Manali, April 1
The Himachal Pradesh State Power Transmission Corporation will be executing a Rs 2,000-crore power evacuation project to evacuate power generated on the water of five major rivers in the state. This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal after he performed the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the 33-KV sub station at Fojal in Kullu district estimated to cost of Rs 70.40 crore yesterday.

Dhumal said the state had hydel power potential of over 23,000 MW, out of which only 2,838 MW power was generated till 1998, when the BJP came to power in the state. He said the generation was increased to about 8,000 MW and 1,000 MW more would be added in a couple of months to the total power generation. He said the state government had targeted generation of 15,000 MW power by 2017 and the entire potential by 2020.

The Chief Minister said the power projects being executed in the river basins of the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Yamuna were facing power evacuation problems, which would be solved in the times to come. He said the Rs 2,000-crore power evacuation project would help in transmitting the power to the main power grid, for onward transmission to the different areas within and outside the state.

He further said the proposed transmission system at Fojal was likely to be completed during 2013-14. The newly developed system would augment local supply during winters and help in improving the low voltage problems in tourist places like Manali and Manikaran.

Dhumal said the 33-KV switching station at Palchan and the 10 km-long 33-KV line on mono poles from Palchan to Prini would also be constructed at a cost of Rs 45 crore with financial assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He said the 220-KV line from Prini to Nalagarh would be built at a cost of Rs 70 crore. The 220-high capacity line from Charor to 400-KV sub station at Banala would also be constructed at a cost of Rs 120 crore with financial assistance from the ADB.

He said the state had extended health insurance cover of Rs 1.75 lakh to working journalists, besides increasing the amount of revolving fund from Rs 10 to Rs 25 lakh. He said it was for the first time in the history of the country that any state had provided insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh to petty traders and wayside vendors.

Later, Dhumal also addressed party workers at Dobhi village. Govind Thakur, MLA, welcomed the Chief Minister and thanked him for his visit to his segment. He requested the Chief Minister to provide aerial ropeway facility to those villages which had no connectivity by road so far. He also apprised of other demands of the area.

Khimi Ram Sharma, Forest Minister, Kishori Lal Sagar, MLA, Ani, Kunj Lal Thakur, former minister, Chander Sen, former MLA, Trilok Kapoor, Chairman, Wool Federation, Ram Singh, District BJP president, Yuvraj Bodh, vice-chairman, BJP SC/ST Cell, Bal Mukund, president, Manali BJP, Jagdish Sharma, Managing Director, Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd, SN Bishtu, Director Project, Ashok Sharma, GM, and KL Chug, Chairman, Fojal Power Project, were also present on the occasion.

Dharamsala, April 1
Contractors of parking lots in Jwalamukhi allegedly fleeced pilgrims during the Navratras. Thousands of pilgrims visited the temple during the Navratras which ended today.

There are two parking lots in front of the temple. The parking lots belong to the local municipal council and have been outsourced to contractors. During the mela days, the parking lots generally remain jampacked.

When The Tribune team visited the area, the contractors of the parking lot adjoining the bus stand were charging Rs 50 from pilgrims who had parked their vehicles. Some of the pilgrims were resisting paying exorbitant rates, but were bullied by workers of the contractors. When confronted that the parking fee for four-wheelers was just Rs 30, workers of the contractors blatantly maintained that during the mela days they were charging Rs 50 per vehicle.

The contractors were also issuing slips for Rs 50. However, the slips did not contain any detail regarding the timing of entry and exit of vehicles. Sources said these slips might be fake.

Later enquiries from the spot revealed that the rates of parking lots had been put on the display boards outside the parking lots. However, during the mela days, the boards displaying the parking lot rates are either covered by posters allegeldy by the contractors or deformed.

There were no boards displaying the rates of parking at the parking places, whereas as per the norms these should have put up at the entrance.

The executive officer of the Jwalamukhi Municipal Council said the rates of parking were Rs 20 and Rs 30, respectively, depending on the category of the vehicle. However, the contractors could charge Rs 50 from vehicles that were staying overnight.

He also assured to look into complaints of exorbitant rates being charged from pilgrims.

Nurpur, April 1
Up in arms against the apathy of the state government in not closing a liquor vend at Thana village in Pandrer gram panchayat of this subdivision, villagers, under the leadership of pradhan Kamlesh Kumari, sat on dharna in front of the vend today. They had announced that they would not to allow any customer to buy liquor from the vend. Police and Excise and Taxation Department officials also reached the spot.

Panchayat pradhan Kamlesh Kumari said the liqour vend was being run near government schools and in a populated area. “Persons who consume liquor here use abusive language and spoil the atmosphere in the panchayat,” she maintained. She said copies of the resolution had been submitted to the Excise and Taxation Department twice last year.

Narinder Jaswal, Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer (AETO), who rushed to the spot, told mediapersons that the department had received the resolution of the local gram panchayat demanding the closure of this vend, but as per government directions the department had agreed to shift the same in consultation with the panchayat. He clarified that educational institutions, worship places or cremation ground should be 60 m away from any liquor vend. The AETO persuaded the agitating villagers and gram panchayat representatives to defer their stir and assured them in writing that the liqour vend would be shifted next month.

Bilaspur, April 1
The Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) will continue its tirade against the “corruption” of BJP leaders and ensure its rout so that its campaign “sell Himachal” is stopped and state’s precious land, natural wealth, cultural and educational standards are saved from being destroyed by the leadership here.

Talking to mediapersons at the Circuit House here today, HLP state general secretary and former BJP leader from Solan district Dharam Chand Guleria, with leaders, including state vice-president and former MLA KD Dharmani, district convener DR Sharma and press secretary Kesh Pathania, took BJP state president Sat Pal Satti to task for trying to mislead the masses by declaring that talks were going on with HLP leaders for their return to the party. He categorically declared that no such talks were going on, nor would ever be held.

He advised Satti to stop this baseless propaganda and cleanse his own party from “the mess of corruption” prevalent in it.

Guleria said a “history of sorts” was made in HP when a minister under attack for indulging in corruption had resigned and his resignation was not accepted. This had resulted in the Vidhan Sabha being stalled for full 11 days!

Guleria claimed that the recent elections had proved that indulgence in corruption by both national parties the BJP and the Congress had resulted in masses rejecting these parties and giving power to regional parties. He said out of total 690 MLA seats at stake in these states, the BJP could win only 112 seats and the Congress 157 seats.

The HLP general secretary challenged the government claim that it had not given any land to any private university in the state. He said 104 bighas of land had been “given on lease” from the Industries Department to JP Industries and the university at Waknaghat in Solan district.

Shimla, April 1
Though on expected lines, the decision of the government not to set up a separate pay commission for its employees, as conveyed to the high court, is not based on the ground realities.

Successive governments have been making a hue and cry about the swelling wage bill and underlining the need for de-linking the pay scales from Punjab but avoiding a decision fearing an adverse political fallout. Now that the high court has intervened in the matter and asked the state to consider setting up its own pay commission, the government has responded in the negative. It had taken a decision without any public debate or consultations on such an important issue.

A better course would have been to have a public debate on the issue and an all-party meeting to evolve a consensus. More so, as the 13th Finance Commission has pegged the employees’ cost at 35 per cent, whereas the state is spending over 60 per cent and with the debt and interest liability, the committed liabilities touch 85 per cent. An initiative to have a pay commission for new employees could have been taken. This has already been done in case of pension by introducing the contributory pension scheme with effect from May 2003. Further, the priorities of the hill state are different. For instance, in Punjab agriculture and transport are of prime importance whereas in Himachal horticulture and tourism need greater focus.

It is a strange paradox that the hill state boasts of a higher GSDP growth and per capita income than most states but remains embroiled in a financial crisis perennially. Instead of taking the right decisions to curtail the wage bill, successive governments have been coming out with ad hoc schemes to fill posts of teacher, medical staff and other essential staff to avoid regular appointments, which have huge financial implications as the state has adopted the Punjab pay scales. Schemes like voluntary teachers, primary assistant teachers and making appointments through the parent-teacher associations, rogi kalyan samitis and various other societies at much lower wages to fill vacant posts had created a mess and affected governance. In fact, these schemes are being used by political bosses to make appointments through the back door.

The salary bill is projected to increase from Rs 5,497 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 9,558 crore in 2015-16 and the pension liability from Rs 2,206 crore to Rs 4,346 crore. By setting up its own pay commission, the government will be in a position to fill vacant posts through regular appointments, regularise the services of over 35,000 employees engaged on contract and provide more jobs in the state where employment in the private sector is limited. 

Mandi, April 1
Five months on, the Ministry of Surface Transport and National Highways has neither inspected the 11 national highways damaged during the monsoon last year nor disbursed Rs 37 crore demanded by the state for carrying out repairs.

Far from acceding to the demand of the state PWD, the ministry has instead released a paltry Rs 36 lakh to the state, pushing it to the corner ahead of the coming state Assembly elections.

According to officials, the state PWD had asked the ministry to inspect and assess the damage caused to the 11 national highways that run through the state.

However, almost five months down the line, the ministry has not even bothered to inspect the damaged spots that have become traffic bottlenecks on the highways, leave alone disburse funds for the repairs.

Among the highways damaged due to the monsoon last year were the Chandigarh-Manali-Leh highway, the Mandi-Pathankot highway, the Kalka-Shimla-Kaurik highway and the Hamirpur-Shimla highway. The national highway wing of the PWD had assessed the damage at Rs 69 crore and had demanded Rs 37 crore for the immediate repairs of the highways.

“We had demanded Rs 37 crore for carrying out repairs on highways damaged during the monsoon last year. However, we have only received Rs 36 lakh so far,” said SR Negi Chief Engineer, National Highways.

Mandi, April 1
Even after the approval accorded by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the proposed five new government polytechnic colleges in five districts in the state have been awaiting clearance, mainly under the Forest Conservation Act, from central agencies for the past three years.

The state government is going slow on setting up the proposed polytechnic colleges as 20 private polytechnic colleges are facing a crisis with over 40 per cent of their 1,425 seats remaining vacant last year.

However, the occupancy in government colleges remains 100 per cent as these remain the first choice of students in the state, claim officials. There are already 30 polytechnic colleges, including 20 private, in the state.

Though work on the construction of a polytechnic college at Paonta Sahib has started, the fate of the other four colleges hangs in the balance as these are awaiting clearance.

The proposed five government polytechnic colleges are to be set up at Kothi (Kullu), Poanta Sahib (Sirmaur), Barthi (Bilaspur), Udaipur (Lahaul-Spiti) and Kinnaur.

The Central Government has allotted a one-time grant of Rs 12 crore for each college and the AICTE has already accorded its approval to these.

These colleges are being set up with 80 per cent grant from the Centre while 20 per cent expenses will be raised by the state.

The state will have to meet the subsequent requirement of staff, workshops and equipment, sources said.

Director, Technical Education, Vijay Chanden said the government would start work on the construction of the new colleges once they got clearance.

The tender for the Kothi college had been given and work on the Poanta Sahib college had started, while clearance for the Barthi college was awaited from Chandigarh, he added.

He said for the Udaipur and Kinnaur polytechnic colleges, forest clearance was awaited.

Technical Education Minister Narender Bragta said enrolment in government polytechnics was cent per cent and the proposed polytechnic colleges were part of the government’s efforts to make Himachal a hub of technical education.

Shimla, April 1
The Umang Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has alleged gross violation of human rights at the old-age home at Basantpur run by the state social welfare board and demanded a high-level inquiry into its functioning so that responsibility can be fixed for the prevailing mess.

Chairman of the foundation Ajai Srivastav, who visited the home along with his team, said the violation of human rights apart, even the guidelines framed by the government on the directions of the high court were not being followed.

For instance, the inmates were being denied periodical mental health check-up and clean and hygienic living conditions.

The old-age home was being used to provide shelter to the physically and mentally challenged persons for whom there were no facilities.

Of the 19 inmates, five were mentally challenged and seven physically challenged.

What to speak of nursing care, there was no staff to help such inmates perform their daily chores. In fact, the differently abled had not even been issued disability certificates required to avail of various facilities.

The plight of Sonam Bahadur, an inmate, was the worst as both his legs had been amputated after a fire accident while he was working for a contractor in Kullu, and he was totally dependent.

He was not awarded any compensation.

Inmates who died in the home were even denied a funeral.

Srivastav said the inmates were under increasing mental stress as they feared that they would not be given a proper funeral as per the Hindu rites.

As many as 18 inmates had died over the past three years and the bodies were transported and got cremated by hired labour without performing any rites. 

Chamba, April 1
Two persons were killed on the spot and six others seriously injured when a private car veered off the road and plunged into a 50-m-deep gorge near Kot, 10 km from here, last night, according to reports received here today.

The ill-fated vehicle carrying them was coming back from the Pehalwani Mata temple where they had to perform their child’s hair-cutting ceremony.

The deceased included vehicle driver Vijay Kumar and a Chamba resident, Their bodies were handed over to their kin after carrying out an autopsy at the Regional Hospital, Chamba.

The injured Sneha, Pooja, Shivani, Neeru, Veena and Champa had been rushed to the Regional Hospital, Chamba. Five-year old girl Sneha who had received grievous injuries had been rushed to the DRPGMC, Tanda (Kangra).

On receiving information about the accident, SDM Rohit Rathour immediately rushed to the spot and conducted relief and rescue operations with the help of local residents who had already gathered at the site of the mishap.

The SDM disbursed an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 5,000 each to the injured.

Solan, April 1
All private security agencies in the state will have to seek registration with the police from today following the notification of the Himachal Pradesh Private Security Agencies Regulation Rules.

Nearly 50 security agencies are working in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area alone with a strength of 10,000 personnel. According to an estimate, there are about 20,000 security personnel working all over the state.

With rapid industrialisation leading to an influx of industries in the BBN area since the central industrial package in 2003, several cases had come to light where security guards were found involved in crimes. Since there was no provision for registering these agencies in the state, even records pertaining to these were not found many times.

This notification has made registration compulsory and a licence will be issued after due verification of the agency head. The agency will also be required to conduct verification of its entire staff and issue a character certificate thereafter. This certificate will be applicable for three years.

ADGP (Law and Order) SR Marhi said the agency staff would be required to undergo a two-week training at Police Training Centre, Daroh, before being issued a licence by the designated authority.

While five agencies had already applied for a licence in the BBN belt, the remaining would be issued a notice to follow the required process, said Baddi SP Gurdev Chand Sharma.

He added that the failure to seek a licence would attract a penalty of Rs 25,000 or imprisonment of one year or both.

Shimla, April 1
Terming the alleged omission of the names of over 20,000 voters in the draft electoral rolls published for the coming elections to the Shimla Municipal Corporation as a political conspiracy, the Congress has decided to meet Governor Urmila Singh to apprise her of the foul play being indulged in by the BJP government.

It has also demanded the resignation of the Urban Development Minister in the wake of the report of the general development committee of the Vidhan Sabha, which indicted the Urban Development Department for its failure to take full advantage of the JNNURM.

General Secretary of the party Kuldeep Rathore and Mayor of the corporation Madhu Sood said even the names of sitting councillors had been omitted and many major residential complexes having 150 to 200 voters had been left out. In certain cases, voters of the adjoining panchayat areas had been wrongly included. These were not inadvertent omissions but there was a definite pattern and in most cases those left out were Congress supporters.

The names of sitting councillors Maheshwar Chauhan (Congress) and Meera Sharma (CPM) were missing and as against the total of over one lakh voters in the last elections, the draft electoral rolls had only about 80,000 voters. In some wards the number of voters had come down by 25 to 30 per cent from last election figures. They asserted that if no corrective measures were taken, the party councillors would even move the high court to check the BJP’s nefarious designs to win the poll by any means.

Moreover, only three working days had been provided for filing claims and objections up to April 4 and it was physically impossible for three tehsildars to handle the claims of over 20,000 electors in such a short period. They demanded a review of the entire voters’ list and more time for filing claims and objections.

Referring to the report of the Vidhan Sabha panel, they said the Congress stand that the BJP government was not interested in the implementation of the mission to deny credit to the Congress-ruled corporation had been vindicated. Urban Development Minister Mohinder Singh, who illegally diverted funds sanctioned under the JNNURM, should resign or Chief Minister PK Dhumal should sack him.

Shimla, April 1
Dissatisfied with the affidavit filed by the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Sirmaur, qua developments in Mandir Thakurdwara Dei Ji Sahiba, Paonta Sahib, the HP High Court has directed the DC to file a fresh affidavit without hiding anything and directed her to appear in the court on April 13.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjay Karol passed this order after perusing the affidavit and observed that “we are not at all satisfied with the averments made in the affidavit and the same do not comply with our earlier order in letter and spirit”.

The court observed that the DC had submitted a list of 107 cases in all, of which 95 were old and 12 new, but it was not clear when the old cases were filed and why these had been pending since long.

The Bench has directed the SDM, Nahan, to ensure in the future that such pending cases were heard on a day-to-day basis and disposed of before August 31 and the new cases
shall be decided by December 31, 2012.

The court has asked the Deputy Commissioner to ensure that the land of the temple was got demarcated and a complete report regarding this submitted to the court by the next date of hearing.

The order came on a petition in which the petitioner, the Vikas Manch, has alleged irregularities in the affairs of the temple. It has been alleged that the temple trust has allotted the property of the temple without an auction. The case will come up for further hearing on April 13.

Solan, April 1
Six persons, including members of a family, were killed when the car by which they were travelling rolled down a 200-m-deep gorge near Ojjha Nullah near Andheri village on the Sangrah-Haripur road today at 9 am.

Those killed were brothers Jaagar Singh and Deep Ram, their mother Naumi Devi, Bindi Devi, Santosh and panchayat inspector Gian Chand from Kangra.

ASP Sanjeev Lakhanpal said Gian Chand succumbed to his injuries at the CHC, Sangrah, while Santosh died at a Nahan hospital. The other four died on the spot.

In another incident, Kiran Bala from the Sangrah area of Sirmaur jumped into the Renuka Lake, along with her eight-month-old daughter, this morning. Though locals jumped in to rescue them, the duo were drowned.

In yet another incident, Renuka MLA Hriday Ram and his family, including son Puneet and wife Satya Devi, were hurt when their vehicle turned turtle on the NH-71 near Kala Amb in Haryana area last evening. — OC

Kangra, April 1
An 85-year-man succumbed to his injuries received in a road accident and a woman died of poisoning at the DRPGMC Tanda late last night.

The police said Junto Ram of Naura village, under Bhawarna police station, was walking home from the village temple, after paying obeisance on the occasion of Maha Ashtami yesterday when he was hit by a motor cycle that left him seriously injured.

He was rushed to the DRPGMC Tanda where he succumbed to his injuries. The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 304-A, IPC . The body after autopsy was handed over to his relatives this afternoon.

In another case, Meeno Devi, 45, of Kumarno village, Palampur, was admitted to DRPGMC Tanda late last night as a poisoning case. She died in the wee hours of this morning. The police said the cause of committing the crime could not be established. 

Palampur, April 1
A joint action committee formed by various social organisations, panchayats and local bodies for the grant of the district status to Palampur has decided to resort to direct action from the first week of April, if the state government failed to declare Palampur a district.

The committee, which met here on Thursday under the chairmanship of its president Jagmel Katoch, threatened to gherao Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal during his visit to the town on April 7.

Addressing a news conference, Katoch said till date injustice had been done with Palampur. The beautiful hill town had turned into a slum because of the apathy on the part of the state government. In the absence of the district status for Palampur, the region failed to get a dozen major development projects funded by the Union Government, whereas small towns that were declared districts had received a major share of Central funds.

Katoch said recently the state government had distributed Rs 42 crore, received under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission from the Union Government, to five district towns. Despite the Palampur region having a population of seven lakh, it failed to get even a single paisa under this programme. Districts like Una, Solan, Kulu and Bilaspur with less population had received a major share. He said this was an example when a step-motherly treatment was meted out with Palampur because it did not have district status.

Criticising the Congress and BJP leaders who were opposing the reorganisation of districts in the state, Katoch said they should restrict their political activities to their respective constituencies and not interfere in other areas.

Referring to Union Minister Virbhadra Singh, he said he had remained the Chief Minister of the state for 20 years, but he a gave step-motherly treatment to Kangra. And today he had become a well-wisher of Kangra only because Assembly elections were due in the next six months.

Katoch said it was Virbhadra who made false promises to residents of Palampur for the grant of the district status. He said the action committee would not allow him to enter the town during his visit to Palampur on April 15.