Dhumal 'failed to get' package from Centre
SHIMLA, Nov 20 — The leader of the Congress Legislature Party and a former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, has accused the BJB-HVC combine government of Mr P.K. Dhumal of indulging in extravagance although Himachal Pradesh was reeling under severe financial crisis.

HP measure to meet financial crisis
HAMIRPUR, Nov 20 — The HP Government has reportedly imposed a ban on all types of payments except salary and wages to the regular and daily paid staff, reimbursement of medical bills, telephone, power charges and petrol charges with an immediate effect.

Principal, Registrar for REC sought
HAMIRPUR, Nov 20 — The Regional Engineering College Hamirpur Teachers Association has demanded the immediate posting of a regular Principal and Registrar for the college as work is suffering.

Release allowances, say HP teachers
KANGRA, Nov 20 — Himachal Pradesh Government teachers have decided to resort to agitation in the state in order to pursue their long-pending demands for the release medical, rural and house rent allowances on the Punjab pattern.

Dhumal 'failed to get' package
from Centre
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 20 — The leader of the Congress Legislature Party and a former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, has accused the BJB-HVC combine government of Mr P.K. Dhumal of indulging in extravagance although Himachal Pradesh was reeling under severe financial crisis.

Mr Virbhadra Singh told The Tribune here today that economy measures announced by the government were not being observed in letter and spirit and were mere "eyewash". The ministers and chairmen of boards and corporations were indulging in lavish expenditure despite the precarious financial position, he alleged.

He said that although the state government was unable even to pay wages to the labourers at several places, yet the Chief Minister was trying to project the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee as more generous towards Himachal in solving its financial problems than any other previous Prime Minister of the Congress party. All this was being done to mislead people and create an euphoria about the financial position, he alleged.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said that Mr Dhumal had failed to obtain any financial package for the state despite his frequent flights to Delhi for the purpose. Every time he has returned here empty handed. The ruling BJP was trying to derive political mileage out of the provision of Rs 300 crore to the state government by the Centre which was nothing more than repayable advance of Rs 100 crore from the "ways and means" account and the balance as advance share of the state in central taxes and other accounts. The advance of Rs 100 crore has already been recovered by the Centre along with interest on it.

He lashed out at Mr Dhumal for criticising him for having raised loans from the open market for running the government during the Congress regime and pointed out that the BJP-HVC combine government was also following in his footsteps. Loans amounting over Rs 800 crore have been raised from the open market through various boards and corporations although during the Congress regime Mr Dhumal and other BJP leaders were against the very concept of raising loans, he said.

Justifying the raising of loans by the previous Congress government, Mr Virbhadra Singh said that the entire transaction was done in transparent manner even the Vidhan Sabha was kept informed about the details of these loans on various occasions, including February 26, 1996 when a detailed statement was made by "me" in the House on the issue.

He demanded that Mr Dhumal should also make the people aware of the loans being raised by his government and also the service charges or raisers commission thereon.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said it was unfortunate that Mr Dhumal was always trying to find a fault in the raising of loans during the Congress regime and justifying his own actions.

He said that when he came to power in December 1993, his government inherited a deficit of Rs 500 crore from the previous BJP government of Mr Shanta Kumar and the only choice before him was either to sit down and keep grumbling about the bad financial position like his predecessor or raise loans for the development of the state.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said that his government made the market borrowings on the best terms and conditions prevailing in the market at that time.

He alleged that Mr Dhumal was not only raising the loans through the HPSEB and the Forest Corporation, but also through the four corporations which were recently set up.

He said that Mr Dhumal, who had always been criticising him for having hired a helicopter for the state, was now himself flying in the same helicopter for the even small hopes.

HP measure to meet financial crisis
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Nov 20 — The HP Government has reportedly imposed a ban on all types of payments except salary and wages to the regular and daily paid staff, reimbursement of medical bills, telephone, power charges and petrol charges with an immediate effect tide over financial crisis in the state.

Highly placed sources in the government revealed today that there would be no payment of TA all kinds of arrears to the staff, GPF withdrawals and LoC facility for making payments on various works undertaken in the departments of HPPWD I&PH and the HPSEB.

Source say this decision has been taken in view of failure of the state government to get a financial package from the central government to manage daily expenses and to run the administration.

The HP Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, who met senior party leaders and central ministers at New Delhi during his recent tour and demanded immediate financial help to state was told to wait for sometimes as the central government itself was in grip of serious financial crisis.

Meanwhile, employees, in general, are upset over the decision of the government to allow medical re-imbursement payments which they alleged have been claimed through bogus bills by many unscrupulous elements, especially senior officers. Majority of them in connivance with doctors are preparing false bills and defrauding the government to the extent of crores of rupees every month. They wanted that government should take steps to detect bogus medical bills and punish the erring officials rather than stopping other payments like GPF withdrawals.

Evidence recorded in land grab case
From Our Correspondent

NURPUR, Nov 20 — Mr Subhash Ahluwalia, the Commissioner for Departmental Inquiry, Shimla, recorded the statements of the witnesses here on Thursday in connection with the Rs 1 crore land grab scandal which had rocked Himachal Pradesh in 1993.

The state government had recently chargesheeted one Modh Ram, the then Naib Tehsildar of the Settlement Department, and a departmental probe had been instituted against him for his alleged involvement in this scandal.

It is alleged that he had masterminded the transfer of ownership of the prime government land worth lakhs during a settlement operation in 1988 in favour of certain influential individuals.

The racket came to light when the beneficiaries started selling the land at exorbitant rates and a building started coming up at the site six years ago.

The residents and the local Town Welfare Committee complained to the state government following which the then government ordered an inquiry into the land transfer.

The Divisional Commissioner, Kangra, held a probe and visited the spot. In March, 1993, the Settlement Collector, Kangra, during revision of six files pertaining to the controversial land examined the witnesses. It was found that the land grabbers, in connivance with the officials and field staff of the Settlement Department, got the ownership entries changed by introducing fictitious and bogus witnesses.

After examining the facts and completing a review of files, the Settlement Collector had ordered a revision of ownership in favour of the state government and resumed the land.

The state government, however, failed to take any action for many years against the officials of the Settlement Department involved in the scandal. The Dhumal Government after coming into power had instituted a departmental inquiry against these officials.

While welcoming the inquiry against the then naib tehsildar of the Settlement Department, the local Town Welfare Committee has demanded that criminal cases should be registered against the persons involved in the racket.

Entry tax mooted by Shimla MC
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 20 — The Himachal government has specified an entry tax of Rs 15 on all loaded heavy vehicles entering the limits of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

A notification specifying the rates of tax under sub-section (2) of Section 84 of the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 leviable by the Municipal Corporation, Shimla, has been issued by the government.

The entry tax for light vehicles will be Rs 5 and for unloading heavy vehicles Rs 10 each.

The Municipal Corporation here, which is one of the oldest in the country, is starved of funds and had been seeking permission of the government for imposing certain taxes to improve its financial position.

The Municipal Corporation will also receive a tax of two paise per unit on consumption of electricity by any person within the municipal area a show tax of 50 paise per show has also been specified.

A Sewerage Tax on commercial buildings at the rate of 15 per cent of the general tax on building has been imposed.

Objections, if any, on the imposition of these taxes, have been sought by the government within 30 days.

Principal, Registrar for REC sought
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Nov 20 — The Regional Engineering College Hamirpur Teachers Association has demanded the immediate posting of a regular Principal and Registrar for the college as work is suffering. Mr P.C. Rehal and Mr Ashok Kumar Gupta, president and general secretary, respectively, of the association, in a statement here today said the college had virtually become an ad hoc centre without a regular Principal and Registrar.

The association has expressed resentment over the non-payment of revised pay arrears to them as released by the central government. The association has threatened to boycott examinations and annual script work.

Through another resolution, the association has demanded the immediate summoning of a meeting of the Board of Governors of the college and holding of interviews for various faculties.

The association has also demanded a high-level probe into the sending of more than 50 per cent teachers from various faculties under the Qualification Improvement Programme. Under the rules, only 10 per cent of the total faculty in each discipline could be sent for QIP.

Release allowances, say HP teachers
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, Nov 20 — Himachal Pradesh Government teachers have decided to resort to agitation in the state in order to pursue their long-pending demands for the release medical, rural and house rent allowances on the Punjab pattern.

Mr Kartar Singh Rana, Chairman of the State Action Committee of the Himachal Pradesh Government Teachers' Union, in a press note here yesterday said the teachers community was forced to take to agitation because the government had ignored their interests. The union deplored the "policy of the procrastination" being pursued by the state government in the matter of the release of these allowances.

Giving details of the agitation programme, Mr Rana said a dharna would be held at the Directorate of Education in Shimla on December 15. It would be followed by a relay fast at Hamirpur, home town of the Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal on December 20.