Cess on power generation okayed Dhumal

Dhumal said the electricity taxation on generation bill was passed by the state Assembly in 1995 and had been awaiting President8217;s assent since then. He said all the recent Prime Ministers including P.V. Narsimha rao, H.D. Devegowda and Inder Kumar Gujral supported it but they did little to help former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Dhumal said under the new proposal, the state would get seven paise out of 10 paise per unit imposed as generation tax which was a great achievement Referring to the beautification of Rewalsar which is a confluence of Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist religions in the country, the Chief Minister said tourism potential of Rewalsar would now get adequate attention from Himachal Government and announced formation of Rewalsar Development Authority He said the tourism potential of Rewalsar which was famous for its lake and floating islands was ignored by the previous government despite its location amidst the high hills, picturesque scenery, invigorating climate, excellent Landscapes and a large number of religious places. He said that the scenic beauty of Rewalsar would be protected and an eco-balance would be maintained.

Dhumal said the government would open up new avenues of vocations for the people. There would be no ban on fresh recrutments and unemployed persons would be recruited on the basis of merits He said Union Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani had conveyed to him that another battalion of the IRB would be created in the state and over 1000 persons would get employment after the battalion came into being Earlier I.D. Dhima, Education Minister, Maheshwar Singh, MP, Roop Singh Thakur, Forest Minister and Parkash Chaudhry, Animal Husbandry Minister also spoke on the occasion.

Rakesh Pathania, vice chairman of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and Jai Ram, president Bharatiya Yuva Janata Morcha besides others were present.

Law classes in Mandi likely: P K Dhumal, presiding over the inaugural function of three-day long golden jubilee celeberations of Vallabh Government Post-graduate College here yesterday paid glowing tributes to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel who took a leading role in uniting India after merger of princely states.

Lauding the contribution of the college in the field of education, the Chief Minister said that the government would put sincere efforts to start the law classes in the college by tne next academic session. He announced sanctioning of Rs 50 lakh for the completion of the under construction building of the college and directed that this be completed at the earliest. Dhumal also unveiled the statue of Saradar Patel.

Maheshwar Singh, MP, sanctioned Rs 5 lakh out of Sansad Nidhi for college library.