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| Friday,
April 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Move to amend timber
rights opposed Wasteland development projects for Solan Pandemonium
at MC meeting HP water scheme in search of aid ‘Exempt tax on MLAs’ allowances’ |
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Chief Secy issued HC notice SC order to
Tanda college on admissions Animal dispensary for Chewa sought Fill SC posts,
says BJP
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Move to amend timber
rights opposed Shimla, April 12 Mr Dhumal had recently convened his first all-party meeting here to reach a consensus on the contentious issue of amending the rules pertaining to the timber distribution rights. However, it appears that the Opposition parties were not willing to oblige Mr Dhumal as this might hit their vote bank. According to official figures, 99,410 cubic metres of timber worth Rs 80.50 crore in the open market was given to the right holders at a price of Rs 1.40 lakh during 1999-2000 and 80,074 cubic metres of timber worth Rs 68.21 crore was given under the timber distribution rights for just Rs 99,198 during 2000-2001. A former Chief Minister and CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, says that there was no justification in discontinuing the distribution rights which were sanctioned because of various forest settlements. Instead, the government should try to prevent the misuse of timber which was granted under the system. On the other hand, the Forest Minister, Mr Roop Singh, says that the problem was not of the BJP alone, but pertains to the entire state. The Opposition parties should join hands to solve the issue, he maintains. He made it clear that the BJP government did not intend to discontinue the distribution rights but wants to streamline the system under which timber was allotted to the right holders. He said efforts were being made to reach a consensus with the Opposition parties to hike the rates under which timber was being given to the right holders. These rates were fixed more than 100 years ago and were never revised thereafter. The average cost of a deodar tree was fixed at 64 paise per cubic metre for the right holders about 121 years ago in 1897. These days, the market price of per cubic metre of deodar timber has crossed Rs 25,000. The right holders are, even these days, being charged something between Re 1 to Rs 8 per tree. Most of the forest settlements were done between 1879 to 1915 when the rates of trees for the right holders of different areas were fixed. Over 2.30 lakh green trees, worth about Rs 300 crore, have been cut by the right holders in the past five years and the government received a paltry amount of Rs 2.20 lakh for this timber. |
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Wasteland development projects for Solan Solan, April 12 The Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of the District Rural Development Agency, Mr K. Sunjay Murthi, told mediapersons here today that the integrated wasteland development project would be developed in 20 watersheds in Kandaghat block and would cover a total area of 12,217 hectares. This project would be wholly financed by the Government of India. The other watershed project would be developed in Dharampur and Kunihar blocks and would cover an area of 6,000 hectares. The Union Government would provide 75 per cent of the total outlay of this project. The main objectives of these two projects are to preserve ecological balance by preventing soil erosion and other forms of land degradation and to trap maximum possible water in the soil in rainy season. The watershed structures would help increase the moisture contents of the soil which, in turn, would help recharge the available sources of groundwater in the project areas. Watershed structures would help reduce soil erosion and floods. Development of water harvesting structures like ponds, nullahs, bundhs, check dams and percolation tanks and soil conservation measures like contour and graded bonds, fortified by vegetation, would be the main feature of these projects. Mr Murthy said suitable emphasis would also be given to the eradication of harmful weeds such as lantana indica and congress grass which had spread rapidly in the project areas during the past few years. |
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Pandemonium
at MC meeting Shimla, April 12 The Commissioner, Mr H.N. Kashyap, admitted that the people were facing inconvenience due to the digging of roads and said roads would be
improved soon. He said that the IPH Department would take the permission from the municipal corporation regarding this. For half-an-hour there was complete mess in the House and the question hour started very late. The question regarding deputation was raised by former Deputy Mayor Manoj Kumar. Deputationists who had completed more than five years, the councillors urged the general house to send them back to their native states. There are 12 deputationists in the corporation. |
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HP water scheme in search of aid Shimla, April 12 This was stated by the Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Ramesh Dhwala, in the Vidhan Sabha today while replying to a question of Mr Kaul Singh (Congress) regarding water scarcity in Shimla and other towns of the state. The minister said another Rs 9.46-crore scheme for lifting additional water from the Nouti khad was also being implemented for which an allocation of Rs 2.5 crore has been made. He added that water shortage in Shimla was expected to be removed by 2035 when the Giri water lifting scheme would be completed. The project includes the laying of a 33-km-long pipeline from Giri to the town. The minister said in an effort to prevent water leakage about 100 km of supply lines were being replaced, while about 80-km long pipes have been replaced so far. Mr Kaul Singh pointed out that there was no water available for sewerage in Mandi, where drinking water was being supplied for only one hour each in morning and evening. Mr Dhwala said the drinking water supply in seven towns of the state was in accordance with the prescribed norms, and separate schemes had been prepared for Kulu, Bilaspur, Mandi and Hamirpur. Replying to a question of Mr Gangu Ram Musafir (Congress), the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, said because of financial constraints the state government was planning to surrender the piece of land which was allotted to it in New Mumbai for constructing a Himachal Bhavan. Mr Dhumal said the foundation stone of the proposed building was laid in 1996, but the Finance and Planning Departments were not in favour of investing Rs 5.22 crore as per the 1997 estimates for the building. The government was already incurring losses to the tune of several crores of rupees while maintaining the Himachal Bhavan and the Himachal Sadan in Delhi. Mr Dhumal, while replying to a question of Mr Chander Kumar and Mr Kashmir Singh (Congress) said Rs 12.62 crore were received under the Chief Minister’s Sainik Welfare Fund, which includes contributions during the Kargil conflict. A grant of Rs 5 lakh was given to the next of kin of all 52 soldiers, who laid down their lives during Operation Vijay in Kargil. Five disabled soldiers were also given Rs 2.50 lakh each and dependants of 33 martyrs had been given employment by the government. In a written reply to Mr Kaul Singh, Minister of State for Rural Development, informed that a total number of 2,86,173 families living below the poverty line were registered in the state as on December 31,2000. Their number was 2,37,244 on March 31,1998. The Chief Minister informed Mr Kaul Singh that 64 FIRs registered at different police stations against Class I officers were being investigated by the Vigilance and Enforcement Departments. The Minister of State for Rural Development informed Mr Musafir that grants amounting to Rs 80,77,945 under the Swaranjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana were lying unspent with 12 district rural development agencies. |
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‘Exempt tax on MLAs’ allowances’ Shimla, April 12 Replying to a debate on the
paivate member resolution moved by Mr Kaul Singh, Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, said the issue should have been taken up much earlier. He said legislators were also public representatives like the MPs and they were paid various allowances. The allowances should therefore be exempted from income tax. The Speaker, Mr Gulab Singh, said the matter was taken up with the
Centre but it did not accept the demand and only allowed exemption up to Rs 2,000 per month. Earlier, Mr Kaul Singh said the legislators would not benefit as all their taxes were being paid by the Vidhan Sabha. In all, the state was paying about Rs 25 lakh as income tax on the behalf of the ministers and legislators. It was a matter of principle that there should be parity. He said the salaries should be taxed but there was no point in taxing telephone, postal, electricity and water allowances. In fact, their telephone and postal bills were much more than the allowance. If the Centre agreed, the fund-starved government would save Rs 25 lakh annually. The resolution, urging the government to take steps to make elementary education compulsory in the state, moved by Ms Asha Kumari was rejected. Replying to the debate, Mr I.D. Dhiman, Education Minister, said the government was already moving in that direction. It had already achieved the target of universalising
primary education and was now trying to reduce the drop-out rate. While four districts had been covered under the district primary education programme, the government had sent a proposal to the Centre to cover Shimla, Kinnaur, Solan and Mandi under the programme. |
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Chief Secy issued HC notice Shimla, April 12 The petitioners alleged that on February 4 at about 12 noon, two persons came in a taxi to the house of the petitioners and told them they had been sent by Mr Navneet Sharma, a zila parishad member, to the home of Mrs Chandresh Kumari, a Congress leader and Member of Parliament. A petitioner along with her husband sat in the taxi. But they were surprised when they were taken to HPTDC hotel “Bhagsu” where the three BJP ministers and MLA were present instead of the Congress leader. They further alleged in their petition that the ministers asked them to vote for BJP candidates and offered Rs 1 lakh each for this purpose. When they refused, they were ill-treated and threatened with dire consequences. They further alleged that when they refused to cast their votes in favour of BJP candidates, the petitioners were made to sit in a government vehicle numbered HP-03-3341 and HP-03A-439 with a red light along with armed men. It is further alleged that they were firstly taken to Mandi against their will where they reached at 5 a.m. and were kept in Room No 4 of the PWD Guest House. Then around 8 a.m, they were again compelled to sit in a jeep and taken to Jahu where they reached about 1.30 p.m. and then taken to Thakur Dwara (Palampur) against their will where they reached at 4 p.m. By this time, the elections were over and they could not exercise their voting right. The matter was reported to the police in this connection and an FIR lodged in police station, Kangra, on February 9, 2001. The petitioners alleged that the ministers involved in this case were powerful person and they could influence the police. Therefore, they prayed to the court that the inquiry of this case may be conducted by the CBI and the
elections of the chairman and vice-chairman of Zila Parishad, Kangra, be quashed. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice C.K. Thakkar and Mr Justice L.S. Panta issued
notices to the Chief Secretary and six others. |
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SC order to
Tanda college on admissions Shimla, April 12 The orders have come on a petition challenging the admission list of last year. Himachal Pradesh University has been asked to initiate the process of admission in the college and complete it by April 24, sources said. Tanda Medical College has been embroiled in controversy since it was set up in 1997 and the first batch admitted. But the admissions could not be done as the students who came in merit in the previous session approached the court for admission. |
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Animal dispensary for Chewa sought Kumarhatti, April 12 Three years ago, during the Congress regime the present local sitting MLA, Mr Raghu Raj, the then Animal Husbandary Minister, had sanctioned a dispensary for Chewa under the government scheme to open a dispensary at the centre point of two panchayats, Mr Ramesh Chauhan, president of the Chewa panchayat, said. However, the dispensary was not set up. He said the Chewa panchayat comprised 18 villages and had a population of around 5,000 and yet there was no animal dispensary. He said a dispensary should be opened at Kumarhatti as it was a centre place of the panchayats of Chewa, Bholi, Anheeh and Barog. |
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Fill SC posts,
says BJP Shimla, April 12 It also called for a special work plan to remove the hurdles in way of promotions. The two-day meeting of the morcha which concluded here yesterday also urged the government to allocate more funds to the state Scheduled Caste Development Corporation and make arrangement to provide computer education to Scheduled Castes. The other demands included the grant of ownership right to those allotted land on lease from common land in the merged areas and allocation of funds under the special component plan on the basis of population of the Scheduled Castes. |
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BJYM contributes to CM’s fund Shimla, April 12 A cheque was presented to the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, by Mr Tajwant Singh Negi, President of the morcha’s Kinnaur unit, here yesterday. |
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HP housing board staff office-bearers Shimla, April 12 |
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‘Hidden agenda’ Shimla, April 12 |
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