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Friday,
November 9, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Revision
of power tariff hike difficult Kangra not
being neglected: minister Four die
after taking liquor Rs 74 lakh for HP panchkarma centres
Govt urged
to close institutions at Lahaul HP hikes fee for
legal aid lawyers |
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37.70 lakh given as relief to victims Ex-MLA, kin die in mishap Teachers
hold dharna Principal slaps
teacher Demonstration by telecom officers
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Revision of power tariff hike
difficult Shimla, November 8 While the commission maintains that the kvah-based tariff in place of the existing kwh is not only technically and economically desirable but also legally permissible, the board apprehends that it will lead to reduction in revenue. If fact, the board is working out modalities to file a review petition before the commission seeking modification of tariff fixed for the large industrial sector, which account for 41 per cent of the total power consumed. The kvah-based tariff, the commission argues, will provide incentive to industries for maintaining a higher power factor which is essential for ensuring
efficient use of energy and checking malpractices at the field level. The board has fixed a power factor of 0.9, which has to be maintained to avoid penalty. Under the existing tariff structure there is no incentive for maintaining a higher power factor. The kvah-based system is more transparent because it charges for the actual kvah recorded on the meter instead of recording, kwh and separately providing rebate or penalty for high or low power factor, respectively. It also reduces the administrative burden through elimination of the need for calculating the power factor. In the commission’s view the introduction of kvah-based system along with the imposition of demand charges at the rate of Rs 125 per kvah and consumer service charge of Rs 100 per month will make up for the loss of revenue on account of reduction in tariff from Rs 2.70 and Rs 2.50 per unit for the two categories of large industrial consumer to Rs 1.90 per unit. The effective per unit rate will vary from Rs 2.51 to Rs 3.01 depending on the power factor. The average will be around Rs 2.75, the same as the existing tariff. As per its calculations, the new tariff structure has been designed to be revenue neutral with the existing tariff for this particular category of consumer. Another consideration for not hiking the tariff of industrial consumers was the declining consumption of power. The share of industrial consumption has come down from 51.20 per cent in 1995-96 to 48.46 per cent in 2000-01. The consumption of large industrial consumers fell from 167 million units to 100 million units over the period. The board on the other hand feels that the elasticity in tariff structure will not lead to increased consumption or revenue. The impact on the revenue was being worked out. Mr Harsh Gupta, the Chief Secretary, who is also chairman of the board, said that the exercise would take another two days, after which the board would finalise the parts of the tariff order to be taken up in the review petition. Besides modification of industrial power tariff, the board would also seek review of the income and expenditure as assessed by the commission. The tariff application was fixed in April in which only the estimated income, particularly, from the sale of power, was stated. However, over the past seven months the actual figures of sales had become available. There has been a shortfall in income on account of reduction in generation due to decline in discharge and damage by floods in some hydel projects. The availability of actual figures would certainly call for revision in the tariff order. Besides filing a review petition or challenging the order in the High Court, the board also has the option to file a fresh tariff application before the commission. In the tariff order, the commission has clearly stated that it would require a minimum of three months to take a decision on the application and if the board wanted a revision of the next financial year, it should file an application within this month. |
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Kangra not being neglected:
minister Dharamsala, November 8 Addressing a Press conference here today, he claimed that the overwhelming public response to the BJP’s “vikas yatra” was a testimony that uniform development had been brought about. He said the Congress had failed to get a single penny from the Centre, resulting in slow pace of development. It was due to its inefficiency that Himachal was not given the special category status by the 9th Planning Commission, he alleged. Enlisting the development woks undertaken in his constituency, he said a Rs 4 crore minisecretariat, a Sports Authority of India project, regional centre of the university and sewerage scheme had been undertaken. Tubewells and road network had also been strengthened, he said. Having obtained a clearance from the Ministry of Forest and Environment, work on the Dharamsala bypass would begin very soon. Construction of the road to Triund would give a fillip to the tourism in the area, he added. Three power projects on the Manjhi, Manooni and Ikhoo khuds would also be set up. When asked about the factionalism within the party and the proposed visit of the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narender Modi, to Nurpur to participate in the “vikas yatra”, he said there were no dissensions in the party and all leaders would attend the function. |
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Four die after taking
liquor Nahan, November 8 Mr Mohinder Singh, DSP, Headquarters when contacted, confirmed that four persons had died in “suspicious circumstances” and one was in hospital. He said the police had suo motu started action into the matter. He said he had visited the hospital and recorded the statement of Raj Kumar. He had also talked to the family members of the deceased persons. The DSP said three persons had been cremated and the body of 46-year-old Ram Dev sent for a postmortem examination. He said according to the statement of the only
survivor (Raj Kumar), the victims consumed liquor on November 5. Soon they complained of abdominal pain and began to vomit. But police suspected that they had had spurious liquor though their families were mum. The cause of the deaths would be confirmed after the postmortem reports, the DSP said. |
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Rs 74 lakh for HP panchkarma centres
New Delhi, November 8 Sources in the department said Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala had taken the lead in setting up medicinal plant boards for the development of medicinal plants. The Secreatry, Department of ISM&H, told TNS here that Himachal Pradesh was faring most satisfactorily in the traditional medicine sector. She said Himachal was one of the few states that have a separate minister and secretary for the Indian Systems of Medicine. Dr S.K. Sharma, Advisor, Ayurveda in the department told TNS here on Thursday that this was the first time that the Centre was supporting such an initiative. Dr Sharma said the state Tourism Department had agreed to provide space for running such centres. “The Department of Ayurveda will spare two experts for each centre. The fee for treatment through panchkarma, a combination of five major procedures of Ayurvedic purification, will be subsidised,” he said. Dr Sharma said the centres were expected to start functioning by February. He said that the aforesaid project was proposed by the Himachal Preadesh Government six months ago. The Union Health Minister, Dr C.P. Thakur, told newspersons here on Thursday that medical tourism in the traditional medicine sector needed to be encouraged. The minister also addressed state Health Ministers, Secreatries and Directors of ISM&H who participated in day-long deliberations on the draft national policy on Indian Systems of Medicine. 21 states and six Union Territories participated in the
meeting. |
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Govt urged to close institutions at Lahaul Kulu, November 8 This was stated by Mr A.N. Vidyarthi, former Chief Secretary and member of the All-India Congress Committee, executive committee, in a press note issued here yesterday. Mr Vidyarthi said the government should arrange helicopter services to transport the stranded employees and local people of the district. He also urged the Border Road Organisation (BRO) to reopen the Pass for vehicular traffic as September-October were the months for transporting the agricultural produce like seed potatoes and peas from Lahaul to the district. |
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HP hikes fee for
legal aid lawyers Shimla, November 8 Disclosing this here today, Mr S.K. Chaudhary, member-secretary of the H.P. State Legal Services Authority, said that the annual income ceiling for those eligible to legal services from the authority had been increased to Rs 25,000 from the earlier Rs 15,000. He said complying with the directions of the Chief Justice of India, the fee for legal aid lawyers and counsel had been increased so that experienced counsel joined the panel. The fee at the sub-divisional level had been fixed at Rs 1200, at the district level Rs 1600 and a maximum fee payable per case for the administrative tribunal, state consumer commission and the court of financial commissioner (appeals) is Rs 3000. A fee of Rs 4000 per case, excluding other incidental expenditure, in the high court would be paid to the lawyers on the panel. |
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37.70 lakh given as relief to victims Shimla, November 8 He said 464 blankets had been distributed among the victims as well as a month’s ration free of cost. Mr Karan Singh visited the spot along with officers of the district administration and gave Rs 89,000 as relief to the victims as advance. He said steps were under way to provide timber to the families besides CGI sheets for construction of houses and sheds and fodder for cattle. |
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Ex-MLA, kin die in mishap Shimla, November 8 Reports said his wife, Mrs Rishi Devi, a son, Ramesh and daughter-in-law, Mrs Bimla Devi, also died in the mishap. His another son, Jeet Ram, was seriously injured and has been admitted to the medical college here. All four killed were cremated in the native village of Kelvi this afternoon. Mr Sadh Ram was returning to his native village along with his family members from Jawalaji when his jeep met with the accident. He had gone to Jawalaji on Tuesday. Mr Sadh Ram was a Congress MLA between 1957 to 1962. |
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Teachers hold dharna Dharamsala, November 8 Over 200 boys and girls had been recruited, three months ago by a Hyderabad-based company, entrusted to run the IT course in 64 government senior secondary schools in Kangra district. These teachers have not been paid their salaries for the past three months. They demanded that apart from payment of three months salary, their service rules should be framed and action be taken against the company which recruited them. |
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Principal slaps
teacher Una, November 8 |
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Demonstration by telecom officers Shimla, November 8 The protestors wore black badges and held a demonstration in front of the office of the Chief General Manager, Himachal Telecom Circle. Mr Naresh Chauhan, Secretary of association, urged the government to sanction proportionate posts of SDEs and JTOs in IMPCS projects. |
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