Shimla, February 3
BJP dissidents today announced formation of a new political outfit, the “Himachal Pradesh Lokhit Party” under the leadership of former party president Maheshwar Singh.

The fact that the dissidents, who quit the party only days ago, had gone ahead with their plans to float a new party, giving no time to the party high command to act or react, makes it amply clear they are in serious pursuit of a third political alternative.

The development will have ramifications for both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress which have been plagued with dissidence.

The dissidents, who have been campaigning against corruption under the banner of Bhrashtachar Mukti Morcha (BMM), said the BJP and Congress were resorting to “political match-fixing” to rule the state in turns, leaving the people reeling under one corrupt regime after another.

The Babu Lal Kushwaha episode in Uttar Pradesh made it clear that BJP had strayed from its ideology and principles and there was no room for honest leaders in it.

The party had embraced the corporate culture under the leadership of Nitin Gadkari, it was stated.

The BJP which had been hoping to ride the “Anna wave” to retain power in the state finds itself in an embarrassing situation with a group of senior leaders deserting the party on the issue of corruption. Things would not have gone that far if the party high command had taken due notice of the issues raised by these leaders and had taken corrective measures, it was further stated.

The dissidents have been raising the issue of corruption and other grievances pertaining to the functioning of the party organisation and the government for the past some time.

They met Gadkari more than once and when nothing positive emerged, they formed the BMM and are supposed to have cautiously avoided attacking the government.

As the government started targeting the members of the morcha, they took the extreme step of deserting the party.

Maheshwar Singh, who was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice and Rajya Sabha once, remained the MLA for two terms, has also remained the state BJP chief for two terms.

He has been authorised to nominate the state office-bearers and executive committee. The constitution of the new party is being finalised and it is set to contest the Assembly polls with full force.

Shimla, February 3
“It was undoubtedly the best law when the Himachal Pradesh Lokayukta Act was enforced way back in 1983, but it needs strengthening in the changed scenario to take care of important issues like vesting the institutions with powers to take suo motu cognisance of cases and providing an independent investigation agency”, says Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta, the new Lokayukta of the state.

“Himachal was only the second state after Karnataka to have the Lokayukta and it was indeed a laudable effort. However, there has been a sea change in the situation since and the law required a re-look to make it an effective tool for combating the menace of corruption. I will study the Act thoroughly and hold consultations with experts and the government to identify the infirmities so that suitable amendments could be made to provide more teeth to the law”, he said.

Referring to the Lokpal, Justice Panta said a lot of debate was going on and it was still not clear what final shape the proposed law would take. However, the revamping of the Lokayukta Act fell under the state’s domain and it could go ahead without waiting for the enactment of the Lokpal Act.

He said it was not possible to give a time line for exercise to revamp the Act but the consultation process would start soon and it would not take too long. The effort would come out with the best possible law after studying all the Acts and drafts available.

Justice Panta, who was heading the Green Tribunal before his appointment as the Lokayukta, said it was more of a homecoming for him and he was happy to take over the assignment as Himachal was a peaceful state.

He added that he was happy with his stint in the Green Tribunal and it was dong a good job. It comprised 10 judges and 10 experts with three Benches in Delhi taking care of northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir.

There was also a Bench in Chennai for the southern states.

Shimla, February 3
The efforts of the state police to bring back the rare George Cross awarded posthumously in 1946 to Naik Kirpa Ram (8th Battalion of the 13th Frontier Force Rifles) of Papral village have received a severe setback with the British authorities refusing to accept the findings of the Indian investigating agency that the medal was stolen.

Maintaining that current owner Ashok Nath, a non-resident Indian, settled in Britain, had purchased the medal and it was not a stolen property, DGP (CID), ID Bhandari said the British authorities had informed the local authorities that the evidence produced by him, including affidavits and video recording, made it amply clear that he was the rightful owner. The British agencies had completely ruled out the possibility of the theft and cheating and said he had purchased it from a Delhi-based coin medal dealer, SL Jain.

The DGP said with this, there was now little possibility of bringing back the medal and it might be put up for auction again.

He said the Bilaspur police that had been handling the case had been asked to look into the matter.

The medal came to notice when it was listed for auction by the London-based company, Dix Noonan Webb Limited. It became an issue when Kirpa Ram’s widow Brahmi Devi, who lives in a village in Bilaspur district, alleged that the medal in possession of Ashok Nath of Britain was stolen from her residence.

The video and document produced as evidence before the British agencies showed that Brahmi Devi had herself given it to KP Singh.

Brahmi Devi received the medal on her husband’s behalf from the then Viceroy, Field Marshal Lord Wavell, in 1946.

Dharamsala, February 3
The Tibetan parliament in exile has exhorted Tibetans to shun New Year (Losar) celebrations owing to the critical situation in Tibet.

“We ask the Tibetans not to celebrate the New Year on February 22. We request everyone to pray for those departed souls who passed away as a result of the self-immolations and the brutal Chinese heavy handedness,” the statement issued here today by Tibetan parliament in exile said. Members of the Tibetan parliament from Dharamsala will observe a fast till 5 pm at Tsuklakhang (the main Dalai Lama temple at Mcleodganj) on the first day of the New Year to express their solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet, the statement added.

Sources here said the Tibetan parliamentary delegation had visited many foreign embassies in New Delhi. They briefed the ambassadors about the critical situation inside Tibet and urged their respective parliaments to make urgent representations to the Chinese government. Sixteen Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet, protesting against the Chinese government since March 16 last year. Twelve have died, while whereabouts and well-being of the remaining four are still unknown, it is stated.

In 2009, Tapey, a monk of Kirti monastery, set himself on fire in protest against the allegedly wrong policies of the Chinese government. His whereabouts are unknown.

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has also called for worldwide vigils on February 8 in view of the critical situation inside Tibet following a series of self-immolations and the recent killing of peaceful Tibetan protesters by the Chinese security forces.

“As Chinese everywhere were celebrating the first couple of days of the Year of Dragon on January 23 and 24, 2012, Chinese police fired indiscriminately on hundreds of Tibetans who had gathered peacefully to claim their basic rights in Drakgo, Serthar, Ngaba, Gyarong and other neighbouring Tibetan areas. Six Tibetans were reportedly killed and around 60 injured, some of them critically,” the CTA said in a statement issued here.

“To express our deep sadness and solidarity with the Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives for Tibet’s cause, Tibetans and supporters around the world would take part in worldwide vigils and prayer services on Wednesday, February 8,” the statement said.

The CTA called on the Tibetans to wear traditional dress, a black mouth cover, on that day and recite Den-Tsik Monlam prayers.

It requested Tibetans to conduct these vigils peacefully.

Solan, February 3
In a major relief for investors, the Forum for Redressal of Grievances Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) has set aside the decision of the HPSEBL to charge an additional tariff of 13.77 paise per unit on the energy consumed between September 9, 2009 and February 14, 2010 as it was not approved by the HP State Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPSERC).

The HPSEBL had levied this additional tariff on the investors of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) as per a mutual settlement between the board and BBN Industries Association. This settlement was challenged on the basis of the fact that no approval had been sought from the HPSERC which is the tariff-deciding authority.

The HPSEBL had, on November 23, 2011, filed a petition before the commission to allow them to charge additional tariff of 14 paise from the investors of BBN from November 2010 onwards while they had already started recovering this amount from the investors since March 2011.

The board had entered into an agreement with the BBN Industries Association when their own sub-station at Katha had burnt down in August 2009 and it was agreed that the units owning generation sets would generate power and, besides meeting their own requirements, they would sell surplus power to the other units.

An MoU, later signed between the BBNIA and the board, had then finalised that Rs 8 per unit and Rs 9 per unit would be charged for generating power. A total of 43.73 million units (mu) were generated by Birla Textiles, Vardhman Textiles, GPI and Unichem I and II and the total cost was worked out to be Rs 37.34 crore.

As per the MoU, 50 per cent share of power was to be borne by the board and the remaining was to be shared between the generation set owners and the industry. Thus, lakhs had been levied on each unit, especially the steel units.

The Nalagarh Industries Association (NIA) had however objected to this arrangement as they were not made aware of the implications of this arrangement which included the levy of additional tariff worked out in February 2011.

NIA President Prem Sharma said 36 investors comprising steel, pharmaceutical, chemical and other units had been given relief by this order as discriminatory charges had been levied by the board on investors.

Shimla, February 3
The Fourth State Finance Commission has recommended a grant of Rs 111.02 crore for panchayat raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies.

Chairman of the commission Dile Ram (MLA) handed over the interim report of the commission to Chief Minister PK Dhumal here recently. The commission has recommended Rs 53.95 crore for the PRIs and Rs 57.07 crore for the urban local bodies for 2012-13. The commission has made projections for the financial year 2012-13 on the basis of the inflation rate during the current financial year. The final report will be prepared based on the actual analysis of income and expenditure of the PRIs and the urban local bodies.

The Chief Minister appreciated the effort put in by the commission in carrying an exhaustive study of the developmental requirements of the PRIs and the urban local bodies to prepare an effective plan at the state level. He said the objective of setting up the commission was to carry out an independent study to assess the developmental requirements at the village level so that adequate funds could be made available for the purpose.

He said the recommendation of Rs 111.02 crore for the next financial year would give momentum to the pace of development at the gram panchayat level. He said it was important to ensure that every penny of the grant was spent on bona fide activities.

Bilaspur, February 3
Gobind Sagar Ghats Sudhar Sabha here has urged Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to take seriously the fact of irregularities committed during construction of the costly Rs 32 crore Bagh-Chhaal Bridge on the Gobind Sagar near Jagatkhana near here in this district.

The sabha has demanded a high-level inquiry into the real cause of delay in its completion and fixing of responsibility and ensuring that the PWD officers concerned who have caused huge financial losses to government are brought to book.

Sabha President Ram Singh and General Secretary Bijender Singh Chandel said here today after meeting of the sabha that PWD officers under an earlier regime are responsible for this serious lapse as they allowed deviation and diversion from the actual design of the main load bearing foundation pillars.

This, they said, has resulted in serious danger of collapse of the bridge if construction is continued to complete it.

The work lies stalled for more than two years now and Rs 2 crore have already been spent on it.

Both these leaders said it is evident till now that some PWD officers are trying to protect and shield the “guilty officers” and are not coming out with the real causes of indefinite stoppage of construction work for which the construction company has demanded Rs 2 crore more than the contract amount.

The sabha was very critical of inordinate delay in completion of this bridge while PWD is only biding time. It said lakhs of Bhakra Dam oustees, who were to take daily advantage of this very vital bridge, continue to suffer due to greed of PWD officers who allowed the construction company to ignore the main design of this bridge.

Shimla, February 3
Chief Minister PK Dhumal has stressed the need for simplifying and making the decision making process a time-bound exercise to give speedy relief to aggrieved persons.

Presiding over the 3rd meeting of the State Police Board, here today, he said the police must act within a specific time frame to provide relief to the common man otherwise the purpose was defeated.

The police personnel should be alive to such situations and have a policy of zero tolerance. The police training college and other in-service training units should take steps to improve the behaviour, attitude, effectiveness and the efficiency of the force at police stations.

Referring to the drug menace, he said drug trafficking and addiction was an international phenomena and it had to be tackled effectively to save youth.

He also directed field officers to settle cases pertaining to crime within a stipulated period.

While stressing on the need to strengthen and modernise the police, he said the government was already on the job. Over the past four years, Rs 41.37 crore was spent on its modernisation.

The Chief Minister urged police personnel to adopt a people-friendly attitude and said their working should be transparent and responsive to the masses.

The conviction rate in the state was better compared to the national average and the neighbouring states, which was a matter of pride.

He also stressed the need to accelerate the process of investigation and more sensitisation of judicial officers, who were the presiding officers in courts.

Dhumal said it should also be ensured that the video conference facility between courts and jails was provided on priority. An amount of Rs 1.30 crore had been provided for the installation of CCTV cameras in urban areas.

Training camps in all the districts to address disaster management preparedness issues should also be organised.

Bilaspur, February 3
Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Patial here has warned people in the district regarding illegal activities of some miscreants who have been enticing gullible people by sending them fake e-mails and SMSes declaring attractive prizes and demanding a certain amount of money be deposited in an unknown account number before claiming the “huge prize”.

The SP has said ignore such e-mails as all such attractive, so-called “lottery prizes” are nothing but a bait and a ploy to loot people who believe them and deposit the asked amounts in unknown account numbers and then repent as they realise that they have lost their money.

Patial added that a number of such cases had already been reported here in the district and some of the accused had already been arrested.

He urged banks in the district to verbally warn such persons and affix sign boards on the premises warning those who felt attracted towards such offers.

The SP also cautioned truckers and owners of trucks here to ensure that they did not leave their trucks without any attendant or driver during nights as several such unattended trucks were being stolen from roadsides and they should not leave behind documents of truck in the vehicle itself, which make matters worse in case of thefts.

Shimla, February 3
The CPM has urged the State Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission to ensure that the courses offered by private universities were duly approved by the respective regulatory authorities and that admission to various courses was carried out under a common pool on the pattern of the AIEE and the CPMT so that students are not forced to apply to multiple institutions.

In a representation to the commission, member of the party’s state secretariat Tikender Panwar has underlined the need to streamline the admission process in private universities and ensuring that they adhered to the eligibility norms.

All the running 12 private universities in the state should be asked to notify and display the total number of seats in the respective departments on the campus before the admission process begins.

The new courses that a university intended to start should be only under the approval of the statutory regulatory bodies like the UGC, the NCTE and the AICTE. The commission must ensure that the faculty teaching in these private institutions was genuine and possess the minimum eligibility criteria.

Admission under a common pool was essential as students will not have to spend money for applying to various institutions and they could make their choice according to the merit as was being done for admission to BEd courses.

Hamirpur, February 3
Though the enforcement of the Food Safety and Standard Act - 2011 (FSSA) has begun across the country, lack of manpower is impeding its enforcement in the state.

The Act after amendment has stringent provision to deal with cases of food adulteration and makes it mandatory for every businessman to get registered with Food Security Officers (FSOs) and get licence to sell all eatables.

Since the task of FSOs at the district level has become challenging, the deployment of adequate staff is a prerequisite for the enforcement of the FSSA.

At present nine food inspectors, who have been designated as FSOs under this Act, are involved in implementation of the FSSA.

Many of them are looking after two districts and have started registration and licensing work, but this work is proving onerous to them as they are already overworked, besides attending a large number of court cases.

Under this Act, shops, vendors, hotels and restaurants would have to get registered with FSOs and business establishments having annual business of over Rs 12 lakh per annum would have to get a licence for carrying such activities.

The punishment for people for selling adulterated eatables has been enhanced from imprisonment to a fine of Rs 1 lakh and in some cases up to Rs 10 lakh.

A seller of eatables will have to get licence by the prescribed date and defaulters can also be fined to the tune of Rs 1 lakh with a penalty of Rs 100 per day.

FSOs at present are involved in the registration and licensing work, but the actual enforcement of the FSSA will begin with effective sampling of food articles and checking of eating places, vends and shops selling eatables that will require adequate staff.

Rajesh Sharma, Additional Director, Health Services, who is looking after the enforcement of the FSSA in the state, said: “We have already sent a case to recruit more food inspectors in the state as the Act provisions cannot be implemented without having adequate staff.”