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Monday,
July 15, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Centre warns HP on forest fellings Schemes to uplift weaker sections Killar to be connected with Tissa: CM Performance to be
BJP poll plank BJP to contest
all 68 seats |
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CM accepts OBC demand on quota Simplify transfer procedure: teachers Teachers decry HP Cabinet decision 100 dental students get degrees Bus operators threaten to move court
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Centre warns HP on forest fellings Shimla, July 14 It has also made it clear that it will have no option but to revoke the approval given to various forest working plans if it failed to submit complete information regarding the areas in which trees were felled and regenerated, allocation of funds and new plantations raised in the past. The information has been sought by the Centre following the directions of the Supreme Court in this regard. The fund-starved state has been vigorously pursuing with the Centre the proposal for carrying out green fellings to raise additional financial resources. However, with the Supreme Court laying stringent norms for the approval of working plans and asking the Centre to reconsider and review the plans already approved, the possibility of the state getting the “nod” for green felling was dim. The direction of the apex court has not come a day too soon as the forestry sector has been getting a raw deal in the state. There has been a sharp decline in the allocation of funds for afforestation over the past five years. For instance, the number of trees planted in an area annually has come down from 31,300 hectares in 1998-99 to 15,000 hectares during the current year. Of this about 4,000 hectares will be part of the catchment area treatment plan. Although, the allocation for afforestation work has come down from Rs 33 crore to about Rs 18 crore, the administrative expenditure has shot up from 31.75 per cent to about 45 per cent. The Supreme Court has laid down that a minimum of 20 per cent of the revenue generated through silvicultural removals from forests has to be allocated for the regeneration of affected areas. Additional provision, over the above, the one earmarked for normal afforestation programme, will have to be made in the budget for the regeneration of three areas. Further, before embarking on any felling programme the affected forest areas which have not been regenerated will also have to be taken care of. Over the past 30 years trees in 35,238 hectares of forests were felled and of it 8,200 hectare were not regenerated. The state will have to provide funds for it. Besides, funds will also have to be provided for other working plans like implementation of fire protection measures, construction of bridle paths and pruning of young forests for optimum growth. If the government failed to comply with the directions, the Centre will have no option but to stop all fellings. |
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Schemes to uplift weaker sections Shimla, July 14 A number of programmes have been launched for the welfare of weaker sections, especially the destitute, physically handicapped, widows and mentally retarded. During the current year, Rs 869 crore is being spent on this sector, which comes to 45.7 per cent of the total Budget. Himachal Pradesh is one of the few states which is giving social security pension to the old and disadvantaged. In all, 1.71 lakh aged, widows, physically challenged and lepers have been covered under the scheme and they receive a pension of Rs 200 per month each. Over Rs 36 crore is being spent on social security pension every year. The old age pension is given to those who are above 60 years and have no one to look after them. To ensure effective implementation of the National Women Empowerment Programme, a state-level council has been set up under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, besides a state commission to protect the constitutional and legal rights of women. The Sawayam Sidha Yojana has been started in the eight development blocks of the state to make women economically self-reliant and Rs 18.10 lakh is being provided in each block under the yojana. Adolescent girls are being covered under the Kishori Shakti Yojana in 15 blocks of the state. As many as 7,000 self-help groups have been set up through anganwari centres for the empowerment of women. Of these, 1,900 groups are being assisted through banks. For destitute women and wayward girls, nari seva sadans are being run at Chamba, Mandi and Mashobra. A Nari Seva Sadan has been set up at Nahan. It is funded by Indian Child Welfare Council. The inmates of these homes are being provided training in craft, tailoring and embroidery to enable them to earn their livelihood. For the rehabilitation of these women Rs 6,000 is given to them each when they leave the sadan after getting training. As many as 7,123 anganwari centres have been set up in 72 development blocks under the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme. Mobile anganwari centres have been introduced for the benefit of those living in the interior areas. |
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Killar to be connected with Tissa: CM Shimla, July 14 Addressing a deputation of BJP workers from Tissa in Chamba district at his official residence, he said Rs 35 crore were spent on the construction of roads and bridges in the district under the NABARD scheme during the current financial year. He said the Congress had provided only Rs 69 lakh of the Rs 112.63 crore borrowed from NABARD during its rule. He said efforts would also be made to set up a cement factory in Chamba soon so that local people could get direct and indirect employment opportunities. Mr Dhumal said Chamba and Kulu districts, where road density was on the lower side, had been given priority for the construction of roads and bridges so that every area could be connected with road. He said his government had planned to encourage the cottage industry in the rural areas to enable rural women to take up self-employment. He called upon the workers to propagate the achievements of the government. |
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Performance to be
BJP poll plank Shimla, July 14 Stating this here today, Mr Ganesh Dutt, party spokesperson, said while the Dhumal government managed liberal financial assistance from the Centre, the previous Congress government failed to get a penny. He said Mr Dhumal was able to settle long-pending interstate disputes concerning the Shah Nehar Project and the Anandpur hydel channel. He alleged that the wrong policies of the Congress government plunged the state into a debt trap as it raised loans to the tune of Rs 9,666 crore. He said the “anti-employee” face of the Congress had been exposed in Punjab where the party had taken a series of decisions like freezing the dearness allowance and the suspension of leave travel concession. He said a party with such a miserable track record should not even dream of coming to power in the state. |
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BJP to contest all 68 seats Mandi, July 14 Addressing newspersons in the evening the BJP state General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member, Mr Kirpal Parmar, stated that the BJP would contest all 68 seats on its own. When a correspondent pointed out that his claim about equal development was not true as far as Mandi district was concerned where development had come to virtual halt citing examples of regional hospital, Mandi drinking water augmentation project, bus stand, etc. Mr Parmar pleaded that he was not aware about the facts regarding the projects. He said the next conference of the Yuva Morcha would be held at Bilaspur on July 24. |
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CM accepts OBC demand on quota Kangra, July 14 This was stated by the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister, Mr Vidya Sagar, here today while addressing mediapersons. He said he had met the Chief Minister in Shimla recently in this connection and the Chief Minister had assured him of providing reservation to OBCs. Mr Sagar said the Chief Minister had told him that he would consider the demand of reservation after receiving the report from the backward classes commission. Expressing confidence the Agriculture Minister said as the Chief Minister had accepted their demand in principal he would implement the commission report by September-end. Earlier, Mr Sagar addressed an OBC sammelan at the local polytechnic college here today. He said the OBC community would honour the Chief Minister at an OBC mahasammelan here in September. |
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Simplify transfer procedure: teachers Bilaspur, July 14 Addressing mediapersons here today, union president Roshanlal Sharma said the annual general house of the union yesterday demanded that posts of subject teachers should not be abolished and middle schools should have teachers for all subjects and only non-medical teachers should be posted for teaching mathematics. Lecturers should be appointed for all subjects in senior secondary schools. The house expressed concern over the poor construction of school buildings at some places which had resulted in a number of incidents. The house demanded that poor quality school building construction should be checked and the incidents of school buildings collapse should be probed. Meanwhile, Roshanlal Sharma and Shivdyal Chaudhary of Bilaspur and Kangra were re-elected president and general secretary of the union after a straight contest with Kartar Singh Rana of Kangra (132-103 votes) and Roshanlal Kapoor of Mandi (134-99 votes). |
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Teachers decry HP Cabinet decision Hamirpur, July 14 The commission has been making recruitments to Class I posts, including college lecturers. Mr Prem Singh Thakur, state president of the association, in a statement here yesterday alleged that if the Cabinet decision was implemented it would harm the cause of the lecturers working in various colleges as the ad hoc teachers would demand benefits of service and seniority. Moreover, through the latest decision, the goverment was promoting backdoor entry of non-deserving persons selected by principals of private and government colleges who had no authority to appoint even Class IV employees. |
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Women teachers form
forum Shimla, July 14 |
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100 dental students get degrees Sundernagar, July 14 Mr Jagat Parkash Nadda, Health Minister, presided over the function while Mr Roop Singh Thakur, Forest Minister, was the guest of honour. The Governor, who was scheduled to attend the function, however, had to cancel his visit at the last moment. The medicos, dressed in robes, were from the first two batches of the college which started in 1994. Dr V. K. Gupta, Chairman of the college, Dr Vinod Sachdeva, Principal, and Dr R. N. Mukerjee, Director, were present on the occasion. Both ministers addressed the medicos and urged them to serve the people. Earlier, the Principal read the report of college and requested the government to help the institution to start postgraduate classes here. |
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Bus operators threaten to move court Shimla, July 14 The joint action committee of the operators which met under the chairmanship of Mr Dev Raj Sharma, president of the association, here today resented the non-implementation of the demands. The committee threatened to move court if the government did not revise bus fares and stopped grant of new route permits. |
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