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Ruckus over CUHP campus location

Heated exchanges took place between the government and the Opposition over the location of the Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) campus.

Ruckus over CUHP campus location

Opposition leader PK Dhumal and other BJP MLAs on their way to attend the Vidhan Sabha session at Tapovan near Dharamsala on Monday. Photo: Kamaljeet



Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 8

Heated exchanges took place between the government and the Opposition over the location of the Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) campus.

The question regarding the CUHP was raised in the House by former minister and BJP MLA from Dehra, Ravinder Ravi.

Replying to the query, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh informed the House that no land had been transferred in the name of the CUHP at Dehra. Ravi, however, objected to the information and said the House was being misinformed.

He said 900-kanal land in Dehra subdivision had already been registered in the name of CUHP by the state government.

He urged the CM to lay the foundation stone of the CUHP on the land that was already transferred in the name of the institution at Dehra. The CM said the permission under the Forest Act had not been received from the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests for utilising the Dehra land for CUHP campus.

The CM said it was absurd to have to campuses of the CUHP separated by a distance of nearly 40 km. Dirty politics was being played by some people over the issue, he said.

Leader of the Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal, while responding to the CM’s allegations said the two-campus theory for CUHP was given and approved by the previous UPA government.

The Union government wanted 7,000-kanal land for CUHP’s campus. Such a huge chunk of land was not available at one place. So the site-selection committee of the Union HRD Ministry suggested the two-campus theory, he said.

“The CM has been giving varied statements regarding the location of the CUHP campus in Hamirpur and Jawalamukhi. Had it not been due to the intervention of former Union minister Chandresh Kumari, the previous Union government would have laid the foundation stone of CUHP as per the two-campus theory,” Dhumal said.

The CM said his government was for having unified campus of CUHP instead of two campuses proposed earlier and it would be brought up in Kangra district. The site for it was yet to be selected by the state government, he said. Earlier, while replying to a query from Ram Kumar, Congress MLA from Doon, the CM said all units in Baddi, Brotiwala and Nalagarh industrial areas were working after the NOC and consent to operate from State Pollution Control Board.

He said air emission by Mondchez International industries was within limits. While replying to a query from BJP MLA from Dharampur, Mahinder Singh, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anil Sharma said for 3 per cent fat milk, Himachal was giving more money to dairy farmers in the state than the adjoining states.

He said in Himachal Rs 16.4 rate per litre was being given for milk having 3 per cent fat, whereas in Punjab and Haryana the rate for the same milk was Rs 12.46 per litre and Rs 10.76 per litre, respectively. Mahinder Singh, however, contended that the milk federation was earning profit by selling by-products of milk, but not passing them to farmers.

While responding to a query from Rikhi Ram Kondal GS Bali, the Minister for Technical Education, said the state government had allotted Rs 2.6 crore for the construction of Polytechnic College, Kalol. He said the land for the college has been transferred in the name of the Department of Technical Education only in September this year and the work on it would be started soon.

While responding to a query from Mohan Lal Brakta, Minister for Power Sujan Singh Pathania admitted that the Gumma Hydel Project in Rohru was lying closed for the past two years due to fault in machines. The matter was being taken up with BHEL, he said.

Five bills tabled in House

1. Himachal Pradesh Court Fees (Amendment) bill 2014

An amendment in Section 34 of the Bill has been proposed for allowing the e-filing of court fees. The e-filing of court fee is being allowed as per the orders of the Supreme Court of India.

2. Himachal Pradesh Technical University Bill 2014

The Bill lays provisions for the functioning of the only technical university of the state that governs all engineering colleges.

3. Himachal Pradesh tax on luxuries (in hotels and lodging houses) second amendment Bill 2014

The bill has proposed special provisions under Section 6-E of the Act related to exemption from payment of luxury tax by proprietors of new hotels in tribal hard and backward panchayats of the state. The Bill proposes to provide exemption in luxury tax to hotels coming up in tribal areas such as Lahaul and Spiti and Bara and Chotta Bhangal areas of Kangra district.

4. Himachal Pradesh Value Added tax (Amendment) Bill 2014

The Bill proposes a penalty of Rs 200 per day on traders and dealers for any omission or error in filing annual return. For those having a liability of less than Rs 20 lakh VAT tax, the fine shall be Rs 200 per day that shall not exceed Rs 25,000 for delay in filing return. For dealers who have liability of more than Rs 20 lakh, a penalty of Rs 1,000 per day has been proposed in the Bill with no upper limit.

5. Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill 2014

 

The bill proposes to convert the cadre of panchayat sahayaks from gram panchayat and block level to district level. It proposes to utilise the services of panchayat sahayaks anywhere in the district. It also proposed to make the chief executive officer as the head of the committee for selection of panchayat sahayaks.

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