Nahan, October 11
The Himachal Pradesh Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau has registered a case of cheating, criminal conspiracy and Prevention of Corruption Act against four officers of the state electricity board for causing a loss of about Rs 50 lakh to the exchequer by unduly benefiting a pharmaceutical unit.

The case was registered in August against HP State Electricity Board Limited officers Superintending Engineer (SE) SK Aggarwal, Executive Engineer Anup Dhiman, SDO Dinesh Gupta and JE Jagdish Negi by the Nahan unit of the Vigilance Bureau. They were booked under and sections 420, 120-B and the PCA Act.

Though the case dates to 2005, an inquiry conducted some time back found these officials allegedly connived to give undue benefit to a pharmaceutical unit in Paonta Sahib. The company was supposed to set up a dedicated line from the power board sub-station to the unit at an estimated cost of about Rs 50 lakh. Instead, the officials gave the connection to the unit from an existing line, not only overburdening the line but also causing a loss of nearly Rs 50 lakh to the board.

The bureau initially conducted an inquiry into this case after receipt of a complaint. A case was registered on August 16 against the four officials.

Superintending Engineer SK Aggarwal superannuated some time back. The then Executive Engineer Anup Dhiman is currently Superintending Engineer, Nahan, while the then Executive Engineer is serving in the industrial area of Nalagarh.

Dharamsala, October 11
Heavy rainfall in the last few days in Dharamsala has escalated the damage to paddy crop. Sources here said heavy rainfall at a time when the crop was near harvest had damaged up to 75 per cent crops in the areas adjoining the Dhauladhar mountain ranges.

Earlier as per a survey conducted by the Agriculture Department, damage worth Rs 27 crore was caused to paddy and vegetable crops. Maximum damage to paddy crop has been caused in the Fatehpur block and areas close to the Dhauladhar ranges. Now, the damage is likely to increase.

The areas close to the Dhauladhar ranges received heavy rainfall even in October due to which heavy damage was caused to paddy and vegetable crops, Deputy Director, Agriculture, said.

The late rainfall is likely to discolour the paddy yield. Dwarf variety of paddy is grown in Kangra district, which is more resistance to heavy rainfall and storms.

However, this year even this variety had suffered a heavy damage due to the unprecedented rains. Vegetable crops had also been damaged and exposed to fungal diseases, the sources said.

Though the Department of Agriculture has worked out the losses, the state government has no budget or policy to compensate farmers for loss due to natural calamity.

When asked if there was any policy to compensate farmers for the loss due to heavy rainfall, the Deputy Director, Agriculture, Palampur, said there was no such provision.

However, the government had decided to give 50 per cent subsidy to farmers of the state for the forthcoming rabi season for crops, including vegetables, oil seeds, fodder crops, pulses and cereals, he said.

The state government had also introduced crop insurance policy for the farmers. However, a few farmers have taken up the scheme.

Shimla, October 11
With alarmingly high incidence of drug addiction among youth in the state, the Health Department has decided to launch a joint campaign with the police and education department. Even though no comprehensive state-level survey has been held so far to ascertain the extent of the drug menace, but with several youth — including girls — hooked to drugs, the government has decided to step in. Several cases of youth having lost their lives due to drug overdose have also been reported.

“Seeing the gravity of the situation, the Health Department will launch a campaign jointly with other departments so the youth can be saved,” said Kaul Singh Thakur, Health and Family Welfare Minister. He said a comprehensive database would be prepared by involving teachers, parents, voluntary organisations and the police before preparing a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the problem.

The government has opened 12 de-addiction centres at each district headquarter. Efforts are on to depute psychologists, counselors and other trained staff to guide and treat youth. “We will not only generate awareness among youth through trained health personnel, but will also step up surveillance and check sale of drugs and other such products so they are not easily available,” said Thakur.

A survey by the Himachal Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (HPVHA) on consumption of tobacco and its other products among children up to the age of 17 revealed that 50 per cent of school-going children were into drugs. “The situation is already very grave and there is need to take some major initiatives immediately to arrest the problem,” said Narender Sharma, executive director of the association.

Dharamsala, October 11
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association president Anurag Thakur today filed the reply to Vigilance notice regarding the conversion of the sports body from a society to a company without the permission of the state government.

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had issued notice to Thakur, also a BJP MP from Hamirpur, on September 4, and asked him to file reply to the questionnaire given to him till October 10. — TNS

Dharamsala, October 11
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) president, Anurag Thakur, today filed the reply to Vigilance notice regarding the conversion of the sports body from a society to a company without the permission of the state government. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had issued notice to Thakur, also a BJP MP from Hamirpur, on September 4.

Thakur was asked to file a reply to the questionnaire given to him on September 17 by the department till October 10.

Thakur was also asked to supply the proceeding register of the HPCA society to the Vigilance Department. Bimal Gupta, SP Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau, when asked about the reply filed by Thakur, said the department was going through it and could not say anything regarding it.

Shimla, October 11
Students will now have a role in improving academic standards in institutions of higher education, with the state government making “evaluation of teachers” by students mandatory from the current session under the Rashtriya Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).

The basic objective of the move is to seek feedback to strengthen the quality of teaching-learning environment and to look for opportunities to improve teacher performance in classroom engagement with students to bring excellence in teaching and learning.

However, the initiative will also have a bearing on the career graphs of teachers. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has made it obligatory for teachers to get the feedback proforma filled from students and the same could be produced at the time of submitting their academic performance indicator (API) scores.

Universities and other higher education institutions are required to have accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in which the “teachers' evaluation” by students is one of the essential components.

Teachers will be rated on the five-level Likert scale — below average, average, good, very good and excellent — on six broad parameters pertaining to their performance in the classroom. Only students with a minimum 75 per cent attendance will be eligible to give feedback on the performance of teachers.

Evaluation points include punctuality and regularity in taking classes, coverage of syllabi, self-confidence, communication skills, use of teaching aids and innovative methods, transparency in evaluation of answer books, ability to address inappropriate behaviour of students and delivery of structured lectures.

Feedback will be provided on 41 points for objective evaluation of performance of teachers covering all relevant areas. Himachal Pradesh University has already approved the feedback proforma, designed by its internal quality assurance cell.

Solan, October 11
To ensure online availability of service records of teaching and non-teaching staff of government-run higher secondary and senior secondary schools across the state, the Director Higher Education has instructed the concerned officials to complete filing of online service records of their respective staff within a week.

All the concerned schools were directed to put the service records of its staff online several months ago, but the work had not been completed till now. However, the Director said disciplinary action would be initiated against those principals and head masters, who do not comply with the orders within the stipulated time frame.

In the latest set of directives issued by the Directorate of Higher Education yesterday, it has been stated that despite several reminders the school staff failed to complete the procedure. The Director further said the matter was being viewed “seriously”.

All the data has to be entered into the Personnel Management Information System software generated for this purpose, which will help in assessing the information related to transfers, promotions, annual increments, service verifications, etc of the school staff.

Bharmour, October 11
Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri has asked hydropower firms to provide legitimate benefits and facilities to persons affected by the construction of projects in Chamba district.

Bharmouri said stern action would be taken against construction companies that failed to abide by corporate social responsibility and community development and state government directives.