Dharamsala, January 22
The contributory pension scheme in various autonomous bodies and corporations of the state government is in poor shape. In case the scheme is not managed properly, employees retiring in the future may end up without pension, sources said.

The contributory pension scheme of Kangra Cooperative Bank, one of the biggest cooperative banks of the state, has already been stopped. The pension to former employees of the bank has been stopped.

The current management of the bank maintains that there is hardly any fund left in the pension scheme. The retired employees whose pension has been stopped have moved court to get their pension restored.

The sources said “unprofessional management” of the contributory pension scheme in Kangra Cooperative Bank led to present scenario. When the scheme was implemented, a few former employees of the bank contributed just a few thousand rupees and took back over Rs 1 lakh within days and then enjoyed pension.

The bank adopted a pattern similar to the state government for calculating the pension of its employees. While in the case of government employees, the state is committed to giving pension under the contributory pension scheme, the funds have to be generated from the contribution of the employees. The bank could not adopt a pattern similar to the state government for giving pension to its employees.

The sources said the bank was going to re-implement the contributory pension scheme after changes in the previous scheme and increased contribution from employees.

In CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur, and the horticulture university at Nauni in Solan, concerns are being expressed over the future of the contributory pension scheme. The authorities of the agricultural university at Palampur had asked for Rs 100 crore from the state government for sustaining their contributory pension scheme.

The sources said in the university also, the contributory pension scheme was mismanaged. While the scheme was introduced in the university in 1996, the university management decided to extend its benefits to those who had retired since 1986.

The sources said the already fund-starved state had said no to making such a heavy contribution for sustaining the pension scheme of the agricultural university. A senior government functionary said on condition of anonymity that the government had no money to sustain the contributory pension scheme. It is already finding it difficult to pay pension to its own employees after the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission.

Sudershana, secretary of pensioners’ association of the agricultural university said the university had not even paid pension benefits like gratuity and leave encashment to many employees.

The sources said the autonomous institutions and corporations of the government would have put a cap on the maximum pension that they could pay under the contributory pension scheme. Besides, the management of the funds generated under the contributory pension scheme would have to be given to professionals for sustaining the scheme.

Solan, January 22
Deputy Commissioner C Palrasu has issued a show-cause notice to an investor and his son asking why their property should not be confiscated after an inquiry conducted by the SDM, Solan, concluded that they were non-agriculturists and hence barred from buying land in the state.

The inquiry follows a complaint to the Chief Minister where Subhash Chander Bhalla was alleged to have purchased land in violation of the state laws. A detailed inquiry to ascertain the agricultural status of Subhash Bhalla has concluded that he has violated Section 118 of the HP Land Reforms and Tenancy Act, 1972, by buying land on the basis of owning agricultural property in Kotkhai tehsil in Shimla district which was not found correct.

The Deputy Commissioner said Subhash Bhalla and his son Gaurav Bhalla had been granted a month’s time to present their stand following which they would begin proceedings to vest back their property in Barog and Kasauli tehsil with the state government.

According to the inquiry report, Subhash Bhalla’s claim of possessing 2.2 bighas of agricultural land in Mohal Manewal in Kotkhai tehsil was found incorrect. He had, in connivance with the land owner, Rajinder Kumar Thaper, and revenue officials, tampered with the revenue records to attain the status of an agriculturist. This was established by an initial inquiry conducted by the SDM, Theog. Subhash Bhalla had, however, filed a civil suit before a Theog court against Rajinder Kumar Thaper in April 1997 for being declared the owner by way of “adverse possession of the land” and he had won this suit.

Though the land was transferred in Bhalla’s name as per the court orders, later as per the orders of the District Collector “to correct the tampered and erased entries”, revenue officials had reverted back the land to the original owner, Thaper, in January 1999. Though Bhalla appealed before the Collector, Settlement, Shimla, and later the Divisional Commissioner, the matter was referred to the Financial Commissioner (Appeals) who then set aside the mutation of the land to Bhalla and revenue officials had concluded that Bhalla was not an agriculturist and the mutation of land had been attested in violation of Section 118 in September 1998.

Many heads will roll now as the inquiry had established violation of Section 118 way back in 1998 and subsequent officials in the district had failed to initiate the process to vest back hundreds of bighas which Bhalla had bought illegally.

Shimla, January 22
With the government finally approving the rates for the allotment of timber to right holders under the TD (Timber Distribution) Rules, the way has been paved for the implementation of the new policy under which converted timber will be provided instead of standing trees.

The implementation of the amended TD Rules framed under the direction of the state high court, which came into force from this financial year, has been held up as the government had not notified the rates at which converted timber of various tree species was to be supplied to the right holders. The right holders had applied for grant of timber under the new policy and the department had also carried out the marking of trees for the purpose. However, timber could not be supplied so far as the government had not approved the rates.

The state Cabinet recently decided that the rates of converted timber to be supplied to the right holders under the TD Rules will be fixed on the basis of species-wise weighted average sale rates of converted timber per cubic metre (average gross auction rates) obtained by the State Forest Development Corporation in the open auction during the preceding year.

Further, under the new rules the right holders are entitled to three cubic metres of converted timber for the construction of a new house once in a lifetime or 30 years and one cubic metre for carrying out major repairs once in 15 years. Further, the common right holders will be supplied timber at 30 per cent of the market rate and BPL (below poverty line) families at 10 per cent of the market rate.

Accordingly, the committee set up for the purpose under the Additional Chief Secretary, Forests, has approved the TD rates for various timber species for the general and BPL categories. The rate of deodar has been fixed at Rs 7,167 per cubic metre and Rs 2,389 per cubic metre, kail Rs 4,485 and Rs 1,459 per cubic metre, pine (chil) Rs 2,000 and Rs 667 per cubic metre and fir Rs 2,977 and Rs 992 per cubic metre.

The rationalised TD rules will help save thousands of precious green trees from the axe every year.

Applications for the grant of TD rights will be received up to March 31 through the gram sabha and the eligibility of applicants verified by June 30. Converted timber will be supplied by December 30. If a right holder commits any forest offence, his TD right will be suspended for a period of 10 years.

Shimla, January 22
RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya has alleged that the government is not keen on recovering the dues on account of the expenditure incurred by the administration on providing security for three IPL matches held last year.

He said the Superintendent of Police, Kangra, had in response to his RTI application given full details of the expenditure amounting to Rs 1.64 crore incurred by the police on providing security cover from May 11 to May 21, 2011. He had stated that he had sent the details to the police headquarters for necessary action.

He enquired about the matter from DGP DS Manhas who informed him that he had sent the details to the Home Department for further action. However, his latest RTI application in this regard filed with the Home Department to know about the action taken for recovering the IPL dues had been transferred back to the DGP for providing a reply.

It was surprising as his qeruies related to the Home Department. Besides the action taken for the recovery of the dues, he had also asked whether the DGP had sent the details of IPL security expenses and, if so, supply a copy of it along with the action-taken report.

He said the transfer of the application back to the DGP clearly indicated that the matter was being deliberately delayed and the government was not keen on recovering the dues.

Shimla, January 22
The State Electricity Board Employees Union has demanded immediate assistance from the state government to bail out the power board, which is facing a serious financial crisis.

It has also urged the government to grant additional power share, being received from the BBMB projects following the Supreme Court judgment, to the board free of cost and that the arrears on this account be contributed to the proposed pension corpus to meet the pension liabilities without putting a burden on the consumers through a tariff hike. It demanded that 12 per cent free power as royalty being charged from the projects of the board be waived in view of the continuous widening gap between the cost and sale price of power within the state.

It pointed out that the demand was being met by purchasing power from various power generators and the state government share at rates ranging from Rs 3.55 to Rs 3.96 per unit and the board’s own generation was 20 per cent of the present demand. The gap between the power supply cost and the sale price was expected to go up to Rs 1.10 per unit during the time the revenue requirement was not approved fully by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. The revenue gap for the last financial year alone was to Rs 741 crore and as a result the cumulative loss increased to Rs 936 crore as on March 2011. This year the revenue gap was Rs 710 crore which would further add to the loss.

The alarming financial condition has created panic among 20,000 employees and 14,000 pensioners of the board and also the consumers.

The government had made a commitment during the reorganisation of the board regarding the disbursal of social securities of employees, including pension, gratuity and leave encashment, but nothing concrete has been done so far. Thus, the union demanded that the arrears to be received from the BBMB projects be contributed to the pension corpus of the HPSEB.

Shimla, January 22
The state government has increased the budget under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan to Rs 816 crore in the current year, which is four times the allocation for 2007-08.

The Mukhya Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojna is being implemented in villages having an SC and ST population in excess of 40 per cent. The objective is to ensure integrated development of such villages by strengthening and upgrading the basic infrastructure. In all, 136 such villages, two in each Assembly constituency, are being provided improved road network, drinking water supply, sanitation and other infrastructural facilities during the current year.

Besides, 50 per cent subsidy is being provided for the purchase of a new LPG connection to poor women under the Mata Shabri Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojna. The beneficiaries under the scheme are being identified in meetings of gram sabhas. Similarly, financial assistance is being provided to poor persons from the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes for the construction of houses under the Atal Awas Yojna and the Indira Awas Yojna. The amount of assistance has been enhanced from Rs 27,500 to Rs 48,500 and in all Rs 120 crore has been provided during the past four years.

Under the Swarnima Yojna, women belonging to BPL families of Other Backward Classes are being provided loans at a subsidised rate of 4 per cent for undertaking self-employment ventures. An education loan up to Rs 5 lakh is being provided to students belonging to the OBCs and 2,000 meritorious students of Classes XI and XII are being given a scholarship of Rs 10,000 each annually. In addition, 2,000 meritorious SC students are also being provided a similar scholarship under the Ambedkar Meritorious Scholarship Scheme.

An amount of Rs 6.24 crore is being spent on the construction of three hostels for SC girl students in Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, the agricultural university, Palampur, and Government Degree College, Baijnath.

Shimla, January 22
The CPM has urged the BJP government to first recover the arrears amounting to Rs 1.64 crore on account of security provided for IPL matches held in 2011 from the host Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association before allowing more matches to be held in the coming season.

Alleging a “cricket nexus” between the BJP and the Congress, the party asked the government to clarify whether it would once again bear the burden of the security cover for the IPL matches scheduled to be held in the state. On the one hand, the BJP regime was squeezing all social-security measures in the garb of resource crunch and on the other it was allowing unjustified concessions to commercial organisations like the BCCI, which was flush with funds.

Member of the state secretariat of the party Tikender Panwar quoted the remarks of former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi that “there is no recession in the IPL” and yet the government is generous enough not to charge it for the security cover. The details of the expenditure incurred by the police was obtained by an RTI activist recently.

He said the event was a joint venture between the BCCI and the IPL on the one hand and the BJP and the Congress on the other as was evident from the honorary degree of doctorate conferred on a BCCI official by Himachal Pradesh University. The honorary degrees were awarded by the HPU in haste even bypassing the committee constituted to look into the matter which vehemently opposed the move. The only objective behind was to bring back the IPL to the state.

Mandi, January 22
Even as Vikramaditya Singh has sought an appointment with AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi over the controversial decision of the private company declaring his election as Youth Congress president as “null and void”, Youth Congress leaders from the Mandi parliamentary constituency have termed the decision as a part of a conspiracy to corner Vikramaditya, who had won this election with a thumping majority.

Extending their unstinted support to Vikramaditya Singh today, Youth Congress Mandi parliamentary constituency president Sanjo Dogra, general secretaries Asha Thakur, Karan Mahant, Mahesh Sharma and Narender Negi and Youth Congress block presidents termed the decision as “undemocratic and unjust”. They have asked the party high command to intervene and uphold Vikramaditya’s election. Vikramaditya had won the election by over 3,500 votes and enjoyed the support and political will of the youth of the state, they claimed.

Talking to The Tribune, Sanjoo Dogra said, “It is for the first time that a Youth Congress president has been elected through a secret ballot. We are shocked that it has been termed null and void.”

Vikramaditya, speaking to The Tribune on the phone, said, “As a true soldier of the Congress, I have always been stood by the AICC’s code of conduct. I worked day and night, met people, got their support and won the election with a thumping majority.”

He said there was no denial of the fact that he was a son of Virbhadra Singh and might have got an advantage in the election. “Like any Congress family, I cherish democratic values of the Congress as my father has served this state for over 45 years. I am proud of being born in the family of a true Congressman,” he added.

Bilaspur, January 22
The ACC cement factory at Barmana, near here, is under the scanner of the HP State Pollution Control Board and is likely to get a show-cause notice due to several defects found by a fact-finding committee of the Board after its two-day visit to the factory premises recently.

Earlier, the Barmana Area Visthapit Avam Prabhavit Villagers Committee consisting of Barmana, Dhon Kothi, Kunanu, Baloh etc villages had presented a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the Deputy Commissioner here complaining, among other things, about the high air pollution being caused by this factory. They had said this was endangering the lives of thousands of nearby villages.

On the orders of the government, a team of officers of the Board made a sudden visit to the factory premises and inspected each and every aspect of pollution control systems. They found several defects in these systems. These officers consisted of Scientific Officer Sanjiv Sharma, Junior Scientific Officer Pravin Sharma and Regional Pollution Control Officer Ravinder Sharma. They have presented their detailed report to the Board.

This report is said to have pointed out that there was unnecessary extra noise in some of the machinery installed as these were without enclosures, bag filters had grown old and some were not even functioning and raw material was also lying in the open. Similarly, there was much more pollution at some of the crusher sites.

Board member secretary Sanjay Sud told mediapersons that the factory would soon be served with a show-cause notice and asked to remove all these defects and control pollution.

Bilaspur, January 22
The Himachal High Court has abruptly ended the extended three-month tenure of the Bilaspur District Truck Operators Co-operative Society (BDTS) functioning at Barmana near here in cement loading work of the ACC cement factory.

The court has ordered the immediate appointment of an administrator for the same till the normal election of this biggest truck operator union of this region. The election of the society has been declared for March 25 when its members will elect 21-man executive committee which will function as management committee and run this cooperative society for the next three years.

Earlier, the state government, on the request of the earlier executive committee led by Jeet Ram Gauttam and general secretary Kuldip Gauttam, had increased the tenure of that committee for three months though its tenure was to expire on January 17. This was resented by a group of truckers who went to the high court against this government order.

The HC found the government order of extension of tenure as irregular. It said the tenure of the earlier committee stood ended immediately.

Nurpur, January 22
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal before launching an election campaign in Punjab in Amritsar for SAD-BJP candidates alleged that the UPA government was discriminating against non-Congress-ruled states in the country.

Addressing a press conference here last evening, Dhumal claimed that notwithstanding the step-motherly treatment, NDA-ruled states had recorded landmark achievements whereas the Congress-ruled states had shown a dismal performance.

“The UPA government has failed in curbing inflation, unemployment and corruption. Fresh scams are coming out daily in the UPA government. In 1989 the Bofors scam alone had shown the door to the then government in Delhi, but now people are witnessing colossal scams like 2G Spectrum, Commonwealth Games and Adarsh Society scams. The hike in petroleum products prices repeatedly has also perturbed the common man,” Dhumal said.

Talking on the performance of the SAD-BJP government in Punjab, the Chief Minister said this government, despite step-motherly treatment by the Centre, had fulfilled its previous poll manifesto, strengthened basic infrastructure and expedited the pace of development in the state. When asked on the demand of the creation of new districts in the state, Dhumal asserted that a consensus between people and political leaders was essential on this issue. IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi and wool federation Chairman Trilok Kapoor were also present in the press conference.

Palampur, January 22
The state government has ordered a high-level probe into the pulses scam unearthed in the HP State Civil Supply Corporation. Chief Minister PK Dhumal has asked the state Vigilance Department to conduct the probe and scrutinise the record of the past five years pertaining to the import of pulses, its carriage and repacking.

Official sources said here recently that a team of the Vigilance Department had already seized the incriminating documents.

Meanwhile, Civil Supply Minister Romesh Dhawala also admitted here recently that irregularities were conducted in the purchases of pulses by the corporation and the state suffered a loss in crores.

The government supplies pulses (urad and chana) to its 16,31,800 ration-card holders in the state on subsidised rates of Rs 35 per kg per month.

The corporation had been made consignee by the government to procure pulses for further distribution under the PDS.

In fact, pulses were imported by the Centre from different countries and later a quota of pulses was allocated to the state government to be lifted from the Bombay port.

The corporation further awarded contracts to private parties of New Delhi and Haryana for the carriage of pulses from Mumbai and repacking the same in polythene bags.

Contractors, who were assigned the job of carriage and repacking pulses, allegedly sold the imported pulses in transit at high rates in connivance with officials of the corporation and replaced the same with inferior quality pulses purchased from domestic market in New Delhi or adjoining states.

Kullu, January 22
The Kullu police has taken a lead in encroachment cases on forest land by issuing challans in 979 cases out of the 1,006 FIRs lodged, involving more than 10 bighas of land on the direction of the high court.

The Kullu police lodged 2,197 cases in 2011, pushing the police staff to the brink of failure. The increase in FIRs from 1,182 to 2,197 in 2011 was mainly due to the court deadline, police officials said.

SP, Kullu, Abhishek Dular said despite the limited staff, as more than 20 posts of policeman were vacant in the district, they managed to finalise challans in 979 cases of forest encroachments and present these in the court. The rest of the cases were in the process of being finalised, he added.

The police also launched anti-cannabis and anti-opium poppy drives in the district that further pushed the strength of the staff to its limits.

The police destroyed opium plants from 400 bighas and booked 50 cases and destroyed cannabis on 6,700 bighas and booked 100 cases under the NDPS Act. He said this was the highest figure achieved by the Kullu police till date.

Criminal dossiers of all the accused persons under the NDPS Act had been prepared. Cases under the NDPS Act had increased from 148 to 200, he added.

Even fatalities on the road were a cause for concern. “Accident cases showed a slight increase from 185 in 2010 to 196 in 2011 that killed 72 persons,” he added.

He said theft and burglary cases had increased from 81 to 135 with total value of theft cases about Rs 40 lakh out of which property worth Rs 20 lakh had been recovered.

Sundernagar, January 22
The fate of the controversial cement project which is being set up near Sundernagar in a thicky populated area on fertile land, the MOU of which was signed by the Congress government in 1995, will be decided by the Supreme Court in the next few months.

As per the information received from the Sundernagar office of Harish Cement Ltd, the Special Leave Petition (SLP)-Civil No. 2390 of 2011 which was filed by Harish Cement Ltd against the judgment dated Novenber 13, 2010, passed by the Green Bench of the HP High Court has been fixed for March 13, 2012, for final disposal. Vide judgment of the Green Bench of Himachal Pradesh various environmental clearances of the cement project and notification under land acquisition to acquire the land for project and mining sites had been quashed.

After the passing of the judgment, Harish Cement Ltd had filed an SLP before the Supreme Court in January last year. The case was afterwards listed for July 19, 2012.

Earlier this plant was to be set up at Nalni, far away from Sundernagar, the MOU for which was signed by the Congress in 1995. Subsequently, the BJP government shifted the plant site to Chambi near Sundernagar and no public hearing for this site was conducted.

The then CM Virbhadra Singh wrote a letter to A Raja, the then Minister for Environment and Forest, to waive off the mandatory public hearing and an environment clearance to the project was given later on. Subsequently, local residents filed several writ petitions and the high court quashed the environmental clearances of the project.