Shimla, April 2
Notwithstanding its virtual rejection by Team Anna, the Himachal Pradesh Lokayukta Bill is likely to be tabled in the state Assembly within a day or two after the suggestions from the Lokayukta are received.

Even as Team Anna, whose suggestions had been sought by the Himachal Government, had rejected the Draft Bill, Chief Minister PK Dhumal said today that the Bill would be tabled in the Assembly during the ongoing Budget session, which would conclude on April 6.

Team Anna has every right to express their opinion to which we have no objection but a specific model of Uttarakhand cannot be forced or imposed on us,” he said, while downplaying the strong criticism of the Bill by Team Anna.

“We are hoping to receive the viewpoint of the Lokayukta within a day or two and immediately after that we will table it in the House,” said Dhumal.

He said since the Assembly was in session, the Draft Bill had been mailed to Team Anna who is keen that Himachal should adopt the Uttarakhand model in totality.

The Chief Minister said the Draft Bill had been put on the website and every citizen can send opinions and suggestions which could bring in improvements.

“The Bill has been drafted by taking suggestions from all and it has been sent to the Lokayukta who is a retired Supreme Judge but Team Anna, too, is welcome to send in its suggestions,” he remarked.

Dhumal said the Lokayukta had received complaints against all, including the Chief Minister.

“All complaints have been inquired into but in case any practical suggestions pour in from any quarter we will be more than happy to incorporate those,” he said.

The government had itself two days ago stated that a meeting would be held with members of the Team Anna at New Delhi on April 2 to discuss the Draft Lokayukta Bill.

Principal Secretary (Home) and Resident Commissioner were to hold discussions with members of Team Anna. None of the officials today confirmed the reason for the sudden cancellation of the meeting.

Team Anna had sent the Uttarakhand Draft Lokayukta Bill to Himachal and the state officials too had consulted their counterparts. However, it was felt that Himachal should have its own model and not adopt the Uttarakhand model, which too was awaiting consent.

Team Anna member, Arvind Kejriwal, has termed the Bill as weak and ineffective. He even went to the extent of saying that the Bill seeks to provide illegitimate protection to corrupt people rather than punish them. 

Manali, April 2
An expert committee of national and international repute will recommend a policy and planning strategy to deal with climate change and receding snowline in the Himalayas during the three-day international symposium on climate change and cryosphere that started at SASE, near here, today.

Dr S Sundresh, chief controller, Research and Development, Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) inaugurated the symposium in which over 200 participants from the country and abroad are participating.

Director, SASE, Dr Ashvoghosh Ganju, said the expert committee would recommend their views on how to address and mitigate the issue of climate change in the Himalayas. The committee would also recommend plan and design of avalanche-control structures in the high-altitude region during a workshop on April 6-7.

He said the committee would churn out views presented in the studies by researchers, academicians, engineers, professionals, policymakers, managers and NGOs and recommend a broad strategy to combat climate change in the region.

This region was experiencing climate change which was impacting rainfall, glaciers, river discharge, water sources, floods, cloudbursts, landslides and avalanches and sources of livelihoods in foothills and plains, he added.

Dr Ganju said the experts would suggest how to predict cloudbursts, avalanches and flash floods by using the latest technology in the world. Scientists said they would consider and reconstruct the past climate and would collaborate with other cryospheric regions for further research and development to meet the environmental change.

The experts would mull over lessons learnt from cloudbursts at Leh and Fingri Nulllah, near Manali, and avalanche in the Kashmir valley that had killed 17 Army personnel last winter and other such natural disasters, they added.

“The cryospheric regions are considered as the “hotspots” of biodiversity because they are sensitive to a slightest possible change in the temperature and precipitation,” he added.

“We need to adopt state-of-the art technologies being used worldwide for the purpose to reduce climate change,” he added.

A souvenir highlighting four decades of SASE was also released on the occasion.

Shimla, April 2
The Congress has urged Governor Urmila Singh to order an inquiry into the change of boundaries of wards on the eve of election to the Shimla Municipal Corporation without carrying out delimitation.

A deputation of the party, led by general secretary Kuldeep Rathore, comprising Mayor Madhu Sood, district leaders, councillors, former councillors met the Governor at Raj Bhawan and submitted a memorandum expressing concern over the large scale omission of voters in the draft electoral rolls published for the ensuing Municipal Corporation election.

Leaders drew attention to the fact that names of voters were deleted and added in the electoral rolls without following the due process prescribed in the Municipal Corporation Act.

Names of several voters had been omitted on the pretext that they were not residing in the corporation, while names of some other residents were not being included. Codal formalities had not been followed while carrying the exercise.

People from across the state and various parts of the country come to the state capital for employment, pursuing education and earning a livelihood, keeping this in view a provision was made in the Act to enable ordinary residents to get enrolled as voters.

However, it was not being followed.

The State Election Commission published draft electoral rolls on March 28 in which names of over 20,000 voters were missing. Though no delimitation was carried out, boundaries of wards had been altered, which was illegal and warranted a probe.

The commission had given just eight days for examining the list, filing claims and objections, which was too short. They demanded that the exercise should be carried out at the booth level and more time be given for the purpose.

Proper publicity be given to the list and the schedule for filing objections, appeals and final publication of the electoral rolls.

Shimla, April 2
Congress members expressed concern over the decline in spending under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) programme in the state during 2011-12 and blamed the government for it.

Rural Development Minister Jai Ram Thakur faced a volley of questions in the Vidhan Sabha from Kaul Singh, Gangu Ram Musafir and other members who wanted to know the reasons for the low spending compared to the preceding year. They maintained that the downslide in the implementation of the scheme was largely due to the failure of the government to furnish utilisation certificates for the funds already released. They also alleged the state was paying very low wages under MNREGA.

However, Jai Ram asserted that it was a demand-driven scheme and expenditure depended on the number of job card holders who came forward to get work. So far Rs 425 crore had been spent as compared to Rs 516 crore last year. In all, 10,97,528 job cards had been issued and there were no outstanding dues.

The Centre had agreed to provide wages under the scheme on par with the minimum daily wages in the state as a result of which the amount would be increased.

Replying the specific query of Musafir if the Centre had barred the construction of footpaths under the scheme, he said there was no ban, but the CAG had raised objection over a low-priority work getting excessive focus. It was now being treated as low priority.

Replying to another question, Chief Minister PK Dhumal informed GS Bali that the Tourism Department had granted 84 essentiality certificates (ECs) for purchasing land from January 1, 2008, to January 1, 2012. He said the government would ensure that the land was utilised for the purpose the EC was granted.

He said there were 66 complaints of violations and ECs had already been withdrawn in 17 cases.

Sundernagar, April 2
Due to the pendency of litigation in the Himachal Pradesh High Court, the Dalai Lama did not inaugurate the 108-ft-high statue of Guru Padam Sambhav situated on a hill by the side of the Rewalsar Lake in Mandi district, which was scheduled for yesterday.

Pawan Kumar of Dhangu village in Mandi district has challenged the permission of land used for the statue that it was in violation of Section 118 of the HP Land Tenency and Land Reforms Act. It was further alleged that the permission, if any, was given for raising Lord Buddha’s statue, whereas Guru Padam Sambhav’s statue had been raised on the spot.

Today, the case pertaining to litigation of this statue was heard by the Bench comprising

Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary. The court has asked the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, to file his affidavit within seven days as to what action he had taken in the matter. The next date has been fixed for April 16.

As per schedule, the Dalai Lama had to unveil Padam Sambhav’s statue (costing more than Rs 10 crore) yesterday. Thousands of Buddhists had reached Rewalsar to witness the ceremony of unveiling of the statue, the construction which was started about 10 years back. A representative of the Zigar Monestery, which was executing the multi-crore project, said the puja had been deferred. It was further revealed that the Dalai Lama was not apprised with the latest development of the project.

As per writ petition No. 7122 filed in 2010, the petitioner has prayed for the quashing and setting aside of the sale deeds and mutations in the name of Tibetian Refugees alleging that the purchase has been made in violation of Section 118, HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act.

Recently, the on-going work on the statue was completed, and the petitioner has filed an interim application in the writ petition alleging that the Dalai Lama was going to inaugurate the statue of Padam Sambhav and two other statues on April 1 and 2. This was illegal as the court has already passed an interim order dated October 15, 2010, to the effect that the transfer of land will be subject to the outcome of the writ petition. It has been prayed that till the pendency of the writ petition, the inauguration of the statue be restrained.

The Zigar Monastery has deferred the inauguration of the statue.

Solan, April 2
The Chail panchayat has imposed green tax on vehicles entering this town from other states since April 1.

Since this was for the first time that such a tax was imposed in Chail, the panchayat has kept nominal fee of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 30 and Rs 100, respectively, for two-wheelers, vehicles having sitting capacity of five, vehicles having sitting capacity between 5 to 10 and buses having a sitting capacity of 30 to 50.

Local hoteliers have, however, opposed this move.

Devinder Verma, a hotelier, said they were neither consulted nor made aware of any such tax by the panchayat.

He said the barriers were auctioned at very low rates while the potential was much higher. Since they were not informed about any such auction, people failed to participate in it.

An illustration of how the barriers had been undervalued was clear from the collection of fee from the very first day of levying this tax, Verma added.

Panchayat Pradhan Rajiv Sharma said since there were no bidders ready to opt for the two barriers at Barra Morr and Janedghat, these have been auctioned for Rs 1.57 lakh.

He said the cost had been worked out keeping in view the expenditure on manpower and other recurring expenditure like power.

There were several luxury hotels like Tarika Jungle Resort and Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation-run Palace Hotel, which attracted high-end tourists from across the country. Besides, there were at least 20 hotels in the area that recorded good tourism business.

Since Chail town was perched amidst sylvan deodars in the midst of a reserve forest, its pristine beauty attracted city dwellers who wanted a break from the hustle and bustle of the city life. Scores of hotels had sprung up in the area to accommodate the ever-increasing tourist influx.

Shimla. April 2
Justice Kuldip Singh today sworn-in as the Judge of the state high court as the Chief Justice Kurian Joseph administered the oath of office to him in a simple but impressive ceremony held in the Courtroom of the Chief Justice.

He was elevated as the Additional Judge of the state high court on April 3, 2007. Justice Kuldip Singh, born on January 17, 1952, has been in legal profession for the past 37 years. He has practiced in the district courts at Nahan and Shimla as well as in the HC. He was designated senior advocate in 1999. He has also remained the president of the HP High Court Bar Association.

He had conducted cases on constitutional, service, labour, motor accident claims and also company matters. He had also represented the HP Financial Corporation, HP Agro Industries Corporation, Punjab State Electricity Board, HP State Electricity Board,

Indian Institute of Advance Studies and Power Grid Corporation of India in the court.

Judges of HC - Justice RB Misra, Justice Deepak Gupta, Justice DD Sud, Justice VK Ahuja, Justice Surinder Singh, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice Rajiv Sharma, Justice VK Sharma and Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Registrars of HC CB Barowalia, SC Kainthla and Bhag Chand Sharma along with a large number of dignitaries, including retired judges of the HC - Justice LS Panta, former Judge, Supreme Court, Justice Surjit Singh, present Chairman, HP State Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Justice DP Sood, Justice RK Mahajan, DGP DS Manhas, AC Dogra, Secretary (Law) to the State among others were present on the occasion.

The HC Registrar (Sub Judiciary & Judicial), CB Barowalia, conducted the proceedings and read out the warrant of appointment of Justice Kuldip Singh.

Kangra, April 2
GAV Public School here entered a new sphere today by becoming the first school in the region to have a global educational exchange programme with Crawshaw Educational School, London.

Sukhvinder Singh, Principal, GAV Public School, said it was a dream-come-true after five years of efforts, and described the day as a momentous day in the history of the school.

Today, on the new session, the school witnessed the arrival of British students, along with their teachers, as a part of the GAV Crawshaw Global partnership in the field of education.

He said a group of students, comprising Mark Hopper and Lyndarn Harrison of Class XII, Sophie O’ Connell of Class XI and Ruby Tait of Class X, arrived at the school here this morning. They were accompanied by Kristy Dolan, an English teacher, Cath Pheasey, Head of the Food and Technology Department, along with the programme coordinator Steve Smith.

The Principal said the British students and staff were given a welcome as per the Indian cultural heritage and tradition. He said it was now the turn of the students of this school to visit England under the programme in July this year.

He said the Global Educational Programme was sponsored by the British Council, New Delhi, which would help in the exchange of culture and education.

Sukhvinder said the British teachers held meetings with the teaching staff of his school and from tomorrow they would teach students English, mathematics, cooking, art and craft, besides hold classes on cultural exchange.

Jagdeep Sharma, Programme Coordinator of GAV School, said the British students would stay here for a few days and attend classes. They would also be taken to culturally important places in and around Kangra.

Kangra, April 2
Nearly 100 ENT patients, most of them women and small children below the age of five, were treated during a one-day free ENT camp organised by the Vivekananda Kendra, Kanaya Kumari branch, Kangra, at Gopal Bagh on the outskirts of this town yesterday. Patients who required surgical intervention to reduce their deafness were identified and put on the surgical list for the next camp.

The camp was a regular monthly feature of the kendra which was being attended by Dr Sanjay Sachdeva, Director and HoD, ENT Department, Max Group of Hospitals.

Dr Sachdeva said lack of awareness of ear diseases was a cause for concern in this hill state. He was talking to mediapersons after the camp. He said ear diseases causing deafness were on the rise in this state because of ignorance, awareness and myths. Any ear discharge and pain were potential causes of temporary or permanent deafness, he said.

He said deafness made one lose touch with society because of lack of communication and have a depressive existence. He said if deafness occurred in early life,it could hamper performance at the school level. If it occurred late,
it could affect a person’s productivity at work, he added.

He said nerve-related deafness was more prevalent among men than women and suggested that on the national level a mass awareness programme needed to be launched.

A team from Delhi conducted nearly 50 audiometric testing during this ENT camp.

Shimla, April 2
In a bid to promote and conserve the dying art form, Himachal Pradesh University will be introducing post graduation in Pahari miniature paintings from this academic session.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has provided Rs 34 lakh to the Institute of Integrated Himalayan Studies (IIHS), a UGC Centre of Excellence to start the MA fine arts course from 2012-13. “The course will have 35 seats. Any student who is a graduate and has creativity and talent will be able to study the traditional aspects of miniature paintings and gain a professional understanding of the ancient art form,” said Prof SP Bansal, Director of the institute.

The IIHS was running a one-year diploma course in Pahari miniature paintings till about three years back. “There was a demand from students that a post-graduation course should be started so that they could do PhD in Pahari miniature paintings,” said Bansal. He said the main objective was to conserve a dying art form.

The course has been sanctioned for a period and guest faculty, including artists from the renowned families known for their contribution to Pahari miniatures, will be involved. It will be a job-oriented course as the post graduates will have a vast variety of career options.

Sundernagar, April 2
The Sutlej Bachao Jan Sangharsh Samiti, Mandi district, organised a peaceful rally on Wednesday at the Karsog tehsil headquarters in Mandi district and submitted a memorandum to the President through the SDM, Karsog, against the proposed Luhri Hydroelectric Project.

Local residents came in a large number to register their opposition to the tunnel model proposed for the project.

The samiti later submitted a memorandum, raising various issues and concerns against the project and alleging that 30,000 families from Mandi, Kinnaur and Shimla districts did not want the project, to the President, through the SDM, Karsog. A copy of the memorandum was also sent to the Environment Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which is going to consider environment clearance to the Luhri project in its meeting on March 30 and 31, 2012.

Nek Ram Sharma, secretary of the samiti, said: “We have just returned from a trip to the affected areas of Karcham Wangtoo and Rampur hydro-electric projects, two projects that have been built just above the Luhri project.”

“We are shocked to see the devastation caused during the construction of the Rampur project and the losses being suffered by people of Kinnaur, after the Karcham Wangtoo project has been constructed. The entire area is dotted with dumping sites, and the regular flow of trucks with dumping material has made life hell for local residents,” he added.

Shyam Singh Chauhan, zila parishad member and president of the samiti, said: “We do not want that our area also face devastation as caused by earlier projects above Luhri. We demand that the government scrap the tunnel model of the Luhri project and instead build small-sized power projects, which do not have such large-scale impacts on the environment.”

Women from villages of Shaut, Naanj, Tebban, Sarahan, Baalidhaar, Khadra and Kotlu of Mandi district also attended the rally.

Shimla, April 2
Concerned over the fast deteriorating financial health of the state distribution company, the HPSEB Employees Union has put the government and the management on notice for taking corrective measures and settling issues being raised by if for the past two years.

It has decided to launch “direct action” in protest against the anti-board policies of the government by holding a rally in front of Vidyut Bhawan Complex here.

General secretary of the union Hira Lal Verma said the failing financial health of the board had crated panic among employees and pensioners. The government was supplying its power to the board at the market price and expecting it to supply it to the consumers at affordable prices, as a result of which the revenue gap was increasing with each passing year.

He demanded the withdrawal of the decision to provide the BBMB power to the board on the average purchase price and instead give it free of cost in view of its precarious financial position. The government should put in place a proper mechanism for disbursal of pension, gratuity and other social securities.

Hamirpur, April 2
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Hamirpur, has registered a case against six former elected representatives and officials of Jahu gram panchayat for misappropriation of funds over Rs 35 lakh.

This action has been taken by the bureau after conducting a preliminary inquiry on charges levelled against elected members and panchayat officials.

The matter was detected sometime ago during the audit of the Jahu panchayat wherein it was found these persons had withdrawn over Rs 35 lakh from the state government account as a grant for carrying a few development works in the panchayat and other heads.

Instead of utilising the money on development works, the officials deposited the same in other bank account.

Later, when misappropriation of funds was detected by the audit team, a formal compliant was made by the block development officer.

The money drawn under the grant by the officials was meant for carrying several development works under the panchayat like construction of a well, a building, etc.

Members of a few categories were supposed to get grants for various purposes from this money but they were not paid.

This issue was also raised by a former president of the Jahu panchayat.

DSP, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Hamirpur, Balbir Singh said, “The bureau had received a complaint after the misappropriation of funds over Rs 35 lakh by few former elected representatives and officials was detected during the audit.”

“After a preliminary inquiry, the bureau found prima-facia evidence in the charges of misappropriation of funds and had registered a criminal case against six persons on March 31 and investigating the matter,” he added.

Banikhet (Chamba), April 2
The Chamba District Progressive Council, an NGO, has sought the shifting of cantonment toll barrier to Surkhigala, set up by the Dalhousie Cantonment Board at Banikhet on the Pathankot-Chamba highway, so that poor passengers of Chamba are not taxed unnecessarily.

President of the council Hari Ram Puri said the council had already urged Chief Minister PK Dhumal through a forceful representation to take up the issue with the Union Government about the shifting of this cantonment toll barrier.

Puri said bus commuters had been paying toll charges as fixed by the cantonment board from time to time and the amount was included in bus tickets. Likewise, light vehicles entering Banikhet were also been charged accordingly, he added.

Since a portion of about 200 m as claimed by the Dalhousie Cantonment Board falls under its jurisdiction, this toll tax appeared unwarranted and passengers coming from Pathankot to Chamba were taxed illogically, Puri said.

However, as there may be a portion of a road between Banikhet and Dalhousie maintained by the cantonment board, the toll barrier could be shifted to Surkhigala towards Dalhousie roadside, Puri opined.

Shimla, April 2
The country’s largest Nathpa Jhakri Hydroelectric Project established a new milestone by generating a record 7,610 million units (MU) of energy during 2011-12.

The 1,500 MW project operated by the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) surpassed last year’s generation by 470 MU and the target assigned by the Union Ministry of Power for the year by 710 MU. Last year it had achieved a record production of 7,140 MU.

The ministry had raised the generation target for 2012-13 to 7,000 MU under excellent parameters in the MoU signed recently. Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the SJVN RP Singh attributed the excellent performance to the relentless efforts put in by the employees in ensuring optimum utilisation of the available discharge and efficient management of machines.