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Congress to blame for
JP mess, says CM
Won’t go ahead with captive thermal plant, says company
Cops raid British girl’s fund-raising party venue
Efforts on to empower women, says Dhumal |
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3 yrs on, NH withers as union ministry dithers on notification
Dr Minhas BJP nominee for Mayor’s post
Women protest against shortage of drinking water
Now, 7-a-side football tourney at Dharamsala
Rohtang Tunnel Transmission Line
Green Bench decision on JP plant historic, says NGO
Him Parivesh members at a press conference in Nalagarh on Saturday.
Differently abled brave odds to trek
BSNL mobile users rue poor connectivity
PNB told to pay Rs
5,000 as compensation
More powers sought for urban local bodies
Rs 57 lakh spent on ministers’ vehicles
Garbage collector held for attacking woman
Youth run over by train, dies
Educationist dies at 86
Man dies of poisoning
Beldar found dead
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Congress to blame for
JP mess, says CM
Solan, May 6 Dhumal said a former Deputy Commissioner, who was serving at Solan during the then Congress regime when the JP plant was being set up, was now an employee of the JP company after his retirement. He said this was an illustration of who the beneficiaries were in the case. Addressing mediapersons here today, Dhumal said the BJP government had rather imposed a penalty and obtained lease money of Rs 4.10 crore from the company. Dhumal said the detailed project report was prepared by the company during the Congress regime when present PCC president Kaul Singh was a member of the Cabinet. The plant was set up in a hurry in 2004 and it was also issued a licence by the previous Congress government. He said Kaul Singh, therefore, had no moral right to remain in politics now as he was levelling baseless allegations. He said the haste with which the Congress had been operating was illustrated by the fact that the then Chief Minister had signed an MoU with a cement company at Barog and “did not even wait to reach Shimla after getting his heart surgery done”. He said ecologically safe power plants based on biomass would be permitted in the state instead of thermal power plants. The Chief Minister said the previous Congress government’s role in violating Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act had been exposed with the interim report of the Justice DP Sood Commission on benami land transactions revealing that of the 61 clearances, 49 pertained to the Congress tenure. While the final report would be received by the end of this month, he said they would investigate each case and property acquired through unfair means would be vested in the government. He said the government was exploring the possibility of connecting fruit and vegetable-growing areas with ropeways to transport produce to different terminal markets within the state. The move would benefit fruit growers. He said a private company had been shortlisted to undertake the job and also explore the possibility to extend ropeways to major terminal markets within the state and those outside the state. He said the state was also exploring the possibility of constructing international airports at Balh and Nadaun to attract high-end tourists to the state. |
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Won’t go ahead with captive thermal plant, says company
Shimla, May 6 Senior Vice-President of the company Askari Zaidi said JAL was a law-abiding corporate group having full faith in the Indian judicial system as well as all judicial institutions of the country. It had already decided, much before the recent order of the High Court, not to go ahead with the captive thermal power plant at its cement plant at Bagheri. The judgment pronounced by the court being voluminous, the company was studying its implications, both legal as well as factual, and depending upon the legal advice, the future course of action would be decided in accordance with the well established constitutional provisions. However, it felt that perhaps the contentions and submissions, factual as well as legal, could not be put across in proper perspective for which it would adopt appropriate remedial measures. It needed no reiteration that the plant under reference had created employment for thousands of persons and proved to be a boon to the region, bringing economic benefits to thousands of families. Even the court had graciously taken note of this.
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Cops raid British girl’s fund-raising party venue
Dharamsala, May 6
The police has registered a case under the Excise Act and recovered 25 bottles of beer, 2,430 ml of alcohol and 2,625 ml of vodka from the party venue. Jodie has been maintaining that she was organising the party for raising funds for her environmental projects. She had charged Rs 150 as entry fee for the party in which most of the participants were foreign tourists. The police allegedly raided the venue after being tipped off by some locals. The raid has brought to the fore the issue of illegal methods being adopted by unregistered bodies in tourist places as McLeodganj and Bhagsunag. For raising funds from foreigners, any organisation has to register with the state government. In case they want to raise funds in foreign currency, permission has to be sought under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) from the Union Government.
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Efforts on to empower women, says Dhumal
Solan, May 6 He was delivering a valedictory speech at the closing ceremony of the two-day BJP national Mahila Morcha Executive Committee Meeting here today. The Chief Minister said it was the BJP which had provided 50 per cent reservation to women in panchayati raj elections with a view to encouraging their participation in policy formulation and development of areas they represented. He said during the recently concluded elections, 58 per cent women had been elected which speak volumes of public response towards women empowerment. Dhumal said the state government had also decided to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in cooperative societies. He said the government while coming to power had adopted the election manifesto of the party as the policy document of the government and had also implemented the promises. The Chief Minister said the BJP had ousted several former Chief Ministers from their home turfs, which included the Renuka Assembly seat represented by former Chief Minister late Dr YS Parmar, Rohru Assembly seat, which was the stronghold of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, and the Jubbal-Kotkhai seat that was represented by former Chief Minister late Thakur Ram Lal for a long time. He said additionally the BJP had registered its victory in three parliamentary seats out of four seats in the state and during the recent panchayati raj elections over 80 per cent BJP-sponsored candidates had won seats. Shyam Jaju, co-in charge, state BJP, lauded the achievements of the state government. Smriti Irani, national president, BJP Mahila Morcha; Kiran Ghai, state in charge, BJP Mahila Morcha; Satpal Satti, state party president; various ministers and MLAs of the state were among those present.
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3 yrs on, NH withers as union ministry dithers on notification
Dharamsala, May 6
To make matters worse, the Union Ministry for Surface Transport has also not allotted any budget for the road. The result is that the road is dotted with potholes. The road in many parts, especially Chintpurni to Dehra and Dehra to Ranital, is in a bad shape. Most tourists coming to Dharamsala and Palampur travel on the said highway. Lakhwinder Singh, a tourist from Chandigarh, rued the bad state of roads in Himachal. Foreign tourists said the poor condition of the road was bad for Dharamsala as a tourist destination. With the IPL season coming to Dharamsala from May 17 and 19, more tourists would have to face the agony of travelling on the potholed road. SR Negi, Chief Engineer, National Highways, said the Union Ministry for Surface Transport had not yet entrusted the said NH to the state government for maintenance. As per the rules, the Union Ministry for Surface Transport takes over the roads after the entire land is transferred in the name of the ministry. “We had transferred the papers of the land to the ministry in October 2011 and a gazette notification on NH 20-A is expected soon. After that the ministry will release funds for the road,” he said. Negi said since the union ministry had not released funds for NH 20-A for the past three years, the state government had been bearing the cost of repairs or patchwork on the road. Sources said like NH 20-A, another road from Ponta to Hartkoti was also declared as NH 72-B in 2008, but the union ministry was yet to issue the formal notification.
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Dr Minhas BJP nominee for Mayor’s post
Shimla, May 6 The party also announced its nominees for the remaining nine wards. Kiran Bawa will contest from Chakkar Boileauganj, Naveen Chaddha (Nabha Phagli), Kalyan Dhiman (Lower Phagli), Manoj Kuthiala, Anup Vaid (Benmore), Vijay Chauhan (Engine Ghar), Rajender Chauhan (Cemetry), Raman Vij (Chhota Shimla) and Suresh Sood (Kanhlog). |
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Women protest against shortage of drinking water
Palampur, May 6 The protesting women raised anti-government slogans and alleged that despite their repeated requests for the past one month none in the IPH Department bothered to restore the drinking water supply to their villages. They alleged that whenever the visited the office of IPH Bhawarna only senior officer was available in the office. Now they had been left with no alternative except to come on the streets to highlight their problem. Protesting women said tall claims made by the government that it had provided drinking water to hundreds per cent villages were false as alone in Bhawarna area one dozen villages were facing drinking water crises. Later, SDO IPH Jagdeve Thakur reached the spot and assured angry women that the department would provide drinking water in 24 hours. He also visited the affected villages. He said he would recommend for the construction of over-head water tank in the village to meet the drinking water crisis.
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Now, 7-a-side football tourney at Dharamsala
Dharamsala, May 6 Prayank, a graduate from NIFT, Chennai, and president of We and Football, said in a seven-a-side football event each match will be of 30 minutes. “We started the club about one and a half years ago. Till date we have organised 10 football tournaments. The events at Bangalore, Delhi and Chandigarh attracted a large number of youth,” he said. Prayank said they had earlier organised the event in Palampur also. “We hope Dharamsala, that has come on the world stage due to hosting IPL matches, also becomes a ‘breeding ground’ for football players,” he added. Prayank, who belongs to Dharamsala, said he was expecting the participation of about 20 teams in the event at Dharamsala. The beauty of a seven-a-side football contest is that it can be played even in small grounds and is also recognised by FIFA. “Our aim is take football to the streets of the country so that it can be played by everybody and anywhere,” he said.
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Rohtang Tunnel Transmission Line Kuldeep Chauhan Tribune News Service
Mandi/Manali, May 6 The state government is proposing to harness 3,000 MW of electricity from Chenab basin in the snowbound Lahaul valley through the Rohtang tunnel. This tunnel is being constructed on a war-footing by the Rohtang tunnel project authorities under the Border Roads Organisation to provide an all-weather road connectivity to Lahaul valley and further to the strategic border region of Leh and Ladakh. But to transmit power from Lahaul will cost “over Rs 800 crore to the corporation just to lay 9-km-long GIC line through the tunnel”. The GIC line costs 10-15 times more than the line through the overhead transmission towers as a metre of GIC cable costs Rs 6 lakh, said engineers. But the HPPTC has not even appointed a consultant so far, leave alone submitting the project report on the proposed transmission line. The GIC line has been proposed by the state as the overhead transmission towers through the 13,050-ft snowbound Rohtang pass will be difficult to lay and maintain the line in winter. The lines will be damaged as it snows over 70 to 80 ft in winter in the higher ranges of Pir Panjal, engineers claimed. PK Mahajan, Chief Engineer, Rohtang tunnel, said they had to lay different equipment and substations at the north and south portals of the tunnel. “We want to know the exact requirement of space for underground cables, including the space on both sides of the portals,” he added. Mahajan said it was feasible to lay the underground cables through the tunnel right now provided they know in advance regarding the space requirement. “We will sign an MoU once we receive a detailed project report from the government,” he said. Ashok Sharma, General Manager, HPPTC, said they were doing a field survey to ascertain the requirement of the GIC at the project site. “We need to transmit 3,000 MW of electricity through underground cables through the tunnel,” he added. Jagdish Chander Sharma, MD, HPPTC, said they had got permission from the Rohtang tunnel authorities to lay underground cables through the tunnel.
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Green Bench decision on JP plant historic, says NGO
Solan, May 6 The NGO had been instrumental in exposing various irregularities committed by officials in granting environmental clearance to this plant in violation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notifications of 1994 and 2006. It was also one of the petitioners in the writ against JAL. NGO president Jagjit Singh Dhukiya, general secretary Balkrishen Sharma and member Ajit Singh, while addressing mediapersons at Nalagarh yesterday, said they welcomed the decision of the state high court to constitute a Special Investigative Team (SIT) to identify public servants who connived with the company. The NGO demanded that a retired judge should head SIT and no officer from the state should be part of it. They also demanded a CBI inquiry into the issue which they termed as a gross violation of not only the rights of people, but also of environmental parameters. The NGO members said the decision was a big blow to the company and upholding almost all the arguments put forth by petitioner Him Parivesh, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh had found JP Associates guilty of a plethora of lapses, including misleading the authorities on various occasions to obtain clearances. Him Parivesh had filed the petition after learning that JAL had completed the construction on a cement plant and was constructing a thermal power plant without the mandatory environmental clearance. The cement and thermal plants had been granted environmental clearance by the MoEF in 2010 despite protests by the local community at public hearings. “We have already initiated a community environment monitoring exercise and are looking at the air and dust pollution by the plant. The first sampling exercise conducted has already shown that the dust levels are way above the prescribed limits,” added Shweta Narayan of the Community Environment Monitoring Cell, Chennai, who has been helping Him Parivesh with monitoring the pollution in the area.
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Differently abled brave odds to trek
Dalhousie, May 6
They also took part in various activities like rock climbing, river crossing, bird watching, drawing competition and trek at Dainkund, Jot, Lakkarmandi, Kalatop and Dalhousie. Medical Superintendent, Government Hospital, Dalhousie, Bipin Thakur who was the chief guest of the valedictory function of this group distributed prizes and certificates to the participants. Addressing the participants, Dr Thakur said through such treks the YHAI had been promoting consciousness, love towards nature and wildlife in the young generation. Habits of such treks make one physically and mentally fit, he added. The specialty about this batch was that there were 27 differently-abled persons and out of them five were totally blind trekkers from Ahmedabad. But they completed all the activities successfully. Saundarya Suboney was the master of ceremony. Sunola Suboney, participant from Jalgaon (Maharashtra), proposed a vote of thanks.
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BSNL mobile users rue poor connectivity
Nurpur, May 6 According to information, irked over unsatisfactory mobile connectivity, a number of subscribers have either switched over to private mobile service providers or started using dual-sim mobile phones for trouble-free connectivity. Both pre and post-paid BSNL mobile subscribers are facing the issue. MS Negi, Deputy General Manager, BSNL, Dharamsala, said this issue was earlier too brought into his notice a fortnight ago, but at that time it was rectified. “The issue is being looked into and soon subscribers will get trouble-free mobile connectivity,” he asserted.
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PNB told to pay Rs
5,000 as compensation
Sundernagar, May 6 In April 2009 Sunil deposited a cheque of Rs 20,999, issued to him by the Executive Engineer, HPPWD, Kullu, in his account in PNB, Sundernagar, for collection. The bank further sent it for collection to PNB, Kullu. As no amount was credited, the consumer made numerous inquires about the cheque. After one year the bank intimated him that the cheque had got lost. The customer sought a duplicate cheque, but the bank did not issue it, and the harassed consumer filed a complaint before the forum. |
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More powers sought for urban local bodies
Manali, May 6 He said the problems being faced by the nagar parishad and the nagar panchayats in carrying out development works would be solved after coordinating with the government. He was here to participate in a state-level meeting of the association. Pant sought the allocation of 10 per cent of the income generated from the area concerned to urban local bodies so that the pace of development could be accelerated in municipal areas. He said the development plans prepared for the state were mostly in accordance with the geographical condition in plains, which were not suitable for Himachal Pradesh. He suggested that development plans for the state should be prepared as per the geographical condition of this hill state. He said a 22-point charter of demands had already been submitted to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, but the reply was awaited. He added that though for the first time, presidents and vice-presidents of local urban bodies had been elected through direct election, no additional powers had been given to them so far. He sought more powers for urban local bodies. Manali. He sought the implementation of the rainwater harvesting scheme in Himachal Pradesh. Prominent among those who participated in the meeting were Roop Chand Negi and Chaman Kapoor, president and vice-president of the local municipal council, and Rishab Kalia, president of the Kullu Nagar Parishad.
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Rs 57 lakh spent on ministers’ vehicles
Shimla, May 6 As per information obtained by RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya, Rs 44,42,314 was incurred on fuel and Rs 13,22,538 on maintenance of vehicles from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011. He said he had sought details of expenditure for the entire period of the present Cabinet, but he was provided data only for one year. However, a rough estimate of the total expenditure could be made on the basis of the average monthly expenditure which comes to Rs 4,80,404. The total probable fuel and maintenance expense for 4 years comes to Rs 2,30,59,408. The maximum fuel and maintenance expense has incurred by the Health Minister (Rs 7,07,626), followed by Transport Minister (Rs 6,24,059), Industries Minister (Rs 6,02,123) and the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister (Rs 6,00,166). He pointed out that although the make of cars of all the ministers was the same, three ministers had restricted their maintenance expenses below one lakh.
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Garbage collector held for attacking woman
Bilaspur, May 6 Reports said Sikandar, who was an acquaintance of this family, attacked the woman with a knife when she sternly resisted his attempt on her modesty in her jhuggi in her husband’s absence on Friday. He allegedly caused serious wounds on her neck and shoulder. She was immediately rushed to the Regional Hospital here where she is said to be in a serious condition. The accused fled from the spot after the crime — OC
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Youth run over by train, dies
Kangra, May 6 The police said the guard of the train communicated this information to the Railway police. |
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Educationist dies at 86
Bilaspur, May 6 The funeral of this National Award-winner and former District Education Officer was largely attended. Officers, political parties leaders, gram panchayat representatives, former students, Beopar Mandal leaders and villagers paid their last respects to the departed soul on the bank of the Sutlej at Luhnughat here today. He was renowned as a reformist teacher who was much in demand wherever he served. |
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Man dies of poisoning
Kangra, May 6 The police said Narainjan Singh of Battal village of Hamirpur district had consumed some poison by mistake and was rushed to the District Hospital here. When his condition
deteriorated, he was referred to the DRPGMC Hospital Tanda. The police said he died in the hospital here and it was investigating the case under Section 174, CrPC. |
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Beldar found dead
Bilaspur, May 6 The police has registered a case and has handed over the body to his kin after autopsy. It said the cause of death was being investigated. In another case, Sher Singh of Chujail village under Balh Churani gram panchayat, near here, is said to have taken some poisonous substance and was first rushed to Civil Hospital, Ghumarwin, and was later referred to Regional Hospital, Bilaspur. But he died on the way to the hospital here. |
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hief Minister PK Dhumal said today that the state government was making concerted efforts to empower women socially and economically by envisioning and implementing several schemes.
Now a seven-a-side football tournament will enthral sports enthusiasts of the area. We and Football, a sports club started by a few young professionals in Delhi to popularise football among the masses in the country, will organise the two-day seven-a-side football tournament at Dharamsala on May 12 and 13.
Terming the decision of the Green Bench as historic, an NGO, Him
Parivesh, which had filed a petition alleging violations of environmental laws in the
Bagheri-based plant of Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL) in the state high court, said this decision would prove to be a milestone for the entire country in environmental matters.
Himachal Pradesh Elected Representatives of Urban Local Bodies Association president Kul Rakesh Pant has said developmental activities will be carried out in coordination with the state government. He was briefing mediapersons here today.
He said the government was probing the role of officials involved in the process and action would soon be initiated against them.
Though the police has not booked Jodie, it has booked owner of the private hotel, Amit, in whose premises the party was being organised.
