers are not surprising as the field staff of the board have been hand in glove with them. The regulatory commission had directed the board to shift the staff which served in revenue sensitive posts for more than three years to break the nexus. However, the board had not complied with the directions in letter and spirit. It did shift some executive engineers and assistant engineers in the industrial belt, but most of them were brought back within months, making a mockery of the commission’s directions.

Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the board RD Dhiman said a special drive would be launched to recover the arrears by March 31 and about 1,400 major industrial consumers would be issued bills online and they would have the option of making e-payment using the real time gross settlement (RTGS) facility.aOfficers of the board blame the faulty tariff order of the regulatory commission and the government for its financial woes. They point out that instead of allowing the arrears due to pay revision of employees, the commission urged the government to give a grant of Rs 295 crore to the board. However, the board has also not paid to the government the amount collected as electricity duty on its behalf. If the government wants, the arrears of various departments can be easily settled against the dues.

Solan, January 2
With officials of HP State Electricity Board Ltd failing to take strict action against erring officials responsible for incurring loss worth crores to the board, a question mark has been raised over the working of the board.

This is amply demonstrated by the fact that an inquiry into a case of power theft where underground lines had been laid from Kala Amb into the nearby Haryana to run various ventures, including tube wells and two brick-kilns on the Tirlokpur road, has remained inconclusive despite the lapse of more than six months. Interestingly, though the state Anti-Corruption and Vigilance Bureau has been investigating the case, the board has done little to bring the culprits to book.

In yet another case, a scam involving electricity bills was unearthed in Baddi recently where bills deposited by consumers worth crores had been pocketed by clerks. This also failed to evoke any strong action from the board.

The board has not just ensured that officials, whose working had remained under a cloud during their earlier tenures, have been confined to industrial areas, but they appear to be enjoying the patronage of a section of the officials in the board.

With no show-cause notice having been issued or suspension or accountability fixed in the two cases where the board suffered not only a loss of face but also financially at a time when crores are pending as dues from various industrial units, the board’s own mismanagement appears to be responsible for its mounting losses.

This is also evident from the fact that the board has failed to recover pending bills worth crores from several industrial units, especially paper mills and steel units, which closed shop and vanished. The board is now pursing such cases with courts to recover its dues.

Interestingly, though the board had formulated a policy of not posting the same officials in sensitive industrial areas after one tenure of three years, the norm has not been followed.

Secretary of the board MP Sood said action regarding shifting of officials who had served their tenure at sensitive places was likely to be taken soon. He added that directions had been issued to the Chief Engineer (South), who was probing these cases, to submit his report soon so that action could be initiated against those responsible.

Shimla, January 2
The country’s largest Nathpa-Jhakri power project achieved the generation target of 6,900 million units for 2011-12 on December 21, exactly 100 days earlier.

The 1,500 MW project of the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) has generated a record 6,975 million units of electricity in the first three quarters of the financial year, surpassing the MoU target for the period by 740 million units. Last year the project had generated 6,402 million units during the same period.

With still three months to go for the financial year, the project is set to surpass last year’s generation of 7,140 million units by a huge margin and in excess of 7,500 million units.

Commissioned in 2003-04, the project achieved the a milestone of 50,000 million units on October 20 last. The plant availability factor (PAF) during the three quarters of the current fiscal also peaked at 104.6 per cent against the normative average of 82 per cent.

The SJVN has 10 hydro-electric projects on hand in India, Nepal and Bhutan. The 412 MW Rampur project is at an advanced staged and is likely to be commissioned by September 2013. It is also entering the wind power sector with an initial capacity of 50 MW during 2012-13.

Shimla, January 2
In a minor administrative reshuffle, the Himachal Government today promoted two middle-rung IAS officers Manish Garg and Rajinder Singh Negi as Secretary to the government and gave proforma promotion to Balbir Tegta, currently posted as Director (Census), Himachal.

Garg, Special Secretary (Finance), also holding the additional charge of Director, Treasuries, Accounts and Lotteries, Himachal, has been posted as Secretary (Finance) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh. He shall continue to hold the additional charge of the Director, Treasuries, Accounts and Lotteries.

Negi, Special Secretary (IPH), has been promoted as Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, in place of Ashwani Kapoor who retired on December 31 last and granted proforma promotion in the rank of Secretary to Tegta.

Dhruv Vashist, Director, Transport, Himachal Pradesh, has been given regular charge of Managing Director, HRTC, at Shimla, while MP Sood, an HAS officer, presently posted as Executive Director, state Electricity Board, would be new Commissioner of the Shimla Municipal Corporation, to fill the post fallen vacant following the retirement of AN Sharma on November 30.

Amit Kashyap, MD, HP State Cooperative Bank, Shimla, shall also hold the additional charge of MD, Jogindera Central Cooperative Bank, Solan, relieving KC Chaman, of the additional charge.

Dr Ashwani Kumar Sharma, under the order of posting as Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kaza, Lahaul and Spiti district, has been transferred and posted as Joint Secretary, Irrigation and Public Health. 

Shimla, January 2
The Himachal Seb Utpadak Sangh has condemned the steep hike in the prices of fertilisers and the failure of the government to make arrangements for the timely supply of various farm inputs.

Secretary of the sangh Sanjay Chauhan said farmers, particularly apple growers who required super phosphate and potash in December, were the worst hit as these two types of fertilisers were not available.

He said the apathetic attitude of the government had added to the woes of the farmers who were already undergoing financial distress due to the failure of the crop during the last season.

He alleged that the governments at the Centre as well in the state were least bothered about the farmers and they were implementing policies which undermined their economic interests. There was a steep hike in the prices of fertilisers even this year and these inputs were virtually beyond the reach of farmers.

The prices of super phosphate, potash and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) had been raised by Rs 200 to Rs 300 per bag (50 kg). Potash was now priced at Rs 575 per bag as against Rs 265 per bag last year and a bag of CAN cost Rs 925 per bag as against Rs 725 per bag last year. Similarly, the rates of super phosphate had shot up from Rs 165 to Rs 425 per bag.

Shimla, January 2
Chief Minister PK Dhumal will do some tough talking with representatives of three cement companies on the issue of reduction in prices here on January 5 as the government has made up its mind to resort to other arm-twisting tactics in case these do not fall in line.

The Chief Minister will chair a meeting with the representatives of the cement companies in the state here on January 5 as the four earlier meetings held with them have failed to yield the desired results. With the government being serious on the matter and wanting a substantial decrease in the prices of cement to make the consumers feel comfortable, it is expected that after this some drastic steps may be taken with regard to withdrawal of some incentives and other such measures.

In fact, Dhumal has also raised the issue with the Prime Minister in a letter written to him and has urged that cement be declared as a controlled item within the purview of the Essential Commodities Act so that consumers get it at reasonable rates. He has pointed out that while cement is sold at cheaper rates in Punjab and Haryana, people in Himachal have to pay at least Rs 100 more.

Industries Minister Kishan Kapoor has already indicated the tough stand on the issue of cement prices and today he held a meeting with senior officials of the Industries Department, the Labour Department and other related departments who are involved with the issue. “We have already made our mind clear to the companies in the last meeting held on December 23 and we will not settle for anything which is too meagre and negligible,” he said. He added that Himachal was, in fact, losing out even on VAT and other taxes as the sales were being shown elsewhere but actually being supplied within Himachal.

He said the logic being given by the cement companies that transportation and other factors added up to the cost in the hill state were completely illogical. “If a cement bag can be sold for Rs 280 in Pinjore, then why are they charging Rs 315 to Rs 320 in Parwanoo. Moreover, an Italian company engaged in the execution of the Kol Dam has been given cement at the rate of Rs 214 per bag,” Kapoor said.

It is reliably learnt that the government would now resort to other means like enhancement of the power tariff for cement companies, strict enforcement of the clause for 70 per cent regular employment to Himachalis in their units and restrictions with regard to taking of clinker outside the state. In case all this is enforced strictly, the cement companies may feel the heat to make them agree to a reduction of at least about Rs 30 per bag as conveyed to them earlier by the Industries Minister.

Hamirpur, January 2
All panchayats in the state have been empowered to challan meat shops under their jurisdiction for any violation related to unhygienic conditions, pollution or complaints regarding adulteration.

The panchayats can now challan meat shops in villages and charge a fine ranging from Rs 10 to 2,000 for any violation.

These powers have been delegated to the panchayats by the state government under the Panchayati Raj Act to maintain hygiene in and around the meat shops and to ensure quality of the meat sold, besides checking pollution.

Until now it had been seen that no specific agency was maintaining control over the meat shops and slaughterhouses in villages despite many complaints.

It had also been observed that many times meat shops and slaughterhouses were being run in the middle of villages and the slaughtered animals were hanged from iron hooks without being covered.

Now, the panchayats will ensure proper covering of the slaughtered animals.

They will also look into complaints of adulteration by meat sellers.

The panchayats will also check pollution caused by the meat sellers or slaughterhouses.

The panchayats have been delegated these powers to regulate the meat shops on the directions of the Central Pollution Control Board.

District Panchayat Officer, Hamirpur, Satish Sharma said, “The panchayats have been empowered to regulate the sale of meat and check adulteration and pollution caused by meat shops or slaughterhouses in villages under the Panchayati Raj Act on the directions of the Central Pollution Control Board and now they can challan meat sellers for any violation under the Act.” 

Shimla, January 2
With social costing on account of road accidents in the hill state being pegged at over Rs 800 crore annually, curbing mishaps will remain one of the topmost priorities of the police during the new year.

Addressing a press conference here today, Director-General of Police (DGP) DS Manhas said all-out efforts would be made to bring down the number of accidents by 10 per cent by adopting a multi-pronged strategy. “Considering the huge social costing of accidents and more importantly the loss of human life, we need to make more efforts to arrest the trend even though last year there was a mere 1 per cent increase over the previous year,” said Manhas.

He said the Central Road Research Institute had calculated Rs 800 crore as the social costing of accidents in HP. This covered expenses on account of compensation, insurance amount, loss of vehicles and hospitalisation. “Even though there has been only 1 per cent increase in accidents, yet there is scope for more improvement,” he said.

As compared to 2,166 accidents in 2010, which killed 779 persons, during 2011 there were 2,010 accidents and 712 persons lost their lives.

“Barring areas like theft and burglary, there was a 3 per cent decline in the overall crime in the hill state during 2011,” he said.

One of the most significant improvements had been in crime against women where cases of cruelty and outraging their modesty had declined by almost 10 to 12 per cent. “Even with regard to hurting and rioting, there has been an appreciable decline of almost 16 per cent despite industrialisation and coming up of hydro-power projects,” he said.

While admitting that the spurt by almost 25 per cent in thefts and burglaries was a disturbing trend, he said efforts would be made to increase visibility of the police on the street and intensify night patrolling to instill a sense of security among the public. The number of theft and burglary cases went up from 838 and 635 in 2010 to 1,039 and 897 in 2011, respectively.

The police received 15,000 complaints last year, out of which 94 per cent had been disposed of and 2,571 complaints on its SMS service on the basis of which 60 FIRs were registered. aManhas said reducing accidents, checking cultivation and trafficking of narcotics, reducing pendency of cases, zero tolerance for indiscipline and improving investigation skills of the police personnel would remain priority areas for the police during the current year.

Chamba, January 2
Taking cognizance of the problems being faced by inhabitants of Kathwar village falling in an outlying Churah subdivision of Chamba district as a sequel to the construction activities of the 36-MW Chanju-I hydroelectric project, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Chamba, Sharabh Negi has directed the functionaries of the IA Energy, a private hydropower enterprise, to carry out the construction works as per the reconciliation brought about among villagers and the hydropower company.

After listening to the grievances of inhabitants of Kathwar village today, the DC said a committee under the chairpersonship of relief and rehabilitation officer had been constituted which would ensure that the blasting work in the tunnels and other construction activities would be executed as per the norms and time fixed by the administration.

The DC said the sprinkling of water on the local road and renovation of water channels of watermills would be made by the hydropower company, besides other safety measures to be taken up for the well being of the habitations located in and around the project.

Another committee had also been constituted under the chairmanship of the area tehsildar to assess the damage caused to the villages in the precincts of the project area due to the construction activities so that compensation could be determined, the DC said.

Meanwhile, residents, led by Dheeraj Singh, president of the public awareness committee of the affected villages around the project, brought to the notice of the DC that their houses had developed cracks due to the blasting beneath the village. Moreover, various other problems had occurred due the construction of the project.

Dheeraj applauded the cooperation extended by the district administration to sort out the problems being faced by the villages. Simultaneously, they had suspended their agitation till their problems were addressed, he stated.

Dharamsala, January 2
The Tibetan administration-in-exile suspects that Chinese spies may be attending the Kalachakra teachings being given by the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya.

Minister for the Department of Security of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) told mediapersons that Chinese spies could be “flooding” the ongoing Kalachakra teachings by the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya.

“I suspect that there may be 1,000 to 1,500 Chinese spies attending the Kalachakra teachings to study and report on Tibetan leaders and their activities in exile,” Security Minister Dhonchung Ngodup told the mediapersons.

According to the minister, around 70,000 Tibetans from Tibet have come to India to attend the 10-day Kalachakra teachings, which began yesterday at Bodhgaya.

“China has sent spies, but that doesn’t matter as we have nothing to hide and everything is transparent, the minister said.

On earlier occasions, the Dalai Lama had publicly urged suspected Chinese spies to report properly on the Tibetan freedom struggle in exile.

Recent reports from Tibet have indicated that the number of Chinese spies in monasteries in Tibet has increased following the increasing number of cases of self-immolation in Tibet.aTibetan Member of Parliament-in-exile Bawa Kalsang Gyaltsen had said in November that 20,000 Chinese officials had been deployed in Tibetan villages to espouse patriotism and love for China and to change the minds of Tibetans.

Bilaspur, January 2
Buses on almost all routes covered by the HRTC in Bilaspur district remained off the roads as bus crew started their indefinite strike. They were protesting against the suspension of a mechanic of the workshop of Bilaspur depot by the Regional Manager about two days ago. 

However, bus services started plying after 4 pm when the Joint Action Committee of the striking employees of the Himachal Mazdoor Sangh and other workers unions were invited for talks by the management and there seemed to be a possibility of their demand being accepted. Talks were still going on in the evening.

The strike call was given yesterday by the committee of the HRTC Workers Unions, including those of bus crew and workshop workers, resenting this suspension and calling it totally unjustified and demanding revocation of this order.

Union state vice-president Shankar Dass Thakur had warned of serious consequences if the demand was not accepted at the earliest. The strike caused great inconvenience to the travelling public which was forced to take to other modes of transport at greater cost. Long-route buses, however, were plying as usual.

The management had earlier suspended the mechanic on duty as a Bandla route evening bus broke down after travelling a few kms and passengers were stranded almost at the same spot of Danoh-Kunala where another bus had earlier met with a very serious accident involving the death of 30 passengers on October 24 near here.

The passengers of this bus had expressed strong resentment and had shouted slogans against the management which had then taken action.

Kangra, January 2
In view of the increasing number of casualities following road accidents in Kangra district during the past year, the police had initiated an interaction with drivers of goods carriers and organised Road Safety Club meetings. One such meeting was organised at the Tandon Club here today.

Addressing the drivers and members of the Road Safety Club, SDPO, Kangra, Dinesh Kumar Sharma said during 2011 there were 622 road accidents in Kangra district alone in which 126 persons were killed and 1,012 others were injured, and some of them were left with permanent disabilities.

DSP Dinesh said the road accident victims of last year in this district included 99 men, 14 women and 13 children. He said in 90 per cent of the accident cases, two-wheelers were found responsible.

He said the police had launched road safety awareness programmes and such meetings were organised at Nagrotra Bagwan and Gaggal too.

Ironically, not even a single two-wheeler driver, particularly the youth, attended the Road Safety Club meeting. In Kangra rash and negligent driving, particularly by youths, had become order of the day and the traffic police had failed to check the menace. The traffic police authorities said while the number of vehicles had gone up manifold during the past few years, the number of traffic police personnel was far less.

Triple rides, zig-zag driving, driving without helmet and rash and negligent driving by youths, that too below the age of 18 years, was a common scene on Kangra roads.

Member, Indian Road Congress, Parikshit Raj Agnihotri said congested roads, encroachments, coupled with rash and negligent driving by youths on motorcycles, had put the lives of pedestrians on Kangra roads at risk.

Kullu, January 2
Eight persons were killed and one was critically injured in an accident when a Maruti Alto (HP-49A-0717) rolled down a deep gorge near Bathad village on the Banjar-Bathad road, about 50 km from here, in Banjar subdivision of this district, in the wee hours yesterday.

SP, Kullu, Abhishek Dular said the dead were identified as Om Prakash (28), son of Vikram Singh, Harbans Lal (24), son of Hira Lal of Bathad village, Hira Lal (19), son of Lagan Chand of Gharal village, Dile Ram (26), son of Keshav Ram of Nayani village, Teja Singh (19), son of Noye Ram of Manajhali village, Khem Chand (19), son of Tej Ram of Manajhali village, Beli Ram (19), son of Tule, Tonu (21), son of Bhag Singh of Manajhali village, all from Banjar tehsil of the district.

The name of the injured person is Dole Ram (19) of Ghalingcha village, Banjar tehsil. He was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

The police confirmed that eight persons died on the spot and the cause for the accident was not yet ascertained.

Sub Divisional Magistrate, Banjar, Virender Sharma distributed immediate relief of Rs 5,000 each to the families of the deceased.

State BJP chief and local MLA Khimi Ram visited the spot and consoled the families of the dead and also disbursed Rs 2,000 each.

A former minister and senior Congress leader Satya Prakash Thakur also expressed grief over the tragic accident at the beginning of the new year and sympathies to the bereaved families.

Kangra, January 2
The oath-taking ceremony for students who started their internship from today was held in the Medical Education Unit Hall of the Central Library of Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (DRPGMC), Kangra, at Tanda.

Dr Munish Saroch, spokesman, DRPGMC, Tanda, said the ninth batch of MBBS students, took the Hippocratic oath as new interns. Principal Anil Chauhan congratulated them for their passing the final-year MBBS examination. On the occasion, new interns were also made aware of ethics in clinical practice, misconduct, punishment and importance of record keeping.

Last night a farewell party was organised by the college administration and the faculty members under the chairmanship of Principal Chauhan. It was for the first time that the internship of a particular batch was completed on December 31 in this college, Dr Chauhan said.

All budding doctors were also presented with “Marg Darshak Sutras” of the institution by the Principal which would be a guiding factor for them throughout their career and remembrance of the DRPGMC Tanda, Dr Saroch disclosed.