Shimla, March 5
In protest against the large-scale phone tapping under the PK Dhumal-led BJP regime, the Congress today staged statewide demonstrations to highlight the issue and demand speedy action against those responsible for it.

Party workers held protests at all district headquarters and submitted to the district authorities copies of a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister. In Shimla, the Congress submitted the memorandum to Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes.

State Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh, state unit vice-president Harsh Mahajan, Shimla (Urban) district Congress chief Pradeep Singh and Shimla (Rural) district Congress president Kehar Singh Khachi submitted the memorandum to her.

Sukhvinder Singh said the party had decided to submit it to Stokes, the second in command, since the Chief Minister was in Kangra district on his winter sojourn. He said the main objective was to create a mass movement against the invasion into privacy and ensure that those responsible for the illegal and unscrupulous act were held accountable.

The party alleged in the memorandum that the previous PK Dhumal-led regime had misused government machinery to invade the privacy of people by indulging in phone tapping on a large scale, which was a serious violation of constitutional and human rights.

The party claimed that the preliminary report made it clear that the BJP government and its Chief Minister were involved in phone tapping, which was an offence under the law of the land. It added that the previous regime had not only committed an offence, but sullied the image of the state as well.

The party pointed out that under Clause 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act, the power of interception of communication could be used only when it was necessary or expedient to do in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the country, friendly relations with a foreign state, maintenance of public order and prevention of incitement to the commission of an offence.

It said the Information and Technology Act provided that the procedure of phone tapping was permissible only if carried out in a fair and reasonable manner. It added that Section 69 allowed any government official or policeman to listen to calls, read SMSes and e-mails and monitor websites visited by any person if essential in the interests of the country.

The party further stated that the Supreme Court had laid down guidelines to protect the right to privacy of citizens according to which orders for phone tapping could be issued only by the Home Secretary and the power could be delegated to an officer below the rank of Joint Secretary in urgent cases.

The party termed as unconstitutional the mass tapping of phones and demanded a speedy inquiry and action against those guilty of this criminal violation of the right to privacy.

Shimla, March 5
Armed with the report of forensic experts indicating large-scale tapping of phones during the previous BJP regime, the Congress is set all set to launch an offensive against former Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

The statewide protest over the matter is the beginning and the sensitive issue will dominate the political scene in the state for a long time.

The tone and tenor of Congress leaders make it obvious that Dhumal will be on the firing line and they will try to derive the maximum political advantage from the issue.

“The number of phones tapped was around 1,600 and the number of conversations recorded ran into lakhs. This could not have happened without Dhumal’s blessings as he had held charge of the Home Department,” Harsh Mahajan said.

The state Congress vice-president alleged that leaders like Dhumal were not only a threat to democracy, but to the country as well.

Mahajan claimed that he had information that permission for tapping was granted for about 200 phone numbers and 1,400 numbers were put under surveillance illegally.

He said it was a serious issue and responsibility had to be fixed for such a massive scale of phone tapping. He said people were virtually under police surveillance all the time during the BJP rule, making a mockery of democracy.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sukhvinder Singh made a mention of the phone tapping controversy at the national level involving senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

He said if a person could be sent to 14-day police remand for seeking phone call details of a leader, the large-scale tapping of phones in Himachal Pradesh called for more serious action.

He said it was not only a matter of intrusion into privacy of individuals, but a criminal act as well and those responsible for it could not be allowed to go unpunished.

He further said revelations regarding phone tapping had created unease and strong resentment among the people and they wanted the matter to be taken to its logical conclusion.

He claimed that the Congress organised the statewide protest today only to convey to the government the sentiments of the people of the state.

Shimla, March 5
Accusing the Congress of trying to hatch a conspiracy to defame the previous PK Dhumal regime, the BJP today dared the government to order an inquiry into the alleged phone tapping by any agency.

Addressing a press conference here today, state BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said the BJP regime was in no way involved in the alleged act and the party wanted the guilty to be punished.

“Rather than using the issue to divert the attention of the public from important issues, the government should hand over the probe to any agency,” he said.

He demanded that the government must make public the names of those officials who were responsible for its and disclose the list of phones which were allegedly tapped.

“Dhumal said the Virbhadra Singh regime was free to hand over the probe to any agency, including judicial,” he said. He said the Congress was trying to defame the previous regime by a misinformation campaign and false propaganda. “Rather than indulging in these cheap gimmicks, it will be better if the Congress regime fulfills the promises that it made to the electorate during the Assembly elections,” he said.

He demanded that the Congress must announce the unemployment allowance that it had promised. “The decision to provide an allowance to the jobless educated youth should have been taken at the first Cabinet meeting,” he said.

He lashed out at the government for ordering the transfer of thousands of government employees. “We want to know whether the transfers were ordered by the Chief Minister or some extra-constitutional authority was at work,” he added.

Nurpur, March 5
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has said the government will annul the land lease by the previous PK Dhumal-led government to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) for the construction of a cricket stadium at Nurpur.

Addressing a public meeting at the PWD Rest House here today before hearing public grievances on the third day of his winter sojourn, he accused the previous government of halting development work and exhausting the exchequer.

Admitting financial constraints, the Chief Minister said his government would restore the stalled development by resorting to financial management and creating more resources.

He reiterated that the government would do its best to serve the people, but they should take initiatives for strengthening their economic status. He exhorted parents to impart higher education to their daughters.

He supported the demands raised by local MLA Ajay Mahajan and municipal council chairperson Krishna Mahajan. He assured the posting of adequate doctors and paramedical staff at the 100-bedded Civil Hospital.

He also assured funds for the completion of the Mini-Secretariat building and work on the proposed sewerage. He supported demands like a trauma centre, parking lots and a bus stand, but remained silent on those.

Addressing a gathering at Jawali in the evening, he announced a new government college at Nagrota Surian and a new sub-tehsil status for Kotla.

He accepted the demands of Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Jawali MLA Neeraj Bharti. He said those responsible for phone tapping would not be spared.

He said the government was committed to the equal and overall development of the state without prejudice and had never resorted to a witch-hunt.

Manali, March 5
The Department of Mathematics, Government College, Haripur, will organise an International Conference on Mathematical Sciences (ICMS-2013) from March 8 to 9 at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali.

As a tribute to legendary mathematician Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan, the Department of Mathematics of the college had organised a national seminar last year also.

This conference will be inaugurated by Prof ADN Bajpai, Vice-Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.

Dr Sanjay Kango, convener of the conference, said about 200 delegates, along with several renowned scholars and resource persons from more than 25 universities, 55 degree and engineering colleges and various industrial units would be participating in the conference from India and abroad.

Prominent among these are Prof Ganti Prasada Rao, member of the UNESCO-EOLSS Joint Committee from UAE, Dr AK Kulkarni from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Dr Vijay Raj Singh Shekhawat from the Ministry of HRD, New Delhi, Prof JN Sharma from NIT, Hamirpur, Prof Rajneesh from Kurukshetra University, Prof RP Sharma and Prof Veena Sharma from HP University.

There will be six invited talks and 100 research papers will be presented.

Dharamsala, March 5
The hike in bulk prices of diesel, especially for the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), has started a tug-of-war between petroleum dealers in the state.

The HRTC is one of the biggest consumers of diesel in the state. State-owned buses consume about 1.5 lakh litre of diesel every day.

The HRTC used to take diesel in bulk from oil companies earlier and fuel buses at its filling stations. After the government deregulated prices of diesel for bulk consumers, oil companies had increased the cost of diesel in bulk by about Rs 11 per litre.

Since then, the HRTC has stopped taking diesel in bulk from oil companies. HRTC buses are now being fuelled on short credit from retail outlets and filling stations.

This has started a tug-of-war between petroleum dealers who are trying to take the pie in the lucrative business of supplying diesel to the HRTC.

Certain petroleum dealers are complaining that the HRTC is taking diesel in bulk in tankers from certain dealers. They have filed complaints to the authorities against each other for violating the mandate of the government.

They maintain that retailers cannot supply diesel in bulk to the HRTC. Dealers have to sell diesel in retail and cannot sell diesel at prices lower than those fixed by companies.

Sources say the tug-of-war has started in Dharamsala. The HRTC had tried to purchase diesel in bulk from retailers. It floated a tender for the supply of diesel in bulk, but it was opposed by the state petroleum dealers’ association.

Asked if they were purchasing diesel in bulk from retailers, HRTC Managing Director Onkar Sharma said they were doing whatever was best in the interest of the organisation.

He further said they were following various modules for the purchase of diesel in the state, including the direct purchase from petroleum dealers.

The decision of the Centre to include state transport companies in the bulk consumer category is being criticised by various groups affected, including HRTC employees.

They allege that the decision is leading unlawful practices. They claim that it will not lead to profit for oil companies, but increase trouble for public transport companies.

Shimla, March 5
The possibility of the two aerial ropeway projects of Rohtang and Bijli Mahadev seeing the light of the day seems to have increased with promoters roping in Tata Infrastructure Ltd.

The signing of the MoU for the two projects had been delayed as promoters Himalayan Power had failed to pay the project development success fee, amounting to about Rs 6 crore, for the two ropeways. It was on this account that in the last Cabinet meeting held on February 27, it had been decided to cancel the allotment.

It was following this development that the promoters roped in Tata Infrastructure Ltd so that the project development success fee was paid and the project allotment not cancelled. Sources said the promoters had intimated the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation about its tie-up with the Tatas and also submitted an MoU signed with the company.

The company, which had been allotted the two ropeways, had sought time from the government till January 2013 for making the payment of this fee. Having failed to so, they again requested the government to give them more time till March 31. As such, during the last Cabinet meeting held on March 2, the promoters had been given time to make the payment by March 31.

The two projects will go a long way in giving a fillip to tourism in the Kullu-Manali valley. The two projects had been conceived long time back, but there had been little progress. It is being hoped that now with Tata being a part of the project, these would be completed at the earliest.

The Kullu-Bijli Mahadev ropeway has a span of about 1 km and will cost about Rs 70 crore. On the other hand, the one connecting Rohtang with Palchang has a longer span of almost 4 km and will cost about Rs 200 crore. The Rohtang ropeway which will also connect Koti and Mari will go a long way in reducing traffic congestion and the resultant pollution in the area.

RITES had undertaken the preliminary survey of the two ropeways after which bids had been invited. With these two projects now likely to take off, the government can now explore the possibility of pushing the Dharamkot-Triund ropeway in Dharamsala. This ropeway too will go a long way in promoting tourism in the area.

Mandi, March 5
Former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram and his son, Rural Development and Animal Husbandry Minister Anil Sharma, were accorded a warm reception by their followers and Congress men here today. This was Anil’s first visit to his home town after his induction in the Virbhadra Singh’s ministry.

Addressing a rally organised by the party and his supporters at Seri Munch, Anil said he would try to strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), empower rural women by developing dairy farming and animal husbandry sector and provide employment through MNREGA and other government schemes to develop villages.

Anil thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for his induction in the ministry saying that he would seek their blessings and cooperation of other ministers to implement the government’s agenda in the state.

He said he would make efforts to complete IPH schemes for providing potable water to the people and would expedite other projects in his home segment.

Sukh Ram said there was wide scope for developing the rural economy by strengthening the dairy and animal husbandry departments in the state.

Sundernagar: Anil Sharma was given a warm welcome in Sundernagar during his first visit to the district after his induction in the ministry.

While talking to mediapersons, Anil urged the Chief Minister to order registration of an FIR in the phone-tapping case and put the guilty behind bars.

Shimla, March 5
Local communities under the banner of Seraj Pryavatran Sanraksha Sangharsh Samiti have urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh not to pursue the proposal for securing world heritage site status for the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), Kullu, until proper public consultations were carried out and the Forest Rights Act (FRA) implemented.

In a representation to the Chief Minister, it alleged that the process of declaring the GHNP as the world heritage site under the UNESCO had been initiated by the previous government and application for the same was mooted without any consultation with the local communities. Further, a second proposal was also mooted to create a big conservation zone, including the GHNP, Pin Valley NP, Khir Ganga NP, Tirthan, Sainj, Kanawar and Rupi Bhawa Wild Sanctuary into it and declare it as an eco-sensitive zone under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

There were 13 panchayats with 160 villages, which fell in the proposed zone. It asserted that the people were not against conservation, but their well-being should also be taken care of keeping in view their dependence on forests and forest land for livelihood.

People lost their rights, but received nothing in return as no proper settlement of rights had been carried out. Only about 350 families could seek compensation in lieu of forest rights and thousands of families were denied their due. Cultural and religious rights were ignored altogether, it alleged.

It alleged that the conservation proposals were intentionally designed so that the people of Kullu, Seraj, Kinnaur and Sapiti could be denied their forest rights under the FRA and demanded a probe into the matter.

Dila Ram Shabab, a former MLA, Guman Singh, coordinator of the Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, Rajender Chauhan, coordinator of Sahara, and Ajit Rathor, former vice-chairman, Panchayat Samiti, Banjar, were among those who signed the joint representation.

Manali, March 5
Col Yogesh Nair, Commander, 38 BRTF, met Minister for Forest and Fisheries, Himachal Pradesh, Thakur Singh Bharmouri and apprised him of the ongoing works in Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi region. Bharmouri is also the MLA representing Pangi-Bharmor.

The minister after patiently hearing the commander directed Chief Conservator, Kullu, to extend all possible assistance to the BRO involved in the work of national importance for early processing environmental and forest clearance cases.

Bharmouri, who was already aware of the excellent work being undertaken by the BRO despite several constraints of unfavourable weather and terrain condition, lack of funds etc felicitated Commander 38 BRTF by presenting him a Kullu cap on behalf of the Chief Minister and the Government of Himachal Pradesh.

Solan, March 5
With a view to curbing the sale and distribution of substandard and spurious drugs in market, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has issued a drug alert to restrict the supply of such drugs in the markets.

Central drug testing laboratories in various states have been directed to provide information about quality defects in such products to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation in the first week of every month. Even medical devices and cosmetic products, which are not found to be of standard quality and have defects, will fall under this notification.

The step has been taken keeping in view safety of patients and to ensure that once such drug alerts are issued, their batches are withdrawn from markets so that patients are not sold substandard or spurious drugs and defective medical devices. The CDSCO will then display such products along with their batch no, manufacturer, etc, on their website to ensure immediate curb on their sale.

This will help check the sale of spurious, misbranded or adulterated products in the markets.

In the absence of any centralised procedure, the states have little information about drugs, which have been tested spurious or are not of standard quality in the laboratories of other states and they continue to sell such batches in the markets.

As many as 12 drugs were found to be substandard in the drug alert issued for January this year, while in December, only seven drugs had been enlisted in this category, thus proving that the system was gaining acceptance.

However, officials in the Drugs Control Administration said since there was no system to check whether all central drug testing laboratories sent their reports to the CDSCO, it would make available only limited information and since there was no action for lack of such disclosures, the laboratories could fail to furnish complete information.

The Central government has devised a scheme for giving monetary rewards to whistleblowers, who can provide information about spurious drug trade, and the latest measure is another step in this direction. The step will also bring transparency in the system as there have been cases where contradictory statements about spurious drugs thriving in other states have been made by their “rivals”. With nearly 650 pharmaceutical units being present in the state, the system will prove beneficial in enhancing the quality of drugs as all the cases of substandard and spurious drugs will now be in the public domain. 

Hamirpur, March 5
The state government has withdrawn powers from panchayat presidents to issue new ration cards and renew the existing ones and instead re-allocated the powers to issue ration cards to panchayat secretaries.

The last exercise to issue new ration cards was undertaken in 2007 was done by panchayat presidents, but at present the new ration cards are being issued by panchayat secretaries.

The main reason behind the change of power to issue ration cards has been the “casual approach” of panchayat presidents resulting into issuance of fake cards in the state.

Though there are a large number of fake ration cards in the state, the government has no exact number of fake cards available with it. However, according to estimates, thousands of consumers were drawing subsidised ration through these cards.

Concerned over the existence of fake ration cards, the state government has initiated a process to detect and delete these cards and asked panchayat presidents to identify and cancel such cards.

However, despite strict orders to deputy commissioners to fix responsibility of officials concerned, no significant success was achieved in this direction.

There was a feeling at the government level that the panchayat presidents were “issuing” a large number of ration cards to “appease” their constituents for “political considerations” and were “not directly” accountable to the state government too.

On the other hand, the panchayat secretaries are the employees of the state government and maintaining actual panchayat records, thus they were to be relied more for issuing new ration cards on the basis of panchayat records and checking fake ones, they believed.