Shimla, March 26
Costly government power is adding to the financial woes of the debt-ridden state electricity board, which is paying the highest rate for the power made available to it by the state to meet the winter shortfall.

The power purchase data provided in the Vidhan Sabha revealed that as against the average power purchase cost (PPC) of Rs 2.46 per unit for 2008-09, the government supplied the free power available to it as royalty and equity power from various hydropower projects at the rate of Rs 3 per unit. In the following year, the average PPC increased by just 7 paise per unit to Rs 2.53 per unit, but the rate of government power shot up to Rs 3.29 per unit, a significant hike of 29 paise per unit. There was some relief to the board in 2010-11 when the average PPC went up by 20 paise to Rs 2.73 per unit and in comparison the rate of government power was increased by 15 paise per unit.

However, at Rs 3.44 per unit, government power continued to be the costliest even during 2010-11. In comparison, the thermal power procured from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) cost only Rs 2.65 per unit. The power available from the BBMB projects was the cheapest at 51 paise per unit. The cost of hydropower available from the NHPC at Rs 2.02 per unit and other hydropower projects at Rs 2.23 per unit was also quite reasonable. The high cost of government power is a major factor behind the increase in the power tariff.

It is a paradoxical situation as on the one hand the government is charging the board more for power and on the other hand giving subsidy to domestic consumers to keep the power tariff at a reasonable level. The power requirement increased from 5,837 million units (MU) in 2008-09 to 6,388 MU in 2009-10, an increase of 9 per cent. In the following year, it increased by 15.5 per cent to 7,375 MU and the projected figure for 2012-13 is 8,973 MU.

Accordingly the PPC has been increasing at a very high rate due to the combined impact of rising demand and high rates. As against the approved power purchase cost of Rs 1,629 crore for 2010-11, the actual cost came to Rs 1,923 crore and further increased to Rs 2,476 crore against the approved amount of Rs 2,270 crore the following year. It is projected to go up nominally to Rs 2,568 crore in 2012-13.

The government has for the first time proposed a budgetary support of Rs 50 crore to the board for 2012-13. However, it will not make much difference as the annual revenue gap has been constantly around Rs 700 crore for the past two years and its accumulated loss is set to cross Rs 1,500 crore by the end of the current fiscal.

Shimla, March 26
The Union Ministry of Power has raised the energy generation target for the country’s largest Nathpa Jhakri Hydroelectric Project to 7,000 million units (MU) for 2012-13 in view of the record generation achieved during the current year.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between P Uma Shankar, Union Secretary (Power), and RP Singh, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) in New Delhi today. The target for the current year was 6,900 MU against which the project has already produced 7,551 MU till yesterday and it is likely to cross 7,600 MU by the end of the month.

The project has been designed to generate 6,950 MU and a higher target has been set under “excellent parameters” with an expected revenue realisation of Rs 1,557 crore during 2012-13. The ministry had recently awarded the prestigious “Gold Shield” to the public sector undertaking for its outstanding performance.

As per the MoU, the SJVN has been given a target of spending 2.5 per cent of profit after tax (PAT) on corporate social responsibility, including 0.5 per cent each on sustainable development and research and development. Thus, around Rs 25 crore will be spent on these activities.

The MoU includes targets of construction of the 412 MW Rampur project, which is slated for completion in September 2013, and also for the 775 MW Luhri project and the 66 MW Dhaulasidh project in Himachal Pradesh, besides the 252 MW Devsari project and 60 MW Naitwar Mori project in Uttarakhand.

Kangra, March 26
During the first four days of the Chaitra Navratras, more than half a lakh pilgrims from various states have visited Kangra town and paid obeisance at the Brajeshwari Devi temple.

Pawan Patial, temple officer, today said pilgrims in large numbers visited the temple during the first four days of the Navratras. Today, more than 20,000 pilgrims paid obeisance.

Pilgrims could be seen standing in long queues on the temple premises waiting for their turn to pay obeisance.

He said during the first three days, nearly Rs 12 lakh was offered by pilgrims in the temple.

A number of old people and differently abled pilgrims, too, were seen visiting the temple with devotion.

Kangra SDM Vinay Singh said the Navrata fair was going on with religious fervour and gaiety, and remained incident-free.

Shimla, March 26
The government is looking into the sale of LPG on the black market in the light of about 3.50 lakh fake gas connections in the state, which are adding to the shortage of LPG in the hill state.

In reply to a query raised by Vipin Parmar (BJP) during question hour in the Assembly today, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala informed the House about the LPG situation. “Against a demand of 2,123 truckloads of gas cylinders, Himachal is being provided 1,762, resulting in a shortage,” said Dhawala.

He said there were a total of 13.84 lakh consumers with 22,421 being commercial consumers, 6.70 lakh double cylinder consumers and 6.76 lakh single cylinder consumers in the state. “The state government and the gas companies are looking into the 3.50 lakh fake gas connections,” he said. He added that with a ban on fuel wood and shortage of kerosene, the entire pressure was on LPG.

He said the issue of enhancing the supply of LPG to Himachal had been raised time and again with the Centre. “There are a total of 117 gas agencies in the state, of which 65 are private,” he said.

Dhawala said 43 more gas agencies are to be opened in the state under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Gas Agency Scheme, which included eight in Kangra district.

In reply to another question by Prakash Chaudhary (Congress), Industries Minister Kishan Kapoor informed the House that though there was a proposal for setting up a steel processing unit in Kangra and Mandi, it was on account of the non-seriousness on the part of the Steel Ministry that there had been a delay. “SAIL officials had rejected the land identified earlier on technical grounds and on the land suggested again in the Balh and Sundernagar constituencies, they are yet to respond despite repeated reminders by the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, and the General Manager, Industries,” he said.

Accusing the Congress of launching a misinformation campaign against the Dhumal regime on the issue, Kapoor said it was the Centre which was to be blamed and not the state government. “Whether it is the issue of renewal of the special industrial package to Himachal or extending any other help, the Centre has always discriminated with the state,” he said.

Shimla, March 26
The Congress today said corruption had become synonymous with the BJP regime in Himachal, with even senior BJP leaders and former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, too, demanding that “tainted ministers” in the state government be dropped.

Participating in the debate to discuss the Budget proposals for 2012-13, former minister and Congress MLA Gangu Ram Musafir said corruption was an issue of concern as a result of which all political parties were facing a serious crisis of credibility. “It is an issue which concerns all, and we need to rise above petty political consideration to fight this menace,” he said.

Musafir said it was unfortunate that Chief Minister PK Dhumal, rather than probing the allegations levelled against Health Minister Rajiv Bindal, rejected the Congress allegations outright. “Since he had himself offered his resignation, the Chief Minister should have at least tried to ascertain if there was any substance in the allegations being levelled against him,” he said.

The Congress leader said the four-year BJP rule in the state had been marred by one scam after the other, including the ones pertaining to pulses, school uniform, police shoes, land, forest, pipes and mining. “We were confident that the Chief Minister would order an inquiry into the pulses scam to get to the truth as there were reports that trucks bearing Tamil Nadu numbers were used, but unfortunately attempts have been made to just hush it up,” he said.

He expressed concern over the poor financial health of the state with the debt burden crossing Rs 30,000 crore and losses to the PSUs touching Rs 1,666 crore. “The total financial liability on the government on account of loans and interest payment has touched an all-time high of Rs 4,454 crore, which is higher than even our Annual Plan of Rs 3,700 crore,” he said.

Terming the Budget as directionless and against the interests of all sections, including Dalits, SCs, STs, OBCs, the unemployed youth, employees and farmers, he said people were completely disenchanted with the BJP rule.

Participating in the debate, BJP MLA Roop Singh said despite the “discriminatory approach” of the Centre towards Himachal, it was the able financial management by Dhumal, which had resulted in Himachal getting 59 awards and emerging as a model hill state. “Despite the unfair deal meted out to Himachal by the 13th Finance Commission, the Chief Minister has given relief to every section, including farmers, employees, women, widows and freedom fighters,” he said.

The BJP leader said the Centre had failed to take any effective steps to check price rise and it was through his able financial management that Dhumal had tried to give relief to every section.

BJP legislator Baldev Sharma lashed out at Congress legislators for harping on Himachal gaining from central schemes. “We are not seeking a favour from the Centre, but demanding our right,” he said.

Hira Lal (BJP) also lauded the Chief Minister for giving benefit to every section of society in the Budget despite severe financial constraints.

New Delhi, March 26
Russia will ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to personally intervene in the affairs concerning the Himachal Pradesh-based International Roerich Memorial Trust (IRMT), set up in memory of Russian painter Nicholas Roerich.

Addressing a press conference here today, Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakin expressed anguish over the treatment being meted out to IRMT’s curator Elena Adamkova, who was removed from her office on March 20.

“The situation in the Trust is appalling…it is disgusting. Russia wants the Central Government to take the Trust under its wings,” he said. Kadakin regretted that the Naggar-based Trust of international repute was controlled by the district administration, which did not even properly understand its functioning.

Talking about the curator, he said she had done a lot for the Trust but had now been thrown out of it as “garbage”. “They (district administration) must stop persecuting and harassing a woman who has done so much for the Trust.”

He said he had recently written to Himachal Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who is also the chairman of the Board of Trustees, about the happenings in the Trust. He had also now received a reply from him.

Nurpur, March 26
A 40-year-old married woman of Jalani village in Danni gram panchayat and mother of five children was allegedly raped by three unidentified youths near Danni. DSP Rajinder Jaswal said following the victim’s complaint, a case under Sections 323, 341 and 376, IPC, had been lodged against three unidentified culprits today.

The victim in her complaint to the police stated that on Saturday evening she was going to fetch her medicines, but on the way to Danni village she was overpowered by three unidentified youths who thrashed her and dragged her to a roadside field.

She was allegedly gangraped by them who fled after committing the crime leaving her in the fields.

On Sunday morning she revealed her tale of woes to local woman Raj Rani, who, with the assistance of a non-governmental organisation, approached the police.

The police, after conducting a medical examination of the victim, registered
the case.

Dharamsala, March 26
The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has categorically rejected the allegations levelled by the Chinese authorities that the Dalai Lama was encouraging self-immolations in Tibet and advocating expulsion of Han Chinese from Tibet.

In a statement here today, the CTA said it deplored the usual blame tactics utilised by the Chinese Government, instead of accepting responsibility for the increasing number of self-immolation in Tibet and addressing the grievances leading to such actions.

The Dalai Lama has always discouraged drastic actions and the Kashag has made repeated appeals to refrain from extreme measures through international media and official statements on January 26 and March 10 this year. Despite the Dalai Lama’s long-standing view concerning such actions and the CTA’s appeals, Tibetans continue to self-immolate because of China’s continued occupation and harsh measures against Tibetans.

Since 2009, over 30 Tibetans in Tibet have committed self-immolation to protest against the alleged repressive policies of China in Tibet and had demanded that the Dalai Lama be allowed to return to his homeland. China had been reacting to these incidents so far by taking repressive measures and heavy deployment of military and police forces in Tibetan areas.

Responsibility for the present tense situation lies entirely with Beijing, and so does the solution.

The Dalai Lama has always promoted harmony between the Chinese and Tibetan communities. He has repeatedly stated that the Tibetan struggle was not against Chinese people or China as a nation.

The current tense situation in Tibet was not about the Dalai Lama or Tibetans wanting to secede from China. It was about the aspirations of people for basic freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama to his rightful place, the Potala Palace, in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, said Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay, the democratically-elected head of the CTA and the political leader of Tibetans.

Over the past 50 years, the Dalai Lama had been steadfastly making efforts to democratise the Tibetan community and its governance structure in exile.

“The Dalai Lama is an internationally-recognised statesman for non-violence and peace who is also the most revered leader of Tibetans. He is part of the solution to the current impasse in Tibet and not the problem, Sangay added.

Una, March 26
HPCC president Kaul Singh today concluded his three-day visit of Una district by organising a rally at Mehatpur town. Kaul Singh flayed the state government for failing to get the Mehatpur-Una-Amb highway completed.

He alleged that the previous Congress government had got the project for widening and strengthening of this road sanctioned from the World Bank. The construction of the road was sanctioned to Longjian, a multinational Chinese company.

“I have come to know that the project has been delayed due to mismanagement by the present government. Various government departments have not cleared encroachments in time, felled trees and changed power and water lines for laying the road. Now, residents of Una district are suffering due to air pollution and bad condition of road in the entire 50-km stretch leading from Mehatpur to Amb. Residents of Una and Meharpur towns are suffering from consistent air pollution due to delayed road construction,” he said.

Kaul Singh alleged that the delay in the construction had also led to the escalation of cost and thus causing a loss to the state exchequer.

He alleged that most of the industry had flown into Una district during the stint of Congress into power.

Kaul Singh claimed that he had got tremendous response during his three-day visit in Una district. He said the Congress was united whereas the BJP was a divided house.

Even senior-most BJP leaders in the state, including Shanta Kumar and Kangra MP Rajan Sushant, had distanced themselves from the working of the state government.

A group of senior BJP leaders has even formed a separate political outfit and was targeting the state government, he said.

When asked about the differences in the Congress, especially between the faction of Virbhadra Singh and other Congress leaders, Kaul Singh said: “There are no differences.”

OP Rattan, HPCC spokesperson, who had organised the Mehatpur rally, said district BJP leaders have patronised a lobby of officers and contractors. The lobby had compromised the development works going on in the district.

In case voted to power, the Congress would hold an inquiry into the development works carried by these leaders, he said.

Rattan staked his claim for the Congress ticket from the Una Assembly constituency by organising an impressive rally today.

Kangra, March 26
Bee-keeping should be taken as a very important and fifth input which regulates efficacy of the four other inputs in agriculture. That is why efforts are in progress to promote science with bee-keeping to enhance the productivity and quality of agriculture and horticulture crops, besides increase the income through honey.

This was stated by Dr BL Sarswat, Executive Director, National Bee Board, while addressing bee-keepers of Himachal Pradesh on the first day of the two-day state-level seminar on “Bee-keeping for over-all development of scientific bee-keeping in this hill state” at Ichhi on the outskirts of this town today.

Sarswat said the production of honey and pollination of various crops were two major roles of honey bees. He said bee-keeping supplemented income generation of rural people. Besides bees could be a less expensive input for promoting sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture and enhancing crop productivity.

He said potential benefits due to bee pollination in the form of increase in yields of various crops, including fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, pulses and others, varied from 2 per cent to 33,150 per cent.

He said the two-day seminar here was for creating awareness, motivation and technology transfer for the development of scientific bee-keeping.

He said to fix up support price of honey was not possible as it was not an essential commodity, and the national level per capita per annum consumption of honey was 8 to 10 grams.

He said India was producing 65,000 metric tonnes honey annually which included 2,500 metric tonne production in Himachal Pradesh.

When asked if bee-keeping was at the receiving end in this hill state, Dr Sarswat said bee-keepers were adopting unscientific methods for short-term gains, but now science with bee-keeping would change the scenario.

He suggested that bee-keepers should contest for the North Zone membership of the 18-member Bee Board so that problems faced by the bee-keeping industry in this state could be rightly placed before the Board.

Additional Director, Horticulture, SC Dhiman, Bee-Keeping Development Officer Shashi Sharma and president, Kangra Valley Bee-Keeping I and C Society, Ichhi, Prabhat Choudary also addressed the gathering.

Bilaspur, March 26
Deputy Commissioner Ritesh Chauhan, who is also District Magistrate here, has ordered District Excise and Taxation officers to ensure that all liquor vends stick to all terms and conditions of their contract and observe all government rules, including those of opening and closing of these vends and the sale of liquor bottles not above the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) written on the bottle.

The Deputy Commissioner was presiding over a meet-the-press here recently. He said department supervisory officers should hold regular surprise checking of these shops to remove common complaints. He said all vends should invariably display prominently the rates of liquor and also phone numbers of the officers to whom complaints could be done by consumers.

Earlier, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (AETC) Vivek Mahajan said Rs 193 crore, which was 10 per cent more than last year, had been a total income of the department till end of last month this year. The total annual income was Rs 207 crore last year. He said there were 3,200 registered traders and shopkeepers in the district here.

Mahajan said Rs 30.42 crore had been income from liquor vends till now from all 122 vends in the district, which was 26 per cent more than that of last year. He said VAT had fetched an income of Rs 93.06 crore till now which was 14 per cent in excess of last year, while the total income was Rs 93.24 crore earlier this year.

The AETC said a total of 12,000 passenger vehicles and luggage carriages had given an income of Rs 10.46 crore till now this year and the entry tax had contributed Rs 8 crore. 

Shimla, March 26
The suicide by Prince Goswami, a 24-year-old jobless youth, who jumped off a cliff in the Sanjauli area of the town last night, has once again turned focus towards the growing issue of unemployment in the state.

“It was last night about 1.30am that the police patrol party found him lying in a pool of blood on the road between St Bede’s College and Sanjauli from where he was immediately rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead,” said Jagat Ram, SP, Shimla.

The police recovered sulphate tablets, beer bottles, a suitcase and a suicide note from the cliff above the road from where he jumped to end his life.

The youth, hailing from the Jogindernagar area of Mandi, had completed the hotel management course from Heritage Hotel Management Institute, Sanjauli. He was the lone child of his family, which includes his father, Rajmal Goswami, an employee of the Public Works Department, Mandi, and his mother, a Shastri teacher in Jogindernagar.

In his suicide note, he wrote that he was fed up with unemployment, corruption, global warming and price rise.

The police found two suicide notes, one at the incident site and one in a hotel room in which he was staying.

Prince had been putting up in a hotel in Sanjauli since March 17. The police found a rope, beer bottles and a suicide note from his room.

The incident has evoked sharp response from all political parties who have stressed the need to address the unemployment scenario, which was becoming grim day by day.

State Congress chief Kaul Singh Thakur and senior party leader GS Bali said it was the growing problem of unemployment, which had claimed the life of the youth.

The CPM while terming the incident tragic demanded the state to issue a White Paper on the unemployment issue in the state.

Member State Secretariat, CPM, Tikender Panwar, said this was the second suicide as earlier a Hamirpur farmer had ended his life due to poverty and debts and the government rather than playing jugglers with statistics must try and create employment avenues.

Shimla, March 26
Alleging a scam worth crores in the supply of LPG, the CPM has demanded a judicial inquiry into the shifting of the gas store from Theog to Bhattakufar and consumers being made to pay extra in the past 18 months.

Addressing a press conference here recently, CPM leader and president, Seb Utpadak Sangh, Rakesh Singha and Kisan Sabha leaders Kuldeep Tanwar and Tikender Singh Panwar said the government was totally insensitive towards the problems of the public.

He said in the wake of the failure of the government in resolving the problem being faced by people of the Theog area in getting LPG supply, the Himachal Kisan Sabha would launch “Gher Dalo-Dera Dalo” agitation from April 25. “The contractor and officials of the Civil Supplies Corporation have pocketed almost Rs 1 crore by overcharging from 23,900 consumers under the Theog gas agency,” he alleged.

Singha said only a judicial inquiry could nail the guilty. “Consumers picking up cylinders from Theog are being charged Rs 440 while those buying from Mashobra pay only Rs 383, despite the distance being more,” he said. He lamented that despite almost a year and half since the gas depot was shifted to Batthakukar, the construction of the shed had not been completed till date.

Dalhousie, March 26
The fierce hurricane, accompanied by dust and muddy spell of rain, last evening blew off tin roofs of several houses and caused damage to flowering apple plants in the Tissa pocket of the district, according to reports reaching here today.

Reports revealed that the gale had uprooted trees, including apple plants, at certain places in the area.

The heavy snowfall during this winter had raised the hopes of orchardists for a bumper apple crop this year, besides other fruit crops, but all their hopes were dashed to the ground by yesterday’s violent windstorm, the reports further said.