Shimla, May 11
Having issued notices to 157 party leaders and workers on charges of indulging in anti-party activities during the Assembly elections last year, the state disciplinary committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold personal hearings here next week to take a final decision on the action to be taken against those facing allegations of undercutting.

It has been reliably learnt that the four-member committee headed by Ganesh Dutt will hold personal hearings before deciding on the action to be taken against those facing allegations of anti-party activities. It is expected that about two dozen leaders and prominent party workers will face expulsion.

The other members of the disciplinary committee are former Kangra Central Cooperative Bank Chairman Rajeev Mahajan, Rashil Singh Mankotia and state mahila BJP president Ritu Sethi.

Dutt confirmed that the final decision would be taken next week after personal hearings. He said barring about 15 persons, replies from all 157 persons who had been served show-cause notices had been received. In a majority of the complaints received by the disciplinary committee, the allegations were not of a very serious nature.

"In cases where allegations of damaging the prospects of official BJP nominees are not very specific, we will make rival factions sit across the table and iron out their differences," said a senior BJP leader. He added that expulsion could be ordered in about two dozen cases where allegations seemed to be of serious nature.

The BJP had fared badly in districts like Kangra reportedly due to undercutting which resulted in the party failing to make its 'Mission Repeat' a success. Over 25 prominent party leaders had contested elections against official nominees and four rebels had won.

The four BJP rebels who are now Independent legislators are Pawan Kajal from Kangra, Manohar Dhiman from Indora, Balbir Verma from Chopal and Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur.

Former Chief Minister PK Dhumal had blamed infighting within the party and wrong ticket distribution as the main reasons for the debacle of the party.

The BJP had suffered considerable damage in the elections due to the reportedly virtual vertical split in the party between the Dhumal and Shanta Kumar camps.

New Delhi, May 11
In a major setback to the state government, the Supreme Court (SC) has ordered regularisation of about 50,000 daily wage workers, placing a huge financial burden on the state.

A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and Ranjana Desai passed the order, directing the state government to implement the July 2010 judgement of the Himachal Pradesh High Court (HC). The HC had directed the government to follow the 2000 policy for regularisation of daily wage workers instead of the 2006 policy.

The state government had come to the SC in 2011, contending that the HC verdict had placed on it an unwarranted financial burden of several hundred crores. On the state’s plea, another SC Bench comprising Justices RV Raveendran (since retired) and AK Patnaik stayed the HC verdict on March 18, 2011, pending consideration.

The order passed by the SC on May 7 did not specify the number of workers who had to be regularised, but an advocate who handled the case said about 50,000 workers would benefit.

On December 1, 2006, the state government created for the benefit of daily wage employees 4,941 posts under the policy instructions issued on June 9, 2006.

Under the 2006 policy, all daily wage employees who had completed eight years of continuous service as on March 31, 2004, were eligible for regularisation, subject to the condition of having worked for a minimum of 240 days of each calendar year.

After accepting regularisation with effect from December 26, 2006, some of them had approached the HC, seeking benefits from the cut-off date of March 31, 2004, stipulated under the 2006 policy, despite the government having clarified that the policy would not have retrospective effect.

Relying on the May-June 2000 policy, the HC had directed the conferment of work charged status on daily wage workers prior to regularisation even though the 2006 policy did not envisage any such status as the work charged establishment had ceased to exist.

Dharamsala, May 11
Unprecedented rain and strong winds in the area today damaged standing crop and produce lying in the fields in Kangra. Heavy rain in the upper region of Kangra for about two hours in the morning took farmers by surprise. 

Sources here said wheat lying in the open in the fields suffered maximum damage. The farmers, who had not collected their wheat from the fields, would have to wait till it dried up. The wetting was likely to discolour the wheat.

The farmers who have not harvested the crop also suffered. The farmers will now have to wait for the crop to dry before harvesting. This can delay the sowing of crop too. Strong showers may affect the yield also.

Farmers organisations have demanded a special survey be ordered to give compensation to the farmers whose crops were damaged due to the rains.

Farmers in Kandi areas of the district also demanded compensation. Most of the farmers in the Changar area of the district alleged that the yield this year had remained very low due to the absence of rain in December and January. Today's rain had added to their woes.

Nurpur, May 11
Rajya Sabha member and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shanta Kumar has underlined the need to devote the education system to the spirit of nationalism.

He was addressing a gathering after dedicating to the people Ma Durga Vidya Mandir School at Indpur in the Indora Assembly constituency of the subdivision today.

He said the country did not need education to be commercialised. He claimed that the education system was devoid of moral values and a spirit of patriotism.

He lamented that a number of educational institutions had been set up to distribute and sell degrees without caring for repercussions. He held poor moral values responsible for widespread corruption in the country.

He alleged that the leaders who had been entrusted with governing the country had been looting it and minting money. Schoolchildren presented a cultural programme on the occasion.

He announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the school from his Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund. An amount of Rs 1.3 crore had been spent on the school.