Shimla, April 17
The Vigilance and the Anti-Corruption Bureau, probing the phone tapping issue, has sought the details of the minutes of review meetings of the Telephone Interception Committee headed by the Chief Secretary and the entire record available with the CID and the Home Department for the last six months of 2012.

The Vigilance Bureau has written to the government seeking the entire record pertaining to phone tapping.

Sources said the bureau had written to the Home Department seeking soft copies of the recorded conversation contained in the four CDs. A similar request has also been sent to the CID wing of the police to get information about the total requests that they have sent to the Home Department and in how many cases permission was granted to intercept a phone number.

To ascertain if any wrongdoings had been detected by the Interception Committee during its meetings, which are supposed to be held after two months duration, the details of the minutes of the meetings have been sought. The Telephone Interception Committee is headed by the Chief Secretary while Secretary (Law) and Principal Secretary (Home) are its two members.

Another aspect which has caught the attention of the probing agency is the fact that why were personal conversations, not pertaining to the case for which the numbers were put under surveillance, not deleted as per norms.

Another fact which has come to the fore is that in several cases, the interception of a number carried on beyond the prescribed limit of six months. However, since the record of the last six months has been destroyed by the Home as well as the CID as per norms, there is no way to ascertain whether the numbers whose surveillance was carrying on beyond six months was being done with permission or illegally.

Though the government has entrusted the probe into the phone tapping issue to the Vigilance Bureau, barring the list of telephone numbers, no other record has been handed over to them. As such the investigation can take much longer than expected.

Sources said the Vigilance Bureau had not been able to get an exact figure about the number of phones that had been put under surveillance with their permission from the Home Department for the six months period before December 26, 2012, when the hard disc of computers of the CID and the Vigilance wings were seized and sent for a forensic analysis. 

Action plan

* Vigilance has sought minutes of review meetings of the Telephone Interception Committee held in the recent past.

* It has asked for a complete record in possession with the Home and the CID for the last six months.

* The bureau has sought a soft copy of the conversation contained in four CDs, which were retrieved from the seized computers of the CID wing. 

Shimla, April 17
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said today that the entire five-year tenure of the BJP regime was marred by nepotism and unleashing of political vendetta against Congress leaders and workers.

CM Virbhadra Singh with other ministers during a DCC meeting in Shimla on Wednesday. Photo: Amit Kanwar

The Chief Minister was addressing the general house meeting of the Shimla (Urban) Block Congress Committee. “I do not intend spending my time framing cases against BJP leaders and workers even though there is an ample evidence of such irregularities committed by them,” he said.

Virbhadra said the Congress regime would register victory on all the four Lok Sabha seats. “Had I got more time for campaigning during the Assembly polls, I would have ensured that the BJP was completely wiped off,” he said.

He said unlike his predecessors, he did not believe in political victimisation as ensuring an overall development of the state was the topmost priority of his government. “In the first-ever example of its kind, the previous BJP regime did not even hesitate to take the help of officers to intercept the telephones of so many persons,” he said.

He accused the BJP regime of targeting its political opponents, who were implicated in false cases, including himself. “Those who are found guilty of having indulged in corrupt practices during the BJP regime will not be spared and the government is looking into all such allegations,” he said.

“Our endeavour will be to improve health and education services, road network and other infrastructure so that the common man reaps the benefit of development,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, state Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh sought action against those responsible for the alleged phone tapping and benami land deals during the BJP regime. He said transparency, discipline and honesty were paramount for running both the government as well as the party.

Speaking at the meeting, Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes said the target before all the party workers should be to ensure victory of Congress candidates on all the four parliamentary seats. She stressed the need for better coordination between the party organisation and the government. 

Shimla, April 17
The Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) today urged the Congress regime to show greater commitment towards taking action in cases relating to corruption, phone tapping and land deals in violation of law during the BJP regime.

Addressing a press conference here today, HLP legislator Maheshwar Singh said certain decisions of the Virbhadra regime like giving skill development allowance to unemployed youth was a welcome step.

“Though three months is a short time frame, we expect action in corruption cases and other irregularities committed by the BJP regime,” he said.

He demanded that the Congress regime should consider providing this allowance to all the youth immediately after they completed Class XII and not just to those between the age of 25 to 35 years.

“Neither has the government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) nor has there been much progress in investigations whether it pertained to the phone tapping issue, Bemloe Housing project, probe into the HP Cricket Association affairs or the Vigilance case with regard to appointments in the Solan Municipal Corporation,” he said. He said there was no reason for delay in registration of a case in the phone tapping incident when it was amply clear that the privacy of individuals had been violated under the Telegraph Act.

He said there were conflicting reports about the Bemloe housing projects as the Forest Department had fined the promoter for illegally felling trees and at the same time a Central committee had virtually given a clean chit to the project.

“The Congress before the polls had promised a corruption-free government. Therefore, concrete steps must be taken to ensure that,” he said. He also reminded the government to take steps to check damage being caused by monkeys to crops.

Maheshwar completely ruled out speculation about his joining the Congress to be able to get a ministerial berth. “There is no question of my joining the Congress or any other party and least of all compromising on the principles I believe in for a ministerial berth,” he said.

In reply to a query about his pleading his brother, Karan Singh’s case for being inducted in the ministry, he said he was neither supporting nor opposing anyone. 

Kullu, April 17
Even as the state government has decided to reopen the controversial $150-million Himalayan Ski Village, a dream project of Alfred Brush Ford, grandson of Henry Ford, in the Manali uphill, rivals BJP and Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) have appeared on a single platform on the issue as both the parties oppose the decision of the project coming in the same old form.

“The government is open on the ski village project if the company is willing to go ahead with it. We have sought a legal opinion to withdraw the case from the High Court, which has ordered that the company can get all the mandatory clearances for the project in its recent ruling,” said Sudripta Roy, Chief Secretary.

As a matter of fact, the then Virbhadra Singh government had signed an MoU with the Himalayan Ski Village Pvt Ltd, Shuru, in 2004 in his bid to rope in high-end dollar-rich tourists and skiers from across the globe and holding the winter Olympics and world ski events at Manali.

But the BJP government later cancelled the MoU after local NGOs opposed the project. The company moved the High Court, which gave its verdict in its favour, but the government filed the special application in the High Court.

With Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in command again, the government has reopened the ski village project, putting onus on the company for getting the clearances as required under the laws.

But the ski village has re-opened a can of worms ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Interestingly, both the rivals, BJP and its breakaway group HLP, appeared on the same platform on this project, taking the Congress head-on.

The BJP has not declared its official position, but the issue will be decided by the collective leadership at the state executive meeting to be held in Kullu from April 20-22, said Satpal Satti, BJP president.

“We had opposed the project in 2004 when the Congress had signed the MoU and its government rejected it subsequently,” he added.

But HLP chief and Kullu legislator Maheshwar Singh sounded ambivalent saying, “The then project was nothing but a real-estate business. The proposed villas in the ski village were to be sold to foreigners that would have adversely affected the local culture and we had opposed it.”

Besides, it is a question of Dev Aastha, belief in gods and goddesses, who are believed to live in the higher hill tops and lakes where the ski ropeways would pollute and desecrate the sacred spots, he added. “If the project appears in the same form or at the same sacred spots, we oppose it,” added Maheshwar Singh, who also is the chief representative of Lord Raghunath, presiding lord of the devis and devtas in the valley. The ski village was rejected in Switzerland, then why was it being pursued here, he asked.

HSVPL Director Ajay Dabra said the company was serious to go ahead with the Himalayan-friendly project and would convey its plan of action soon. “The company is still interested in the project, but the company has suffered a lot as nothing has happened in the last five years,” he added.

Dabra claimed those, who were opposing the project, were not aware how and what the project would do for the state. All the shareholders were still with the company, he added.

Kangra, April 17
The state government has decided to authorise the SDM and the local MLA to have a surprise inspection of ration depots of the Food and Supplies Department so that better facilities are provided to the common people through these depots.

This was stated here today said by Transport and Food and Civil Supplies Minister GS Bali, while addressing a series of public meetings in Sarotri, Sheera Thana, Pathiar and Rajiana villages, falling in his Assembly constituency, after hearing the public grievances during the “MLA at your doorstep” programme.

He said Rs 175 crore had been earmarked for the distribution of subsidised food items to all the ration card holders in the state during the current financial year.

Bali said people would be provided three types of pulses and mustard oil on subsidised rates through the civil supplies ration depots and the quota of April would be provided to them in May.

Bali suggested that people should get their LPG cylinders weighed at the time of purchasing and for that the LPG agencies had been directed to keep a weighing balance available in the LPG distribution vehicle.

He said to combat the acute drinking water crisis during the last three months, 47 hand pumps had been installed and five more would be installed in the coming days in the Changer belt of the Nagrota Bagwan Assembly segment.

He announced that the Government High School, Massal, would be shortly upgraded to Senior Secondary School to provide elementary education to children of the area at their doorstep.

He directed the forest officers to take effective steps to curb incidents of forest fires during the coming summer and suggested that the public participation should be ensured so that forest wealth could be saved.

Hamirpur, April 17
More than 800 police personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) stationed at Jangal Beri have failed to receive the 13th month’s pay, given to them as a special incentive, due to reported paucity of funds.

All police personnel are paid one month’s extra pay as an incentive for their round-the-clock duties by the state government in addition to their regular salary.

The police personnel are paid 13 months’ salary every year to compensate them for the extra work which their job entails.

Every year on the completion of a financial year, the police administration submits bills to respective government treasuries, which make them the payments.

Sources in the IRB, Jangal Beri, say, “The police administration of the IRB, Jangal Beri, submitted bills of about 850 police personnel posted in the battalion in the beginning of the March, 2013, to pay them their 13th month’s salary, but they have not received the payment till now due to paucity of funds.”

It is learnt that the Police Department is waiting for the allocation of funds from the state government for reimbursing the salaries for the 13th month.

Commandants, IRB, Jangal Bairi, said, “We have already submitted salary bills of the 13th month of all police personnel to the treasury and payments will be made soon.” 

Solan, April 17
The absence of a blood bank in the first referral unit (FRU), Nalagarh, has defeated the very purpose of upgrading this hospital according to the provision of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

The FRU caters to the accident-prone industrial area where almost 20 to 25 accidents are reported every month. Considering these emergencies, the presence of a blood bank is of utmost importance. There was a proposal to open a blood storage unit in the past, but it failed to materialise in the absence of adequate staff. This was despite the purchase of equipment, which is now being used at the Regional Hospital, Solan. This was done to ensure that the equipment was kept in a working condition. A bare minimum staff of one staff nurse, laboratory technician and a doctor will be required to operate the blood storage unit. Since no staff is available the, blood bank cannot be operated.

Though the NRHM aims to restructure delivery mechanism by reducing child and maternal deaths, the failure of the state to provide a blood bank as enshrined in the NRHM norms at the FRU level for emergency obstetrics and newborn care under the Reproductive and Child Health Programme has defeated the purpose of the programme.

There have been cases where patients, who were referred to other hospitals, have died on the way. Many lives could have been saved if a blood bank was opened when the hospital was upgraded to an FRU.

Dr Shashi Pal Singh, Chief Medical Officer, said they would soon open a blood storage unit at the FRU, Nalagarh, and the Community Health Centre, Arki, where freezers were already made available for storing blood.

He said depending on the demand of units consumed, the storage centre could be upgraded to a blood bank soon. A lab technician and a doctor would be trained to handle the blood storage unit for which an exclusive room had been provided at the FRU, Nalagarh, he said.

He said there was no fund constrains for setting up the unit and they were exploring the head under which this expenditure could be made. 

Bilaspur, April 17
Some thousand villagers, mostly women, took out a demonstration in the town here today. They sought an immediate intervention of the district administration to get their problems solved from the factory management at Barmana.

The villagers were led by Sarv Shikshit Avam Berozgar Janhit Sangarsha Samiti leaders, including Amarjeet Singh, Pavan Kumar, Pravin Thakur, Anil Kumar and Deep Kumar, Mahila Mandals and other social and cultural organisations of the area.

Later, the leaders presented a 21-point demands charter to Deputy Commissioner Ajay Sharma and Superintendent of Police Anupam Sharma criticising the callous attitude of the factory management.

Leaders warned that they would intensify their peaceful agitation if management did not hold fruitful talks with the samiti within the next three days. They said they had presented a detailed memorandum to the management on March 26 and had given a 15-day notice, but in vain. Demonstrators also met local MLA Bambar Thakur and sought his intervention in this matter at the earliest.

Main demands of the villagers included reduction in cement rates to others than that prevailing in neighbouring states, employment priority to them, steps for keeping a check on smoke, dust and poisonous gases, pollution and education, training and health facilities to them from the factory. 

Shimla, April 17
Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) today signed an MoU with HelpAge India for running six mobile medical units and organising specialised health check-up camps in and around the project affected areas.

The MoU was signed in the presence of RN Misra, Director (Civil), NL Sharma, Director (Personnel), and RK Bansal, Director (Electrical), of SJVN Limited. The MoU was signed by D Sarveswar, secretary, SJVN Foundation-cum-AGM, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and Madhu Madan, country head, HelpAge India.

Nand Lal Sharma, who is also the chairman of SJVN Foundation, said the MoU was initially for three years, which could further be extended for five years, while the annual cost for each vehicle for the first year would be around Rs 35 lakh and the total cost for running these medical units and organising medical camps for three years would be around Rs 6 crore.

He stressed that health of the people around project areas was one of the major concern for the SJVN.

He said the other areas under CSR activities were education, talent promotion, infrastructural development, environment protection and skill development of youth, women and differently abled persons. A sum of Rs 15 crore would be spent on the CSR and sustainable development activities during the current financial year, he said.

On the occasion, RN Misra, Director (Civil), SJVN Ltd, said as a power-producing company, the SJVN was using the resources of host communities and as a responsible corporate entity, its duty was to take good care of these communities.

Madhu Madan, country head, HelpAge India, gave details about the programme of medical mobile units and thanked the nigam for the cooperation.

Dharamsala, April 17
Farmers of the state, especially in the lower Himachal region, have failed to take the benefit of the bamboo charcoal technology developed by the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (IHBT) a CSIR centre at Palampur.

Scientists of the IHBT have developed a kiln for manufacturing charcoal from bamboo. Tests from the CSIR centre at Jharkhand have proved that the bamboo charcoal produced from IHBT kilns has the same burning energy as charcoal produced from any other wood.

The Director, IHBT, told The Tribune that the bamboo charcoal-making kiln developed by them could be set up at a cost of about Rs 1.25 lakh.

Anil Sud, an IHBT scientist, said presently charcoal was being produced in the entire northern region from timber wood. It was leading to the depletion of green cover as timber trees were slow in growing and could not be replenished very soon. However, once it reached maturity, the bamboo could give perennial supply of wood for producing charcoal.

He said presently the rates of charcoal were hovering at Rs 500 to Rs 700 per quintal. The farmers could put their waste and forest land to use and earn extra from producing bamboo charcoal.

He also said the IHBT had developed technologies to develop more profitable byproducts from bamboo charcoal. Charcoal could also be used for producing activated carbon. The IHBT on an experimental basis was going to set up an activated charcoal manufacturing unit from bamboo charcoal with the help of local non-government organisation (NGO) CORD.

The activated carbon was used in pharmaceutical and other industries. It had a ready market and could prove very profitable for the farmers who opted for professional bamboo farming, he said.

However, the sources available here said the efforts of the IHBT or authorities of the National Bamboo Mission were not achieving much success in motivating farmers of Himachal to opt for bamboo farming. One of the biggest bottlenecks for the purpose was a complete ban on green tree felling in Himachal.

The farmers have the impression that even if they go for bamboo plantation they will not be allowed to harvest the crop due the ban on green tree felling. Forest Department officials are also not clear if bamboo harvest is commercial or falls in the green cover category, the felling for which is banned.

Bamboo farming can be a success in Himachal only if it is considered as a commercial crop and farmers are allowed to harvest it at their will.

Shimla, April 17
The state government is expected to make appointments and regularise the services of college cadre lecturers in consonance with the Recruitment and Promotion Rules framed under Article 309 of the Constitution. This was held by the HP High Court while disposing of the bunch of petitions filed in this regard.

A Division Bench comprising Justice RB Misra and Justice VK Sharma observed that the Regularisation Policy, 2007, issued by the state government on September 2008 appeared to have not been issued in consonance with the settled position of law.

It further observed that the policy and the subsequent communication also appeared to have been made by way of executive instructions, as such the circulars issued on September 2008 and the communication letter issued on June 2009 could not over-ride the rules framed under Article 309 of the Constitution.

“These circulars cannot be treated to be a substitute of rules for the state government for regularisation,” it said.

The court passed this order on the petitions challenging the 2007 regularisation policy whereby recruitment was prescribed 100 per cent by direct recruitment on a contract basis. It was contended by the petitioners that after 2001 till 2007, the Recruitment and Promotion Rules of 2001 were applicable, however, prior to 2007, no mode of recruitment by way of contract appointment was prescribed. Only by ‘Rules 2007’, the method of recruitment was prescribed 100 per cent by direct recruitment on a contract basis. It appears, without following due process of law, the appointments were made on contract or ad hoc basis by way of back door entry to the post of lecturer (college cadre)/Class-1 posts. Whereas, the appointment to such posts are to be made by the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission. Even for the purpose of ad hoc/contract appointments, the selection invariably was to be made by the commission in respect of all Class-I posts. 

Kangra, April 17
“The digital communication is now shifting its base from urban settings to rural,” said Micheal Ginguld, Director, Strategy and Operations, Rural Broadband, and CEO, Airjaldi Networks, while delivering a lecture on “Connecting Rural Areas to the Internet through Wireless Communication Technologies” at the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) at Shahpur yesterday.

He said mobility, cloud computing, social entrepreneurship intelligence and social networking were the key drivers of wireless communication technologies in rural India.

Ginguld, who has a vast experience of working in the field, said huge investments were being made in the communication technology sector and that this technology was now driving consumer income and demand.

He said it was very important for people who were working for capacity-building in the communication technology sector to understand how the technology was turning mature because of twin forces of advancement in technology and globalisation.

Giving the example of initiatives taken by Airjaldi Networks in the Dhaualadar range of hills, he said now the sleeping mountains were tweeting.

He said the business of wireless technologies in the country was expanding very fast and students doing courses in technology, management, communication, social sciences and humanities had ample scope to know about cost-effective technological invention and innovation.

Prof YS Verma, Pro Vice-Chancellor, CUHP, said the university was organising a series of lectures on various themes. 

Bilaspur, April 17
Three persons were seriously burnt when an LPG cooking gas cylinder caught fire inside the kitchen of the Mahakali Mandir at Tiun village near Suharghat, 50 km from here, yesterday.

Reports said the fire spread fast inside the kitchen and burnt almost everything kept there. Some people dared to pick up the burning cylinder and throw it into the fields where it burst with an explosion.

Some devotees were preparing a langar in the kitchen when the accident occurred. A large number of devotees present at the spot helped in controlling the fire.

Those injured include Shubham, son of Gyan Chand, and Ravi Kumar, son of Sher Singh, both of Nalagarh, and Manju Kumar of Kalsaai village of Ghumarwin. They were first rushed to the Suharghat Primary Health Centre and then to Nalagarh hospital. Their condition was stated to be serious.aThe police arrived on the spot immediately and helped in the rescue and relief operations.