Dharamsala, December 18
The heated discussion on the Rajiv Gandhi Anna Yojna in the Vidhan Sabha, in which the functioning of the public distribution system came under severe criticism, ended with the Opposition BJP staging a walk out.

All BJP MLAs walked out during the reply of Civil Supplies Minister GS Bali while he was giving a point by point rebuttal of the issues raised during the discussion lasting two days. Senior BJP member Suresh Bhardwaj said the minister was digressing from the main issues and not replying to the specific issues raised by the members.

They raised slogans and walked out over the unsatisfactory reply being given by the minister.

It was Mohinder Singh who first interrupted Bali when he said there was corruption in procurement of items supplied under the subsidised ration scheme during the BJP regime. He cited the cases registered by the Vigilance against some officers in this regard.

A noisy scene followed as other members also joined him. They finally staged a walk out when Bali said the BJP government had left a liability of Rs 102 crore under the subsided ration scheme.

Continuing his reply, Bali said the BJP had tried to mislead the people by citing incorrect figures and now when he was giving the authentic data, they had walked out.

Even the data regarding ration cards was wrong and the correct figure was 17.15 lakh ration cards and, in all, 36.82 lakh persons were to be covered under the scheme.

He said the public distribution system had collapsed during the BJP rule and the people were supplied substandard ration as evident from the fact that 15.32 per cent samples of pulses failed in 2010-11, 17.55 per cent in 2011-12 and 19.66 per cent in 2012-13. Similarly, the percentage of failed samples of oil was 11.11 per cent, 21.5 per cent and 8.52 per cent for the three years.

The situation was worst in case of salt with a failure percentage of 68 per cent, 55.17 per cent and 98.59 per cent in these years. He was trying to improve the system to ensure quality which had become a major concern during the BJP rule.

He made it clear that the quota of the APL families would not be curtailed and they would continue the subsidised ration as before for which the government would spend an additional Rs 20 crore.

A total provision Rs 237 crore had been made. So far, 1,83,586 tonne of wheat flour, 1,16,606 tonne of wheat, 1,86,501 tonne of rice,31,133 tonne of pulses and 30,904 tonne of edible oil had been supplied. Over 70 per cent of the stocks had been lifted from the stores of the State Civil Supplies Corporation.

The government had procured the best quality of sugar certified as S-31 under the Indian Sugar Standards and the questions being raised over its quality were baseless. There was some delay in procurement as tender had to be cancelled twice as there was only a single bidder. Now the government had decided that tenders would be invited for all commodities for six months instead of three months to ensure timely supply.

Dharamsala, December 18
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh informed the Vidhan Sabha here today that the income limit for appointment in government jobs on compassionate grounds had been raised to Rs 1.25 lakh per annum from Rs 75,000 per annum.

Replying to a joint question of Asha Kumari (Congress) and Gulab Singh, Hans Raj and Randhir Sharma (all BJP), he said as many as 404 persons were provided jobs on compassionate grounds over the past one year. Out of them, 165 persons were employed in Class III and 239 in Class IV services. About 624 cases were still under consideration.

He said the pension payable on the date of application was considered while calculating the income.

Until 2006, the PWD officials were empowered to give jobs on daily wages to dependents of departmental employees at the local level, but now the practice had been scrapped.

Rs 5 cr for Chamba bus stand

Transport Minister GS Bali told BK Chauhan (BJP) that the proposed bus stand at Chamba would be constructed on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. A grant of Rs 5 Crore would be provided by NHPC for it.

He said the land of the Jail Department was yet to be transferred for the construction of the bus stand.

24 AGs appointed

The CM informed Ravinder Singh Ravi (BJP) that the state government had appointed 24 Additional and Deputy Advocate Generals. He clarified that under the policy the advocates residing in Shimla and practising in the High Court were given preference, but he did not give the details of the payments made to the Advocate General maintaining that it was not a part of the question.

Rs 23.93 cr House Tax due

Answering a joint question of Satpal Singh Satti and ID Dhiman (BJP) and Sanjay Rattan (Congress), Urban Development Minister Sudhir Kumar said House Tax amounting over Rs 23.93 crore was due in respect of 49 Nagar Parishads and Nagar Panchayats in the state.

He said an urban local body, which failed to collect House Tax, could be dissolved and an administrator could be appointed in its place. He said four urban local bodies had not collected any tax and made it clear that there was no proposal of a one-time settlement to bail out the defaulters, as it would be unfair to those who had been regularly paying taxes.

Shimla, December 18
The chances of Shimla celebrating a white Christmas have brightened with a fresh cold wave gripping the entire state and the mercury plummeting in most parts of Himachal.

There have been reports of fresh snowfall in the higher reaches of the state, including the tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti. Reports of snowfall on the Rohtang Pass have also been received.

According to the local Meteorological Centre, a fresh western disturbance will affect the western Himalayan region from December 22. There has been a major decline in the minimum temperature in most parts of the state with Shimla recording a low of 5.6 degrees Celsius.

Cold wave conditions in other parts of the state have also intensified with the minimum temperature being recorded at 1.1 degrees Celsius at Sundernagar, minus 1.4 at Kalpa, 6.8 at Dharamsala, 4 degrees at Una, 5.7 at Nahan, minus 3.7 at Keylong, 3.9 at Dalhousie, 1 degree at Solan, 4.9 at Hamirpur and 6.5 at Bilaspur.

Dharamsala, December 18
The outbreak of gastroenteritis in two panchayats in Bilaspur, which claimed the life of a young girl, was caused by shigella bacteria.

Stating this while replying to a call-attention motion of Randhir Sharma, Health Minister Kaul Singh said the bacteria was found in the water source of the villages. It was a localised outbreak and not an epidemic. Necessary preventive steps had been taken and the situation was under control.

There was only one death which took place on November 27 and the victim, a 7-year-old girl, died and there had been no deaths in hospitals. He said another death of a Nepali reported from the area was caused due to heart attack and not any waterborne disease as alleged by Sharma. There was no fresh outbreak of the disease.

Regarding infected IV fluid, he said a bottle of an old lot, in which the fungus was found, was destroyed. A large number of patients were admitted in Bilaspur hospitals over the past one month and they all recovered after being administered IV fluids.

The minister said sporadic instances of gastroenteritis were common and every year hundreds of cases were reported from various districts but this year the number had been far less, he said while quoting comparative figures.

Denying that there was no recurrence of gastroentities, he said the spread of epidemic was unfortunate and assured the House that the government would take adequate steps to provide better health services.

Earlier, Randhir Sharma said there was a fresh outbreak and cited news reports in which a Block Medical Officer had stated that six new patients of gastroenteritis had been reported and one girl was admitted to a hospital.

Replying to another call-attention motion brought by Maheshwar Singh (HLP), Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri said a new timber distribution policy to address the problems being faced by right holders in securing timber would be implemented within a week.

Maheshwar Singh had drew attention to the fact that the Forest Department was not in a position to give converted timber as it did not have the necessary funds for conversion of trees. In the Kullu forest division, only 22 out of the total 395 applicants were given timber. Even those whose houses had been burnt or damaged due to natural calamities were awaiting grant of timber.

New Delhi, December 18
The Supreme Court has agreed to go into the validity of a regulatory commission set up by Himachal Pradesh to ensure educational standards in private institutions by acting as an interface between the state and central regulatory bodies.

Himachal had set up the commission in 2011 under the HP Private Educational Institutions (Regulatory Commission) Act 2010 after framing the necessary rules. The Private Universities Management Association challenged the Act in the state High Court.

The HC delivered a judgment on October 19, 2013, striking down the Act and the rules on the ground that there was a constitutional bar on states to enact laws infringing on Entry 66 of List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution under which the Centre had the responsibility of “coordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions.”

The state contended that it had “exclusive power” under the Constitution to enact laws to “incorporate, regulate and wind up universities.” In this regard, it cited Entry 32, List II which read: “Incorporation, regulation and winding up of corporations, other than those specified in List I, and universities; unincorporated trading, literary, scientific, religious and other societies and associations; cooperative societies.”

The state government argued that public interest would suffer irreparable damage as the “very existence of the authority has been wiped out” by the HC verdict. Because there was a presumption of constitutionality to laws, the HC, at the maximum, could have read down the provisions of the Act in question to render it within constitutional limits. In fact, the HC had only stayed some provisions of the Act pending final disposal but struck it down in toto at the end.

The state cited several SC verdicts to justify its plea for the grant of an interim stay and finally setting aside the HC ruling.

Admitting the state’s appeal for detailed hearing, a Bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and Vikramajit Sen issued notice to the association on December 16, seeking its response within six weeks to the plea for stay.

Shimla, December 18
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has organised a series of video conferences between High Court judges and district judges of Mandi, Kullu and Una for the better implementation of reforms in judicial functioning in far-flung areas of the state.

As a part of the series, the High Court judges yesterday interacted with the district judges of Kangra, Chamba, Hamirpur and Solan.

Acting Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir, Justice Rajiv Sharma, Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Justice VK Sharma addressed the district judges through the conference.

The Acting Chief Justice directed the participating Judicial Officers to ensure disposal of target cases within the stipulated time in courts of their respective divisions. He laid stress upon the magistrates to carry forward the mandate of Section 258 of the CrPC (power to stop proceedings in certain cases), exercising the discretion in fit cases in accordance with law.

He said the use of such discretion, if judiciously exercised, would prevent the choking of system from unwanted and unduly delayed criminal cases.

Justice Mir urged the Judicial Officers to focus upon the necessity of full and early utilisation of funds earmarked under the 13th Finance Commission for constructing Alternative Dispute Resolution Centres in all districts of the state.

Nurpur, December 18
As many as 122 persons fell ill reportedly due to food poisoning at Bateru village of Naana gram panchayat in Jawali subdivision on yesterday. The victims had dham (community lunch) in a village marriage. After taking meals, they started suffering from stomach pain and diarrhoea.

A medical team of the Community Health Centre led by Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Puneet Prasher rushed to the spot and started treating patients. According to information, 18 serious patients were rushed to the CHC Jawali.

The SMO said today that he had received information at 3 pm yesterday and a medical team reached the village after half an hour. "They are still under treatment and their condition is stable," he said.

He also said the medical team also visited the village and examined the victims and no serious patient was found. Chander Kumar, former MP, visited the village and inquired about the condition of the victims. He said the victims were being given treatment, including medicines, free of cost. 

Bilaspur, December 18
Cultural programmes from various states not only show a true picture of our vast and rich heritage but also bind us as one country depicting unity in diversity, said local MLA Bambar Thakur while inaugurating a five-day National Integration Youth Festival here last evening.

The festival was organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan.

“We should be proud of our cultural diversity and careful to protect, preserve and propagate our heritage,” he said.

Bambar said, “The youth are our greatest asset as they are the leaders of tomorrow. They should remain on guard against any unsocial tendencies around them. They should play their role in giving new direction to society in maintaining its unity, amity and brotherhood among all communities and regions.”

Earlier, he inaugurated an exhibition of handicrafts prepared by members of Nehru Yuva Kendras of Mandi, Kinnaur, Kullu, Chamba, Una, Bilaspur, Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan.

Bilaspur, December 18
Property worth Rs 50 lakh was destroyed in a fire. The fire started at a shoe store of Pal Enterprises, in Shastri Colony of Ghumarwin, near here, this morning. Reports said some women saw flames coming out of a window of the store and raised an alarm. A large number of people gathered there and informed the Fire Brigade.

When the fire tenders arrived from Bilaspur town, almost entire merchandise kept in the store has already been destroyed. Moreover, the flames had also damaged several portions of an adjoining house of Dharam Pal. Despite all efforts, the fire tenders took about four hours to douse the flames. — OC

Solan, December 18
The state government has finally constituted district-level committees headed by Deputy Commissioners (DC) to identify institutes, which would impart requisite skills to the youth. It has been facing criticism in the past for inept handling of skill development allowance issue.

The Department of Labour and Employment was also formulating guidelines to define skills, which could be covered under this scheme and would make youth avail this allowance. Skills will comprise trades, whose training will help youth in getting employed.

A scenario had emerged where institutes, which failed to have the requisite technical know-how, had started imparting skills to youth merely vto qualify them to gain the allowance.

The state government had distributed this allowance to 18,234 youth while claims of nearly 10,000 youth were in various stages of being processed. The scheme was drawing a good response from youth.

The highest number of youth from Sirmaur district had come forward to avail this allowance followed by Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur, while fewer applicants had come forward in the districts like Solan and Una where there were a sizable number of industries.

Employment generation has been hit with the expiry of the Central Industrial Package in March 2010 as fewer investors had come forward to invest or expand their existing manufacturing units. Though job fairs were being organised by the government in various districts to provide direct employment facilities, its success was limited due to non-availability of skilled manpower.

This was manifest from the fact that against 141 vacancies notified by the Central employment cell of the Labour and Employment Department and sponsoring of 1,571 names, only 17 youth had been employed.

Labour Commissioner Nandita Gupta said 10 job fairs had been organised in the last almost a year where 4,695 candidates had been provided jobs. She added that committees headed by Deputy Commissioners of respective districts would identify institutes, which would impart requisite skills and this step besides streamlining the process would ensure that youth were gainfully employed. 

Shimla, December 18
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and the Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) are on a collision course over the entry path to the HPCA-run cricket academy at Lal Pani here as the local District Cricket Association of Shimla (DCAS) has called all 58 trainees for the coaching session beginning tomorrow.

Muncipal Commissioner Amarjeet said the HPCA had no permission to use the path. They had sought legal opinion to take action against those who broke the barricade raised by the MC yesterday. They had sought complaints from the MC staff, who live in the adjoining colony, he added.

The officials claimed that the path had been closed and fenced today again. They had been using the path on a temporary basis to carry the materials, they added.

On the other hand, the HPCA has geared up its activists, asserting that they would use the same path tomorrow. “The path belongs to the public and academy entrants have been using it over the years,” said Surender Thakur, president, DCAS, who is also vice-president of the HPCA.

The team under Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar has blocked the entry to the academy after certain employees of the MC, who live in the adjoining colony, had complained that the academy was a nuisance. Second, the HPCA has shown a different path in its map but it was using the one leading to the MC's residences at Lal Pani, Panwar claimed, adding they would never allow the academy to use the path as the permission was temporary.

Meanwhile, the MC has already slapped a notice on the HPCA for constructing two buildings in the Lal Pani cricket academy on the green area without permission. It has sought the HPCA reply by December 28.

Surender Thakur said the coaching would be resumed from tomorrow as they had got calls from trainees and their parents to start training as the schools were closing down for the winter recess. "We will give reply to the MC notice and path has been in use for years," he claimed. 

Shimla, December 18
Residents and paramilitary personnel posted along the Indo-Tibetan border at Chitkul village in Sangla Valley have finally got access to cellular connectivity with a tower of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) becoming operational.

The tower, which became operational yesterday, will help provide cellular services to 700 villagers and 400 paramilitary personnel deployed in the border village. The operationalisation of the tower with a direct VSAT linkage has already started providing mobile phone services in the remote area.

The service will prove to be of great help to the residents, especially during severe winter months, when the area located at an altitude of 3450 m is covered with heavy snow. “The mobile services have now been extended to the last village in Sangla Valley, which is part of the social service being rendered by the BSNL, especially in the remote and inaccessible areas,” said Pradeep Kumar, Chief General Manager, BSNL, Shimla.

He said a request had been made to the state government to install solar panels so as to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the tower, as there was a major electricity problem in the entire tribal region due to heavy snow during winter months. Chairman-cum-Managing Director of BSNL RK Upadhyay had visited Chitkul on December 2 to oversee the work of setting up of the tower.

So far BSNL is the only service provider to set up towers in the upper Kinnaur and Spiti Valley. Besides Chitkul, the BSNL has towers at Giabong in Ropa Valley, Namgiya, Samdoh, Nako, Chango, Tabo, Kaza and Lossar. Work on setting up towers at Sagnam and Dhanker in the Spiti valley is underway. 

Shimla, December 18
Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) today celebrated its 7th Raising Day with a “Health Walk” being organised from The Ridge.

A “Health Walk” was organised for the employees of the HPPCL from The Ridge to the HPPCL corporate office at Tutikandi via the Indian Institute of Advance Studies. The walk was flagged off by DK Sharma, Managing Director, HPPCL.

He said with commitment, dedication and cooperation of the employees, the corporation could become a frontal organisation in the country among the power sector companies.

He said in the past one year, the HPPCL had prepared pre-feasibility reports of six hydroelectric projects of 227-MW capacity located in Chamba district and submitted these reports.

Sundernagar: The 7th Raising Day of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation was celebrated here today. Ajay Kumar Patiyal, General Manager (Design), the HPPCL, Sundernagar, was the chief guest on the occasion.

The Corporation targets to harness 1,111 MW of power by March, 2017 and 2,400 MW by 2022.