All PTA teachers removed from service on whatever pretext by the BJP government will be reinstated, as all of them were appointed after their eligibility was duly checked. They were politically victimised by the BJP regime. — Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister

Shimla, August 27
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said all 6,318 teachers appointed by Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA), who had been removed from service by the previous BJP regime, would be reinstated and regularised within two years.

The Chief Minister was replying to a query raised by Jai Ram Thakur, Asha Kumari and Randhir Sharma during the question hour in the Assembly today. “All PTA teachers removed from service on whatever pretext by the BJP government will be reinstated, as all of them had been appointed after their eligibility was duly checked. They were politically victimised by the BJP regime,” he announced in a reply to the supplementary raised by Asha Kumari.

He said the PTA teachers had suffered under the BJP regime, but, as promised, the Congress government would first take them on contract and then regularise them. “Considering the experience of the PTA appointees, the government will regularise them within two years,” he said. He said none of these 6,318 teachers would be removed as they fulfilled the eligibility criteria.

In a reply to a query on the issue of modification made in the Skill Development Allowance Scheme, Industries and Labour Minister Mukesh Agnihotri informed the House that till July-end skill development allowance for only 41 youth had been approved. He added that a provision of Rs 100 crore had been made in this year’s budget for the scheme to help educated youth acquire skills, which would help them get jobs.

“We have lowered the age criterion from 25 to 18 and qualification from Class XII to matriculation, so that maximum youth can avail the benefit under the flagship programme of the Virbhadra regime,” he said.

He said there were a total of 9.02 lakh unemployed youth registered in various employment exchanges in the state. “Ours is a totally transparent government and after getting the feedback, we made some changes as per the needs of the youth,” he said.

Replying to a question raised by Satpal Satti, Vireneer Kanwar, Vikram Singh and Ravinder Ravi, on the supply of subsidised food items through the Public Distribution System (PDS), GS Bali, Food and Civil Supplies Minister, said all items, including wheat, rice, pulses, oil and salt, were being supplied. “There was a delay in providing sugar due to some issue with the tender. However, the supply of 22,000 quintals has been received and the consumers will get the quota of 612 gm sugar per person,” he said.

He assured that the pending supply of food items, including sugar, would be given to all 16,31,804 ration holders.

Shimla, August 27
The Opposition BJP today staged a walkout in the Assembly, accusing the government of trying to amend the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, to revert to the indirect system of elections of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC).

It was during the debate on the proposed amendment to the Act by way of an ordinance that the BJP legislators, including Suresh Bhardwaj, Mahender Singh and Rajeev Bindal, cast aspersions on the intension of the government of switching back to indirect elections.

“When the elections are almost two and half years away, what is the urgency to bring about an ordinance, which is brought about only to deal with an emergent situation?” asked Bhardwaj.

He said the very fact that the ordinance had been brought about amounted to constitutional misuse of powers by the government. “It is very obvious that the government would try to pressurise elected councillors by using its influence so indirect elections were any day better as people had a say in choosing their Mayor and Deputy Mayor,” he said.

Bindal said since the matter was not urgent, it should be referred to the Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha. “If you want the true spirit of democracy to prevail, having direct elections is very essential but then the government in power has a little say,” he stated. Maheshwar Singh also participated in the debate.

Mahender Singh suggested that the government must consider making the bigger Municipal Committees like Mandi, Dharamsala, Solan and Baddi, having more than 50,000 population, Municipal Corporations, as this will help in getting central funding under many schemes.

Despite the doubts raised by members, the Himachal Pradesh Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2013, was passed by voice vote. However, when it came to passing the HP Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, the BJP members said the clauses in the Hindi and English version of the proposed amendment varies, which reflected that it had been prepared in haste. As Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma started replying, the BJP members staged a walkout from the House, raising slogans.

Trying to allay the apprehensions of the members earlier, the Urban Development Minister said the amendments were being made as representations had been received from various bodies, seeking indirect polls. “There are complaints that making the elections direct has made the heads of local bodies dictatorial and the authority of the members had been reduced,” he said.

Sharma said maybe the intension of the government in 2010, when the elections were made direct, was correct, but now problems were being faced. “If the heads of local bodies do a good job then they do not need to fear a no-confidence motion,” he said.

Shimla, August 27
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said he was reviewing the probe into the benami land deals and other land violations during the BJP regime on a weekly basis and the report would be made public when it’s complete.

Talking to mediapersons here today, the Chief Minister said all complaints of such land deals made in violation of the norms were being looked into by various agencies. “Since the DP Sood Committee on the benami land deals has done the spade work, we will take into account their report as well,” he said.

Virbhadra said the Food Security Bill, passed by Parliament, would be implemented in the state, shortly. “Even though in Himachal, both the below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) categories are being provided subsidised food items, including rice, wheat, pulses, mustard oil and iodised salt, but the Food Security Act will be fully implemented,” he said.

He criticised the BJP for resorting to cheap publicity by staging a walkout every now and then on non-issues. “Such acts are a reflection of the insecurity and frustration among the BJP members. Those who were ministers in the Dhumal regime are the ones creating maximum ruckus in the House, as they are unable to come to terms with the defeat of their party.

He said today’s walkout was totally unjustified as the Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill had been circulated two days ago. “Neither did any of the BJP members seek amendment to the Bill nor did they make any objection earlier, but now they are staging a walkout for the sake of opposing it without any valid reasons,” he said.

He said the Congress had decided to hold a public rally in Chaura Maidan here on August 30 to list the achievements of the government at a political platform,” he said.

Shimla, August 27
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil today said the rape victims in the state were being provided a financial help of Rs 75,000 to Rs 1,00,000.

Replying to a query under Rule 130 by Govind Thakur (BJP) in the Assembly, Shandil said: “Special women cells have been created in all government departments to redress grievances of women at work places.”

Govind Thakur said the crime against women was on the rise and there was a need to make the law more stringent. He suggested that the women in police stations must be given proper training.

Participating in the debate, Asha Kumari (Congress) said the rapists must not get anything less than capital punishment. She fully supported BJP leader Sushma Swaraj's view on the issue.

“Rajiv Gandhi gave 33 per cent reservation to women in panchayati raj institutions and this must be extended to Assembly and Parliament as well,” she demanded. She also sought special courts for women.

Sarveen Chaudhary (BJP) stressed the need on inculcating moral values among students in schools, which would help check crime against women. She said changes must be made in the law to ensure share for tribal women in their father’s property, which they were not entitled to.

Others who participated in the debate included Deputy Speaker Jagat Singh Negi, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Kishori Lal, Col Inder Singh and Hans Raj.

Shimla, August 27
The Tourism Department will acquire the heritage building, Bantony, the palace of Maharaja of Sirmaur, here on the Mall to convert it into a city museum by acquiring the main structure and the vast expanse of land around it.

A high-level committee, headed by Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy, met here today to discuss the acquisition of the decrepit heritage property so that it could be conserved by converting it into a museum, children’s park and a cafe. The committee also discussed the acquisition of some other prime properties, including Dixcy Estate, near the Raj Bhawan, and Moon International Hotel, near the state Secretariat, to pave way for a huge parking for vehicles.

The committee is likely to meet after a week after consultations are held with the Chief Minister on whether to acquire the entire 22 bighas of land, including forest or the main six bigha patch only having the main wooden structure, said an official. He said a notification would be issued under Section 4 of the land Acquisition Act, 1894, to acquire the property shortly.

Earlier, there was a proposal that the Shimla Municipal Corporation would acquire the heritage building, but now the Tourism Department has stepped in. In fact, the issue of the acquisition of the Bantony had figured prominently in the Congress charge-sheet.

The Tourism Department will acquire the property whose value had been assessed at Rs 12 crore in 2004-05 by the Language, Art and Culture Department. Fresh assessment is likely to be done shortly after appointing a Land Acquisition Collector (LAC). During the BJP regime, a proposal had been submitted by a London-based NRI to set up a high-end hotel at the site to the Tourism Department. The BJP regime had then said the Bantony would be acquired and preserved. The building, which earlier housed the office of the Director General of Police, is owned by private individuals and is lying in a dilapidated condition.

The Municipal Corporation has been asked to submit details of the other properties, the Dixcy Estate and the Moon International Hotel building, which has allegedly made in serious violations of the Town and Country Planning and Municipal norms.

The sources said there was a proposal to acquire the Dixcy Estate in 2007 also. The LAC had made an assessment of Rs 49.12 lakh for acquiring the building along with about six bighas of land. The owners had moved the court against the acquisition move but later in 2009, the government reportedly withdrew the acquisition move.

Shimla, August 27
The New Zealand apple industry is keen for collaboration with the hill state both at the level of growers and institutions to bring about qualitative and quantitative improvement in the indigenous fruit.

“The average production in New Zealand is 56 tonne per hectare whereas it is 8 to 9 tonne per hectare in Himachal. Unlike Himachal, apple is grown on flat land in our country but the yield could be easily increased to 20 to 30 tonne per hectare,” said Gary Jones, leader of the team from Pipfruit, the apex body of growers, packers, marketers representing the industry of New Zealand, currently visiting the apple growing areas of the state.

The average age of orchards in Himachal is over 40 years and re-plantation with high yielding varieties and making them compact can help in boosting the production. Besides hill topography, lack of irrigation facility is also a major constraint. Much is required to be done on the disease management front to improve the quality and increase production. He said it was his fourth visit to the state and on every visit, he found improvement in the quality of fruit, but there was a lot more to be done.

“The New Zealand apple industry will not only help growers in rejuvenation of orchards and disease management but also in marketing the fruit, particularly exports. There are just 390 apple growers in New Zealand and they exported over 300,000 tonne of fruit to over 75 countries,” he said.

He said an advantage was that the marketing season of New Zealand was over by June and all the consignments were shipped by July and the harvesting in Himachal commenced thereafter. As such there was no overlapping or clash and New Zealand could help the state in exports, he added.

The Pipfruit was also keen to have collaboration with the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The team would hold meeting with officials in Shimla after completing field visits.

All the growers and those involved in marketing of apple were members of the organisation which carried out all the responsibilities relating to apple industry right from research, development of new varieties, extension services to packaging and marketing. It organised seminars, workshops and conferences for education of members. 

Shimla, August 27
To save tourists from being fleeced by taxi owners, the Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation (HRTC) is launching a new scheme wherein anybody can travel the whole day in government buses on the purchase of a Rs 20 ticket.

Addressing a press conference here today, Transport Minister GS Bali said the government also proposed to start two air-conditioned deluxe buses between Kalka and Shimla for those travelling by the Shatabdi Express. "The deluxe buses will provide a direct link, both to locals as well as tourists, between Kalka and Shimla and save them from being fleeced by taxi owners," he said.

Bali said there was a proposal to start an AC deluxe bus in Shimla town, in which people could travel by purchasing a Rs 400 monthly pass or buy a onetime ticket of minimum Rs 20. "Since this bus will not be crowded, those going to work can travel by comfortably," he said. He added that this would also save people from the hardship of searching for a parking place for their vehicle.

He said the HRTC proposed to buy 10 new buses for Shimla. The minimum fare in these buses would be Rs 5. "We also propose to buy five new buses for the Shimla-Solan route at a fare of Rs 40 and 10 for Shimla-Bilaspur and Shimla-Sirmour routes," he announced.

Bali also announced that 250 new bus routes would be issued to create better transportation facility in rural and remote areas. "Preference will be given to war widows and unemployed youth in the grant of permits on these routes," he said.

He also cautioned that strict action would be taken against drivers and conductors against whom complaints had been received with regard to their bad behaviour. He added that the government would ensure that all drivers and conductors wore uniform and name plates while on duty.

Dharamsala, August 27
There is no trace of two French trekkers, Xabier (20) and Valintin (21), who had gone missing in the Dhauladhar mountains while on a trekking expedition on August 23.

Sources here said the rescue team returned empty handed from the Moon peak and was now heading back. Now it was six days since the French trekkers had gone missing.

An attaché of the French Embassy today arrived at Dharamsala and met district officials. The state government also provided a helicopter for scanning the Dhauladhars for locating the missing trekkers. However, the helicopter could not take off due to bad weather in the higher reaches of the Dhauladhar ranges. The helicopter would fly tomorrow to track the missing trekkers.

Yesterday, the Field Service Intercultural Learning, an NGO, had requested the state government to provide a helicopter to trace the trekkers.

The continuing bad weather was making the rescue work in the higher reaches of the Dhauladhar ranges difficult.

“They did not have enough food to sustain themselves in case they got trapped,” the sources here said. The missing trekkers had come along with a 32-member group of trekkers to Dharamsala.

Shimla, August 27
The government has issued directions to Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) in the state regarding regulation of sale and storage of acid by sellers keeping in view the recent orders of the Supreme Court.

An official spokesperson said the sale of acid over the counter would be completely prohibited unless the sellers maintained a register for keeping the record of sale. The register would have details of persons with complete address and quantity to whom acid was sold. The acid would be sold only after buyers showed a photo ID issued by the government which had the address of the person. The buyer would have to specify the purpose for procuring acid and no acid would be sold to any person who was below 18 years of age.

He said stock of acid must be declared by the seller to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate concerned within 15 days and in case of uncleared stocks, it would be open to the SDM concerned to confiscate the stock and impose a fine on the seller up to Rs 50,000. Fine could be imposed in case of breach any of the directions.

Educational institutions, research laboratories, hospitals, government departments and public sector undertakings, which were required to keep and store acid, would also maintain a register of usage and the same would be filed with the SDM concerned. A person would be made accountable for the possession and safe keeping of acid on their premises, besides acid would be stored under the supervision of the person and there would be a compulsory checking of students and other persons leaving the laboratories or place where acid is used. 

Nurpur, August 27
On the occasion of Janmashatmi, a three-day spiritual discourse and bhajan sandhya by the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan began at the Municipal Council (MC) hall here last night.

Ashwani Sood, SDM, Krishna Mahajan, MC Chairperson, and RK Mahajan, councillor, opened the Janmashatmi mahotsava by lighting the lamp.

Arihanta Bharti, a disciple of Ashotosh Maharaj, founder of the sansthan, spoke on the occasion.

Shimla, August 27
The Army concluded a two-day a major disaster management exercise called Mountain Rescue to ensure a smooth assistance to the civil authorities at the Annadale ground here today.

An official spokesperson said major calamities that struck the Indian sub-continent over the last decade had underscored the need to adopt a multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to disaster management. The armed forces had contributed significantly in such eventualities and were a potent entity available with the Central and state governments for disaster response and relief.

The aim of the exercise was to carry out a full-dress rehearsal for the evacuation of civilian population from disaster-affected areas in the mountains of Himachal. Army Aviation Corps and Air Force helicopters practised casualty evacuation drills in conjunction with Army special forces and regular troops of Jutogh Battalion. The exercise was conducted in conjunction with the civil administration and the Fire Service Department.

The organisational strength of the Army was in full display during the exercise. The Army plans to conduct more such exercises to finetune its disaster management response.

The spokesperson said the armed forces, by virtue of their organisational strength, motivation, discipline and operational preparedness, had always risen to the occasion, earning the appreciation for their singular contribution towards disaster management.

Bilaspur, August 27
Carrying banners and placards, BJP leaders and activists staged a demonstration from Dakkadi Chowk to police station at Ghumarwin town today.

Alleging favouritism in an assault case two days ago in which a shop owner was critically injured after a few youths attacked him, they raised slogans against the police.

Led by BJP state executive member Rajender Garga and accompanied by BJP Mandal president Narender Thakur, general secretaries Zorawar Singh and Navin Sharma, the protesters staged an hour-long dharna outside the police station and demanded an impartial inquiry and strict action against the miscreants.

Later, they went to the office of SDM Rajiv Kumar and submitted a memorandum to the Governor on the issue demanding an impartial probe and quick action.

Hamirpur, August 27
The Sujanpur police has arrested Pritam Singh of Bulah Bagehda village, on the charge of abetment of suicide of his wife, Pawna Devi, on a complaint of Roshni Devi, mother of the deceased.

The complainant has accused Pritam and his parents for allegedly torturing her daughter. She has blamed them for her death. The police has registered a case. — TNS