Shimla, November 11
Forest and police officials today demarcated land and started tree count at the construction site in Kanlog near here where the high-end housing project was being executed by Bemloe Development and Infrastructure.

On November 21 last year, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau registered an FIR under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120 of the IPC and Section 33 of the Indian Forest Act against the promoters. The construction of the plush cottages had figured prominently in the Congress chargesheet, when the BJP was in power in the state.

“Police and forest officials jointly undertook land demarcation and tree count on the site of the housing project as part of investigations,” said Ramesh Chajjta, Superintendent of Police (Vigilance). He added that the land demarcation was part of the investigation into the case. Chajjta said the Vigilance would compare the present land and the trees standing on the site with the situation when the clearances and NOC was given to them by the Forest Department and other government agencies.

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had even asked the Central Enforcement Directorate last year to look into the purchase of shares of the high-end housing project here by 54 persons, hailing from Amritsar. The total area bought by the company is about 9 bighas.

Even though the high-end housing project was granted all mandatory permissions by the Forest, Municipal Corporation, Revenue and Urban Development Departments, questions were raised over the haste shown in granting them all approvals which otherwise could have taken months. The project was under scanner for the construction of a road to the site with the help of alleged forged documents.

Sources said during investigation it had been found that some signatures on the application submitted to the government for repair and maintenance of the road were forged. In fact, it was found that some signatories were dead while others had deposed that they never signed on the request for the road. 

Solan, November 11
The Kasauli-based Central Research Institute (CRI) has scaled down its production of various anti-sera following strict animal protection laws. These have laid down specific norms for keeping horses, whose blood is used in the manufacture of this life-saving anti-sera, including adhering to specific dimension of cages for each animal.

This has forced the institute to reduce its in-house horses number from the earlier 200 to about 90, thus adversely affecting the production of anti-sera which is much in demand.

Other norms such as keeping horses of younger age and ensuring that these are not abandoned after they attain a certain age have also forced the institute to reduce its number. This has hit the manufacturing of anti-sera despite its overwhelming demand across the country.

Institute Director Dr Sunil Gupta said since members of the Ethics Committee had pointed out that the animal enclosures should be in accordance with the norms laid down by the animal welfare board, the institute staff was forced to scale down the number of horses.

He said the institute had manufactured 40,000 vials of anti-rabies serum, 12,000 vials of anti-venom serum and 3,000 vials of diphtheria in the current fiscal while demand for more was pouring in.

The institute is also facing other problems such as shortage of staff, including that of veterinary officer. This is also acting as a handicap as in the absence of a specialist, only limited animals could be taken care of.

The institute has been supplying anti-sera to Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Chandigarh as well as Himachal.

With the government hospitals failing to stock anti-sera, several patients, who were bitten by a rabid dog in Solan a few days ago, had to rush to the CRI to get its dose and though the Regional Hospital did take 40 vials of the anti-serum later but officials feel it is insufficient to deal with the rising cases of dog bite and the hospitals should keep adequate stocks of this drug. This was a pointer towards its shortage in the government hospitals.

Shimla, November 11
Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes has convened a meeting of all stakeholders, including fruit grower associations, farmers, fruit commission agents, cardboard carton manufacturers and others on November 26 here.

The government intends to bring out a universal carton and put in place bank guarantee for commission agents to run their shops in the state, she asserted.

State growers associations have welcomed Stokes’ move, saying that the uniform norms for the packaging cartons and bank guarantee for running commission agents shops should have a legal sanction.

“It is a welcome step. But the universal carton must address the weight issue because juice content in apple in July is less as compared to later months that influence the weight, said Vineet Sarjolta, secretary, Himalayan Apple Growers Society (HAGS). But the universal carton must go by the international benchmark of the size of the fruit to decide the weight of a carton, he added.

The farmers resented that more than 30 per cent of payments had not been made by commission agents in Dhalli, Rohru, Solan, Parwanoo and even in Chandigarh and Delhi markets. There were cases where farmers had moved courts as they had not received payments from the agents for the past three years, the farmers charged.

She said the issue of middle men exploiting apple growers by compelling them to overfill cardboard cartons would be discussed. They would come out with a solution to this demand, she stated.

Spelling out the motive behind the meeting, she said the government intended to introduce new cardboard cartons, developed by the Indian Institute of Packaging for which Rs10,90,903 would be spent on its model and design.

On the fleeing and fleecing by fly-by-night commission agents, Horticulture Minister said the government would ensure financial security to farmers by making it compulsory for the commission agents to have the bank guarantee to operate their shops. The government would encash the pledged bank guarantee if a commission agent shut shop or fled, she asserted.

Vice-chairman, HPMC, Prakash Thakur, who is also a grower from Kotgarh, said the farmers would get an opportunity to air their grievances and submit their suggestions before the government come out with the policy.

“These reforms in packaging and trading are needed to make the apple industry globally competitive to meet the WTO challenge”, he added.

The government will ensure financial security to farmers by making it compulsory for commission agents to have bank guarantee to operate their shops. The government will encash the pledged bank guarantee if a commission agent shuts shop or flees.
—Vidya Stokes, horticulture minister

Shimla, November 11
The HP High Court has summoned the Chief Secretary and principal secretaries (urban development and transport) on November 24 regarding regulating and managing traffic in Shimla.

Apart from theses officers, the court has also directed the Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police, Shimla, Commissioner, Shimla Municipal Corporation, Secretary, Vidhan Sabha, and Managing Director, HRTC, to remain present in the court on the next date.

The court also directed the officers to file fresh status reports indicating the steps taken by them to implement the mandate of the Shimla Road Users and Pedestrians (Public Safety and Convenience) Act, 2007.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan on a Public Interest Litigation filed in this regard directed the authorities to indicate what action was taken to ban unauthorised parking places. They have also been directed to furnish the list of those parking places.

The court further observed that the affidavit filed by the Managing Director, HRTC, in response to the directions given by the court was an eye wash.

Hence he was directed to file a fresh affidavit with regard to plying of HRTC taxis on sealed and restricted roads of the town.

The court also directed to cancel all those permits, which were issued in breach of the mandate of the aforesaid Act and pin point who the officer was, who issued the permits in violation of the provisions of the Act.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan on a Public Interest Litigation plea directed the authorities to indicate what action was taken to ban unauthorised parking places. They have also been directed to furnish the list of those parking places. 

Shimla, November 11
The High Court today extended the stay on the execution of the order passed by it whereby it had imposed a ban on organising any non-educational activities or fairs at Government School playgrounds till December 1.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed the interim order on an application filed by the DC, Shimla, for seeking modification of the order on the ground that in view of this order the state as well as the district administration in the state were likely to face problems of holding traditional fairs.

In its earlier order, a Division Bench comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Sureshwar Thakur directed the Principal Secretary (Education), all DCs and SDMs throughout the state not to accord any permission to organise any function/fair directly not connected with educational/ academic activities at schools/ educational institutions and playgrounds, even on holidays.

Aggrieved from this order, the Shimla DC filed an application seeking modification of the earlier order of the court and after perusing the same the court stayed the effect of its order till December 1.

Chamba, November 11
BJP MP from Kangra Shanta Kumar, who is also the chairman of the high-level committee for restructuring of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has pleaded for the setting up of cement plant in Chamba which is indispensable for the development of the district.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Shanta Kumar stated that the cement plant was the biggest plant in Himachal Pradesh and was the only alternative to alleviate unemployment and poverty of the district.

“I have already met with Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and on my request, the Chief Minister has agreed to undertake the project”, Shanta Kumar revealed. Shanta Kumar said he would extend cooperation to the state Congress government.

He said the committee, headed by him, had found that the Union government was spending about Rs 2 lakh crore on providing cheap foodgrain to the poor and about Rs 72,000 crore on fertiliser subsidy.

Under the Food Security Act, the provisions had been made to provide subsidised foodgrain to about 85 crore population, Shanta further stated.

He said his committee, which was functioning under the direct control of the Prime Minister’s Office, would look into the civil supplies, consumer affairs, public distribution system and food processing in the country.

He said the district-level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee would review the working under the Food Security Act and meet once in every three months.

Shanta said the condition of roads in the region was pitiable, alleging that the government was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Later, presiding over the district-level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, Shanta asked the officials to ensure that by 2015, every household should have his own toilet. He also directed the officials to ensure providing separate toilets for girl students in all the schools. 

Una, November 11
Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today said the state government would attract investors at the crucial second phase of the investors’ meet in Delhi.

Addressing mediapersons here, he said the ongoing process was an attempt to give a fillip to the industry besides addressing issues of local economy and employment.

Agnihotri said industrialists were assured of uninterrupted power supply at rates much cheaper than other states, reduced VAT and stamp duty, time-bound single window system for industrial clearances, peaceful atmosphere and availability of manpower, while industrialists put forth negative issues such as hassles in land acquisition due to cumbersome revenue laws, lack of adequate rail and air transportation.

The minister, however, said the issue of expansion of the existing airports would be taken up with the Union government. He said during deliberations, industrial houses also wanted an Industries Advisory Board under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister so that quick decisions could be taken, adding that the proposal would be discussed.

The minister said houses such as Tata, TVS, Godrej, Vardhman and Torrent had agreed to invest in bulk production of pharmaceuticals, textiles, agro-based products, cement, tourism ropeways and hydel projects, while offers had also come for setting up a film city somewhere near Palampur.

Replying to a query, the minister said five cement companies, which were given clearance to set up their units here, had not initiated their projects for the past many years and consequently, the government would cancel their proposals and giving an opportunity to others. 

Mandi, November 11
Health services will improve in the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and newly appointed Union Health Minister JP Nadda. This was stated by Mandi MP Ramswaroop Sharma who called on Nadda in New Delhi today.

He said the dream of healthy India, along with Swachh Bharat, would also be realised soon. Nadda was elevated to the post of Union Health Minister because of his hard work and dedication to the party.

He said under the leadership of Nadda, the state would soon get an AIIMS-like institution and its place of establishment would be decided by the public.

Shimla, November 11
Governor Urmila Singh inaugurated the four-day International Lavi Fair at Rampur in Shimla district today.

She said: “Lavi fair is a unique example of the glorious, social, cultural, economic and historical legacy of Himachal Pradesh. It is one of the oldest fairs, famous for promoting trade and other commercial activities within the state and also with Tibet for centuries.”

The Governor praised the organisers for making sincere efforts in carrying forward the rich traditions. She said woollens, dry fruits and other traditional crafts and products exhibited in the market were unique and the fair provided a good opportunity for their promotion and sale, besides benefiting traditional craftsmen and farmers.

The Governor said to preserve the natural beauty, awareness should be created about environment protection.

She stressed on the need to plant more trees and protect the existing green cover.

She also inaugurated the Kinnauri market and exhibition put up by various government departments and other organisations on the occasion and evinced keen interest in the exhibits.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Nand Lal, who was also present on the occasion, said efforts were being made to carry out development activities in the area so that people could benefit and get all basic facilities at their doorstep. 

Una, November 11
The second day of the cultural night event, which is part of the ongoing state-level Sombhadra Mahotsav, was inaugurated by Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri at the Indira Gandhi sports complex here yesterday.

Artistes from Una district and other parts of the state gave their performances. Punjabi singer Master Saleem held the audience spellbound with his hit numbers.

During the day, people visited various stalls put up by government departments, voluntary organisations and local industrialists at the venue. Children enjoyed different games, and stalls selling food items did a brisk business.

During the final cultural night programme, Governor Urmila Singh was the chief guest and Agnihotri accompanied her. The Governor reached Una this evening by a helicopter and was given a guard of honour on her arrival at the Circuit House. 

Hamirpur, November 11
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated the three-day Hamir Utsav by participating in the shobha yatra (jaleb) from the Gandhi Chowk to the Shiva temple where he performed puja here today.

Virbhadra said the festival was celebrated to commemorate the formation of Hamirpur as a separate district in September 1972. “For the last 42 years, there has been no looking back for the district in the field of development. The festival showcases rich cultural heritage of the district, besides having historical importance,” the CM said.

Later in the evening, the Chief Minister inaugurated the cultural night of the Hamir Utsav and released a souvenir on the occasion. He stressed on the preservation of the language, culture and traditional heritage of the state.

He was welcomed and honoured by Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, Rohan Thakur on the occasion. People from all walks of life attired in their colourful dresses joined the procession.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, State Disaster Management Authority Vice-Chairman Rajinder Rana, Kangra Central Co-operative Bank Vice-Chairman Kuldeep Pathania and former MLA Anita Verma were also present on the occasion.

Shimla, November 11
To ensure the mandatory 15 per cent discharge from all hydropower projects, e-flow monitoring of more than 60 large and medium hydel projects is being done by the Environment Department.

A team of the World Bank today reviewed the progress of the ongoing works in the Department of Energy and Forest as part of the action plan under the Development Policy Loan to Promote Inclusive Green Growth and Sustainable Development. The team will review the progress of works under the tourism and rural development sector with officials tomorrow.

The team was informed that it was through satellite imagery that the real time e-flow from 60 projects was being done to ensure that at least 15 per cent water was being discharged. The Department of Environment would gradually bring the other hydropower projects under the e-flow so that there was monitoring.

It had also been decided to have a proper communication policy for the energy sector so that all activities that were being undertaken could be disseminated for the knowledge of the public as well as stakeholders.

The team was also apprised about the cumulative environmental impact assessment (CEIA) studies for all five river basins of the Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Yamuna and Chenab which were being undertaken. The CEIA of the Sutlej basin has already been completed while the work on the Chenab basin is underway. As part of the action plan that was a pre-requisite for getting the development policy loan, the Himachal government has engaged a consultant to prepare a basinwise digital GIS-based hydropower potential maps of all five rivers. The team was also apprised about the disbursement of about Rs 1.50 crore to over 5,000 families identified by the Chamera-II project in Chamba district under the Local Area Development funds.

The Forest Department apprised the WB team about the guidelines prepared for the policy made for payment of eco-system services. As a pilot project, it has already been started in some parts of the state, including Rampur and Anin in Kullu.

The state government has been asked to take certain initiatives in environment, hydropower generation, rural development, industries, forest, tourism along with community advocacy and awareness.

Kangra, November 11
The governing council of the Rogi Kalayan Samiti (RKS) of the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, today approved a budget of Rs 21.69 crore for the current financial year. Besides Rs 4.45 crore was earmarked for the maintenance of the college, hospital and hostel buildings.

Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, who chaired the RKS meeting, said this while addressing mediapersons at Tanda.

The minister in reply to a question said efforts were on to overcome the deficiencies pointed out by the Medical Council of India (MCI) which led to the non-recognition of the seven MD/MS courses. He said within three to four months the posts of the faculty would be filled up to overcome the deficiencies.

Vineet Choudary, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, said the recognition would be done retrospectively. Thus, the fate of the 13 postgraduate doctors would not get jeopardised .

He said last year Rs 80 lakh was kept for the maintenance of the buildings and today it was enhanced to Rs The RKS decided to outsource the sanitation and cleanliness of the hospital to a well-equipped and well-trained sanitary agency.

It also decided to outsource jobs of 50 ward boys to a private agency. To combat the heavy rush of patients the registration would now start at 8 am and more registration counters would be opened, he said.

He said surgical equipments would be provided to patients on a cost-to-cost basis and free medicines to patients in the emergency. Round-the-clock digital X-ray and ultra-sound would start functioning soon. To generate more resources the private ward would cost Rs 1,000 instead of Rs 500 and the auditorium for one day would cost Rs 30,000.

Among 35 members GS Bali as MLA, Additional Chief Secretary Health Vineet Choudary, DC and CMO Kangra were present. 

Kangra, November 11
A week-long workshop on “Analytical Aspects of Dynamics”, organised by The Mathematical Society of Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), was inaugurated at Shahpur here today.

Prof CS Aravinda from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research-CAM, Bangalore, who was the chief guest on the occasion, emphasised the importance of linear algebra and multivarious calculus for visualising mathematical concepts geometrically.

OSKS Shastri, Dean, School of Physical and Material Sciences, said mathematics was the language of physics. SK Srivastava, co-convener of the workshop, welcomed the guests. Dr Rakesh Kumar, organising secretary of the workshop, proposed a vote of thanks.

Dharamsala, November 11
Himachal DGP Sanjay Kumar has said the state border along Jammu and Kashmir in Chamba district was safe and there were no reports of terrorist infiltration. He said the state police were equipped to handle any kind situation along the 214 km Chamba border along J&K.

The DGP was responding to media queries regarding the threat posed to Himachal though infiltration of terrorists from J&K. In the recent past, there were unconfirmed reports that a few terrorists had infiltrated into Himachal from the Chamba border.

J&K militants had earlier struck in Chamba and massacred many people. After that the security along the Chamba border was handed over to the central police forces. However, about a year ago, the security was once again handed over to the Himachal Police. The DGP was here to inaugurate the 47th Himachal Pradesh Police Sports and Duty meet that began here today.

“There is a sense of security among the locals near the border and our forces continuously interact with them,” added Sanjay Kumar.

He said the force had been located strategically and continuously patrol the area.

“There is no chance of infiltration and the state also shares intelligence information with security agencies deployed on the other sides,” said Kumar, adding that so far no activity had been detected along the border in Jammu and Kashmir.

The DGP said the state police force deployed on the border was well-equipped and efficient enough to handle any emergency situation.

On the booming drug trade in the region, the DGP said the police was working in coordination with neighbouring Punjab to curtail the drug trafficking and it had proved successful. “We have increased force in the Narcotic Cell and are working in coordination with the Punjab Police to check the menace,” said Kumar. “We have busted the drug mafia ring having links in Himachal and other neighbouring states,” said the DGP. Replying to another query on foreigners residing in the state illegally, Kumar said the police carried out special drive against those who stayed in HP for a long without valid documents. 

Nurpur, November 11
The martyrdom day of freedom fighter Wazir Ram Singh Pathania, who hailed from Nurpur, was observed as Veer Diwas at his birthplace Bassa Waziran near here today.

He is considered the first freedom fighter who had launched the armed revolution against British rule in India in 1846. He made the supreme sacrifice on this day in 1849 at the age of 24 while languishing in jail. The memorial committee, constituted by the martyr’s kin, has been observing his martyrdom day as Veer Diwas for long.

Vijay Singh Mankotia, Vice-Chairman, Tourism Development Corporation, and state president of the Ex-servicemen’s League, who was the chief guest on the occasion, offered floral tributes to the martyr’s security uniform.

Addressing a gathering, Mankotia underlined the need to rectify the history of martyrs who had laid down their lives for the freedom of the country. He urged the Union Government to accord the First Freedom Fighter status to Wazir Ram as he had laid down his life before the first freedom movement held in 1857. He said the martyr’s armed revolution against the British regime (1846-49) had set the path of the actual freedom movement in the country.

On this occasion, former minister Kewal Singh Pathania addressed the gathering. Rajeshwar Pathania, president, Memorial Committee, honoured the chief guest with a shawl and a cap. A painting competition was organised and students of five schools presented cultural programmes. Former local MLA Ranjit Bakshi was also present on the occasion. 

Solan, November 11
The Kasauli Cantonment Board officials auctioned 25 shops in the first phase today and earned Rs 62 lakh from it. The auction was held under the chairmanship of the Cantonment Executive Officer Varun Kalia.

As many as 129 people, mostly locals, participated in the auction process.

The auction, which was held after several years, managed to fetch revenue which was nearly five times the reserve price with the lowest auction price being Rs 15,500, while the highest being Rs 4.2 lakh.

The reserve price ranged from Rs 1,500 to 70,000 for these 25 shops.

This has boosted the morale of the board which was now preparing to auction the remaining 34 shops in the near future.

A majority of the earlier allottees managed to get back their shops, while seven of them failed to do so.

The issue had generated much heat as local allottees had been stiffly opposing the auction after the Kasauli Cantonment Board officials had initiated a move to allot shops on a fresh basis following complaints of sub-letting and other controversies reaching the higher Kasauli Cantonment Board officials. 

Shimla, November 11
Shimla Municipal Corporation deputy mayor Tikender Panwar has marked an inquiry into the work being done at the Fagli nullah.

He found that despite paying Rs 3 lakh to the contractor, the quality of work was not satisfactory.

He said the municipal commissioner would be asked to conduct an inquiry.

Besides, the deputy mayor has also called the meeting of residents of Rirki area of Tutikandi ward, where an “influential” contractor had halted the work on the sewerage line on the PWD road to be laid by the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

Panwar inspected the Fagli nullah work and the Tutikandi sewerage line after local councillors — Upma Kaushal and Shashi Shekhar — brought the problems being faced by the residents to his notice.

Rirki area residents are facing the problem of leakage of sewers. They said an influential contractor was not allowing the laying of the sewerage line through the area. 

Kangra, November 11
Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Health, Vineet Chaudhary assured the resident doctors of DRPGMC, Tanda, that the issue of the enhancement of their stipend would be taken up with the Finance Department before the Cabinet for the approval.

Dr Ashwani Kumar, president, Resident Doctors’ Association DRPGMC, Tanda, today said a delegation of the association called on the ACS, Health, at Tanda and demanded enhancement of the stipend of the doctors (direct candidates) doing postgraduate courses.

He said they conveyed him that doctors doing their PG were offering 24x7 services at the hospital besides their academic assignments and hence stipend paid to them should be enhanced minimally equivalent to the emoluments paid to MBBS doctors at the entry level in HP or on the pattern of AIIMS and PGIMER.

Ashwani said they were getting Rs 25,000, where as they demanded Rs 40,000.