Shimla, July 6
The HP High Court today dismissed a review petition filed by Jaypee Industries for reviewing its order of dismantling the thermal plant at the site of a cement plant in Solan district.

Dismissing the petition, a Green Bench comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjay Karol said, “This is only an attempt to re-open the matter and there is no error apparent on the face of the record. We are clearly of the view that this court has dealt with all issues raised before it in detail and the petitioner, by means of this review petition, cannot be permitted to now raise issues which were either not raised or which have been decided by a reasoned judgment.”

After considering the pleas of the company regarding the imposition of Rs 100 crore as damages without actually assessing the cost as per the “polluter pays” principle, the Bench said, “As far as the damages of Rs 100 crore are concerned, we have considered the matter in detail and the damages have been imposed because we felt that it will not be proper to order the dismantling of the cement plant since it will affect the livelihood of a large number of innocent people. We have taken all factors into consideration while imposing these damages and there is no error apparent on the face of the record.”

On the company’s take regarding the dismantling of the thermal plant that it had not installed any plant or machinery in the partially constructed civil structure built by it to house the captive thermal power plant (CTTP), the Bench said, “At the time of hearing, it was never urged that the CTPP had not been set up. This matter has been discussed at great length in our judgment and we have come to the conclusion that the construction of the thermal plant was taken up on June 6, 2006, even before the consent to establish (CTE) was given by the State Pollution Control Board. We have held that the construction was completed despite the CTE being withdrawn.”

It said, “From the averment made in the review petition itself, it is apparent that by now the petitioner has transported as many as 87 trailers which contained the material used to set up the CTPP. Therefore, we cannot believe that the plant had not been set up. We see no reason to recall these directions.”

In its earlier judgement, the Green Bench had directed Jaypee Industries to demolish its thermal power plant and had imposed Rs 100 crore as damages for violating the law and making flase pleas before the authorities.

New Delhi, July 6
Offering to help Delhi overcome its long-term drinking water shortage, the Himachal Pradesh Government yesterday said the state would not hinder the construction of the proposed Renuka Dam, provided it was not asked to bear any cost of the Rs 3,600-crore project that will bring water to the National Capital.

The hill state’s concern is the compensation for and rehabilitation of more than 1,100 people who will be displaced by the reservoir of the dam that will come across the Giri river in Sirmaur district. The dam has no value for Himachal Pradesh as the power output is expected to be just 40 MW and the water will flow to Delhi. Himachal Pradesh is surplus in power as it gets royalty from the existing mega power projects like the Bhakra project.

Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh Sudripta Roy made the stand clear at a meeting convened yesterday by Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pulok Chatterjee to tackle the drinking water issue of Delhi. The Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, the Union Environment Secretary, the Union Power Secretary and the Secretary, Water Resources, were present at the meeting. Surprisingly, no high-ranking official from the Delhi Government, which blames everybody else for its drinking water woes, was present at the high-level meeting.

According to the proposal discussed yesterday, 90 per cent of the cost will have to be borne by the stakeholders - Delhi included - and the rest 10 per cent by Himachal Pradesh . “Why do we need to pay even 10 per cent when we are not benefiting from the dam in any way,” questioned the Himachal Chief Secretary.

“How are we benefiting from it. ….They have requested us to re-consider the whole issue. Since it’s a project of national importance, we will talk to bring out possible options,” Roy told The Tribune. The Himachal Pradesh Government would push for a strong compensation for the displaced persons and more than one lakh trees would have to be cut, he added.

Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Alok Kumar said three projects - the Renuka Dam, the Kishau Power Project and the Lakhwar Hydropower Project - were discussed at the meeting. Kishau was a joint project of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh while Lakhwar was Uttarakhand’s own project.

Alok Kumar said at the meeting, the Union Government gave permission for the Lakhwar project asking the Union Power Ministry to provide financial assistance to the state. The Kishau and Lakhwar projects are being considered for providing drinking water to Delhi. The Union Government’s move to ask the Power Ministry to provide assistance indicates that the Lakhwar Dam could be completed first.

Alok Kumar said the Uttarakhand Government had completed its formalities for the Kishau project and the Union Government had asked Himachal Pradesh to complete its formalities before the project was started.

The meeting discussed issues related to the status of the projects, including the terms and conditions, viability, environment-protection measures, rehabilitation and the construction cost.

Shimla, July 6
The state is all set to ink an MoU with the Mines and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC) to pave the way for molding quintals of gold and silver worth Rs 150 crore offered at major shrines in the state into coins, bearing the embossed emblem of the main deities.

“A high-level team from the MMTC will arrive here next week to finalise the MoU and sign it at the earliest so that the scheme can be formally launched, on the lines of the Vaishno Devi and Tirupati shrines,” said Rakesh Kanwar, Director, Language, Art and Culture.

At present, about three quintals of gold and 225 quintals of silver are lying in the treasuries of about 20 schedule temples all over the state. Both silver and gold coins will be made weighing between 2 gm and 20 gm in gold and 20 gm and 200 gm in silver.

“The MoU will be signed shortly as this will help bring in income to the temples concerned and at the same time reduce the expenditure being incurred on its security,” said Prem Prasad Pandit, State Temple Administrator. He said about 20 schedule temples, including the Chintpurni, Chamunda, Kangra, Naina Devi, Baba Balak Nath, Hatkoti, Bhimakali and Hanoi Mata shrines, would be covered.

A decision had been taken by the state government in 2010 by making an amendment to the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act, 1984, to convert the tonnes of gold and silver into coins. It is in pursuance to this amendment that talks were held with the MMTC, since it was a government undertaking. It was decided that only 50 per cent of the total gold and silver would be converted into coins. Of the remaining 50 per cent, while 10 per cent was to be kept as reserve, 20 per cent was to be invested in gold bonds of the State Bank of India and the remaining 20 per cent would be used for adornment and embellishment of the deities and the temples.

As per the conditions likely to be laid down in the MoU, the MMTC will charge for the transportation, security during transit, refining, making charges and packaging charges. The coins will be given to the temples for sale in proportion to the gold and silver taken from their treasury.

Since keeping this gold and silver safe was becoming a major headache for the government, which had to bear additional cost for engaging security personnel, it was decided to make coins and sell them to pilgrims. The possibility of pilferage would also be ruled out as there would be proper account of the total gold and silver with the temple trust.

Shimla, July 6
The functioning of private universities is likely to become more transparent with the government vesting powers in the State Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission for granting approval to courses.

The relevant Acts have already been amended for the purpose and to ensure that there was no overlapping of functions, the commission will take over this responsibility from the 2013-14 academic session. This will help avoid embarrassing situations encountered in the past when the commission issued notices to some universities for violation of admission norms, but the government granted approval. The government will, however, continue to retain the responsibility of granting LoIs (letters of intent) for setting up new universities and deciding the fee structure for various courses.

The commission is carrying out the necessary ground work for granting approval to courses in a rational manner. It has already notified the inspection schedule for various categories of private institutions to ensure the minimum academic standards. The inspections will be conducted through expert committees, to be constituted for the purpose from time to time.

The frequency of inspections in case of private universities, which follow the semester system, will be half-yearly, while the exercise will be carried out annually for private medical, dental, nursing, pharmacy, engineering and technology and management colleges. Similarly, the BEd, MEd, BPEd and law colleges will also be inspected once a year. However, private degree colleges and associated institutions like Sanskrit colleges will be inspected once in two years.

Meanwhile, representatives of the State Private Universities Management Association met Chief Minister PK Dhumal here yesterday and urged him to involve the universities in the regulatory commission so that it played its role in an environment of trust and not as a “fault detector”.

Kangra, July 6
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj today criticised the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, saying that during the past eight years, it had proved a failure on all fronts, particularly in the economic sphere when Pranab Mukherjee was the Finance Minister.

She was addressing a press conference here today. She was here to inaugurate a three-day training camp, organised to provide organisational tips to Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leaders, who have come here from all over the country.

Sushma Sawraj said Pranab Mukherjee, who had failed to deliver the goods, had now been projected as the presidential candidate by the UPA, that too without consulting the Opposition.

She said when the NDA was in power, APJ Abdul Kalam was the presidential candidate of the NDA, but it had held talks with then Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi.

She said, “We were not consulted and so it was decided that there should be a contest.”

She alleged that a fraudulent resignation paper from the Indian Statistical Institute was allegedly submitted by Pranab Mukherjee before the Election Commission. Mukherjee’s signatures were different on two papers. She said the resignation was submitted on June 20 and accepted the same day, which had further added to the suspicion.

Shimla, July 6
At least 12 Indian Forest Service officers are likely to be rewarded with promotions with the government deciding to hold a meeting of the departmental promotion committee (DPC) tomorrow to fill the additional posts created following the special cadre review exercise.

The total strength of the IFS cadre has been increased from 106 to 114, with the number of posts of Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest going up from four to seven, that of Chief Conservator of Forest from 11 to 14 and that of Conservator of Forest from 17 to 18. Besides these newly created posts, the DPC will also select the next incumbent to fill the post of Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife, which will fall vacant with the superannuation of RK Sood by the end of this month. The seniormost officer in line for promotion to the top post is SB Islam, who is currently posted as the Managing Director of the State Forest Corporation.

The posts of Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Chief Conservator of Forest and Conservator of Forest, falling vacant as a result of promotions, will also be filled and panels will be finalised for filling various posts falling vacant during the course of the year. The officers of the 1981, 1982 and 1983 batches will be in the zone of consideration for promotion to four posts of Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest. Thus, seven posts of Chief Conservator of Forest and eight of Conservator of Forest will be available for promotions.

Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy said a meeting of the DPC was being conducted to fill posts at various levels in one go to avoid unnecessary delay in promotions, which led to dissatisfaction in the cadre. The exercise would go a long way in easing stagnation at the middle level.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest RK Gupta said the new posts would help strengthen the field network. One Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, based at Mandi, will be in charge of the working plans and would be assisted by three Conservators of Forest. Similarly, an Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, based at Sundernagar, would take care of research and training and non-timber forest produce while another would look after the protected area and biodiversity. The remaining four Additional Principal Chief Conservators of Forest would be based at the headquarters. The three new Conservators of Forest would be posted at Chamba, Kullu and Rampur.

Bilaspur, July 6
The government is trying hard to strike a systematic balance between environment and development of tourism and providing employment avenues to youth by allowing industries.

This was said by Chief Minister PK Dhumal while addressing a largely attended public meeting of truckers and others at Barmana, 22 km from here, under the aegis of the Bilaspur District Truck Operators’ Cooperative Society, today after unveiling statues of society’s founder president late Pandit Narayan Das Sharma and its former president late Ram Dass Thakur, who were virtual architects of this organisation.

He said there were oppositions against cement industries but we should remember that the ACC cement factory at Barmana had provided direct and indirect employment to thousands of people and had brought an economic boom in this area.

He said: “The government has ensured that keeping in view all aspects of environment, we must set up industries, which were only alternative left in the state.”

The Chief Minister praised efforts of the society for running a good organisation and thanked it for its social services and running of a gau sadan at Dhar Tatoh for stray cattle. He also thanked the society for donating Rs 11 lakh for the CM Relief Fund.

Earlier, society president Lekh Ram Varma and general secretary Raj Pal Gauttam presented demands of truck operators. National Kisan Morcha vice-president Suresh Chandel and BJP state spokesman Randhir Sharma also spoke.

Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated Rs 7.75-crore postgraduate government college building and Rs 1.98-crore boys’ hostel for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe students, Rs 1.20-crore Tourist Information Centre and laid foundation stones of two parking complexes of Rs 1.16 crore, near the main bus stand and Rs 96 lakh near Gurdwara chowk in Bilaspur town here.

Shimla, July 6
State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti today accused former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of misleading the people of the state by making frivolous, mischievous and false statements, just to divert the attention of the public from the CD case.

In a statement issued here today, Satti said the Congress leader should exhibit more humility by accepting the court verdict. “Making misleading statements will not help his cause as people of the state are aware of his political designs, which he adopts to get political mileage,” he said.

He expressed surprise over Virbhadra’s statement that he had never sought the appointment of AP Singh, an IPS officer, as his Private Secretary while being the Union Minister. “I fail to understand why he is denying having made such a request as nothing is wrong in it and this was completely his prerogative,” he said. — TNS

Hamirpur, July 6
A national meet of the RSS is under way at the MIT College of Engineering, Bani, in Badsar subdivision of Hamirpur district. The top leadership of the organisation is scheduled to take part in this nine-day meet.

It is politically significant since the Assembly elections are to be held in the state by the end of this year. The ruling BJP in the state (which draws inspiration from the RSS), is making a determined bid to repeat its government here.

Chief Minister PK Dhumal came specially from Shimla to meet RSS leaders and to reportedly participate in the ongoing session today.

Though no official information has come from the media department of the RSS about this meet, according to sources, the nine-day session of national leaders of the RSS had begun on July 2 and is to continue till July 11.

About 300 delegates, comprising state chiefs of the RSS, heads of workers and farmers’ organisations and heads of front units of the RSS from across the country, are reportedly participating in this national-level meet. National chief of the RSS Mohan Bhagwat and other top leaders of the organisation are scheduled to join this meet for three days towards the end of the session.

The RSS leadership will deliberate on organisational matters and expansion strategy in each state, besides other issues of national importance.

Bani has been chosen for holding this national meet of the RSS due to its cool and calm environs.