Sundernagar, March 2
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, addressing a gathering at Karsog near here today, said the Mini Secretariat building would be constructed. He announced Rs 2 crore for the Mini Secretariat building. A sub-tehsil would also be opened at Pangana.

He said the state had witnessed progress since its formation and credit went to the successive Congress governments. He said the government was committed to providing quality education to students that was why schools had been opened in villages.

He said the previous government closed 149 schools whereas the present government not only reopened all these institutions, but also about 325 new schools were upgraded.

He said the state could boast of 100 per cent electrification and all villages had been provided potable drinking water and were connected with the roads.

He said there was no need for carving out new districts as it required huge finances. He said it was a mere gimmick of the previous government to divert the attention
of the people from core issues of development.

The Chief Minister announced Primary Health Centres at Seri Banglo, Mahog and Bagshyiad. He also announced upgradation of primary schools in Thogi-Tattapani, Lahani in Chauridhar, Khanora in Sanahali and Sarahan to middle schools and Government Middle Schools, Chhandayara, Richhani, Matehal, Lalag, Kuther to high schools.

He also announced upgrade of high schools in Bakharot and Kheel to senior secondary schools besides starting science classes in Government Senior Secondary School, Bagshyiad.

He also announced primary school at Kotalu.

He also announced that two new trades, electric and mechanical, would be started in ITI, Karsog. He also announced vegetable market and Karsog bypass.

He announced Rs 10 lakh for construction of Ramleela stage in the Karsog ground.Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mansa Ram also spoke.

NIHARI: Virbhadra Singh announced the upgrade of Nihri sub-tehsil to tehsil, besides laying a foundation stone of Government Degree College at Nihri in Sundernagar.

He announced a police chowki at Nihri and the upgrade of Primary Health Centre, Nihri, to Community Health Centre. He also announced one Primary Health Centre at Balag.

He also announced the upgrade of Government High Schools, Badan, Jarral and Bara Hokadi to Government Senior Secondary Schools, Government Middle Schools, Kahachi and Kandar, to high schools and Government Primary School Mahap-Barog to Government Middle School.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sohan Lal Thakur thanked the Chief Minister for laying the foundation stone of Government Degree College at Nihri. 

Bagvania (Baddi), March 2
Anurag Thakur, MP from the Hamirpur Parliamentary constituency and national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), today said the inept handling of Pakistan’s repeated ceasefire violations had disheartened the armed forces as the Congress-led Union Government had failed to give them a befitting reply.

He said though there were 112 such violations, the Prime Minister was more keen to meet the USA President rather than address the critical issue with the neighbouring country. While this had emboldened the Pakistani army, the morale of the Indian armed forces had suffered a big blow, he added.

Anurag kickstarted his poll campaign today and was addressing his first public meeting, organised by the Hamirpur Parliamentary Constituency Kalyan Sabha (HPCKS) at Bagbania, in the Nalagarh industrial area, after being given the party’s ticket for the third consecutive time.

Lauding the efforts of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in granting a special industrial package for Himachal, he said the Congress had not only curtailed the package untimely, but had also failed to extend it. Even, the key issue of rail extension to industrial areas, which the Congress had claimed was a national project, had been removed from this list, thus pointing to their failure, he added.

He said he had been vociferously raising the issue in Parliament and had also given details of new trains initiated by him in his constituency.

Taking a jibe at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Anurag said his commitment to voice concern for people was clear from the fact that he had barely attended two debates, had 40 per cent attendance in Parliament and participated barely once in a debate where he had read from the paper, thus failing to air any views. On the other hand he himself had asked 590 questions, participated in 67 debates and had 87 per cent attendance in Parliament where he raised his concern on various key issues.

He said no land had been given to private universities by the former BJP government and the Congress was misleading people on the issue.

He announced Rs 10 lakh for constructing a bhawan of HPCKS and urged people to make land available for the same.

Others present on the occasion were Shimla MP Virender Kashyap, Shimla constituency in-charge Sanjeev Katwal and members of HPCKS Vipin Sharma, Kuldeep Rana, Chandershekhar Awasthy and others.

Solan: Anurag Thakur asked the Congress, which has failed to finalise its candidate for the Hamirpur parliamentary seat, to announce a strong candidate and not dwell on a hired candidate, in an apparent reference to Sujanpur MLA Rajinder Rana, who was earlier a close confidant of PK Dhumal.

Addressing people here today, he said the Congress was indulging in a slander campaign to malign his image. They should, however, focus on announcing a strong candidate who can challenge his candidature for the third time, he said.

Shimla, March 2
The BJP today slammed Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for making politically motivated and populist announcements to open two medical colleges in Himachal ahead of the Lok Sabha poll.

“No provision has been made in the Budget of the UPA government and these announcements are meant only to mislead people of Chamba and Nahan, but people will not be fooled,” state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti said.

Quoting that a provision of Rs 1,200 crore was made for the Nerchowk Medical College during the BJP regime, Satti said the claim of the Union Minister that Rs 190 crore had been approved for two medical colleges was a lie and medical colleges could not be constructed with such a meagre amount.

Taking a dig at Azad, he said the work on Narchowk Medical College should have been started last year, but due to the carelessness of the Union Government, it was still hanging fire.

He said Rs 150 crore was allotted to Tanda medical college for super-specialty hospital but the present government could not arrange modern technologies and now the Congress government had inaugurated the unfinished hospital to take credit. Moreover, the medical staff for heart and kidney units had not been recruited.

Shimla, March 2
The Congress Disciplinary Committee today paved the way for the return of the 86 leaders who had been issued show-cause notices for anti-party activities during the last Assembly elections. A decision to take back 40 leaders will be taken on March 15.

The committee, headed by former bureaucrat AN Vidyarthi, met here at the Congress Bhawan. The meeting was attended by members, including Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sohan Lal, former MLA Maj Krishna Mohini and HPCC spokesperson Naresh Chauhan. Out of the five members, only Ajay Mahajan, MLA, could not attend the meeting.

The committee examined the reply sent by the 86 leaders in response to the notices issued to them after the elections. The notices had been issued on the basis of complaints received from Block and District Congress Committees.

"Decks have been cleared for the return of most of the leaders and state Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been authorised to take the final decision in consultation with the party block units," said a senior leader.

Sources said the committee had decided to meet again on March 15 to examine the case of 40. These leaders included several former MLAs such as Dharamvir Dhami, Mast Ram, Ishwar Dass and Yog Raj. They were expelled for contesting or working against the party's official nominee in the December 2012 elections.

A majority of the leaders are of the opinion that in view of the Lok Sabha polls, most of these leaders should be taken back as their return will strengthen the party. The BJP has acted more swiftly and taken several of its leaders in Kangra and Mandi back into the partyfold.

The state Executive of the Congress which met here on February 11 had deliberated upon the issue of taking back the expelled, suspended and other leaders who had been issued notices. The leaders were of the opinion that barring those who had deserted the party on several occasions, all others should be taken back.

However, it was felt that block units must be taken into confidence before the expelled party leaders were taken back. It had also been pointed out that the local MLA or the candidate, who had lost the Assembly election, must be involved in the whole process.

Palampur, March 2
Shanta Kumar, former Chief Minister and MP, said today the Aam Aadmi Party, headed by Arvind Kejriwal, had gone off track and would face defeat in the elections.

He said Kejriwal had become over ambitious after winning 29 seats in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections, but the situation would be entirely different in the general election.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Shanta Kumar said the intention of Kejriwal was clear and he had a strong conviction, but without cadre and mass support he would not be successful.

He said he had all appreciation for Kejriwal in the beginning as he had led people’s movement concerning the problems of the common man in Delhi which also benefited him, but he could not be compared to Narendra Modi.

Shanta said the political scenario of the country was entirely different today. In the absence of mass support, AAP would not be able to compete with the BJP.

He said Kejriwal had drawn crowd in New Delhi, but had no roots and support in rural India which was a major vote bank.

He stated that no one could stop Modi from becoming Prime Minister. He had addressed hundreds of public meetings which had witnessed large crowds. There was clear-cut indication that people of the nation wanted to see Modi as the next PM, he added. 

Shimla, March 2
A biting cold wave prevailed in the state as higher reaches and tribal areas had more snow, while middle and lower hills witnessed rain and sleet.

The sky remained heavily overcast in Shimla and adjoining areas and showers, accompanied by chilly winds, swept the town. The minimum temperature dipped to 1.0 degree Celsius in Shimla after it received 6 cm snow and 7mm rain.

Shimla Deputy Commissioner Dinesh Malhotra said all schools in the district had been closed for three days due to the extreme cold, rain and snow and would open on March 6. The high-altitude tribal areas and high mountain passes had another spell of moderate snowfall today. Bharmour recorded 25cm snow, followed by Manali 6 mm, Bijai 4 cm and Kalpa 3 cm.

Dharamsala received 31 mm rain, while Khandaghat and Manali had 23 mm rain, followed by Salooni 22 mm, Kasauli 20 mm, Dharampur 19 mm, Nahan and Solan 18 mm, Sundernagar 17 mm, Jubbar-Hatti 15 mm, Jogindernagar 14 mm and Mandi, Gaggal and Rohru 12 mm.

Bharmour was the coldest in the region with minimum temperature at -9°C, while Keylong and Kalpa recorded a low of -3°C and -2.2°C, respectively, while Manali shivered at 0.2°C.

Nahan recorded 3.7°C temperature, nine degrees below normal, while Solan and Palampur recorded minimum temperatures at 5.6°C and 5.9°C, followed by Bhuntar at 6.2°C, Dharamsala at 6.4°C and Sundernagar and Una at 7.8°C. The local Met office has predicted rains, thunderstorm and snow at many places during the next three days.

Chamba, March 2
A team from Himachal has won two bronze medals in the 5th National Dragon Boat Championship-2014, organised by the Indian Dragon Boat Federation at Allapuzha in Kerala on February 22 and 23.

From amongst the girls, Laxmi Thakur of Chamba, who led the Himachal team, was adjudged one of the best players in the championship. The state team consisted of 13 girls and 14 boys and was coached by Chaman Lal.

After her return from Kerala, Laxmi said it was for the first time that a team from Himachal had entered the championship and challenged all the participating teams.

She added that 17 teams from all over the country, including Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Navy and others, participated in the championship.

Shimla, March 2
Will is a private document and not covered under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The provisions of the RTI are not applicable to private documents.

This was stated by State Information Commissioner KD Batish while dismissing an appeal in this regard here recently.

The State Information Commission observed that information under the RTI could be accessed only if it was under the control of a public authority, but the will, registered or unregistered, being a personal document of an individual was not in the public domain.

It was the personal right of an individual to give share of his property to his near and dear ones and the public authority had no control over this information, the order said.

Maninder Kumar, a resident of Bathinda (Punjab), had sought a copy of a will, dated September 23, 1985, sanctioned in favour of Ram Lal, son of late Daulat Ram, from the Public Information Officer (PIO) in Kullu district.

The PIO had informed the applicant that under Section 7 (1) of the RTI Act the information was not available in the record as the date of registration was not mentioned in the application. In the absence of the date, the PIO could not locate the said will, following which, the applicant approached the State Information Commission.

Meanwhile, the State Chief Information Commission has directed all government departments in the state not to make unnecessary correspondence with the commission. The directions were issued to avoid unnecessarily wastage of time, manpower and money spent on stationery.

The commission observed that some public authorities, public information officials and first appellate authorities were endorsing copies of decisions taken by them, correspondence made with Right to Information Act applicants, fee information and miscellaneous letters to the commission.

Una, March 1
State BJP president and Una MLA Satpal Singh Satti today charged that corruption was being indulged in by the state government in the name of skill development allowance. He was addressing a public meeting at Bhadolian Khurd village of his segment where he inaugurated a link road constructed at Rs 5 lakh.

Satti said the state government had failed on all fronts during the last 14 years. He said while the Congress manifesto had promised unemployment allowance to youth, after coming to power the state government replaced it with the skill development allowance.

There were no set rules, procedures or transparency. He said this scheme was meant to provide undue benefits to petty training institutes and to the youth owing their allegiance to the party.

Satti said while the BJP had fielded the candidature of sitting MP Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur, the Congress was reluctant to field its own partyman from here. As Sujanpur Independent MLA Rajinder Rana’s name doing the rounds as the Congress probable, Satti said it was a shame that the oldest political party could not find even a single party worker to contest. He announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh from his discretionary quota for undertaking further development work in the village.

Shimla, March 2
Chaudhry Waryam Singh Bains, an elected representative of non-teaching employees in the executive council of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), has expressed anguish over the improper functioning of some of the academic chairs instituted by the university. He has sought a White Paper on the status of these chairs.

Welcoming the council's move to activate the Dr YS Parmar Chair, Bains said three other chairs, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi chairs, were functioning, but the fate of those of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Baba Balku Ram and Guru Nanak Dev is not known.

Pointing out that seven more chairs had been proposed in the golden jubilee document, Vision 2020, Bains sought information on the number of chairs created, those that were functional and proposed chairs as also the funds allocation.

"Himachal Pradesh University is currently facing a severe financial crunch. The onus is on the university to provide adequate funds for the proper functioning of chairs stated to be functional, the chairs which need to be activated and those proposed in the interest of research and other academic activities," he added.

Shimla, March 2
In a move to oblige private BEd colleges, under fire for not recruiting regular faculty and paying UGC scales to the staff, the Executive Council of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) has decided to allow these institutions to employ non-NET (National Eligibility Test) and non-SLET (State Level Eligibility Test) qualified teachers.

The council has transgressed its powers. The decision overrides the guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), the only authority to allow any such relaxation for "sound reasons" and non-availability of NET qualified teachers.

There are 72 BEd colleges in the state affiliated to UGC. The NCTE and UGC guidelines apply to all these colleges. These are inspected by HPU to ascertain whether they fulfil the NCTE conditions in respect of infrastructure and staff. The university has buckled under pressure from B Ed colleges being run by those with political influence and proximity to powers that be.

The NCTE, vide its notification of December 28, 2005, made it clear that normally, no person not fulfilling the minimum qualifications would be appointed to a teaching post for a degree-level teacher training course recognised by the NCTE for BEd, MEd, BPEd and MPEd courses.

In the event of the non-availability of adequate suitable candidates, grant of relaxation on passing of NET/SLET can be considered by the NCTE subject to conditions that the availability of vacancies has been properly advertised in national/local dailies, giving full details of pay scale, duties etc to attract eligible candidates.

Moreover, the relaxation would be considered a temporary measure for a period of three years permitting regular appointment subject to confirmation after the appointee becomes eligible on clearance of NET/SLET/PhD. Further, the relaxation can be made only by NCTE.

"In respect of teachers already working at the time of the notification and requiring exemption from NET/SLET, proposals for seeking relaxation from the requirement of NET/SLET are to be submitted to the NCTE headquarters. Failure to comply with the provisions of these regulations may render the continuation of appointment on relaxed standards void," it was stated.

There is resentment among NET and SLET qualified teachers. Appointment opportunities are likely to freeze after implementation of the executive council decision. Teachers who are otherwise ineligible for these posts would be appointed on meagre salaries, and the job could be terminated at the management's whims.

A NET-qualified teacher, Arun, who has been waiting for suitable appointment for three years, said the relaxation could be given only after all the available eligible teachers had been given jobs and that too with the NCTE's approval. In this case, NCTE and UGC have been bypassed. "We will file a case in the court after the notification is issued," he added.

The Registrar, Prof Mohan Jharta, said the private BEd colleges had furnished some documents and a notification purported to have been issued in 2006, claiming the NCTE had not put in place any such condition. "We are studying the documents," he said.

Dharamsala, March 2
Tenpa Dhargyal, a Tibetan student, sat on a three-day fast on the eve of the Tibetan New Year, Losar, today. He will break his fast on the morning of March 5, after completing 72 hours of fasting. He sat at the martyrs pillar near the Dalai Lama temple in McLeodganj. Tenpa is a student of Tibetan language, literature and philosophy at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, based in Sarah, near Dharamsala.

Tenpa escaped from Tibet fleeing Chinese persecution. He was a political prisoner while in Tibet, and after his release from jail he escaped to India. He said since 1998, 130 Tibetans had self immolated seeking the return of the Dalai Lama.

Losar marks the end of winter and start of the spring season. Today was the first day of the New Year according to the Tibetan calendar and as per the tradition, the Tibetan exiles paid obeisance to their spiritual guru the Dalai Lama.

The sources here said on the first day of the New Year, the Tibetans avoided making any purchase or spending money. The behaviour was guided by the belief that if they spent on the first day, they would be under debt for the entire year.

Besides, every Tibetan grew in age by a year today. In Tibetan tradition, the first day of the year is considered a measure of increase in age rather than the birthday as per the tradition among other communities.

Losar is the biggest festival of Tibetans. The celebrations during the festival can extend up to 15 days.

The major festivities take place on the 3rd day of Losar. On this day, circular dance is performed and visitors are also allowed to participate in it.

Some of the Tibetans, however, admitted that nowadays the festival was not celebrated with fervour. Losar is also supposed to be a good time for tourism in Dharamsala as many foreigners come to see the festivities. However, a visit to McLeodganj today revealed that very few foreign tourists had arrived this year.

Shimla, March 2
Even as 22 proposals have been received from parties for setting up of satellite townships, the state government is still in a dilemma on whether to allow the purchase of land in the name of the investor or retain its ownership so that there is little scope for circumventing various land laws.

With there being no clarity on the issue of the transfer of land in the name of the realtors proposing to set up satellite townships in the state, the Himachal Pradesh Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) has sought the opinion of the Law Department as this could turn an easy means to circumvent Section 118, Tenancy and Land Reform Act, which debars outsiders from buying land in the hill state.

Though the response from investors is good, the government is keen that the land should remain in its name. “The interested parties have submitted their proposals, but they are reluctant to make such a huge investment running into crores if the land is not in their name,” said an official.

Unclear about the ownership of the land on which the proposed satellite townships are to come up, HIMUDA had earlier sought the opinion of the Revenue Department. With there being no clear-cut directions on whether the land for the proposed satellite townships will remain in the name of the state government or realtors, the matter has now been referred to the Law Department.

With land availability for setting up satellite townships being scarce, the government is apprehensive about letting the land ownership be in the name of the entrepreneur. As such, the issue will have to be deliberated upon before any further progress is made in this regard.

The first two sites where HIMUDA is keen to set up satellite townships is on 120 bighas of land near Vaknaghat in Solan district and Trilokpur near Nahan where 80 bighas of land is available. The availability of land with ample water and other facilities is a big problem being faced by HIMUDA for setting up of bigger satellite township projects.

Sources said though about 1,000 bighas of land was available near Kandaghat in Solan district, most of this was private land. Similarly, 500 bighas of land identified near Dharamsala was largely part of a tea garden, whose land use cannot be changed as per the existing rules. Moreover, half of this land is forest land for which permission will have to be taken from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, for changing land use.

Sundernagar, March 2
Minister for Forest and Fisheries Thakur Singh Bharmouri presided over a valedictory function of forest rangers at the Forest Training Institute and Rangers’ College here yesterday.

While appreciating the efforts of the institute in successfully conducting the first training course of forest rangers in the state, he said the Rs 10-crore project would be implemented with the help of the Japanese government.

He was addressing the first batch of trainee forest rangers from Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir who had successfully completed 18 months’ training here. He said the Lantana Eradication Programme was being successfully implemented at a cost of Rs 5 crore to enhance the availability of quality plants at modern nurseries being established locally.

He said 80,000 monkeys had been sterilised at seven monkey sterilisation centres. He said broad-leafed and wild fruit plantation was being done in forests as a long-time measure to curb the monkey menace.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RK Gupta said forest training started in 1949 in the state. He said two institutes in Chail and Sundernagar were imparting training to foresters now.

He said Himachal Pradesh was the sixth state providing such training facilities.

Suresh Kumar (J&K) was awarded gold and Mumtaj Majeed (J&K) Sathish T (Kerala) and Sindhumathi (Kerala) were awarded silver for their achievements.

The minister also inaugurated the Forest Produce Interpretation Centre which had come up at a cost of Rs 10 lakh.

Una, March 2
Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri inaugurated a new tehsil welfare office at Haroli today. With the opening of this office, people of Haroli segment will not have to go to Una to get social security pensions or other welfare schemes.

Agnihotri also distributed relief cheques to persons who had lost their property to natural calamities and to beneficiaries belonging to weaker sections for the purchase of sewing machines.

He said during the last 14 months, schemes worth more than Rs 1,700 crore had been sanctioned for Una district, of which work on projects estimated at more than Rs 1,400 crore had been initiated. He said a new office of the SDM (Civil) had been sanctioned for Haroli and the notification had also been done.

Agnihotri added that the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan had decided to open 56 new schools in the country in the coming financial year and one Central school will be opened in Saloh village of Una district.

I was with about 40 youth from Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts who had come to Shamlaghat under the aegis of the Nehru Yuva Kendra to participate in a five-day workshop on "Needs of the Community". (See photo). Shamlaghat is a beautiful little village near Ghanahatti; it falls on a detour that passes by the Model Central Jail at Kanda. The village is home to Shimla’s District Institute of Education and Training and the workshop was held on its spacious campus.

Most of the participants were post-graduate students or youngsters who had recently completed their studies; two held BTech degrees in mechanical engineering. All were seeking employment and frustration was writ large on their faces. Their dream is to get into government service, but there is a limit to the number of people the government can employ. One girl who was strongly moved by the misery of unemployed educated youth in her village, wanted to start an employment agency in her village to help them find jobs. But what is needed is not sympathy, but skills. One reason why so many are unemployed is that 48 per cent of the graduates are so raw that they are unemployable. They have no skills.

Employment of educated youth is a big problem in Himachal Pradesh, as it is elsewhere in India. The Himachal Government has started many self-employment schemes, but with dismal results, except for those who were prepared to work with their hands. People who went into occupations such as carpentry or brick-laying were helped. There were cases of people who found good earnings as band-masters. But those in the secondary sector, ie industrial sector, found it hard to compete with their brethren in the plains where raw material was easily available.

I asked the workshop participants whether they thought the highly educated run away from working in the fields or milking the cow. I received silence in return. And no wonder, really ... with half-hearted attempts at rain-water harvesting, few facilities of irrigation and decreasing quantity of water, the primary sector economy can never touch the optimum.

On the other hand, enterprises based on forest material could be successful here, but the aim of the Forest Department has always been to safeguard the forest.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (a body set up under the United Nations) argues for sustainable use: Its report says: “Forests provide a wide variety of highly valuable ecological, economic and social services, including: the conservation of biological diversity; carbon storage; soil and water conservation; provision of employment and enhanced livelihoods; enhancement of agricultural production systems; and improvement of urban and peri-urban living conditions.”

While the Forest Department is justly proud of the report of the 2011 Forest Survey of India, 2011, that states Himachal’s forest cover increased from 21.16 to 26.37 per cent in the past two decades, I think that we need to change our understanding of forest and ways to use it.

Last year when Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh celebrated the 64th state-level Van Mahotsav at Shamlaghat and the area is blessed with forest wealth. Why not find ways to use forest wealth and, through this use, enable the state’s youth to earn?

Una, March 2
The Una District Sports Council has decided to start karate and fitness gymnasium centres at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the council presided over by Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Jain. The fitness centre will be opened to male and female aspirants at different times of the day.

A grant of Rs 1 lakh was announced for upgrade of the existing gymnasium.

It was also decided to manage the newly laid hockey astroturf ground at the stadium.

On an appeal by Arjuna awardee and hockey Olympian from the district, Deepak Thakur, who was also present at the meeting, the DC agreed to provide 24 hockey sticks as a promotional gesture to young players.

A high-mast light and two solar lights will be installed at the stadium to light up dark spots and put a check on anti-social activities at the stadium at night.

It was decided that the swimming pool at the stadium be activated by outsourcing and that bids be invited from interested parties.

It was brought to the notice of the members that Rs 11 lakh had been received from the Sports Directorate for undertaking repair at the sports hostel and swimming pool, while Rs 13 lakh had been received for the construction of a handball court at the stadium. Both the amounts were handed over to the Public Works Department.

District Sports Officer Ishwar Chaudhary, besides official and non-official members of the council, were part of the meeting.

Palampur, March 2
Drawing and disbursing officers were asked to deduct and deposit the income tax of employees in time to avoid harsh penal provisions of income tax laws.

HC Negi, Commissioner, Income Tax (TDS) North West Circle (NWR) comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh Chandigarh and Jammu & Kashmir, on Friday said a heavy penalty would be imposed on defaulters with interest if they failed to file returns on time.

Negi was addressing a seminar here organised by the Income Tax Department to educate tax payers. He said tax deduction at source (TDS) had become a major source of revenue for the government, adding that the government had also amended penal provisions to check tax evasion. He asked DDOs to make correct TDS, deposit it in the state exchequer and file their returns in time in every quarter to avoid a late fee of Rs 200 per day.

HS Dhillon, IT Joint Commissioner, and SN Meena, IT Assistant Commissioner, assured full guidance to tax payers. They said they could visit their offices to seek any clarification on the amended provisions.

Over 1,000 drawing and disbursing officers of different departments and private organisations attended the seminar.