Shimla, December 2
In a clear-cut violation of the High Court directions with regard to complete ban on felling of green tress, two deodar and one blue pine trees were axed on a private plot in Sargeen village near the Himalayan Forest Research Institute on the outskirts of the town today.

The forest authorities have seized the felled trees and the damage report has been prepared. “The matter is still being investigated as the ownership of the land is yet to be established but we have sent the report to the police authorities and further action will be taken at the earliest,” said K.S. Thakur, DFO.

He said the trees were not too big and were aged about 20 years, thus falling in the category of the class four. “The fact that the High Court has imposed a complete ban on felling of trees whether on governemnt or private land indicates that there has been an offence and action is being taken,” he said.

Interestingly, the police said that the person on whose land these trees had been felled had cut trees even in January earlier this year and a police case was pending. “Since the offence has been committed on private land we are writing to the forest authorities to take action under the Land Preservation Act (LPA),” said R.M. Sharma, SP, Shimla. He said that the same person had now cut three trees when he was already facing a case for similar offence committed earlier.

Interestingly, a hue and cry was raised about the matter by Mohar Singh Chauhan, SDM, Jawali. “My house is right adjoining the plots on which trees have been cut and under Section 79-I of the Indian Forest Act it is my duty as a citizen to report any forest offence,” he said.

He said there were two dozen tress on the plots, which were purchased by some people. He alleged that three trees had been cut earlier in January, 2007 and the forest authorities had already compounded the matter. He regretted that felling of green trees was not just an offence but also environmentally very damaging.

Despite many of the trees posing a threat to the life and property of people in Shimla and surrounding areas, permission was sought by the forest authorities to cut each and every tree even it stood on private land.

Shimla, Decmber 2
Green trees will not be felled as far as possible for supplying converted timber to the right holders under new timber distribution (TD) rules.

Unlike the earlier policy, standing green trees will not be sanctioned to the villagers and they will be provided only the converted timber. The timber will be supplied through salvage markings under which dry and fallen trees were worked. The trees under salvage marking will not be handed over to the state forest corporation and instead got converted by the respective forest guards to meet the requirement of TD allotments. As a result thousands of precious green trees will be saved from the axe every year. About 45,000 to 50,000 green trees were being allotted to the right holders annually.

While the normal rate for supply of converted timber will be 30 per cent of the market rates the below poverty line (BPL) families will get it at 20 per cent of the market rates. The new policy has been framed on the direction of the high court which stayed the allotment of trees under the TD rules in June, 2006 on a public interest litigation. Additional chief secretary, forests , Avay Shukla said that the new policy would be implemented as soon as the court granted approval.

Converted timber will be provided at the nearest road head for building new houses and carrying out major repairs to existing houses. The villagers will get cubic metre of timber for new house once in 30 years and one cubic metre for repairs in 15 years if available ‘silviculturally’ for extraction as per the forest working plan. The market rates will be determined from the annual sale price of the state forest corporation which has sale depots across the state.

The timber distribution rights will not be transferable by way of sale of land which means that if an outsider acquires land in a village he would not be entitled to the TD facility.

Applications will be received up to March 31 every year and the eligibility of applicants verified by June 30. Converted timber will be supplied by December 30.

Shimla, December 2
After filing cases in Una, Badsar and Poanta Sahib divisions of the PWD, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau will be registering a case with regard of irregularities in supply of bitumen to the tribal area of Bharmour in Chamba district.

Sources said the director general of police had granted permission to the Vigilance authorities to register a case. The vigilance officials during investigation found that there had been irregularity of Rs 10 lakh as four drums of bitumen from the refinery in Panipat never reached Bharmour.

It is alleged that the Chandigarh-based private company, M.K. Enterprisers, which had been entrusted with the task of transporting the bitumen drums in its records showed that all 1,781 bitumen drums meant for Bharmoru had reached its destination. A case is likely to be registered in a day or two by the Vigilance.

The Vigilance Bureau is holding an inquiry into the bitumen scam in 18 divisions of the PWD and it is suspected that there have been large-scale irregularities all over. DSP in the special investigation unit (SIU), Arvind Digvijay Negi, is probing the matter.

Him Agro Industries Corporation, the nodal agency for the supply of bitumen, as a damage control measure to show its innocence once the scam came into light had imposed a penalty of Rs 2 crore on the four transport companies who had been entrusted the task of supplying bitumen.

Interestingly, the transport companies in their documents have shown the same truck making supply to four different destinations, which is physically not just possible. In some cases the supply reached its destination after six months, resulting in delay.

Shimla, December 2
The Himachal Pradesh High Court today rejected the anticipatory bail application of junior engineer (JE) of the PWD Ashok Kumar, who is allegedly involved in the bitumen scam.

Rejecting the bail, Justice Rajiv Sharma observed that the investigation carried out so far prima facie establishes the complicity of Ashok Kumar in the alleged offence and custodial interrogation is necessary.

The investigation is threshold and the investigating agency has to be given full freedom to investigate the matter. However, the court cleared that the observation made in the order were for the disposal of the application and these would not be treated as an opinion on the merits of this case.

During the hearing of the matter, the counsel for the petitioner argued that Ashok was falsely implicated in the case. Whereas the counsel for the state opposed the bail application on the ground that it had come during the investigation that there was a shortage of 1,057 coal tar drums.

The investigating agency has to collect stamps from the accused, which he had used at the time of receiving the drums. The agency has to verify the records of the Excise & Taxation barrier to ensure whether the drums have reached the destination or not.

The prosecution further contended that possibility of other officers of the department and other persons being involved in this case cannot be ruled out and names of persons till date have not been divulged by the petitioner.

Solan, December 2
In a dramatic volte-face, a victim who had got a case of rape registered against Vijay Kumar alias Tantu at the local police station yesterday morning, retracted her earlier statement and instead blamed the police for having forced her to give a fake complaint against the culprit.

In an affidavit produced before the media persons here today the aggrieved girl stated that she had stayed with her friend Rajesh Thakur at Krishna hotel on Sunday night after coming back from Chandigarh where she was working as a receptionist in a hotel. Her friend had called Vijay to the hotel who later arranged for their food and left the hotel thereafter.

The girl has further stated that the police descended on the hotel in the wee hours yesterday and forcibly took them to the police station where she was directed to sign papers and lodge a fake case against the hotel manager Naresh and Vijay Kumar. She has alleged that the police then lodged an FIR on the basis of that fake complaint and coerced her to get a medical examination conducted.

Alleging that the case had been registered solely at the insistence of the police she asserted that no untoward incident had occurred with her and she learnt of it only after going through the newspapers this morning. She also alleged that the policemen present in the police station not only slapped her friend Rajesh but also asked the address of Vijay Kumar who had come to the hotel the previous evening to meet them. She was later made to write whatever the policemen asked her to write while being told that they would be left free if she wrote that complaint.

SP, Solan, S.P.S Verma when contacted said that no such complaint or affidavit had been received by them but in case such a complaint was received they would inquire into it.

Police officials on condition of anonymity termed it as a conspiracy to shift the blame and said since the accused was the son of a BJP leader such tactics were being adopted to defame them. Denying any forcible action they added that the FIR was registered after the girl gave a written complaint to them. Now instead of appreciating their speedy action in nabbing the culprits within no time the police was being made the scapegoat.

The allegations levelled by the girl have cast a finger of suspicion on the role of the district police as well. Since the girl has solely blamed the police for forcing her to lodge a fake complaint, it reflected adversely on their working. 

Dharamsala, December 2
Members of the Rotary Club and local residents carried out a candle march here this evening as a symbolic protest against the terror strikes in Mumbai.

The Tibetans living here also participated in the march that started from the Kacheri crossing and ended at the war memorial.

The protesters, besides candle, also carried placards with messages against terrorism.

They later lit the candles at the war memorial and prayed for those killed in attacks in Mumbai.

Shimla, December 2
Taking stern view of the statements being issued by senior leaders with regard to the allotment of party tickets for the Lok Sabha elections, show-cause notices were issued today to the BJP block units of Kullu and Banjar, asking them to file their replies within three days.

State party chief Jai Ram Thakur issued show-cause notice to the BJP mandals of Kullu and Banjar for their statements with regard to their opposition to the candidature of former MP Maheshwar Singh from the Kullu seat.

For the past almost one month senior leaders, including Deputy Speaker Khimi Ram and Maheshwar Singh, have been involved in making allegations against each other in the media practically every other day. It is reliably learnt that the issue regarding reining in such party leaders, as it was an act of indiscipline was discussed at the meeting of the core committee of the BJP at Palampur on November 30. The meting was attended by all senior leaders, including Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, MP Shanta Kumar, state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur, Mahender Pandey and O.P. Dhankar.

In fact Maheshar Singh, a former party chief, had taken serious view of the statements made by Khimi Ram against his candidature from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat.

He reportedly took up the matter with the central high command and the state leadership, seeking strict action against all such leaders.

“Going to the media about the internal matters of the party would certainly be viewed as an act of indiscipline so the two mandals of Banjar and Kullu have been asked to clarify their position within three days,” Jai Ram Thakur said.

He added that indiscipline would not be tolerated at any cost. He clarified that henceforth no mandal will pass a resolution in support or against the candidature of any leader.

“This is solely the prerogative of the state election committee, which will forward its recommendation to the central election committee,” he said. He also requested Maheshwar Singh and Khimi Ram to refrain from making any statements in the media and raise such matters only at the party forum.

Barring Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat where the candidature of Anurag Thakur had already been cleared there have been conflicting views even amongst the senior leaders about the candidates on the other three seats of Mandi, Shimla and Kangra.

However, it is the Mandi seat where there had been a lot of mud slinging at each other.

Shimla, December 2
The striking PTA teachers today called off their 55-day-old chain fast strike after Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal assured them that the government would sympathetically look into their demands. The PTA Lecturers and Teachers Union today decided to end their strike and return to work on the assurance of the Chief Minister.

Dhumal assured them that the government would adopt sympathetic attitude towards their problems and would refrain from taking a vindictive stand.

President of the union Vivek Mehta said the Chief Minister had assured that all demands of the PTA teachers would be considered and forwarded to the Education secretary.