Shimla, February 19
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today tabled the Himachal Pradesh Lokayukta Bill in the Assembly to make it a multi-member body having power to enquire, prosecute, confiscate and attach property of the person facing corruption charges.

Virbhadra said the Bill would pave the way for the re-enactment of a new Act which would provide an independent multi-member body on the analogy of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013, enacted by the Centre to contain corruption among public functionaries.

The Bill was tabled in the absence of Opposition members who have been boycotting the Assembly. A similar Bill that had been passed during the BJP regime and was awaiting the President's assent, was withdrawn by the Virbhadra regime.

The Lokayukta would be empowered to enquire into the complaints against the Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs and government officers relating to allegations of corruption. He said it was expedient to re-enact the Himachal Pradesh Lokayukta Act by repealing the existing Himachal Pradesh Lokayukta Act, 1983.

The Bill proposes to make the Lokayukta a multi-member body having special courts and its own inquiry and prosecution wing. It will be headed by a chairperson, who is a Supreme Court Judge or a Chief Justice of a high court, and two members out of whom one will be a judicial member.

To make the appointment process transparent, the chairperson and members will be appointed by the Governor after obtaining the recommendation of the selection committee comprising of the Chief Minister, the Assembly Speaker, the Leader of Opposition, the Chief Justice of the High Court and one eminent jurist.

The Lokayukta will have the powers to provisionally attach and confiscate the assets and property of the person who is in possession of any proceeds of corruption.

The Bill envisages that the property can be provisionally attached for not exceeding 90 days from the date of the order. The property will be restored to the public servant concerned in case of acquittal and confiscated in case of conviction.

The confiscated property will vest in the government free from any encumbrances.

The state government will also constitute special courts as recommended by the Lokayukta to hear and decide cases arising out of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Himachal Pradesh Prevention of Specific Corrupt Practices Act, 1983. The special courts will ensure completion of each trial within one year from the date of filing of the case.

The Lokayukta will not enquire into any complaint made against its chairperson or any other member. The Act also makes provision for the declaration of assets and liabilities by every public servant within 30 days from the date he takes oath of office. He will also have to declare the assets and liabilities of his spouse and dependent children.

The Act also makes the provision for prosecution of the person making false or frivolous complaint along with imposition of a fine and imprisonment up to one year and also payment of compensation to the public servant who was falsely targeted. The complaints before the Lokayukta will have to be made along with an affidavit as there is no provision for taking suo motu notice.

Clipping wings Lokayukta to be a multi-member body with special courts It will have its own inquiry and prosecution wings Can enquire into complaints against CM, ministers, MLAs and govt officers Provision for attachment and confiscation of property of convict Declaration of assets by public servant mandatory Prosecution against person making false complaint

Shimla, February 19
The government today cancelled the licence issued to JP Cements for a cement plant in Chamba district for failing to show satisfactory progress.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, here today. The Cabinet today monitored the progress of five companies that had been given approval for setting up of cement plants.

While it was decided to cancel the licence to JP Cements, the other four companies have been asked to show progress by May 31 or face cancellation.

Show-cause notices had been issued to five companies, Harish Cements, India Cements, Lafarge and two plants to be set up by JP Industry.

Finding the reply given by JP Cements for its proposed plant in Chamba unsatisfactory, it was decided to cancel the licence. All five companies had been given extension till March by the Industries Department.

A sub-committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretray to look into the progress made by these companies. The Cabinet also took into account the report presented by this committee. The companies had sought time to operationalise these plants.

Lafarge was to set up its plant at Alsindi in Karsog, India Cements at Gumma in Shimla district, Harish Cements at Sundernagar in Mandi and JP Cements was to set up one plant in Chamba and expand its plant at Bagha.

The Cabinet also decided to enhance the low income limit from the Rs 17,000 to Rs 35,000 for availing benefits under various government schemes.

The Cabinet also gave approval to five subdivisions in Haroli, Sujanpur, Salooni, Dharampur and Mandi (rural). It was also decided to create two nagar panchayats of Baijnath-Paprola and Ner-Chowk in Mandi.

The Cabinet also gave its nod for the upgrade of 27 primary health centres and community health centres in the state.

Cabinet decisions Four firms asked to show progress or face cancellation Low income limit enhanced to Rs 35,000 Nod to subdivisions in Haroli, Sujanpur, Salooni, Dharampur and Mandi (rural) 27 primary health centres and community health centres to be upgraded

Shimla, February 19
The stage is set for regularisation of unauthorised structures, with certain conditions, in the city and the state.

The Vidhan Sabha today approved the amendments in Sections 32 and 72 of the Town and Country Planning Act and inserted Section 30-B in the Act, giving one-time exemption to the applicants to regularise their buildings by paying a hefty fee.

Under the new guidelines of the Town and Country Planning Amendment Bill, 2014, the one-time relaxation provides regularising the unauthorised buildings up to 70 per cent under a special provision.

This regularisation is subject to condition that no land should belong to forest or government.

Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma tabled the Bill in the Assembly and was passed with the voice vote after Speaker Brij Behari Lal Butail sought the approval of the House.

Sudhir Sharma said the retention policies brought by the department did not benefit the plot or house owners who had built house in the planning areas without the approval of the Town and Country Planning Department.

The government had filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that no structure would be regularised in the state. But keeping in mind 12,964 unauthorised buildings, it decided one-time relaxation in the Act, he stated.

Earlier, there was no appeal against the order passed under Section 32, Town and Country Planning Act, and this section had been amended.

This relaxation is for one-year, the statement mentioned.

But the Bill proposed a hefty fee for the unauthorised structures.

The fee varies from Rs 1,000 per sqm to Rs 4,000 per sqm for 70 per cent for the unauthorised buildings in a planning area.

The rates has been increased by 50 per cent in the Municipal Council and nagar panchayats and 200 per cent in the core area such as The Mall, 150 per cent in the restricted area, and 100 per cent in other area.

The fee for commercial complex and hotel, industrial use or other use is fixed at 100 per cent, 150 per cent and 50 per cent.

Besides, the Special Area Development Authority (SADA) can levy infrastructure development and maintenance charges for roads, parking and parks or other activities.

New guidelines No exemption allowed if an owner has encroached upon government land, forest or other's land. No exemption if the land is located in a flood-prone area The buildings whose boundaries are changed at the time of revenue settlement are allowed for exemption, but should not obstruct public utility work.

Hamirpur, February 19
As BJP leaders are upbeat after the success of Narendra Modi's rally at Sujanpur on February 16, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is trying to counter the BJP's gains by undertaking several development schemes in the area.

The CM, on the day of the Modi rally, had announced that Sujanpur would be made a sub-division and an SDM office opened here.

The SDM office is significant since people had been raising this demand for many years and local MLA Rajender Rana is going to take credit for this announcement.

Winning the Sujanpur Assembly constituency is a prestige issue for former Chief Minister PK Dhumal as local MLA Rajender Rana had won the seat with a huge margin as an Independent after quitting the BJP.

Rana is also a probable for the Hamirpur seat on the Congress ticket against sitting MP Anurag Thakur, Dhumal's son.

Rana, as state spokesman of the BJP, had also taken up the issue of the SDM's office at Sujanpur with Dhumal in 2009, but was rebuked by him in public.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has already started several schemes in the area such as laying foundation stones of the mini secretariat, police station, ITI building etc and toured the constituency several times.

IPH Minister Vidya Stokes is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Rs 11.58-crore Chamiana-Patlandar-Chabutra drinking water scheme at Kot under the Sujanpur constituency on February 22.

A drinking water scheme for Sujanpur with an estimated cost of Rs 15.88 crore, which has been approved by the state government, is likely to be inaugurated soon.

Sundernagar, February 19
Authorities of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) have been violating the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, as truckloads of silt are being dumped on a regular basis on the banks of the Suketi khud by them.

The truckloads of silt have been taken out from a balancing reservoir while cleaning the trash racks set up on the inlet of the 12.3-km-long Pungh slapper tunnel.

The water of the tunnel is used in the generation of electricity at the 990-MW Dehar Power House.

Local residents said a few days back, the BBMB authorities collected garbage while cleaning the trash racks set up on the inlet of the Pungh slapper tunnel and dumped it on the banks of the Suketi khud, which is a forest area.

This act by the authorities was posing environmental problems in the area. The BBMB authorities also dumped the garbage collected by them from the balancing reservoir, Sundernagar.

The foul smell emanating from it disturbed local residents who were living in the nearby areas. As per the environment management plan of the BBMB, throwing of silt is not permitted after monsoons.

Sources said the BBMB took out the trash in a bucket and loaded it in two tippers and then dumped it on the banks of the Suketi khud.

According to the BBMB authorities, it was collecting the trash taken out from the balancing reservoir so that clean water was passed through the Pungh slapper tunnel. The work will be completed by the end of this month, they said.

The authorities denied that they were dumping the silt into the Suketi khud but admitted that the BBMB did not have any dumping site.

DFO Ajeet Thakur said he had asked the field staff to submit a report in this regard. If any violation would be found, BBMB authorities would be booked for violation of the Forest Conservation Act, he said.

Solan, February 19
The state Pollution Control Board has yet to adopt new norms of ambient air quality standards notified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Now with the CPCB having made online monitoring of air and water quality mandatory, the state board will have to upgrade its infrastructure to meet the revised norms. This measure was taken as the CPCB found that the industrial units were discharging pollutants into air and water, posing a threat to the water and air quality.

According to the new norms, parameters such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, ammonia, benzene, bezoa pyrene, arsenic and nickel are supposed to be monitored by the state Pollution Control Board from November 2009.

The state board continued to monitor barely three parameters which included sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter.

Vineet Kumar, member secretary, state board, said they had been endeavouring to upgrade the infrastructure, including the availability of modern equipment, and a proposal to set up a modern lab where all such parameters could be monitored was being moved before the CPCB as well as the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

He said the unavailability of the equipment had acted as a deterrent in monitoring all parameters and added that the board was serious to address problems relating to pollution.

There was no dearth of funds in the state board and instead of upgrading its pollution mitigation infrastructure after the introduction of the new norms, it has been paying income tax worth crores on income generated through fee charge in lieu of the Water Act, 1974, and the Air Act, 1981, from the industries. Though this fee is supposed to be invested in pollution mitigation, the Board management has failed to undertake any such measure.

Bilaspur, February 19
The Shri Naina Devi Ji Temple Trust has approved an amount of Rs 21.25 crore as the annual budget for this year.

Trust members held a meeting at Naina Devi, 75 km from here, yesterday, under the chairmanship of SDM, Bilaspur Sadar, ML Mehta, wherein they discussed the annual budget plan.

The total expenditure has been estimated at Rs 20 crore, whereas Rs 1.17 crore is the estimated saving from the temple treasure. The trust had collected assets worth Rs 26.50 crore till January.

Mehta said, apart from this ornamental plants would be planted on the temple premises along with setting up three high-mast lights, which would cost Rs 30 lakh.

He said Rs 25 lakh would be spent on the construction of a building for those on duty during Navratra fairs. He said the path of Kapali Kund would be improved and the road from Toba to the temple gate would be metalled. He said the food quality at the “langar” would be improved and a sweet dish would be served with “daal”, vegetable and “kadhi”.

Others at the meeting included trustees Rakesh Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Pradip Kumar, Prabhat Kumar, Ram Chand Chauhan and Shashi Pal.

Shimla, February 19
The government is dragging its feet on “creating and strengthening” a corpus fund to ensure the regular payment of pension to retirees of three state-run universities. It is not releasing adequate funds to meet the ever-increasing liability on payment of pension and other benefits.

While the CM is cursing the 13th Finance Commission for under-assessing the committed liabilities of the state government and not providing sufficient grants, the functioning of the state Finance Department working right under his nose has left Himachal Pradesh University (Shimla), Chowdhary Sarwan Kumar Agriculture University (Palampur) and Dr YS Parmar Horticulture University (Nauni) starved of funds.

There is no mechanism for statutory funding of these universities and the pensioners have become virtual “beggars” as they are at the mercy of the government which provides the funds.

The retired employees of Palampur Agriculture University and Nauni Horticulture University had to fight their case in the court for revised pension. Even after the court order, the retirees have not been paid pension for the past three months.

Instead of regularly paying retired teachers, who have spent their lifetime imparting education to students as "high priests of temples of learning", the government is reportedly contemplating moving the Supreme Court against the High Court judgment. The corpus fund for the payment of pension in both farm universities is exhausted. The universities' authorities are in a fix as no additional grants commensurate with an increase in expenditure on pensions have been made in the Budget which announced concessions for the industry and hydropower projects.

The expenditure on the payment of pensions is about Rs 20 crore per annum in Nauni University, Rs 24 crore in Palampur Agriculture University and Rs 22 crore in HPU.

That is increasing due to an increase in life expectancy, number of retirees and dearness relief.

The Palampur and Nauni universities had not paid full arrears on account of revised pay. There was a backlog of two-three months as for monthly payment. After a hue and cry was raised by the university and employees, the government released Rs 16 crore and Rs 15 crore respectively to clear the pending payments.

The arrears have been cleared and pension up to January has been paid, but it is temporary reprieve. The situation would be back to square one in the next two months, a senior university official said. The Nauni University Vice-Chancellor Prof Vijay Singh said a sum of Rs 15 crore had been released, but that would meet only the committed liabilities and not help in regular payment of pensions in future.

The arrears for gratuity, leave encashment, revised pay and other benefits of three universities were about Rs 35 crore. With the release of Rs 31 crore, the arrears would be almost cleared. There are 750 pensioners in HPU and 62 more employees would retire during the next financial year. The number of pensioners in the Palampur and Nauni varsities is 850 and 550 respectively.

Senior retired Professor Sushil Kumar Phull of Palampur Agricultural University and Prof (retd) KD Verma of the Nauni university said the pension should be disbursed through the government treasurary so that the retired employees get pension regularly.

Non-Teaching Employees Union leader and member of Executive Council of HPU Waryam Singh said the employees were looking forward to some major announcement by the government and in case nothing was done, the employees would be forced to go on a warpath.

Shimla, February 19
The HP Primary Teachers Association today demanded a pay scale on the Punjab pattern for Junior Basic Training (JBT) teachers and the revival of pension which was changed to contributory fund in 2003.

Shimla, February 19
The local Met office has predicted heavy rain or snow at isolated places in mid and high hills of the state on February 22 and rain or snow at isolated places across the state on February 21.

Piercing cold-wave conditions continued in the state despite a marginal rise in the minimum and maximum temperatures today.

Dinesh Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, said: “Vehicular traffic to Chopal and Nerwa areas of Shimla district was restored after five days today, but HRTC buses were not plying as driving is hazardous on slippery roads.”

The Hindustan-Tibet road was opened till Pooh in tribal Kinnaur district, but most of the link roads in interior areas were blocked due to heavy snow.

The minimum temperature increased marginally to touch -10°C at Keylong, while Kalpa recorded a low of -3°C. Manali shivered at -1.5°C, while Nahan recorded a low of 4.1°C, followed by Shimla and Bhuntar 4.7°C, Solan 5.5°C, Sundernagar 5.8°C, Palampur 6°C and Dharamsala 7.2°C.

Shimla, February 19
Farmers, mainly apple growers, in Shimla, are a harassed lot. They say leaders of successive Congress and BJP governments shifted focus on Hamirpur-Kangra belt only to gain electoral benefits.

The feeling of neglect is understandable as the district has produced successive CMs, including the present incumbent Virbhadra Singh, late Thakur Ram Lal, while late Dr YS Parmar also hailed from adjourning Sirmaur district, where apple cultivation is yet to gain roots.

Though Congress leaders claim to put Himachal on the horticulture map of the country, residents, including farmers, say there is not even a single national-level institute in the apple belt. Little is done to develop tourism, despite the fact that the belt has heritage, natural beauty and scope for adventure tourism, says MR Azta, a local resident.

The infrastructure, including cold stores and packaging, for apple belt is non-existent. The single apple carton factory at Guma was closed and sold during the previous BJP regime, said Khushi Ram Balnatta, a former MLA from Rohru.

Roads leading to the apple belt are in a bad shape. Theog-Kotkhai-Jubbal-Haat Koti-Rohru road and Chaila-Chopal-Nerwa road are yet to be widened for an easy transportation of the fruit. Even after seven years, the Theog-Hatkoti-Rohru road, which bears the major traffic burden during the fruit season, is yet to be completed, rues Brij Mohan Chauhan, an orchardist from Kiari, Kotkhai. “It takes eight hours to reach Shimla from Rohru, a 120-km-long journey, in a private car,” added Naresh Chauhan, an orchardist from Jubbal. “There is not even a single cold store in the Chopal-Shantha-Deot-Maroag apple belt, the largest apple-producing area,” rued Yogesh Kumar, pradhan, Deot gram panchayat.

“The Chaila-Chopal-Nerwa road has witnessed the worst road accidents as it remains narrow and potholed,” resented KC Chandel of Chopal. The cold store at Rohru is lying defunct, while the private controlled atmospheric stores (CAS) opened by Adani at Rohru, Sainj and Luhri are of little use to farmers. They buy the best quality fruit at Rs 30-40 per kg and sell them in markets at Rs 100 per kg, says Rakesh Singha, president, HP Apple Growers Association. “Agriculture is in crisis. About 48 per cent farmers have just 6 bighas of land. A carton factory and a chain of cold stores could have come in handy for farmers to regulate the markets,” he adds. There is not even a single signboard of the state Tourism Department in the Chopal-Churdhar circuit. The Nerwa-Shillai-Haripurdhar road touches a few villages, while many villages in the adjoining Kupvi-Haripurdhar-Shillai belt are still untouched as villagers have no link roads, adds Ramesh Singta, a local resident.

Mandi, February 19
Activists of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched their statewide “jharoo” rally from Seri Manch here today.

The campaign has been launched to highlight various issues related to state people and rallies will be held in district headquarters of the state.

Through this rally, the party will highlight issues such as action to check attacks on humans and loss to crops by wild animals, provide water and electricity meters free of cost, give land and financial help to people evacuated for building hydel power projects, honour the deities invited to fairs and festivals and give free space to weavers and craftsmen in the Paddal ground during the Shivratri festival.

Bilaspur, February 19
The state unit of the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh has said the Congress after coming to power in the state has forgotten its election manifesto and is ignoring its promises.

Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, sangh state general secretary Shiv Ram Sankhyayan said the government had increased daily wage by Rs 20 only. He said the government talked loudly on women empowerment, but it was denying essential wages to its women employees. Sankhyayan said the government should ensure all its employees got government-fixed minimum wages and all promises in favour of Anganwadi workers, mid-day meal workers and tailoring teachers were kept.

Bilaspur, February 19
The District Congress Committee (DCC) here has hailed the Central Budget. It has also said Opposition parties have criticised it and termed it as a four-month Interim Budget as the General Election is round the corner. DCC spokesperson Sandeep Sankhyayan said here today that the declaration of one rank, one pension to ex-servicemen was a bold decision, which had been awaited for long. Even the Congress had agreed to this demand in principle years ago, he said.

Sandeep said the Budget had touched all sections of society and given benefits to housewives, working women, farmers, senior citizens, traders and shopkeepers, general consumers, students, industries, employees, labourers and those serving in government and private sectors.

Kangra, February 19
The Himachal Medical Officers Association (HMOA) today strongly resented the state government’s move to give a sitting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) extension. The officer is scheduled to retire this month.

The association has demanded that his extension be withheld immediately and if he is to be given any re-employment, it be as a medical officer.

Dr Sushil Sharma, association press secretary, said here that the body felt the state government's decision to grant an extension to the CMO was against ethics. The association demanded that in future no extension be granted to any doctor above the level of CMO, Joint Director and Director, as extension in the cadre blocked careers of many aspiring doctors and demoralised them.

Una, February 19
The district administration today received a communication from the Cochin Naval authorities that sailor Naresh Kumar Dhiman of Ambehra Dheeraj village in Amb subdivision here had died on February 18 at the naval base.

The communication said the body was not fit to be transported to his native village, so the authorities had opted to provide air fare to two members of the sailor’s family to reach Cochin for the last rites.

The Naval authorities also sought their consent to cremate the body as per Hindu traditions if they did not want to come.

Assistant Commissioner SK Parashar confirmed the news.