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GOVERNANCE
2007-2012: A PERFORMANCE CHECK
TOURISM
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Jaitley for SIT probe into ISPAT issue
Mahajan’s absence, Cong’s loss
HLP releases manifesto
Cong will unitedly defeat BJP: Vikramaditya
BJP rebels make going tough in Solan district
Sundernagar BJP MLA to contest as Independent
Rebel may cost Congress dear
Anurag seeks apology
Flying squads to check misuse of money
Forged Scheduled Caste Certificate
Rs 5.35 lakh seized from Pathankot resident
Briton’s body flown to Delhi
Workshop on polio awareness
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GOVERNANCE 2007-2012: A PERFORMANCE CHECK
Inconsistent policies and reluctance to carry out reforms have severely affected the power sector, which has been one of the major thrust areas for the state.
To begin with, there was inordinate delay in unbundling of the state electricity board, and when the exercise was finally carried out, the government failed to adopt the right restructuring model, which sent the financial health of the board spiralling towards loss at an alarming rate. The gravity of the situation could be judged from the fact that the board has been raising short-term loans to meet the revenue gap, on which the interest is not allowed by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. As a result, the board is denied about Rs 220 crore annually. In the process, the short-term loans of the board have crossed Rs 2,200-crore and the long-term loans are touching the Rs 2,000-crore mark. A profit-making entity, it slipped into the red three years ago, and has accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 850 crore. The figure is likely to touch Rs 1,400 crore by the end of the current year. Less for more
The exorbitant employee cost of Rs 1.35 per unit — highest in the country — and rising power purchase cost are mainly responsible for the increasing revenue gap, which comes to a whopping Rs 700 crore annually. In fact, the entire revenue from the sale of power comes to around Rs 3,300 crore, which is barely enough to meet the employees’ cost of Rs 1,050 crore and the power purchase cost of Rs 2,600 crore. The situation was aggravated particularly by the indiscriminate permissions granted by the government to power-intensive arc furnace-based steel plants. Interestingly, the BJP had made this a major issue during the previous Congress regime, but on coming to power it sanctioned almost four times the load. The total load since the grant of the industrial packages adds up to 560 MW. The board has to spend at least Rs 1,000 crore more on purchase of power to meet this demand. Revenue dip
Power at one time had emerged as a major source of revenue for the state, with the inflow taking a quantum leap from Rs 29.6 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 1,255 crore in 2008-09. However, the downswing in the power market due to the precarious financial health of distribution companies across the country led to a decline despite more power being available for sale. Himachal’s revenue came down to Rs 1,150 crore in 2010-11, and Rs 1,050 crore during the last financial year. The average sale price came down from Rs 5.78 per unit in 2007-08 to Rs 5.15 in 2009-10, and then to Rs 2.83 per unit in 2011-12; this fiscal it is expected to be around Rs 2.50. Landmark judgement
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has upheld the state’s claim of 7.19 per cent share in the BBMB projects, raising the availability from 46 MW to 152.6 MW, providing about 450 million unit of additional power annually. However, the arrears from 1966 to October 31, 2011, amounting to about Rs 4,000 crore, are yet to be settled. The Congress is taking credit for it, claiming that it was the Virbhadra Singh government that had filed the petition in the Supreme Court in 1996, and the Dhumal government put the issue on the back burner subsequently. The BJP, on its part, asserts it expedited the matter in the court to get a favourable verdict. In fact, Chief Minister PK Dhumal blamed the UPA regime at the Centre for the delay, as it was its duty to implement the judgment. He said a reduction of Rs 850 crore was being made in the arrears. Generation
The BJP promised in its manifesto to exploit hydropower and ensure that out of the total 23,000 MW potential assessed 12,000 MW was harnessed by 2012. However, so far only 8,000 MW has been exploited, up from 6,700 MW. Among the reasons cited by experts are numerous changes in the hydropower policy; the debateable move to shift from upfront premium-based bidding process to free-power-based bidding; allotment of projects on first-come-first-served basis; endless litigation over cancellation of the 960 MW Jhangi-Thopan-Powari project allotted to Brakel Corporation by the Congress regime; surrender of the state’s first right to refusal in private projects; and approval for increase in the capacity of many projects, particularly the Karcham Wangtu project, which has been upgraded from 1,000 MW to 1,200 MW. |
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TOURISM
Endowed with some of the most enchanting locales for a wide variety of tourism interests — culture, pilgrimage, water, adventure and ecology — the “Dev Bhoomi” has failed to turn tourism into a major industry. The biggest reason is lack of basic infrastructure.
In terms of statistics, tourist arrivals have shown a steady increase. The number was 1.50 crore in 2011, including 4.84 lakh foreigners. However, overcrowded destinations such as Shimla, Kullu-Manali, Kasauli and Dalhousie have turned into concrete jungles, sans basic infrastructure like proper roads, water, parking, public transport and convenient connectivity. Vacations in these places have turned into a nightmare for many a tourist. As most travel in the hills is by road, poor wayside amenities bother tourists particularly. The much hyped Himalayan Ski Village in Manali, which could have catapulted Himachal on to the global canvas, besides creating jobs, become a victim of politics. The heli-taxi service launched by the Tourism Department to provide better connectivity remained a non-starter due to the absence of high-end tourists. The rates were unaffordable for most tourists. While rail and air connectivity is limited, tourists find land travel on the hill roads tiresome. That keeps most people from exploring the far-off “virgin” destinations, especially in the tribal areas. A proposal to set up an international airport remains on paper with not much headway except identification of sites near Shimla and in Hamirpur district. The unexplored
Talk of developing new destinations in rural and interior areas is yet to translate into reality. The “home stay scheme” and promotion of rural tourism, aimed at generating employment and brining economic benefit to the villages, did not meet with much success. There being immense scope in adventure and eco-tourism, some steps have been taken in that direction. Funds have been received from the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture and Asian Development Bank (ADB) for heritage conservation in Shimla and promotion of a tourist circuit in the Pong Dam area in Kangra. Circuits have been created and funds received from the Centre, but the infrastructure is yet to be created, a must before people can start coming in. Much needs to be done in the tourism sector to make a visit to Himachal memorable — to live up to the government’s slogan of “Unforgettable Himachal”. |
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Agriculture
The hill state did rather well in the agriculture sector, particularly during the past two years, which saw four consecutive bumper crops. It achieved the highest ever foodgrain production of 15.58 lakh tonne in 2011-12. With four bumper crops in a row, the growth rate in agriculture is likely to increase to 5 per cent, as against 2.5 per cent at the national level.
The year 2010-11 saw a high, with the state recording a production of 14.94 lakh tonne food grain, nearing the 15 lakh mark for the first time and surpassing the previous high of 14.40 lakh tonne in 2007-08. The two subsequent years of 2008-10 were bad, when drought-like conditions severely affected farm production. The yield, however, recorded a record 16.10 lakh tonne in 2011-12. With just 23 per cent area under irrigation, farmers
are mostly dependent on rain, and the weather god has been merciful. Veggies to the fore
The state’s biggest achievement, however, has been in promoting vegetable cultivation with schemes like the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Kisan Bagban Smridhi Yojana, under which 80-90 per cent subsidy is provided to farmers for setting up polyhouses. Vegetables are the most suitable for cultivation in protected conditions. As a result, the production increased from 10.90 lakh tonne to 13 lakh tonne over the past five years. Unlike apple, the production of which has been fluctuating, the vegetable yield has been constantly on the rise. In 2011-12, vegetables contributed more to the GSDP than apple. The share of apple has declined from 6 per cent to 3 per cent, while that of vegetables has gone up to 3.3 per cent. Apple dip
The apple marketing network was strengthened by setting up modern grading and packaging houses and cold stores, for which about Rs 27 crore was sanctioned by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. The sale of the apple carton factory at Pragati Nagar and the installation of anti-hail guns earned the ire of growers. The bad condition of the Theog-Hatkoti road, over which almost 70 per cent of the produce of Shimla district is transported, also remained a source of resentment. Growers disputed the government claim of the success of anti-hail guns, and termed it a mega failure even as hailstorms continued to damage crops. The Congress demanded the government should give 80 per cent subsidy to growers on anti-hail nets, rather than wasting money on the anti-hail guns. Monkey menace
Marauding monkeys have been a major concern for farmers, and the Kheti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti has been agitating to demand effective steps against the problem for the past five years. The government set up a rather ambitious target of sterilising 2 lakh monkeys by June 30, 2012, but failed. Only about 55,000 simians were sterilised till that date. The main reason was that the proposed 21 sterilisation centres could not be set up. Only four additional centres came up — at Kandaghat, Paonta Sahib, Sarol (Chamba) and Slapper (Mandi). Even these were not made fully functional due to shortage of staff. If eight centres are made fully functional, the department will have the capacity to carry out about 20,000 sterilisations a month, which could theoretically help achieve the target in about eight months. Capturing monkeys has, however, been a major problem. Convenor of the Kheti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti Kuldip Tanwar, says: “The monkey sterilisation target will not be achieved as planned. The population of simians will meanwhile go on increasing, and the number of monkeys needing to be sterilised will also go up, and farmers will keep losing their crops to monkeys and other wild animals”. |
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Dhumal attacks Cong leaders over scams
Uhal (Hamirpur), October 15 Taking a dig at state Congress chief Virabhadra Singh, Dhumal said, “He cannot escape by issuing statements on the alleged scam of over Rs 2,000 crore in scrap sale during his tenure as Union Steel Minister and has to explain what VBS means, which has been revealed in details of payoffs.” On the one-rank-one-pension issue, Dhumal said, “The Centre has not met this demand yet. Ex-servicemen should not have any doubt that the National Democratic Alliance will meet this demand after coming to power.” He talked about various schemes launched by the state government to give benefits to various sections of society. Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Sujanpur Urmil Thakur also addressed the meetings. Clearing the air about rumours of his blessings to former media adviser Rajender Rana, Dhumal said, “Mine and the high command’s blessings are with the party candidate and nobody should get misled by such rumours.” |
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BJP ex-MLA ends fast, joins Cong
Chowari (Chamba), October 15 On the occasion, Gandharav called off his five-day indefinite fast with a glass of juice offered by Bhattiyat Congress MLA Kuldip Singh Pathania, along with his supporters. Speaking to this reporter over the phone today, Congress MLA Kuldip Singh Pathania said the Congress had welcomed the entry of veteran BJP leader Gandharav Singh into the Congress. “The political party which cannot give respect to its own leaders and workers, how can people of the state expect honour from such a party,” Pathania stated. |
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Jaitley for SIT probe into ISPAT issue
Shimla, October 15 In his first reaction to Virbhadra’s remarks that the BJP was behind the ISPAT kickbacks controversy, Jaitley today hit back at not only the former Chief Minister, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi as well. “Their silence will reflect on their condoning of corruption,” he claimed. The BJP leader raised several questions on the silence of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. He also questioned the Congress’ wisdom in making him the state chief despite ‘knowing’ the facts which came to light now. “The issue is not whether he refers to himself as VS or VBS, but how the steel manufacturer who maintains the account books refers to him,” Jaitley said. He added that it was not only an issue of revenue, but was related to corruption as well, which had serious implications. “The BJP is a stranger to the transactions as the raid was conducted by the Income Tax Department. It is obvious that the Finance Ministry was aware of it,” he alleged. He accused the government of trying to conceal facts. He said the investigations should be conducted by an SIT and not the Central Bureau of Investigation. He gave reasons for invoking Section 20 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. “The Congress has cited the Supreme Court judgement in the Jain hawala case, which has no bearing on the kickbacks issue,” he said. State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti also demanded a thorough probe. |
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Mahajan’s absence, Cong’s loss
Son of former minister Des Raj Mahajan, Harsh Mahajan won from Chamba in 1998 and 2003. He was Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the Virbhadra Singh government. Harsh Mahajan was denied the party ticket in 2007. This time, the Congress opted for him as the candidate from Dharamsala, but he declined the offer. He had lobbied for Raj Singh Thakur, but the Congress gave the ticket to Pawan Nayar. Thakur decided to contest as an Independent. Dissidence may affect the prospects of the Congress. Mahajan is considered to be close to Virbhadra Singh. Mahajan’s absence during the recent visit of Virbhadra Singh to Chamba surprised many, with supporters sore over his absence. Local Congress activist Ravi Kumar said Mahajan kept away from the district for years, but local Congress leaders had opted for him as the candidate. Kumar said Mahajan had declined the party ticket again and was not campaigning for the Congress, which annoyed his supporters in the area. Mahajan’s absence from the political arena despite his popularity remains a mystery. He was not available for comment over telephone despite repeated attempts. Shimla (TNS): Terming the VBS files as a deep-rooted conspiracy to malign state Congress chief Virbhadra Singh, state Congress vice-president Harsh Mahajan today said television channel reports on the alleged payoffs by ISPAT Industries were absurd, politically motivated and false. He said Virbhadra Singh made it clear in a statement on October 14 that the allegations were a ‘cheap political stunt’. Mahajan said Virbhadra Singh had categorically denied receiving any payoff and extending any undue favour to ISPAT during his tenure. Mahajan said while Chief Minister PK Dhumal and Bharatiya Janata Party’s national general secretary JP Nadda were prompt in demanding an investigation, they had not said a word about Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was also mentioned in ISPAT diaries as a recipient of payoffs. Mahajan said Dhumal and Nadda forgot the Jain hawala case, in which the names of LK Advani and Yashwant Sinha had figured, but charges were not upheld as diary entry was not valid evidence. |
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HLP releases manifesto
Mandi, October 15 After the whirlwind meeting of the party, HLP president Maheshwar Singh and Mohinder Sofat, DC Guleria and Vivek Sharma today released the 25-page manifesto of the party to the media. President of the Samast Bharatiya Party Sudesh Agarwal was also present on the occasion. Maheshwar promised that the HLP would ensure that landless farmers get three biswa of land for house, labourers get Rs 200 as daily wages, and employees have a proper transfer policy and get arrears and pay scale on the Punjab pattern from 2006 and fulfilment of other demands. He said the HLP would set up a commission to ensure profitable prices for farmers for their produce, which would submit its report in 90 days’ time. Maheshwar said the party would tackle the monkey menace through proper caging and sterilisation of the animal and planting of trees in forests. Sofat said the party would provide health insurance to persons above 65 years. “We will put in place a law for a transfer policy so that no employee is victimised on account of transfer,” he added. The HLP would oppose contractual employment in the government sector and will make these regular, Maheshwar said. “We will give unemployment allowance to unemployed youth of in the age group of 25-35 as per their qualification and ensure that private universities use their land for the university and no land change will be allowed. If land use is changed the land will be returned to owners, Sofat said. Maheshwar added that all sports bodies in the state would be brought under the RTI Act. |
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Cong will unitedly defeat BJP: Vikramaditya
Bilaspur, October 15 He said a wave had already started in favour of the Congress and certainly it would form the government with Virbhadra Singh as its Chief Minister. He said this would also save Congress men from persistent victimisation of BJP leaders, besides it would give relief to people from anti-people policies of the state government. Vikramaditya said the BJP government in the past about five years had ignored all issues of Bilaspur district while grievances of Bhakra dam oustees still remain as it were five years ago when several steps were taken by former Chief Minister Virbhadra like allotment of 500 plots to remaining oustees here in the town. He assured that the Congress government would look into their demands and issues and solve these within a stipulated period. He had a dig on BJP national general secretary JP Nadda and said he played with the sentiments of Bilaspur Sadar residents and betrayed his voters as he did not fulfil a single promise he made when he was elected MLA from here. “Nadda only carved out a better career for himself and became the Rajya Sabha member, leaving them all in the lurch,” he added. Congress party candidates Bambar Thakur and Dr Biru Ram Kishore also addressed public meetings. |
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BJP rebels make going tough in Solan district
Solan, October 15 A new candidate has been given the Solan ticket as it has been reserved in delimitation. Govind Sharma from Arki, Rajiv Sehzal from Kasauli and Vinod Chandel from Doon face the anti-incumbency factor and the emergence of rebels. In Doon, Darshan Saini had contested the last elections as the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate and secured 8,726 votes. He may mar the prospects of Chandel, who also faces Ramkumar Chowdhary of the Congress. Saini had revolted against Chandel after the denial of the party ticket. With support in a section of the constituency, Saini may damage the prospects of Chandel, who also faces opposition from a section of the BJP’s Doon mandal. The situation is no better for Sharma in Arki. He had secured the ticket despite opposition from a section of the party. Asha Parihar is set to contest as an Independent. This may cost the party dear. In Kasauli, Sehzal faces a challenging task as senior party leaders are feeling marginalised in the mandal. Despite being the district president, he has failed to foster unity or appease disgruntled leaders in Parwanoo and surrounding areas. Being first-timers, these legislators are now facing a challenging task in consolidating their position by mustering support. |
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Sundernagar BJP MLA to contest as Independent
Sundernagar, October 15 While talking to this correspondent, he said he would file the nomination papers on October 16 as an Independent. Workers of Sundernagar block of BJP met Ram Singh, national general secretary of the BJP, on Saturday evening and said Roop Singh, who had been a six-time MLA, should be given the party ticket. The BJP was also facing uphill task in Nachan and was unable to control its workers who were annoyed over the denial of the ticket to district BJP president Dile Ram. After meeting Chief Minister PK Dhumal, he has agreed to do the party work. Some of the workers have decided not to support the BJP candidate and were seen attending camp of other candidates. |
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Rebel may cost Congress dear
Solan, October 15 There is opposition to the candidature of Onkar Singh, a first-timer. Jung and his supporters have given the party high command an ultimatum. His emergence may mar Congress prospects. Sukh Ram of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who has won two consecutive elections, is contesting again. The situation may benefit the BJP. Jung has influence in the trans-Giri area, where Onkar Singh is yet to make his presence felt. Delimitation has changed the profile of the constituency with the inclusion of 11 panchayats from Shillai. This may benefit the Congress as Shillai has been a Congress stronghold.. The removal of Bhati-dominated panchayats, now a part of Nahan constituency, will affect Sukh Ram adversely as they have been his key voters. |
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Anurag seeks apology
Hamirpur, October 15 Addressing a press conference here today, he said: “Virbhadra should withdraw his statement made against BJP leader Arun Jaitley and me or face legal action in the matter.” He said: “Virbhadra is blaming the BJP for exposure of every alleged scandal like exchange of money as recorded in the CD released by Congress leader Vijay Singh Mankotia or figuring of his name in the scrap-sale scam and pay-offs by an industrialist to VBS as recorded in the diary seized by the Income Tax Department.”
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Flying squads to check misuse of money
Bilaspur, October 15 The DC said cash carried by any person during elections here in the district must be accompanied with all relevant supporting documents to prove conclusively its legal source and also its justified end-use, failing which the money would be seized as per the order of the Election Commission. He added that flying squads had been formed in every police station of the district.
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Forged Scheduled Caste Certificate
Shimla, October 15 Passing the direction, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice DC Chaudhary directed the Deputy Commissioner to file a reply by November 20. The court passed this order on a petition filed by Joginder Kumar of Basha village in Solan district. He alleged that Sheela had obtained the certificate by tampering with revenue records. He alleged that she had contested the Zila Parishad elections on the basis of the forged certificate and had become the Zila Parishad chairperson. The petitioner urged the court to direct the authorities to register a case and conduct an inquiry. The court also issued a notice to the Revenue Secretary and the Solan Tehsildar, directing them to their file their replies. |
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Rs 5.35 lakh seized from Pathankot resident
Dharamsala, October 15 The accused failed to disclose the source of the cash he was carrying. He also did not give any satisfactory reply to the queries of the police during the search of his vehicle, the SP said. The cash had been confiscated by the police and the Income Tax authorities informed about the same. Further investigation into the matter was on, he said. The SP added that as per the directives of the Election Commission, carrying of over Rs 2.5 lakh cash during elections was illegal. Necessary directions had been issued to all police officials to check the inflow of illegal cash at entry points of the state. The Kangra police had raised 18 nakas in the district. |
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Briton’s body flown to Delhi
Palampur, October 15 Local porters with the team arranged a mule to carry the body to the helipad at Bara Bhangal. The body was kept at Bara Bhangal for four days. The body was first flown to Baijnath, where the police had registered a case. After the post-mortem examination at the Baijnath Civil Hospital, the body was flown to New Delhi to be handed over to the deceased’s family.
— OC |
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Workshop on polio awareness
Mandi, October 15 Talking on the sidelines of an awareness workshop, he said, “We were out of the list till a case was reported in January 2011. We have not reported any case after that and hope to achieve the status of a polio-free country in 2014.”
— TNS |
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Chamba, October 15