Himachal Assembly witnesses unruly scenes

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Friday witnessed unruly scenes as members of the treasury and opposition benches virtually came to blows after arguments over the Opposition BJP’s demand for a debate on a clash in a Shimla college.After more than half-an-hour of verbal slugfest, Speaker BBl Butail adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

Earlier, BJP member Gobind Thakur stood up soon after the question hour was over and wanted to raise the issue of the clash on August 20. He alleged that the college principal manhandled a girl student during the clash. The Speaker said this issue was under his consideration and he was awaiting a reply from the Government.

later, all the BJP legislators walked up to the Speaker’s podium, raised anti-Government slogans and disrupted the proceedings. In the melee, members of the Congress and the BJP came to blows in the presence of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Transport Minister GS Bali and Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri took the lead from the treasury benches to pacify the BJP members. Seeing the pandemonium, Butail adjourned the House.

After the house re-assembled, the BJP members remained near the speaker’s seat and disrupted the proceedings of the house by shouting slogans.  Despite repeated requests by the speaker, they refused to relent. Butail expunged the unparliamentary words exchanged between the opposition and the treasury benches.

The entire business of the house was carried out amid sloganeering by the BJP members before the house was adjourned for the day.The chief minister told reporters that it was “unfortunate” that the assembly proceedings were disrupted. “This is a vulgar display by the opposition. Even leader of the opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal was helpless to control his legislators,” he said.

Regarding the clash, the chief minister said that activists of BJP’s youth wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad were involved in the clash. “Even some BJP leaders were involved in the clash. Most of the accused arrested are not even students of the college,” the chief minister added.

Himachal to cancel industrial plots of erring investorsShimla: The Himachal Pradesh Government would cancel allotment of industrial plots where proposed units have not been commissioned within the timeframe, state Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said on Friday.

“The Government is going to cancel the allotment of those industrial plots where the investor has failed to commission the units,” Agnihotri told the assembly. He said land allotted to erring industrial units would be taken back.

The minister said an industrial unit is proposed to be commissioned within two years of allotment of the plot. “However, an extension of three years could be availed. The maximum timeframe is five years.” He said there were 232 plots, including 67 in industrial belt Baddi, where industrial units have not been commissioned within the timeframe.

Data shows that Himachal Pradesh got maximum investment from 2003 to 2010 when there was a special industrial package by the central government. Most investments were in the pharmaceutical, food processing, textile, packaging and light engineering sectors.

‘Setting up biotech park not possibleShimla: The setting up of a biotechnological park in Himachal Pradesh with the central government’s assistance was not possible as no investor showed interest, Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said on Friday.

No investor has shown an interest in the biotechnological park proposed under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode at Solan district’s Aduwal village at an outlay of Rs.39 crore, the minister informed the assembly.  He said the proposal to commission the park was approved in 2005.

“In the park the central government has proposed to invest Rs.9 crore, while the state committed to invest `7.54 crore. The remaining amount was to be invested by the investors,” he said.

Agnihotri said the government had received no funds from the central government so far. “We have no land and no money to invest,” he said. “The setting up of the biotechnology park will depend upon various factors such as type of interested investors, business model and overall market conditions,” he added.

The proposed park would have a biotechnology incubation centre and a biotechnology industrial cluster.