Shimla, November 19
The government will shortly take a view on the financial restructuring scheme notified by the Centre to help power distribution companies to tide over the fiscal crisis.

Under the scheme, 50 per cent of the short-term debts of companies will be converted into state-backed bonds, along with a three-year moratorium on the repayment of the principal amount.

The scheme has raised hopes of the state electricity board, which has been in the red in the last three years. Its accumulated losses are likely to cross Rs 1,500 crore by the end of the current fiscal. Its total liability, including long-term loans, have crossed Rs 4,200 crore.

The board has been raising short-term loans to meet the revenue gap, on which interest is not allowed by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. As a result, it is denied about Rs 220 crore annually.

Under the scheme, the board will be eligible for the conversion of about Rs 700 crore of short-term loans into government-backed bonds and the restructuring of a similar amount into long-term loans.

Along with the moratorium on the repayment of the principal amount, the board will get relief of between Rs 325 crore and Rs 350 crore annually for the next three years, which is a huge amount for the fund-starved board.

As the government scheme is valid up to December 31, the government will have to take a decision regarding implementation this year.

Additional Chief Secretary for Power Deepak Sanan says the government will soon take a view of the scheme, which will partially shift the financial liability of the board to the government.

The scheme also provides incentive to reward efficiency. State power utilities which exceed the targets set under the scheme for a reduction in aggregate commercial and technical losses will be provided an amount equal to the revenue earned due to the additional reduction in losses as an incentive.

Technical and commercial losses of the state electricity board are around 18 per cent. If it exceeds the target by 1 per cent, it will result in a saving of Rs 20 crore. It will then be entitled to an incentive of Rs 20 crore from the Centre.

The ministry says the scheme will also ensure the regular rationalisation of tariff to cover the cost of service. The loan restructuring will be accompanied by measurable action by the board and the government to improve operational efficiency and performance.

Shimla, November 19
Exuding confidence of retaining power with a comfortable majority, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today officially confirmed that it was not averse to seeking the help of victorious rebels for the formation of the government, if required.

The top brass of the state BJP met here today for the first time after polling to discuss the party’s poll prospects. Feedback was taken individually from all candidates in the presence of Chief Minister PK Dhumal and state BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti. National organisational secretary Ram Lal, party affairs co-in charge Shyam Jaju and Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur were present.

“While we are preparing to form the government, there is a scramble in the Congress to look for reasons for defeat even before the results are out,” remarked Dhumal after getting first-hand feedback from candidates. He said all candidates were candid in their personal assessment, which matched the feedback received earlier.

Candidates were also told to fill in a performa with details of the total number of polling booths, the booths where the BJP could get the lead and the final result. All candidates, barring the nominee from Solan, were present.

Dhumal claimed that the BJP would comfortably get a two-third majority, but if need be, the help of victorious rebels would be sought. “There are strong rebels in around seven constituencies and if need be, we have no qualms in seeking their help,” he said. The party had expelled 15 rebels who had jumped into the fray as Independents.

Dhumal said some candidates admitted that the contest was tough and the wining margin would be only a few hundred. He said no one complained of sabotage by party men in particular, but if such allegations were levelled, the matter would be referred to the Disciplinary Committee.

The Chief Minister lashed out at the Congress for reportedly petty and cheap tactics during elections. “Have you ever heard of the Chief Minister being frisked? I humbly accepted that as we have full faith in the Election Commission and officials who conducted the elections,” he said.

Dhumal said the BJP could have sought an advancement in dates of polling in Gujarat or of counting of votes in Himachal Pradesh, but it accepted the election schedule as it respected the Election Commission. He countered the Congress claim that the duration of the enforcement of the model code of conduct in 2007 was longer.

Satti said feedback of candidates was taken and the issue of resumption of the membership drive was discussed at the meeting. He also said doors of the party were open to all, including rebels who had contested the elections.

Shimla, November 19
Cracking the whip on those leaders, including Singhi Ram, a former minister, who allegedly worked against official candidates during the recent Assembly elections, the state Congress president today expelled 25 leaders from the primary membership of the party.

The action has been taken on the basis of complaints received from block and district units of the party and official nominees of the Congress.

Singhi Ram, a former minister who was denied ticket from the Rampur constituency, said he had no intimation about the action as so far he had not been served any notice in this regard.

He said he was not even present in the Rampur segment during electioneering.

Those expelled are from Dharamsala, Sullah, Shimla (Urban), Rohru and Rampur constituencies.

The expelled leaders include Manoj Kumar Gaddi, Baldev Chaudhary and Navneet Thakur (all from Dharamsala), Sanjay Rana, Pardhan Singh Vidyarthi, Aman Sood, Col Rattan Singh, Lekh Raj Rana and Ram Parmar (from Sullah), Sanjeev Kuthiala and Sushma Kuthiala, (Shimla Urban), Raj Kumar, Krishan Kumar Chauhan, Shiv Pal Thakur, Prithvi Raj Khitta, Ajit Rana, Ripan Lal and Noor Ahmed (Rohru), Singhi Ram, Darshan Dass Thakur, Inder Dass Mehta, Ishwar Dass Laktoo, Rajender Sanail, Nand Lal Bushehari and Hitender Gupta (Rampur).

Dharamsala, November 19
The drug cartels in Himachal are getting more powerful. In the near future they might metamorphose into organised drug cartels.

This apprehension was expressed by ID Bhandari, DGP, Himachal, while interacting with mediapersons here today. He was on a visit to the district.

The DGP said in the recent past the police got an indication that drug smugglers in the state were getting organised and spreading their fangs to other parts of the state. In Bilaspur, the police had confiscated about 22 kg narcotics that were being carried in specially modified vehicles. The drugs were allegedly being carried to Rajasthan for sale at the Pushkar fair.

He added that the police was aware of the situation and taking steps to check conversion of small-time drug smuggling in the state into an organised crime.

When asked about the recent move of the state Vigilance to drop the corruption case against Subhash Ahluwalia, former principal-cum-private secretary to Virbhadra Singh when he was CM, the DGP said as per his information the case had been dropped as the Union Government did not give sanction to prosecute him.

Subhash Ahluwalia was absorbed in the IAS cadre and permission to prosecute IAS officers had to come from the Union Government.

About the delay in the investigation of Vigilance cases, especially against political leaders, the DGP admitted that it was difficult to build cases against influential persons. He, however, said since the Vigilance was an independent department and the DGP had no direct interference in it, he would not like to comment about developments in such cases.

Bhandari said his endeavour would be to change the mindset of the police from a force to a service-giving organisation. He said, “I was a member of a group of police officials that was in favour of changing the police uniform from khaki to sky blue. The basic idea was to change the mindset behind the khaki colour. The experiment to change the uniform colour was started in 2002, but it failed after about 10 years in 2012 as it was not accepted by the majority.”

The DGP also stressed on the need to change the language being used in police stations for the registration of FIRs. He said, “Still in many police stations the old language that has many Urdu words which are beyond the comprehension of locals are being used. I am going to issue specific directions to police officials to use the common language for the registration of the FIRs.”

Bhandari also said the police was short of vehicles as per the parameters fixed for policing by the Union Government. “We are taking up the matter with the Himachal Government for allowing the procurement of more vehicles for Himachal police at the ground level,” he added.

Solan, November 19
Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) GD Thakur, against whom a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, was registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau last week, possesses property worth over Rs 1 crore as per initial estimates.

Various teams of the bureau raided his house in Chamba, his in-laws’ house in Hamirpur district, restaurant-cum-hotel near Nurpur in the last few days and seized papers of various properties.

Bureau's IG Ashok Sharma said they were ascertaining the current market value of various properties owned by GD Thakur and his wife.

As per Thakur's claim he owned a house at Chamba valued at around Rs 40 lakh, a six-room hotel and a restaurant near Nadaun bridge, a plot in Nurpur and gold and silver ornaments the worth of which was yet to be calculated. He also owned some property in Baddi which he had rented out.

Officials said he had claimed that he owned property worth Rs 70 lakh at the time of joining the service, though he barely received Rs 5 lakh as salary in the five-year private job which he was pursuing prior to joining the government job. In addition to this, he had also shown Rs 5 lakh as agriculture income. Since the assets worth Rs 70 lakh appeared to be far-fetched as per his known sources of income, bureau sleuths were investigating how these assets had been acquired.

The police had failed to arrest him after the registration of the case as he had remained elusive and had applied for anticipatory bail. He had been directed to join investigations.

GD Thakur was serving in the Flying Squad, south zone, as ETO for the past several months and had served at Baddi before being posted to Shimla for a few months.

The bureau had raided his properties following an inquiry where he was found to have possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Officials, however, feel that he appeared to have prior information about the raids and hence the bureau sleuths could recover only a small part of the gold from his possession.

Shimla, November 19
The Centre, the state government, the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a loan agreement for advancing $315 million for the execution of the 450-MW Shongtong Karcham hydroelectric project in Kinnaur district at New Delhi today.

The document was signed by Prabodh Saxena, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, on behalf of the Union Government; Narhari Rao, Deputy Country Director, India Resident Mission for ADB; Devendra K Sharma, Managing Director, HPPCL, for the state; and BCS Baliga, Director (Finance) for the HPPCL.

The project is located in Powari village and is expected to be commissioned by 2017. Sharma said the HPPCL was currently in negotiation with the ADB for the fifth and the last tranche of the loan amounting to $68 million.

He thanked the Union Ministries of Finance and Power for sanctioning the loan and signing the agreement on priority basis.

Dharamsala, November 19
Efforts of the state government to promote rock-cut Masrur temples have failed to produce desired results. The temples, located in a remote area in Kangra district, are being visited by only a few.

Last year, the Tourism Department organised a cultural festival on the temple premises to promote tourism there. Efforts were also made to invite national and international tour operators for promoting Masrur temples.

No proposal has materialised so far. The lack of basic infrastructure in the area where the temples are located remains the main bottleneck in the promotion of tourism.

Masrur temples are one of the four monolithic rock-cut temples in the country. Two of these, Kailash in Ellora and Mamallapuram in the Deccan, are famous the world over. The third is Dhamnar in Rajasthan and the fourth Masrur.

While the other three temples are located in a pit or on the ground, Masrur is unique as it is located on a hill at a height of about 2,500 feet from the sea level.

Though there is no definite theory on the origin of the Masrur temples, NK Singh, former Chairman of the Airports Authority of India, who has authored a book on the subject, claims that the temples were built by a Hindu emperor.

In his book on the Masrur temples, he has claimed that Hindu emperors from Afghanistan kept their treasure in the Kangra fort after attacks from foreign rulers.

He has claimed that since they accumulated their treasure in the area, they most probably got the temples constructed, located 25 km from Kangra.

He has claimed that the temples are dedicated to the coronation of Lord Shiva in which all Hindu gods participate. He claims that Hindu ruler Jayapal got the temples constructed, hiring the services of craftsmen from Central Asia.

NK Singh has opined that the temples were built between the 6th and the 8th century. He has based his opinion on the fact that there is no evidence of rock-cut temples in the country before this period.

He says most rock-cut temples in the country were built during this period. He says there was chaos in the region after the 8th century and rulers did not have the resources or time to take up such a huge project.

He says the issue is open for research by historians and archaeologists. Experts have opined that the Tourism Department should involve local residents in the promotion of Masrur temples.

They say a tourism circuit including Dharamsala, Pong Dam and Masrur temples should be launched to promote tourism in the area.

NK Singh had offered his book “Coronation of Shiva: Rediscovering Masrur temples” to the Himachal Pradesh government for promoting the temples from the tourism point of view.

Shimla, November 19
Chief Minister PK Dhumal has asserted that the state achieved 95 per cent of its targets under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) since its inception and countered the statement of Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad of poor performance in this regard.

In a letter to Azad, he stated that some statements of low expenditure under the NRHM by different quarters had given the wrong impression to the people. He wrote that the state had utilised budgetary provisions made under the NRHM, which was evident from the fact that infant mortality rate had dropped to 11 per cent, institutional delivery had increased from 50 per cent to 70 per cent and total fertility rate had reduced to 1.7.

He clarified to the minister that the achievements of Himachal Pradesh during his regime were 102 per cent compared to 48 per cent during the previous Congress regime. He wrote that budgetary allocations during the Congress regime amounted to Rs 8,469.07 lakh (2005-06 to 2007-08) and expenditure was only Rs 4,168.21 lakh.

He further wrote that during his regime (2008-09 to 2011-12), the total allocation was Rs 48,423.37 lakh and Rs 49,511.09 lakh, which included the unspent budget of the Congress regime, was spent.

He wrote that the state had the best health indicators and it was ranked among top states in the implementation of health programmes and the creation of quality health infrastructure.

He urged the Union minister to continue his support for the state so that better and more efficient health services could be made available to the people, especially those residing in remote areas and difficult terrain.

Chamba, November 19
The Himachal Pradesh State Pensioners’ Welfare Association has decried the half-hearted approach of the state government over the non-functioning of the special cell set up in the office of the Accountant General (AG), HP, in Shimla to dispose of pending cases of pensioners and family pensioners.

In a statement here today, district president of the association PC Oberoy urged the state government to make the special cell of the HP AG office functional, thereby expediting the disposal of all pending cases as early as possible.

Oberoy brought to the knowledge of the state government that owing to the skeleton staff in the department, the disposal of pension cases was slow, rather negligible, and thousands of cases of the revision of pension were lying pending.

Oberoy said as per the notification of the state Finance Department issued on October 17, 2006, the pension of all those who had retired from government service before January 1, 1996, was to be revised on the basis of the pension being drawn by them as on January 1, 1996.

He urged the government to take swift and necessary steps to deal with the revision cases of pensioners, who had retired after December 31, 2005.

Oberoy also emphasised the need for constituting the pension adalat at the state headquarters that should undertake a monthly tour of all the 12 districts in the state to solve the grouses of pensioners.

Dharamsala, November 19
The Dalai Lama has urged Tibet support groups to take action in view of the critical situation in Tibet. The Tibetan spiritual leader made this appeal while addressing members of Tibet support groups from all over the world who had gathered here to discuss the situation in Tibet in view of the continued spate of self-immolations.

Addressing the delegates, the Dalai Lama urged them to “take action”.

“Now already in many countries there are parliamentary and Tibet support groups. So, I think you should be closely in touch and mobilise more voice,” the Dalai Lama said.

Clarifying that he was now speaking as a citizen of Tibet, after retiring from his political duties last year, the Dalai Lama said, “The Tibetan struggle is entirely based on non-violence and compassion. We are actually passing through a difficult period. The main reason why I came here is (to show) my respect to you all. I always say our supporters are not pro-Tibetans, but pro-justice and pro-non-violence.”

“About these Tibetans burning, certainly they have courage to sacrifice their life. So they can easily harm other people. But I think although they practised a little bit of violence, in principle they still practised non-violence,” he said.

He added that the younger generation of Tibetans in Tibet these days had stronger determination as compared to earlier generations.

“So we have to find a solution based on mutual understanding and mutual respect between Han brothers sisters and Tibetan brothers and sisters,” the Dalai Lama said.

Around 200 members of Tibetan support groups from 43 countries are attending the Second Special International Tibet Support Groups Meeting aimed at exploring ways to press the Chinese government to end its repressive policies in Tibet.

Shimla, November 19
Terming as misplaced the objections by Punjab and Haryana to the extension of the industrial package to Himachal Pradesh, state Congress chief Virbhadra Singh today asserted that there was no flight of industries from either of the neighbouring states.

Joining issue with the two states which opposed the extension of the Central package to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand at a meeting convened by the Union Finance Minister two days ago, he said not a single industrial unit had shifted from either of the neighbouring states to Himachal Pradesh on account of the tax incentives being offered.

He made it clear that several leading industrial houses all over India had set up new units in the state to derive the benefits of the package offered. He said the Centre had extended till 2017 the package to Jammu and Kashmir and North-Eastern states.

He said the Industrial Resolutions of 1956, 1973 and 1977 had envisaged industrial location to become an effective instrument of balanced regional development. He said the Centre came out with a scheme to boost industrialisation by way of incentives for Jammu and Kashmir in June 2002 and for Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in January 2003.

He pointed out that the cost of production in hill states was high due to difficult terrain and inadequate infrastructure like rail tracks and roads. He said the subsidies were justified to offset locational disadvantages and make products competitive with those produced by units better placed in terms of infrastructure.

He hoped that Punjab and Haryana would adopt a humane approach. He reminded them that Himachal Pradesh had contributed its resources for the development of other states by providing water to herald the green revolution in Punjab and Haryana.

Solan, November 19
The efforts of the Kasauli-based Central Research Institute (CRI) to set up a modern manufacturing facility confirming to the schedule M of the World Health Organisation’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) norm appear to be delayed with the institute yet to apply to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for approving its new facility.

Since the institute was given three-year time to set up a modern facility in February 2009 and the deadline for the same expires in February 2013, failure to seek approval for the new facility can pose problems in completing its target of DPT vaccines.

The licence to manufacture various DPT group vaccines, which include DT, TT and DPT, was suspended in January 2008 after the institute lab was found not following the GMP norms.

The contract to construct the new lab was thereafter granted to Hindustan Lifecare Limited (HLL) in 2009 and the Rs 54-crore project was supposed to be ready by September 2011, but despite several deadlines its validation was yet to be completed.

Though performance testing of the laboratory was underway where installed machines were being tested for satisfactory working, it was learnt that issues were cropping up time and again. This was further delaying its validation.

Once validation is complete, the institute will have to apply to the DCGI for approving its facility. Prior to that it will not be able to manufacture vaccines in the new lab and the licence of the old facility will expire in February next year.

Since the institute was given a target of manufacturing 500 lakh doses of various DPT vaccines by the year-end, the early validation and approval of the new facility was the most significant issue for the institute now. This was so as the institute had barely manufactured around 150-170 lakh doses of its annual target in its old facility and was still considerably short of meeting its target.

With the new facility being fully automated and the existing staff yet to become conversant with its various issues relating to work were also coming to the fore. The institute was also facing issues relating to contamination of water though it appears to have been sorted out now after carrying out thorough validation of machines.

Dr Sunil Gupta, Director, CRI, said setting up a GMP was a big challenge and they were trying to set up the facility at the earliest. He agreed that the project had been delayed but added that they were trying to sort out the issues at the earliest.

He said they were trying to complete the process by November-end after which officials of the National Regulatory Authority would be asked to visit and approve the facility.

Shimla, November 19
The birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was observed as the National Integration Day across the state today. It also marked the commencement of the National Integration Week.

Governor Urmila Singh administered the National Integration Pledge to all the officers and employees of the Raj Bhawan and urged them to work with dedication to preserve and strengthen the freedom and integrity of the nation.

She also paid floral tributes by garlanding a portrait of the former Prime Minister on the occasion.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal led the state in paying floral tributes to the statue of Indira Gandhi on the Ridge. He was joined by state Congress president Virbhadra Singh, Leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes, Sudheer Sharma and Sohan Lal, MLAs, Sanjay Chauhan, Mayor, and Tikender Panwar, Deputy Mayor, former MLAs, councillors, office-bearers of different organisations and prominent citizens.

A session of devotional and patriotic songs was also held. Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Subhashish Panda, Commissioner, Shimla Municipal Corporation, MP Sood and other senior officers were also present.

Sundernagar, November 19
A five-day training camp for black belt karatekas began at Sheetla Mata temple today. It is being organised by the Jun Do Kan Go Jyu Ryu Karate Do Federation India.

It was inaugurated by sensei Surinder Kumar Thakur, founder-director of the federation. According to sensei Yog Raj, federation spokesman, 30 black belt karatekas will be given knowledge about traditional training in karate.

Special training for teaching karate to children and girls will be given during the camp.

Sundernagar, November 19
Prem Thakur, a local advocate, has filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Mandi, and demanded action against police officials of the Balh police station.

He has alleged that they misbehaved with him and his family at Ner Chowk, near here, on November 14 when they were returning by car from Mandi.

The officials detained them during night hours for nearly an hour and themselves conducted a search of female members of his family. There was no female staff on duty with them.

The copies of the complaint have also been forwarded to the Director-General of Police (DGP) and the Inspector-General of Police, seeking legal action against the policemen, who were allegedly drunk.