In Brief

Kumar,who is also a Rajya Sabha member from the state,has been given a memorandum drafted by the state government for the Prime Minister. “I have asked for an appointment as I propose to invite Congress Legislature Party leader Vidya Stokes and PCC president Kaul Singh Thakur beside BJP state party chief Khimi Ram to meet the PM,” Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said. However,before the meeting Shanta Kumar will call on the PM. “We want the sitting Congress MPs to be a part of Kumar’s delegation,” he said.

He hoped the Congress,which had agreed to stand by the government,will keep its word.

BRO celebrates Raising Day of project Deepak
Project Deepak of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO),handling some of the strategic construction projects in Himachal Pradesh,celebrated its Raising Day on Monday,pledging to contribute towards expanding communication network and also making it reliable,safe and all-weather.

Chief engineer of the project,J R Mathur said the agency has executed works worth Rs 382.82 crore in the last one year. It includes the 125.56 km long single lane in some of the toughest terrains of the mountainous belt in Himachal.

Mathur said road widening work of Wangtoo-Pooh road and Manali-Sarchu road have been quite crucial. Under the project,a permanent bridge at Shongton will be built over the Satluj.

Next year,there are proposals to undertake 136 km formation cuttings to build and widen border roads and complete 195 km of the surface works for cost of Rs 50 crore under the project.

NGO Federation assails 13 Finance Commission cut
Himachal Non-Gazetted Services Federation has assailed the Centre and 13 Finance Commission for 30 per cent cut on the development grants to Himachal Pradesh,which has tied up the state government’s hands to release revised pay and pension arrears for 2.5 lakh employees.

“Despite this,Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has ensured a part payment of the arrears to the tune of Rs 262 crore to the government servants. It’s now up to the two Union ministers from Himachal — Virbhadra Singh and Anand Sharma—¿ to get the grants restored for the state,” said Gopal Dass Verma,a chief advisor of the federation.

Husband,in-laws get life term for dowry death
The fast track court of Additional Sessions Judge S K Sachdeva sentenced Amritpal,his mother Asha Rani and sister Sunita to life imprisonment for the murder of Rekha Rani,Amritpal’s wife,on Monday. The trio allegedly set Rekha on fire at their house in Bathinda on December 26,2006. Rekha,who was said to be pregnant at the time of her death,succumbed to injuries on January 30,2007. In her dying declaration,she blamed her family members for her death. Initially,a case under Section 304 B (dowry death) was registered against the accused but later Section 302 (murder) was also added.

4 kgs heroin,fake currency recovered by BSF
The Border Security Force (BSF) claimed to have seized four kilograms of heroin and fake currency to the tune of Rs 10 lakh near the Noorwala Border Outpost (BoP) in Khemkaran sector on the Indo-Pak border, during a wee-hour search operation on Monday. BSF spokesperson DIG Jagir Singh said suspicious movement was noticed at night and patrolling was intensified in the area. Packets of fake currency and drugs,likely to have been thrown from across the border,were found lying near a tree. No arrests have been made. BSF officials have recovered 60 kilograms of heroin and fake currency to the tune of Rs 1.2 crore in the last four months.

Receiver appointed for Jalandhar colleges
The controversy over the running of colleges — Guru Nanak National College for Men and Guru Nanak National College for Women in Nakodar — by the local College Council may finally come to an end with the recent orders of the Supreme Court wherein it has directed to appoint a receiver for the colleges and asked the registrar firm and society to conduct elections to the management committee of the college within six months. SAD leader,Kuldeep Singh Wadala,a life member of the college council and many others,who had donated nearly 28 acres land to the colleges decades ago,addressed the media on Monday. It may be noted that a case against son of Revenue Minister Ajit Singh Kohar,who was an office-bearer in the college society,was filed in the apex court. Wadala said that ADC (Jalandhar) G S Khaira has been appointed as a receiver of the colleges and also college authorities have been asked to look after the day-to-day activities. “If the records by this committee (against which the receiver has been appointed) do not provide records of the colleges then we would file a contempt of court case,” said Wadala. Advocate Varinder Singh Khaira said that Kohar’s son was in the committee and the records may have been tampered with.

Saini is new Lehra Mohabbat thermal plant chief engineer
Engineer R P S Saini took over as the Lehra Mohabbat thermal plant chief engineer on Monday. Saini has held several important positions for the last 34 years in various thermal plants. Saini began his career at the Bathinda thermal plant as assistant engineer.

Traders seek VAT refund
Flaying the Department of Excise and Taxation for delaying VAT refunds,Vinod Jain,national president of Lahgu Udhyog Bharti,an organisation of small scale industries,warned that traders might serve legal notices. Refund worth hundreds of crores is pending. Jain was accompanied by Thakur Rup Singh Dhumal,president of the Punjab unit. Dhumal said that only in Jalandhar district,Rs 60 crore VAT was to be refunded by the government. The issue of Jalandhar Industrial Focal Point extension enhancement was also raised.