Shimla, April 10
The annual plan of the state for 2013-14 has been finalised at Rs 4,100 crore, which is Rs 400 crore more than the last year’s plan. The plan was given its final shape during a meeting between Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, at New Delhi today.

The plan outlay for 2012-13 was Rs 3,700 crore and, thus, the plan size for the current year has gone up by 11 per cent.

Singh said social sector had been given the top priority with an allocation of 1371.40 crore (33.45 per cent), followed by transport and communication sector Rs 865.14 crore (21.10 per cent) and energy sector Rs 624.68 crore (15.24 per cent).

He said the economy growth rate of the state for the 12th Five-Year Plan had been fixed at 9 per cent, and an outlay of Rs 1,013.52 crore had been made for the Scheduled Castes sub-plan for implementing various schemes for uplift of the Dalits.

Further, Rs 369 crore (9 per cent) had been earmarked for tribal area sub-plan and Rs 37 crore for various development projects in declared backward areas of the state.

The Chief Minister said additional 5,009 MW hydel energy would be generated during the 12th Five-Year Plan and generation target of 1,918 MW had been fixed for the annual plan 2013-14. He stressed the need for low cost open access and grid connectivity in the entire country to evacuate surplus power for energy consumers at various parts of the country at suitable cost.

The project cost of the Mid-Himalayan Watershed Project had been revised to Rs 596.25 crore from initial cost of Rs 365 crore and it had been extended to cover a total of 704 gram panchayats in 44 blocks and 10 districts.

He said an outlay of Rs 35 crore had been approved for 2013-14 for the Swan River Integrated Watershed Management Project in Una district to regenerate the forests to protect agriculture land and enhance agriculture and forestry production in catchment areas.

The project cost had been revised to Rs 215 crore from original cost of Rs 160 crore along with the extension of terminating date of project up to March 2015, he said.

He requested the Centre to start air services to all the three airports-Shimla, Kangra and Kullu-to boost tourism and for declaring the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway line of national importance.

He pleaded for relaxation of ratio of 60:40 to 50:50 between the labour and capital components for the execution of works under MNREGA and enhancement of wages from existing Rs 138 to Rs 150 per day, besides restoration of industrial package.

plan summary

The plan outlay for 2012-13 was Rs 3,700 crore and, thus, the plan size for the current year has gone up by 11 per cent

Social sector gets top priority with an allocation of 1371.40 crore (33.45 per cent), followed by transport and communication sector Rs 865.14 crore (21.10 per cent) and energy sector Rs 624.68 crore (15.24 per cent)

Economy growth rate of state fixed at 9 per cent

Additional 5,009 MW hydel energy will be generated during the 12th Five-Year Plan

Hailstorm, rain lash Chamba
Our Correspondent

Chamba, April 10
The Chamba region was lashed by rain and hailstorm, accompanied by thunderstorm, this afternoon, according to reports reaching the district headquarters.

The reports revealed that high peaks of the region had experienced an unseasonal spell of snow resulting in downfall in the temperature in low-lying areas of the district.

Agro-horticulture experts believed that the hailstorm was harmful to apple, plum and peach fruit crops.

Shimla, April 10
The state Secretariat of the CPM has expressed shock at the decision of the state government to allow an increase of seats in private universities when 55 per cent of the existing seats have remained vacant.

In a statement issued here today, Tikender Panwar, member, state Secretariat of the CPM, said there seemed to be no justification in this sudden move by the government. “It seems the government has not learnt any lessons from its predecessor who had allowed rampant opening of private universities all over the state,” he said.

He said a monitoring committee comprising academicians must visit these universities to ensure that they do not remain mere “money minting shops”.

He accused the Congress regime of virtually shedding its election manifesto and instead following in the footsteps of its predecessor. He reiterated its demand for a thorough probe into the land deals surrounding these private universities. “It is essential to look into the aspect of academics and faculty employed by these universities as it is amounting to compromising the quality of education,” he said.

Tanwar said it was the duty of the government to ensure that UGC norms were followed in selection as well as in the wages being given to faculty members. “It must also be ensured that the admissions are done centrally through a common test conducted by the state government or Himachal Pradesh University (HPU),” he said.

“The government must ensure that there is a proper review and monitoring of the fee structure by providing teeth to the state regulatory authority and not blunting it as was done by the previous regime,” he added.

He also sought ensuring reservation for socially and economically backward class in these universities.

Shimla, April 10
Lambasting the BJP for staging repeated walkouts at the Vidhan Sabha, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Sukhvinder Singh said the party was resorting to such tactics as it had no real issues to take up.

Addressing the meeting of the Congress Sewa Dal here today, he said the BJP had not learnt any lessons from the drubbing it had received in the Assembly polls and it was trying to escape a debate on its failures in the House.

The main reason for the BJP trying to be overly aggressive for no plausible reason was that its leaders were feared that the probe being conducted into the charge sheet would expose their misdeeds and land them in trouble. They were trying to put up a brave front whereas, the decision of the government to send the charge sheet to the Vigilance Department for inquiry had unnerved the party and its leaders.

He urged the Sewa Dal volunteers to be prepared for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

(Banal) Hamirpur, April 10
The BJP organised a function here today to celebrate the 69th birthday of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal.The occasion was meant to renew ties between ordinary party workers and the top state leadership. A blood donation camp was also organised by the youth wing of the party.

The party had deliberately chosen a place in the Sujanpur Assembly constituency to hold this function where its candidate had lost the last election to rebel party candidate Rajender Rana.

While several programmes were organised to make the birthday celebration a grand affair, there seemed a clear attempt to project Dhumal’s son, Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, by showing his recorded speeches made in Parliament through a large LED screen.

Addressing the gathering, Dhumal expressed gratitude towards the party workers and said, “The love and affection showered by the party workers is not my personal honour, but it’s the honour of the ideology of the party, which had made a teacher’s son (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) the Prime Minister of the country and a soldier’s son like me the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.”

Dhumal said, “We should forget past things and move forward since you have that capacity where we can grow from merely two MPs in the Lok Sabha in 1984 to a major political force in the country later.”

“The contribution of the grass-roots party worker is much more since it is they who face the onslaught of the ruling party while the party is in the Opposition”.

Former MLA Urmil Thakur and Sujanpur BJP block president Rakesh Thakur were among those who addressed the meeting.

Shimla, April 10
The much-awaited CAG audit into the accounts of the Wildflower Hall Project, a joint venture of the Oberoi Group and the state, continues to hang in balance for want of a ‘proper reference’ from the government.

The government had in June 2011 decided to order a CAG audit as it did not agree with the continuous losses being incurred by the high-end resort, even as two other hotels of the group in the state capital were earning profit.

“The Mashobra Resorts is not a public undertaking and the CAG cannot undertake the audit straightaway. However, as the government was a partner in the project under a profit-sharing arrangement, it involved a deep public interest. The CAG was within its powers to audit the accounts of the company,” Satish Loomba, Principal Accountant General (Audit), Himachal Pradesh, said here today.

“There have been formal and informal requests but a proper reference after following due internal procedure has not been made. The Cabinet resolution mandating the CAG to carry out the audit has to be there and the request should come through the Governor,” he said.

The hotel was handed over to the Oberoi Group for setting up a five-star hotel under a joint venture in 1995 by the then Congress government after the old heritage building housing a unit of the State Tourism Development Corporation was gutted in a fire. At that time, the cost of constructing the 85-room hotel was pegged at Rs 40 crore and the share of the state government were fixed at 35 per cent.

Subsequently, the Oberois raised the cost of the project to over Rs 99 crore as a result of which the government's equity share came down to 21 per cent. Further, if the loss is converted into equity, the share of the state will come down to 7.5 per cent. This has prompted the government to get the accounts of the company audited by the CAG. 

Dharamsala, April 10
As many as 12 Indian theatre artistes presented a play on the life of a Tibetan refugee family here yesterday. It is for the first time that the struggle of Tibetans in exile is depicted through theatre rather than protests and marches.

While talking to mediapersons, the director said, "The play is not a part of the freedom or political movement, but very much a personal comment. It is about the struggle that happens inside a person when you don't have a home."

"The current generation wants to fight and go back home. So, it is about the individual struggle and, for us, it was really interesting to bring it out," the director said.

Hundreds of Tibetans and visitors from all walks of life watched the play performed at TCV Day School in Dharamsala. This was, perhaps, the first time that a major theatre was performed in the exile capital of Tibet.

The 90-minute-long play, written by Mumbai-based writer Annie Zaidi, was inspired by “Kora”, a book of poems and stories by Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan writer-cum-activist.

"The play is an approximation of Tibetan exiles enquiring into the exile nature of life through dialogues between three generations of the refugees. It shows how politics shapes their life and how they personally respond to the challenges," Tenzin said.

The performance in Dharamsala was funded by the Foundation for the Universal Responsibility of the Dalai Lama and was organised by students for a Free Tibet-India in collaboration with Mumbai-based Q Theatre Productions (QTP).

During an informal discussion with artistes, performers said the play had a huge impact on them and their awareness about Tibet.

"I had a very shallow understanding of what I was doing," said Saattvic, a performer.

Mandi, April 10
Rural Development and Animal Husbandry Minister Anil Sharma today asserted that the state government would order an inquiry into the Rs 16-crore inter-state bus stand in the town, saying that the previous government had not set up any public facilities and there were several loopholes in the building, which was inaugurated in a hurry last year.

The minister, with a team of officials, suddenly inspected the bus stand and observed that the toilets and other public facilities were not properly set up in the building. “Visitors are suffering as there is a provision for parking just 18 buses at the bus stand,” he added.

Talking to The Tribune after the inspection, Anil Sharma said the work would be resumed so that all the 28 parking bays were opened for the public. The HRTC had spent Rs 16 crore so far, he added.

The minister expressed dissatisfaction as the inaugurated bus stand was stinking at many spots and the HRTC was not maintaining hygiene. He directed the HRTC staff to maintain hygiene at the bus stand so that public do not face any problem.

Sharma indirectly pointed his guns at previous Transport Minister Mahender Singh Thakur, asserting that the bus stand lacks proper toilets for the public and parking facility for the buses.

Sharma said he would take up the matter with Transport Minister GS Bali and request him to order an inquiry into the project to fix accountability. “There are several loopholes in the bus stand and the facts should come in front of the public,” he asserted.

He said the Transport Minister had told the Vidhan Sabha that the government had ordered an inquiry into the bus stands. “The bus stand is for the public and it should not be a commercial venture as the previous minister tried to make it,” he added. 

Kangra, April 10
All is set for the 10-day Chaitra Navratras starting from tomorrow amid tight security. However, thousands of pilgrims have been visiting the Bajjreshwari temple, one of the 52 Shakti peeths, here well before the beginning of the Navratras to avoid the huge rush and inconvenience during that time.

Kangra Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Ajit Bhardwaj said here yesterday that the Chaitra Navratras would conclude on April 20.

Kangra Deputy Commissioner (DC) C Palrasu said all was set for the Chaitra Navratras to face thousands of pilgrims at the Shakti peeths of Bajjreshwari, Jawalamukhi and Chamunda temples. He said all arrangements for security and law and order, besides accommodation, healthcare and sanitation and other facilities for the visiting pilgrims had been completed.

The DC said a ban was imposed under Section 144, CrPC, on the carrying of fire arms, sharp-edged weapons and explosive material during the Navratras in the three temple towns.

ASP, Kangra, Mohit Chawla said six reserves had been deployed in the three temples which included 280 police constables, 250 Home Guards, 70 women constables, 35 NGOs and 100 Head Constables. The deployment would be made to regulate pilgrim and vehicular traffic and maintain law and order. He said police personnel in civil clothes too had been deployed to keep vigil on anti-social elements.

He said a bomb disposal squad had been placed in readiness. He said anti-sabotage checking was in place and sniffer dog squads too had been pressed into service. He said CCTV cameras had been fitted in all the three temples.

He said besides round-the-clock traffic checking, pilgrims would be frisked and have to pass through metal detectors before entering the temples. He said coconut as prasad had been banned in the temples during the Navratras. He said a DSP would look after each temple town during the Navratras. The SDM said vehicular traffic would not be allowed to enter the main market leading to the temple. He said there would be one-way traffic from the Tanda road and heavy vehicles would be diverted towards the Kachairi road near the Gupt Ganga crossing.

Solan, April 10
With prolonged rains and winter having caused a substantial damage to the forests, numerous fallen trees there have become a cause of concern due to the onset of summer, which causes forest fires.

It was observed that various trees had been uprooted due to heavy rain and stormy weather conditions this winter throughout the pine forests in the upper reaches of Solan district. Ideally, the Forest Corporation takes care of such trees after they are handed over by the Forest Department. This helps the department to clear forest floor of all the inflammable materials, thus preventing further damage due to fire. Each year, the forests face colossal damage due to fires, which are caused due to the presence of inflammable pine needles.

Delay in handing over such trees not only leads to thefts, as unattended fallen trees can be easily pilfered by the locals for meeting various needs, but also at places some trees are vulnerable to damage as their roots have been exposed and they can be uprooted any time.

Since the fire season begins around April 15, when the temperature rises due to the onset of the summer season, the officials of the Forest Department are now undertaking precautionary steps to rid the forest floor of inflammable pine needles.

Prem Mahajan, DFO, Forest Division, Solan, said they would soon undertake removal of the fallen trees from the forest areas throughout the district.

He said measures like cleaning the forest floor of inflammable pine needles had been undertaken.

He said the local panchayats had been sensitised about the issue and telephone numbers of forest staff had been circulated to them to report cases of forest fires at the earliest. 

Solan, April 10
With a view to easing congestion on various national and state highways in the state, the Transport Department is conducting a survey to develop transport nagars having various facilities like parking, mechanical help, pollution checking etc, at various places in the state.

A site-selection survey was conducted yesterday at the industrial hub of the state, Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) area, where officials, including RTO Arun Bhardwaj, Deputy CEO, Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh, Rajeshwar Goyal, and Deputy Director, Industries, Tilak Raj Sharma, explored various options available in the area.

The Transport Department endeavoured to provide various facilities like adequate parking, mechanic shops, refreshment facilities, proper place to stay, auto parts repair and sale shops, rain shelters, cloak rooms and, if possible, space for an RTO office in a single place to commuters.

Deputy Commissioner Meera Mohanty has been directed to identify land measuring 50 bighas or more which can be transferred in favour of the Director of Transport so that the work to construct a transport nagar could begin.

With the BBN having a fleet of 7,000 odd trucks and more being added to it every year, the need to set up a transport nagar was of utmost importance.

The Deputy Director, Industries, said a site at Barotiwala measuring 28 bighas had been selected and another site at Shitalpur measuring about 40 bighas was available where land was under the ownership of the Industries Department. The Nalagarh Truck Operators Union, too, were in the process of buying about 40 bighas of land at Shitalpur and this would help in providing a compact land having various provisions as per the requirement of a transport nagar.

Though a proposal worth Rs 7.5 crore to seek funds under the Centrally-sponsored Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities Scheme was put forth by the state government a few years ago before the Centre, it had not been approved.

The DC said they were now focusing on developing smaller parking places where a sizable number of vehicles could be parked throughout the BBN area so that traffic congestion on the roads could be reduced.

Bilaspur, April 10
Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Ajay Sharma in a notification here yesterday said the final election photo voter lists had been prepared and published for all the four Assembly segments of Naina Devi, Bilaspur Sadar, Jhandutta (reserved) and Ghumarwin of Bilaspur district on April 5 and it was every citizen’s duty to ensure that his/her name and photo was included in it to entitle them to vote.

He said these lists had been prepared with reference to all those who had attained age of 18 years or above on January 1, 2013. The names of those who had died or changed their place of residence in the meantime, or any other correction etc could still be done after filling new relevant forms till April 12.

Ajay Sharma said these lists could be inspected at all polling booths, offices of tehsildars/ naib tehsildars, SDMs and District Election Officer at Bilaspur town till April 12 and if any change was required, relevant forms available at these offices should be filled.

Panchkula, April 10
The Panchkula police in its reply in the Jyoti murder case said today that it was not mandatory for them to supply the copies of challan to all the accused at the same time. It was after the court pulled up the police for not providing requisite copies to all the accused that the police filed this reply.

On the plea that the documents in the chargesheet were not complete and the challan filed by the police had various flaws in it due to which Chaudhary had applied for bail, the police denied all his contentions in their reply, which was filed today.

The police in its reply said, “ The provisions of Section 173(7)of CrPC provides that if the police officer investigating the case finds it convenient to do so, he may furnish to the accused copies of all or any of the document referred to in the sub-section 5 of Section 173(5) of CrPC. Hence, it is not mandatory for the investigation officer to supply the copies of challan to all the accused at the same time”.

Regarding the incomplete challan, the police said, “All the relevant documents have been attached with the challan. The police is fully competent to investigate the matter further under Section 173(8) of CrPC”.

Doon MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary, the main accused in the Jyoti murder case, had moved an application in the court yesterday stating that the police had not filed the complete documents in the challan and the stipulated period of 90 days had already passed and he may be granted bail on these grounds.

The court also snubbed the police saying that despite repeated directions, the police did not comply with it and did not supply requisite copies of chargesheet to the accused.

The Chandigarh Tribune had already highlighted how various documents in the chargesheet filed by the Panchkula police were missing and incomplete.

Chaudhary has been accused of killing a 24-year-old girl Jyoti who hailed from Hoshiarpur. Jyoti was found murdered on a road in Sector 21, Panchkula. 

Chamba, April 10
The Chandigarh head office of the State Bank of India (SBI) under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme has so far donated 25 ambulances to hospitals in various parts of its jurisdiction.

SBI Chief General Manager NK Chari plants a sapling on the SBI premises in Chamba

This was stated by NK Chari, SBIs Chief General Manager (CGM), Chandigarh, during his visit to the main branch of the bank at Chamba.

Chari said the bank had been actively taking part in such social initiatives under the CSR scheme. He also made a mention about the donation of heating equipments, fans and water purifiers to schools under the CSR scheme, besides other social schemes of the SBI.

Chari said the support for healthcare, education and women empowerment would go a long way in the improvement of health services and wellbeing of mankind.

Applauding the sanitary conditions of the SBI branches in Himachal Pradesh, Chari directed the bank officials to install a tea-pot inside the main branch of the bank for the facility of the clientele.

He inspected the Chamba branch and expressed happiness over the services being rendered by the staff to its customers. 

Shimla, April 10
Concerned over the dwindling green cover in the ‘Queen of Hills’, the government has decided to import different varieties of maple and rhododendron to beautify the town along with stress on the plantation of deodar trees, the regeneration of which has been affected due to rapid urbanisation and haphazard construction activity.

The Cabinet sub-committee comprising three ministers on Monday visited various sites in the town to grant permission for felling of trees in response to request from plot and house owners. It is for the first time that the Cabinet sub-committee, assigned the task of granting permission for the removal of dead, dry and green trees posing a threat to houses, visited the field to ascertain the ground situation.

The committee expressed concern over the dwindling green cover of the town with a large number of deodar trees either drying up or developing a flat top on having attained their full life. “The ministers have directed us to import different varieties of maple from abroad with different-coloured bright leaves and also various hues of rhododendron from abroad so that the town has ample greenery,” said Amarjeet Singh, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation. It has also been decided to ask private land owners to undertake plantation to compensate for the felling done.

The ministers, including Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhary and Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma on Monday undertook site visits to ascertain that permission to fell trees was granted only in case of genuine trees. The Tree Committee during its two earlier meetings held on September 14 and December 18 last year had cleared 270 applications. The Cabinet sub-committee visited many sites near Sanjauli, Medical College Boys Hostel, Bhumia Estate, Radha Swami Satsang Bhawan, Lokayukta Office and Yates Place on which the Tree Committee had earlier taken a decision.

There have been allegations in the past that some influential persons managed to get permission from the Tree Committee in the Municipal Corporation (MC) despite their request not qualifying for removal as per norms. Since there is a complete ban on felling of trees except those posing a threat to houses, the view of the Tree Committee is paramount. 

Bilaspur, April 10
The government will orga’nise a special Aadhaar card awakening camp at Panjgain village, 20 km from here, on April 16.

District Revenue Officer Shashipal Sharma, Nodal Officer for the Aadhaar card registration campaign, said this camp would be held at the panchayat ghar.

He said each family must bring any two of the following identity proofs - Passport, PAN card, ration card, voter card, driving licence, government service identity card, pensioner photo card, kisan photo passbook and Swatantra Senani photo card. — OC

Bilaspur, April 10
Ram Lal Thakur, Chairman, state Planning Development and 20-Point Implementation Committee, has asked the JP cement company management to make its plans clear regarding the start of its already approved second expansion phase of the plant at Malokhar.

This was stated by Ram Lal at a meeting between him and the management at Bagha on Monday.

Ram Lal stressed that all local daily wagers working in the factory, including those through contractors, must be regularised, while all posts of security guard should be filled from among ex-servicemen here and not from outside the state. — OC