Palampur, August 7
Kangra Deputy Commissioner (DC) KR Bharti today asked power project companies executing projects in the Kangra valley to vacate encroachment on government land immediately, failing which action would be taken against them.

He warned the companies to execute projects as per the memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed with the state government. If any company was found violating terms and conditions, he would issue a stay on construction, he added.

Official sources told this correspondent here today that the DC had received complaints from local residents that some companies had shifted sites of powerhouses, reservoirs and water channels from the land leased out and encroached on government land.

On the directions of the DC, an investigation was conducted by the Revenue Department. It was revealed that companies had violated terms and conditions of MoUs in 23 cases and shifted sites to land never leased out to them.

The DC had informed the state government that if any encroachment was regularised, the company would have to pay an additional lease amount of Rs 30 crore.

Persons residing near power projects and the panchayats concerned had, time and again, raised the issue before SDMs and tehsildars, but no action was initiated against the companies as their high-ups had political connections.

Persons affected at Kandwari, Nagri, Bundla, Jia and Khaniyara had come out on the streets of Palampur and Dharamsala many times, but this was the first time the companies faced government action.

The Palampur Welfare and Environment Protection Forum today appealed to Chief Minister PK Dhumal to initiate action against the companies which had wreaked havoc on nature in the Dhauladhar hills, resulting in heavy rain, flash floods, drinking water crises and climate changes.

Forum member KB Ralhan said residents of the region faced an unusual summer this year because of reckless cutting of hills and trees in the Dhauladhar hills by power companies.

Shimla, August 7
Expressing concern on the issue of encroachment on forest land, the state High Court has said no civil court will entertain any suit regarding the encroached land about which eviction orders have been passed by the competent authority under the Himachal Pradesh Public Premises (Rent Recovery and Eviction) Act, 1971.

The court passed this order after perusing an affidavit filed by the Conservator of Forest, Dharamsala, in this regard.

The court observed that “a perusal of this affidavit reveals a shocking state of affairs as it is stated that there are 1,090 cases involving an area of 240.28.26 hectares, which were challaned in the court of DFO-cum-collector under the aforesaid Act.

The green Bench comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjay Karol observed that in 1,058 cases, eviction orders had been passed or the cases had been decided.

“In some cases not only eviction orders have been passed, but the encroachers have also been evicted from the land. In some cases, only eviction orders have been passed, but the orders have not been executed. In some cases, appeals have been filed and in others, even appeals have not been filed,” they said.

The court further said in those cases where appeals had not been filed, eviction would be executed and possession would be taken over, and in those cases where appeals had been filed, the appellate authority should dispose of the appeals latest by October 31, 2012.

The court directed the Principal Secretary, Forest, to deploy adequate staff at the Dharamsala division for the purpose of dealing with these cases. The Bench also directed revenue courts to dispose of the encroachment cases pending before them latest by March 31, 2013.

“As far as 210 cases of encroachment of Tibetans are concerned, they shall also be disposed of latest by March 31, 2013,” it said.

The court directed the deputy commissioners of Mandi and Kangra to file their affidavit informing the court about the action taken on the spot to remove the defacement of rocks and boulders.

The Bench passed this order on a PIL filed by Pawan Kumar of Rewalsar wherein he alleged that Tibetan refugees had encroached on thousands of bighas of forest land in Kullu, Mandi, Kangra and other parts of the state, and state functionaries had allowed them to make use of the forest for some other purpose without getting prior permission from the Central Government.

Mandi/Keylong, August 7
Hit hard by the lean tourist season this summer, hoteliers and guest house owners in the tribal belt and remote areas in the state have expressed their resentment against the non-implementation of the state Cabinet’s decision to exempt them from 10 per cent luxury tax by the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation even after three months.

Hoteliers say they are still paying luxury tax on room rent in the tribal areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Bharmour and Pangi and other remote areas. They rue that the field staff has been charging the tax on the plea that the state government’s notification has not reached them so far.

The state government has exempted hoteliers in tribal and remote areas from the tax to encourage tourism and private initiative in this sector in remote and tribal areas.

The Cabinet, in its meeting on April 30 last year chaired by Chief Minister PK Dhumal, decided to exempt hoteliers in remote and tribal areas from paying the tax.

But more than three months on, the notification remains buried in files. The excise and taxation staff is still charging luxury tax on the grounds that they have not received a copy of the notification so far.

Hoteliers in the tribal belt have been hit hard for the last three years as tourist arrivals have not been encouraging due to the bad condition of the Manali-Leh, Shimla-Kinnaur-Kaza and Manali-Kaza highways.

The Kothi barrier on the Manali-Leh highway, disallowing vehicles from outside access to the Rohtang Pass, has hit tourism in Lahaul-Spiti adversely, says Tashi Deleg, president of the Lahaul-Spiti Hoteliers Association.

“Occupancy has been less than 50 per cent even during June and July,” he adds. He says the association has requested the Tourism Department to issue the notification.

On the other hand, Director Tourism Arun Sharma says the notification has been issued and conveyed to the Excise and Taxation Department. Luxury tax will not be charged from hoteliers in remote and tribal areas, he adds.

Dharamsala, August 7
Tibetans in exile here carried out a candlelight march at McLeodganj this evening after reports that a Tibetan woman had set herself on fire in Tibet.

Sources said a Tibetan woman had set herself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet. The deceased had been identified as Dolkar (26). She was believed to have succumbed to her injuries, the sources said.

Dolkar set herself on fire near the Tsoe Monastery in the Amdo Kanlho region of eastern Tibet at 2.30 pm today. Pictures coming out of the region showed the disfigured body of Dolkar lying on the ground with her hands clasped in prayer.

Eyewitnesses said although people who were around the monastery tried to douse the fire, Dolkar succumbed to her injuries at the protest site.

Monks at the Tsoe Monastery took the body inside the monastery, where it is kept for the time being.

A growing surge of local Tibetans at the monastery was also being reported.

Dolka’s self-immolation comes a day after Lobsang Tsultrim, a 21-year-old monk at the Kirti Monastery, set himself on fire in the beleaguered Ngaba region.

The wave of self-immolations, which began in 2009, has now witnessed 47 Tibetans set themselves on fire demanding freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Dolkar is the eighth women to have self-immolated in Tibet.

Kangra, August 7
The Anti-Ragging Committee (ARC) of Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (DRPMC), Tanda, which was reconstituted on July 19 last, held an emergency meeting today to verify if the anti-ragging measures suggested in the last meeting were being implemented or not.

Dr Ramesh Bharti, officiating principal of the college, who chaired today’s meeting, said the new academic year started from August 1 and seniors would join tomorrow as they were on a week-long vacation.

He said CCTV cameras had been installed in hostels and first-year boys and girls were accommodated in separate hostels to avoid any ragging incident.

It was suggested that a boundary wall should be raised around the girls’ hostel. Bharti said round-the-clock security had been put up in the hostels, besides movement registers were being checked by the warden, chief warden and anti-ragging squad regularly.

Dr Bharti said anti-ragging squads were formed and senior faculty members were asked to conduct surprise checks in the hostels at late nights to help in maintaining discipline in the hostels.

A media representative and a member of the ARC said the decisions of the committee were not being implemented in letter and spirit. He said an awareness programme for parents on July 27 and 28 could not be organised despite a decision taken on July 19 meeting.

He said during the 2011-12 session, the parent-teacher association (PTA) was not elected, as parents failed to attend the meetings.

It was decided in the meeting that a PTA meeting would be called by the end of this month so that proper coordination between the college authorities, parents and students would be established.

It was also decided to take up the matter in the College Council regarding awarding punishment to wards whose parents failed to attend even a single parents’ meeting in the college during an academic year. 

Hamirpur, August 7
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today dedicated a synthetic track constructed at the cost of Rs 6.5 crore to sportspersons at Annu, adjacent to Netaji Subhas Chander Bose Memorial Government Post Graduate College, Hamirpur.

The Chief Minister congratulated the Department of Youth Services and Sports for constructing the international standard synthetic track, which would provide training facility to the sportspersons of the area preparing for national and international competitions.

Thanking cement companies Ambuja and ACC for partially funding the construction of two synthetic tracks at Hamirpur and Dharamsala, Dhumal hoped that other corporate houses would take a cue from this.

Later, the Chief Minister also presided over a function organised at Government Senior Secondary School, Hamirpur, to distribute computers to 40 schools of the district by HUWEI, a Chinese company.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion, he said, “A world-class shooting range will be established in Hamirpur to promote the game as winning a silver medal by shooter Vijay Kumar, hailing from the district, is a matter of pride for us. We will like more youths to excel in shooting from this region”.

Chief Finance Officer of HUWEI company Cabin Lu also spoke on the occasion.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of a drinking water scheme for Hamirpur and inaugurated staff quarters at Regional Hospital, Hamirpur. He also addressed a gathering at Kharwari.

Education Minister ID Dhiman, Hamirpur MLA Urmil Thakur and DC Rajinder Singh Thakur were also present on the occasion.

Dharamsala, August 7
Kangra district will get a food processing industry led special economic zone (SEZ). Minister for Industries Kishan Kapoor gave this information while talking to mediapersons here today.

He said forest clearance for about 10,000 kanal in the Indora area of the district, that had been earmarked for the SEZ, had been received from the Centre and development of the industrial area would start shortly.

Kapoor said the Centre would provide a grant for developing infrastructure for the proposed SEZ. He flayed Congress leader GS Bali for alleging that the no industry had come up in Kangra.

Kapoor said the state government had brought in big industrial units to the state by giving incentives after the withdrawal of the industrial package.

He said the government had generated one lakh jobs in the last five years. He added that the commission set up to probe allegations of ‘benami’ land deals would bring out facts.

Mandi, August 7
Chief Minister PK Dhumal inaugurated a Rs 2.6-crore bridge at Chandrohi on the Mandi-Hamirpur road in the Sarkaghat sub-division today.

The Chief Minister dedicated the bridge to the public and said the foundation stone of the bridge was laid in 2002 during his previous term, but the Congress did not allocate money to complete the bridge connecting Mandi with Hamirpur on the shorter route.

Highlighting the achievements of his government, Dhumal said the government had constructed four colleges in Mandi district at Rewalsar, Nihri, Baldwara and Lad Bahrol.

He said the government had given relief to every section of society by increasing daily wages, giving subsidised ration to all, free school uniforms, four CFL bulbs etc.

Education Minister ID Dhiman, Transport Minister Mohinder Singh Thakur and local BJP MLA Col Inder Singh were also present on the occasion. 

Bilaspur, August 7
Deceased athletics coach Kamlesh Sharma’s relative Nand Lal and counsel Rajesh Mishra have urged the Chief Minister to order a high-level judicial inquiry into the incidents from May 5 till her death in an accident at Una a few days ago.

Talking to mediapersons here today, they said they had been privy to information about the events, ‘guided’ by a Shimla-based officer who was jealous of her as she had “defeated and humiliated” her in athletics events every time.

They said the officer had only one objective, which was to humiliate and insult Kamlesh and ensure that her image was tarnished. Nand Lal was in tears as he narrated the sequence of events. He said the officer concerned was helped by three persons here.

They tried to prove that Kamlesh was a “daayan” and had caused indiscipline, mismanagement and maladministration at the government sports hostel, he said. She was in charge of the hostel, but was removed by this officer, quoting the authority of the Director Sports.

Nand Lal said they had brought with them a “tantrik”, who performing absurd rituals and pressurised her to admit that she was a “daayan”. This happened in the presence of hostel trainees, he said.

When she refused to budge, she was assaulted and molested by a number of male trainees, he added. They took all trainees to the house of the “tantrik” at Shikroha, where more rituals were performed, he further said.

Shimla, August 7
Umang Foundation, a charitable trust, has urged the Director-General of Police (DGP) to trace Hari Ram, a disabled person who disappeared from an old-age home from Basantpur on July 1 last.

In a letter to the DGP, chairman of the trust Ajai Srivastava demanded an inquiry into the circumstances in which the inmate went missing from the home. He said the foundation was concerned over the human rights violations at the home and it had raised the issue after which the government had ordered an inquiry on the directions from the Governor. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, was conducting the inquiry.

An FIR was lodged in this regard on July 2, but the police had not made any effort to trace Hari Ram. He was subsequently seen at Junaga village in Shimla district where he had an acquaintance, a shopkeeper Panchhi Lala. Originally from Bilaspur district, Hari Ram had worked as a daily wager in Junaga. He reportedly told the shopkeeper that he was beaten in the home and showed some scars on his back. He said he would never go back to the home.

It was a serious matter as such incidents would force the inmates to leave the home due to fear. Further, in case of the death of an inmate, the authorities did not cremate the body with religious rites and Hari Ram had lapsed into depression as he knew that he would meet the same fate after his death in the home. Perhaps, it was one of the reasons that forced him to leave the home.

He said it was important to trace the inmate as his statement might provide an inside story of the happenings at the old-age home, adding that the persons involved in beating of poor old inmates must be identified. 

Shimla, August 7
In an initiative to facilitate a switchover to e-governance, the state Education Department has mooted its own virtual private network (VPN) in collaboration with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). It has urged the BSNL to come up with a cost-effective proposal.

The department is keen to have a network to connect all schools, colleges and district-level offices to make its functioning paperless and ensure speedy transfer of information, data and other communication. A VPN will help connect isolated and remote computer networks and individual computers.

Director of Education Dinkar Burathoki said once a network was in place, the department would not face any problem in the system upgrade. It would improve efficiency in the control over staff in institutions in remote areas and could be used to access the national knowledge network, he added.

The department was in the process of implementing the second phase of the information and communication technology project, under which 618 senior secondary schools would be provided computer education facility and five smart schools would be developed in a public-private partnership on a build, operate and transfer basis. In the first phase, 968 schools were covered.

With this, all senior secondary schools would have computer education facility while five schools would have smart classrooms. The process of tendering was under way.

The HCL, the IL&FS and Core were eligible for participating in the technical and financial bid. The company selected would also be responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and accessories at the schools covered in the first phase.

It would train at least 5,500 teachers on the usage and integration of multimedia educational content in lesson plans. The department would provide at least 20 venues for training centres.

Shimla, August 7
Aiming to make it into a world-class golf course, the century old nine-hole Naldehra golf course will be relaid and remodelled shortly. Big corporate houses will be roped in to maintain the greens with the latest equipment.

The decision to invite expression of interest for the remodelling and relaying, likely to cost about Rs 1 crore, was taken at an executive committee meeting of the Naldehra Golf Club here on August 4.

According to the report prepared by a consultant, the existing criss-cross would be removed as not only was it inhibiting proper play, but was unsafe for golfers as well.

“Besides relaying the course, we have decided to request corporate houses to help maintain the holes,” said Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy, also looking after tourism.

He said efforts would be made to generate resources by inducting at least 100 members. The club, with a membership of 540, has several dormant members living outside the state.

“We plan to induct at least 100 members, both officials and private individuals, so that we have more resources at our disposal,” said Roy. Club captain AN Sharma said it was decided to acquire a mechanised aerotor which would cost about Rs 1.29 lakh and a back-lapping machine which would cost about Rs 1.25 lakh as there were no proper irrigation and storage facilities.

A rotary-cum-core mower and a spray pump would also be purchased, he added. He further said the remodelling would make it usable for national and international events.

“It will tentatively take a year to complete the relaying, which will help make it an 18-hole course when played in repeat,” he said. He added that keeping the course well-maintained would give a fillip to tourism. He said big corporate houses would be requested to maintain the nine greens. “In case they agree, we will allow them to advertise and offer them playing facility,” he said.