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Power Ministry cuts arrears to Rs 1,500 cr
Congress lacks control over administration, alleges Dhumal
Govt hospitals lack dialysis units
Rain, hailstorm trigger panic among orchardists
Action sought against school principal
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Efforts on self-reliance yield no results
BJP seeks replies within 3 days
Dist BJP elects office-bearers
MP sore over non-implementation of schemes
Save water, people urged
HPTDC to offer 50 pc discount
Three killed, child injured in road mishap
3 students fall off building
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Power Ministry cuts arrears to Rs 1,500 cr
Shimla, April 13 With its claim reduced, the state government is contemplating knocking the doors of the Supreme Court which gave a verdict in favour of the hill state on September 27, 2011. Despite the Supreme Court directing the Centre to expedite grant of this amount under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, the Centre seems to be dilly dallying in giving this amount to Himachal Pradesh. “Since there is no justification in this drastic reduction from Rs 4,200 crore to Rs 1,500 crore, we will again move the Supreme Court, seeking our legitimate right under the reorganisation Act which has been accepted by the court as well,” said Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy. He said he had taken up the issue with the Joint Secretary for Hydro Power with the Union Power Ministry who had assured him that he would verify the exact amount with Punjab and Haryana and then let the exact position be known. The plan of Himachal Pradesh to improve its financial health by way of the arrears has also been upset with the inordinate delay in the grant. While Himachal Pradesh has made a claim of Rs 4,200 crore, the figure is being disputed as some other formula is being applied for calculating the arrears of 7.19 per cent. Himachal Pradesh is yet to receive a written communication from the Centre in this regard. Whenever the state has raised the issue of early grant of arrears, it has been told to accept the reduced amount. Some time back, the high-powered committee of the Power Ministry had told Himachal Pradesh to accept a claim of Rs 3,400 crore. Himachal Pradesh is in no mood to let go its claim and has made up its mind to seek interest on arrears in case of any further delay in grant of arrears. It feels that Punjab and Haryana are adopting delaying tactics to buy time and delay payment to the hill state. It appears that the matter will have to be settled in court again as there has been an inordinate delay in grant of the amount. Keeping in mind Punjab’s poor fiscal health, the Centre does not seem to be inclined in favour of settling the claim of Himachal Pradesh. |
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Congress lacks control over administration, alleges Dhumal
Nurpur, April 13 Addressing a press conference here today, he
said the government in its maiden 100 days had only worked for transferring government officials and employees. “It has engaged its energy in changing the names of government schemes, programmes and institutions. The public distribution scheme in the state has flopped during the past three months and the government has failed to deliver the subsidised food items to the people of the state,” he alleged. Dhumal said his government had taken the decision to accord benefits
of 4-9-14 to the employees, but the present government had changed its decision to implement the same. This decision would also affect the financial benefits in the 2016’s
pay commission. Dhumal said the decision of re-inducting rebels into the party would be taken at a particular time and the party would learn lesson of its mistakes committed while allotting tickets. |
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Govt hospitals lack dialysis units
Dharamsala, April 13 The survey was conducted in four districts by health experts from Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC). There has been a growing demand for dialysis that is conducted after the kidneys fail to perform their function of blood filtration. Though, many private sector hospitals in the state are equipping themselves with dialysis machines, none of the government hospitals has the facility of providing dialysis to its patients. Sources in the Health Department said the facility for dialysis was just available at the IGMC, Shimla. Another unit for dialysis has been installed at Tanda Medical College, but it was non-functional. In Kangra, Fortis and Balaji hospitals have installed dialysis units. Sources said the demand for dialysis in these hospitals was increasing due to increase in number of patients. However, getting the dialysis done at private hospitals is a costly medical treatment that poor patients cannot afford. In Dharamsala, people have proposed to open up dialysis units with private-public partnership as they are required to provide treatment to poor patients, who cannot afford the treatment at private hospitals. Sources claimed that the equipment used in the dialysis were reused by small private hospitals. It increases to risk of infection to patients undergoing dialysis. The state health authorities should keep a check on the dialysis units being provided at small private hospitals. |
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Rain, hailstorm trigger panic among orchardists
Mandi/Kullu, April 13 Rain and thunderstorms also damaged premature pea and maize crop in Gara Gushaini in Seraj valley and other parts of the region. “Four feet of hailstones accumulated in my orchard,” said Rakesh Singha, president of the HP Apple Growers Association. “The damage in Thanedar, Pamlai, Shaithla, Saroga and Baru Bag Loga varied from 50 per cent to 90 per cent where nets were not used,” he added. “I had used nets over the trees, but the hailstorm damaged 50 percent crop,” said Anup Bhalaik, an orchardist from Palsar. Hailstones smashed parts of the Raison-Shirad belt in the Kullu valley, damaging bloom by 30 per cent, said Harender Thakur, an orchardist from Naggar. Rain smashed the Janjheli-Gara Gushaini belt in Mandi district. Premature pea and maize crops were damaged by 4 to 50 per cent, farmers said. Dr Vijay Tkakur, Associate Director, Fruit Research Centre, Dr YS Parmar University, said the temperature had gone down from the ideal range of 18°C to 22°C in the higher and middle belt. Palampur: High-velocity winds accompanied by heavy rain and a hailstorm lashed the Palampur area on Saturday afternoon, causing widespread damage to standing crops, particularly wheat, tea and fruits. The high hills received heavy snow, resulting in considerable fall in temperature. Damage was reported to be between 60 and 70 per cent of crops. Lightning struck at many places. Power supply was hit in various parts of the area as electricity poles were uprooted. Many villages and parts of the town were without power till the time of filing of this report. Experts with the agriculture university termed as harmful the unseasonal rain. They said wheat production would be hit and the state would not be able to meet its targets if rain continued. |
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Action sought against school principal
Kangra, April 13 In the complaint, Azad stated that his wife Anita Rani, a Hindi lecturer, was transferred to Government Senior Secondary School, Ghaniara, vice Dharam Devi and on the day of joining, she was harassed and humiliated by the principal of the school. He alleged that the principal was not present in the school and had asked the office superintendent over phone not to take her joining as the transfer order was incomplete. Azad alleged that his wife was made to wait for three hours till principal KK Sharma arrived and she was harassed by the principal on his arrival. Anita was allowed to join on the same order, which was approved by the Chief Minister and issued by the Director, Higher Education. Azad alleged that earlier the order was dubbed as incomplete and Dharma Devi was not relieved by the principal. Azad demanded an inquiry into the incident and sought action against the principal. Meanwhile, KK Sharma denied the allegations and said he was not in the school and was on an official duty when Anita Rani came for the joining. He said when he arrived in the school, Anita Rani started shouting on him and misbehaved with him for the delay. He said there was no question of harassing and humiliating a colleague and she was allowed to join in the afternoon and Dharma Devi would be relieved on the next working day, April 16. He said and all the allegations were baseless. |
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Efforts on self-reliance yield no results
Shimla, April 13 The Centre had provided funds on 90 per cent grant basis for exploitation of hydro power projects and other projects to generate revenue. The tax of the state and non-tax revenue in 2007-08 came to Rs 3,781 crore out of the total non-debt receipts of Rs 9,168 crore, accounting for 41 per cent of income as per final audited accounts. In 2011-12, revenue of the state increased to Rs 6,023 crore, but still accounted for 41 per cent of total on-debt receipts amounting to Rs 14,568 crore. Tax revenue has been showing buoyancy ever since the state switched over to the VAT regime and shot up to Rs 41,543 crore in 2011-12, which was Rs 1,958 crore in 2007-08. However, non-tax receipts, which shot up from Rs 687 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 1,823 crore in 2007-08, failed to maintain the same buoyancy. It decreased to Rs 1,756 crore in 2008-09 and then to Rs 1,695 crore in 2010-11, mainly due to a slump in he power market. Power revenue shot up from Rs 250 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 1,255 crore in 2007-08, but thereafter, the economic slowdown and then the deteriorating financial health of the state power utilities across the country led to a sharp decline. The rate which ranges from Rs 6.30 to Rs 7.10 per unit, plunged to Rs 3 per unit. Power had emerged as major resource for the state and the state financial health would depend on the power market which was not likely to improve in the near future. Fiscal liabilities of the state have increased by over 45 per cent from Rs 19,419 crore to Rs 28,228 crore over the five-year period and stood at 1.94 times the state revenue receipts at the end of 2011-12. The state was required to set up a consolidated sinking fund as recommended by the 13th Finance Commission for amortisation of market borrowings and other loans, but no action had been taken on this front. The CAG pointed this out in its report. Fact File
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Kasauli roads expose PWD work
Solan, April 13 Various roads, including Dharampur-Kasauli, Garkhal-Jagjitnagar, Chamiya-Band-Patta Mehlog-Haripur Dhar, Kasauli-Jangeshu, Kumarhatti-Sultanpur are in a pitiable condition as they are full of potholes which not only makes the ride bumpy but also are illustrations of sub-standard work and little maintenance. Though some repair work has been initiated on the Dharampur-Kasauli road, but apart from patchwork, nothing much has been done to improve its condition. This exercise was repeated last year too but the poor work has not only left the road in worst condition but also has enhanced the wear and tear of vehicles. A question mark has also been put on the working of the field staff as they failed to monitor the work and this was illustrated by the fact that the newly repaired Sanawar-Dharampur road had worn off even before completion and its condition has worsened after the recent showers. Though it was again being repaired, but a question mark has been put on its quality. Lamenting the poor condition of roads leading to Kasauli Adarsh Sharma, a tourist from Chandigarh, said he was tired with the drive and instead of spending a leisurely time in this tourist place he ended up being harassed with the overtly bumpy drive amidst the
potholed roads. While the state government talked of carving out new roads it was worth mentioning that poor maintenance of existing roads had added to the hardships of the common man. It was worth mentioning that Kasauli was connected by two roads from Parwanoo which included the National Highway 22 and the Jangeshu Road. The poor condition of roads has instigated Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), General Secretary, Vinod Sultanpuri, to raise the issue before the state Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Thakur during his recent visit to Solan. While ruing the poor and substandard repair work, he said it was appalling to note that the field staff was turning a blind eye to the damage done to the roads due to poor repair and it left the roads with more potholes than before. Executive engineer, Kasauli division, OP Verma, who was transferred a week ago, has now sought a stay, thus, creating a situation where the work was suffering. Chief Engineer, PWD, (south) DK Nayyer, said the department was aware of the situation and repair work would soon begin on various roads. Potholed
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Baisakhi festival
Kangra, April 13 Hem Raj Sharma, a social activist, said it was believed that a dip in the river at Kaleshwar Mahadev temple on the eve of Baisakhi would benefit the devotee of the five pilgrimages- Haridwar, Nasik, Priyag, Rameshwaram and Ujjain. The temple is known as Panchtirthi as it is believed that Pandvas visited this place during their exile. It is believed that the Pandavas haf made a tank here, in which the water from the five holy places was brought. Sharma said people visit the shrine and take a dip in the river on Poornamashi and Amavasya. Sharma said after the Mahakal temple of Ujjain, Kaleshwar Mahadev temple had a joyti lignum in its sanctum. The temple is popularly known as Haridwar of Himachal Pradesh. This ancient temple of Lord Shiva is defined in the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. The greater part of this temple is covered with ancient tombs. According to historians, Ravana, king of Lanka, was a great devotee of lord Shiva. He worshiped Shiva at a remote place in the Kailash and took rest in the Shakti Sthal here on way to Kailash. |
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Birshu Mela begins at Vashisht village
Manali, April 13 During the mela, local people, dressed in their traditional dresses, brought their deities to the temple. People from the upper Kullu valley and visitors come to see the mela in a huge number every year. Folk artistes perform natti, including Kulavi natti, on
the occasion. The lush green Kullu valley, surrounded by snow-covered peaks, is known as the valley of gods. The Beas also passes through the valley. Every village in the region has its own deity and the villagers organise fairs and festival and pay obeisance to their deities. Every village in Kullu district has, at least, a fair in summer. |
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BJP seeks replies within 3 days
Shimla, April 13 The president of the state disciplinary committee, Ganesh Dutt,
today said it was based on these replies given by party leaders and workers
that a final decision on the action would be taken. “We want that replies to
the notices issued by us are received within the next three days,” he said.
He said replies of many workers from 20 BJP blocks, including Baijnath, Darang,
Balh, Karsog, Fatehpur, Badsar, Theog, Banjar, Jhanduta, Naina Devi, Jwalamukhi,
Kangra, Lahaul Spiti, Doon, Arki, Mandi, Dalhousie, Kinnaur, Bharmour and
Chintpurni, were yet to come in. It was on the basis of complaints filed by
party candidates, block presidents and other office-bearers that notices had
been issued to many leaders who faced the threat of expulsion from the party.
The BJP had suffered defeat on 12 seats due to the presence of rebels. |
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Dist BJP elects office-bearers
Shimla, April 13 The six vice-presidents are Rajesh Sharda, Anjula Khajuria, Amrita Mohini, Kedar Verma, Gagan
Sharma and Sanju Sharma. Naveen Sud will be the treasurer of the district unit. The six Secretaries include Ramesh Joshi, Lekh Raj Kaundal, Asha Chauhan, Nirmala Chauhan, Rakesh Mehta and Meera Rathore. Besides the 19 special invitees, Rajya Sabha MP, Vimla Kashyap and local MLA Suresh Bhardwaj have been made permanent invitees. Sharma also announced a 52 member district executive body. The task of handling media has been assigned to Raju Thakur while Amar Chand Sharma will hold the post of Office Secretary. |
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MP sore over non-implementation of schemes
Kangra, April 13 He said out of the population of nearly 1 lakh, only 26 persons in the BPL category were provided healthcare and medicines worth Rs 45,000 were distributed among them. He said corruption was rampant among politicians and employees. He said the present day politicians were not statesmen, but representatives and had no respect for the society. He had announced Rs 25 lakh for the Kangra block for an ambulance and other developmental activities, besides two hand pumps for the Mini-Secretariat. |
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Save water, people urged
Bilaspur, April 13 The seminar was organised in collaboration with the Department of Language and Culture on “Bilaspur- As seen in mirror of History”. Thakur said we should take special care of our natural resources which provides us clean and fresh water. Local Bilaspur Sadar MLA Bambar Ram Lal Thakur announced a grant of Rs 20,000 and Bambar Thakur Rs 10,000 for providing facilities at the Press Club office. |
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HPTDC to offer 50 pc discount
Shimla, April 13 HPTDC Managing Director Subhasish Panda said the offer would be valid from April 13 to 15. However, the guests would have to show their identify proof of being a Himachali to be able to avail the special discount on room rent.
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Three killed, child injured in road mishap
Chamba, April 13 The deceased has been identified as Vandana, a resident of Saila village, Dinesh Kumari, daughter of Karam Singh of Mahla village of the district and the injured Aditi, daughter of Tarveez Singh. The body of the driver could not be identified, the report said. The police reached the site and carried out rescue operation with help of local people. A case of rash and negligent driving against the deceased driver has been registered at the Chowari police station.
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3 students fall off building
Solan, April 13 Preliminary investigations revealed that the students fell off the new building as there were uncovered gaps in the auditorium. A police team reached the university.
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