Cement ‘missing’ from construction site
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Jan 28 — The reported shortage of cement and iron from the science block of the local Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Post Graduate College, under construction, worth lakhs of rupees has upset the PWD. The block is being constructed by a private contractor.

Sources told The Tribune yesterday that the shortage of cement and iron came to the notice only when the contractor pressed for the payment of final bill and the department started making on the spot inquiries regarding the completion of work and the material supplied to him by the Public Works Department. It was noticed that the work had not been completed and the material was also in short supply. The contractor had adopted go-slow tactics to complete the work in order to get the payment.

The connivance of certain PWD officials with the contractor also cannot be ruled out.

The sources allege that either the material had been used somewhere else or it had been used in the construction of the PTA block of the college which is in the vicinity of the science block complex. Insiders say that it is difficult to take out material from the college campus but can be transferred to another building.

When contacted, Mr G.R. Kaundel, a senior official of the PWD said the department was aware of the shortage of material. He had asked an Executive Engineer to inquire into the matter and submit a detailed report so that the responsibility could be fixed on the guilty.

However, the said contractor was not available for comments.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, is reported to have expressed his unhappiness over the reported incidents of shortage and pilferage of cement and other material in the PWD. He has sought a detailed report from Hamirpur-based officers in this regard.

Skyscrapers mar town's beauty
From Balkrishan Prashar

DALHOUSIE: The unruly and unwarranted skyscrapers fast spreading out in the green hills of the town are eating into the forest cover, thanks to the unbridled greed of the land mafia and the apathy of the authorities concerned the two seem to have sold the future of the beautiful hill station.

Dalhousie is famous for its picturesque setting. Nestled in the northern end of the mighty Dhauladhars, the hill town is full of beautiful natural wonders. But unfortunately, it has become a cesspit of the land mafia.

Taking into account the stringent "building scheme" sanctioned for the municipal area of the town, the construction work on unauthorised housing has not yet been halted. The construction activity is coming up in an area where it is prohibited.

The urban authorities are required to review the permission granted for the construction five or more years ago, but these have evidently not been heeded so far.

The hill town has become a haven for the land mafia. Politicians of all shades are in league with the mafia. The norms and provisions of the HP Town and Country Planning Act are openly being violated posing a threat to the wooded hills.

The media has highlighted the problem on several occasions, but the Department of Urban Development turns a blind eye to the problem. The Town and Country Planning Department appears to be ineffective. It perhaps believes in issuing notices merely. In sum, it is "a paper tiger" only.

The building scheme of the Municipal Council, Dalhousie, provides that except in the Bazar Ward which comprises Kathlog-Potreyan, Tehra and Bakrota, no residential building shall be erected on any estate which has an area of less than half of an acre. In the case of an existing estate, no partition shall be allowed unless half of an acre is allowed with each house.

The functionaries of the government, under whose nose the magnates are busy constructing haphazard and multi-storey structures even in the narrow strips, however, maintain that all these constructions are coming up with the approval of their development plans. But it is not known whether the building bye-laws have been adhered to in letter and spirit or not while according approval to the development plans of such skyscrapers?

Since there is no sewage system in Dalhousie, both the sewage from private houses and the wastes from hotels are conveniently dumped into the surrounding burns (nalas) in some areas. The forest itself is being used as an open-air lavatory.

The sewerage scheme approved during the regime of the previous Congress government either appears to have been shelved because of lack of funds or is under review.

Project engineers’ plea to CM
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Jan 28 — The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Project Engineers Association has lodged a protest over the non-relieving of engineers of the board presently on secondment with Nathpa Jhakri Power Corporation for Tala Hydroelectric project in Bhutan and question the right of the corporation to employ staff which had already completed three years of secondment as per the terms and conditions.

The association urged Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, to intervene in the matter and ensure that the resolution of the Board of Directors of NJPC, withholding the release of selected engineers was reviewed.

The shortage of engineers, it said, indicated the short-sightedness of the board management in manpower planning which kept sending engineers on deputation.

The association warned that the exodus from NJPC, if commenced would ruin the project.

Lecturers oppose govt move
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, Jan 28 — Resentment prevails among to polytechnic college lecturers, appointed by the Directorate of Technical Education, on contract basis few year back, over the government's recent decision to fill these posts by appointing regular lecturers.

A spokesman for these lecturers today said 18 degree holders in engineering and postgraduates were appointed as lecturers in 1994 by the Directorate of Technical Education after conducting interviews sponsored by their respective employment exchanges. He said they were not given salaries on a par with the regular lecturers where as teachers and doctors appointed on contract basis were given salaries on a par with regular teachers and doctors, respectively.

The lecturers alleged that the government had decided to fill the posts by appointing regular lecturers despite an assurance by the present government and poll promises of the ruling coalition that their service would be regularised after they complete five years of service.

They said while the services of lecturers appointed in polytechnic colleges on ad hoc basis were regularised in June last year the fate of the contractual lecturers was sealed by the government despite serving the department for four and a-half years.

They demanded that their service be regularised like those of ad hoc polytechnic lecturers.

Avalanche warning
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Jan 28 — Heavy snow in the tribal belt over the past 24 hours has increased the possibility of avalanches in some pockets.

The subdivisional magistrates of Pangi and Udaipur have warned the people living in avalanche-prone areas and asked them to remain vigilant to the avalanche threat.