Dharamsala, February 20
The government scheme for providing poly houses is facing inordinate delay in Kangra district. Farmers told The Tribune that they had deposited their share for constructing the poly houses about eight months back. However, till date the poly houses have not been constructed on their land.

The farmers are alleging that the delay is likely to result in financial loss for them. “Initially, we did not grow anything on the land that was marked for construction of poly houses. Now, we have even lost the prime vegetable and flower growing season in winter. Even if the poly houses are erected now, we would have to wait for a month to grow the next vegetable for flower crop,” rued the farmers.

Some of the farmers also alleged that they took loans from banks to pay their contribution for the poly-house construction. Now, the result is that we are just ending up paying the bank interest and money has not been put to productive use.

Representative of the Jain Irrigation System, the company that has been allotted the work for construction of poly houses in the state, RR Thakur said the company had already dumped material worth Rs 45 crore in the state for construction of poly houses. “However, in Kangra district we are facing labour problems. The problem is more acute in Indora, Fatehpur and Nurpur blocks. The contractors we hired for erecting the poly houses have developed problem due to which the project is getting delayed,” they added.

He said the company had now decided to request the farmers to arrange for labour on their own. The company would pay up the cost of labour hired by the farmers for erecting the poly houses. While speaking on the condition of anonymity, the company officials also alleged that certain politicians and influential persons were exerting pressure on them to erect their poly houses on priority, ignoring the merit. The government was paying 80 per cent subsidy for the construction of poly houses in the state. The subsidy would be paid to the company through the farmers to ensure the satisfaction of beneficiary at the ground level.

Shimla, February 20
Those opposing the coming up of hydropower projects and cement plants to protect the fragile Himalayan ecology can now hope to get speedy justice as the Green Bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court will start functioning from February 26.

Chief Justice Kurian Joseph said today that the Green Bench would listen to cases relating to forest, mining and environmental issues every Friday and if need be it would function the next day as well. “It is to ensure continuity and consistency that two judges who are sons of the soil will listen to cases before the Green Bench,” said Justice Joseph. The senior-most judge hailing from the state would head the Bench.

Having echoed his concern about the pendency of cases when he took over earlier this month, Justice Joseph said he would want the Himachal Pradesh High Court to be known as one-year pendency court as cases would be decided within 12 months. “I want that our court should emerge as a model high court in the country which is preferred by multi-national companies for settling their cases so that the hill state can reap the dividends from “litigation tourism”, he remarked.

He said after having discussed the matter with other judges and lawyers it had been decided that all old cases filed up till 2000 would be decided within the next two months by April 30, 2010. The number of such cases he said was about 3,000. “As far as making the high court one-year pendency court we require atleast one year’s time,” he said setting a deadline.

The Chief Justice said the assets as well as the liabilities of all high court judges would be declared and put on the website after a date is decided at the full court meeting scheduled for February 22 and all details in this regard had been received. “It is not just the pendency in the high court which will be taken care of but even in the subordinate judiciary cases will be decided in a time-bound schedule and for this a conference of all judicial officers will be held here on March 13-14,” he stated.

“There will be no room for judges to legislate if the legislature makes proper laws as the job of the judiciary is not to legislate but to decide a case as per law,” he said in reply to a query on “judicial activism”. He said the judges must explore possibility of mediation, conciliation and settlement while deciding cases.

He said Himachal would become the first state to have a fully computerised high court and the subordinate judiciary by the end of April. “Since the high court will be completing 40 years, we propose to hold the Ruby Jubilee celebrations on March 13,” he said.

Mandi, February 20
The Union Steel Ministry has sent a proposal to the DC, Mandi, to identify land for the steel processing unit proposed for the district that would involve an investment of Rs 100 crore.

This was stated by Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh’s officer-on-special duty (OSD) Amitpal Singh here yesterday. Talking to the media on the sidelines of an exhibition set up by the Steel Ministry at the Paddal Shivratri ground, Singh said the minister had planned to participate in the Shivratri fair, but due to the death of his son-in-law he cancelled the tour of his home constituency.

The OSD added the ministry had proposed to set up steel processing units and explore other options to expand its base in the state. “We have asked the DC to identify 10 acres of land for the purpose and expect the state government to adopt a pro-active approach, he added.

He said the ministry was roping in private players to set up the units in the state and would adopt villagers in the radius of 30 km of its unit for development. “The ministry spends 2.5 per cent of its plant’s cost under corporate responsibility, taking care of local environment and development,” he added.

He said the purpose of exhibition was to apprise people that the activities of the Steel Ministry were diverse and involved corporate responsibility under which it adopted villages for development.

He said they had received an invitation for the fair but there was no request for participation in the traditional jaleb.

“He could have been invited for the inaugural jaleb in the absence of the Chief Minister as Virbhadra Singh is Mandi MP and Union Minister,” he claimed.

Bilaspur, February 20
The Bilaspur District Truck Operators Cooperative Society (BDTS) has expressed its disapproval of any agreement between some BJP leaders of Bilaspur and Solan districts. As per the agreement 70 per cent work of loading from JP Cement Factory has been allocated to people of Arki subdivision of Solan district, 25 per cent to the affected about one dozen gram panchayats of Bilaspur district and 5 per cent to the ex-servicemen of the state.

Meeting of the executive committee of BDTS under chairmanship of its vice-president Nand Lal Thakur here today unanimously refused to accept the resignation of its president Jeet Ram Gauttam and urged him to perform his duty by leading the agitation for getting rights of the district.

Sending shock waves all around here in district, Jeet Ram Gauttam, had resigned yesterday evening after he came to know of the “real contents” of the agreement and said he had failed to protect interests of BDTS and Bilaspur district as he “was betrayed by some politicians”.

The BDTS unanimously demanded 90 per cent loading work for Bilaspur district on basis of merits as Bilaspur would be the largest sufferer of this JP Cement Factory and not Solan district. Meeting has decided to launch peaceful agitation.

Vice-President Nand Lal Thakur and General Secretary Kuldip Gauttam said in its first phase of peaceful agitation, BDTS members would gather at Luxmi Narayan Temple at Bilaspur town on Monday. They would demonstrate and present a memorandum to the Chief Minister.

Mandi, February 20
Herbal mafias are plundering the rare Himalayan medicinal plants and herbs at the cost of native communities as the state government has yet to put in place a mechanism to regulate the illicit trade of herbs in the state, reveal scientists here today.

These companies are operating through a ragtag chain with their centres in the Himalayan region, they said.

On the sidelines of a national seminar on Ayurveda here today, Prof GP Dube, emeritus scientist, Central Council for Research in Ayurveda, said dozens of medicinal plants which could generate income for locals had been exploited by the mafias rampantly as the state government had no mechanism to regulate and control this multi-billion trade.

Dr Pande cited the example of China and the USA where the Himalayan herbal medicines are being tapped for commercial use, but the state governments in the Himalayan region are not making any serious effort to exploit their herbal wealth. China has cultivated the south parts of China with massive sea buckthorn for export, generating huge income for the locals, he added.

On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh and other states are yet to tap the potential of the herbal wealth. The state is losing out on generating revenue and a source of income for local communities. Many dubious companies are plundering medicinal plants and earning ten times more from the unregulated trade every year, scientists observed.

They say there is no exact data on the herbal trade in the Himalayan regions, it runs into several billions. The demand for herbs is shooting up in the West. China has already taken a lead in this direction, they informed.

Dr SK Sharma, advisor, Ayurveda, Department of Ayush, Government of India, said medicinal plants being exploited by the illegal traders included attis, sugandhbala, kutki (kadu), pushkan nul, kuth, rasaundh, to name a few. “The cold deserts of Lahaul-Spiti can provide raw material for the companies, but the government has not exploited the plants commercially yet,” he said.

Dr Sharma said sea buckthorn was growing naturally in high-altitudes in Lahaul-Spiti and parts of Kinnaur. It checked soil erosion in the fragile Himalayas and could generate handsome income for farmers, he added.

Dr Sharma said there was no lack of funds for the state government if they took initiative in this direction. The Ayush was ready to fund the project in the state. The Central government had a budget of Rs 1,000 crore for the taping the herbal health, he said.

Mandi, February 20
The 13-member Mandi Municipal Council (MMC) today ousted its vice-president Tosh Kumar from the post after it passed no-confidence motion against him by seven votes to six votes in a meeting held here under the MMC’s executive officer-cum-SDM Mandi Sadar. The councillors have also demanded the resignation of president of the MMC HR Vaidya on moral grounds.

All 13 councillors were present in the meeting called by the DC after seven councillors moved no-confidence motion against Tosh Kumar last month. The councillors have accused the vice-president of sidelining development works in the town and was acting like a dictator. Now, they have raised the question over president of the council HR Vaidya, as he had voted in favour of Tosh and thus he had also lost confidence of majority of the house, the councillors stated.

The councillors who voted against Tosh Kumar included former president Pushp Raj, Sushila Sonkhla, Gagan Kashyap, Sarita Handa, Anil Kapur, Yog Raj and Mahinder. The councillors who voted in favour included Tosh Kumar himself, HR Vaidya, Suman Thakur, Anand Kumar, Asha Chopra and Krishna Devi.

Shimla, February 20
Chief Secretary Asha Swaroop said research work must be given priority at horticulture and agriculture universities located at Nauni in Solan and Palampur so that farmers could benefit.

Presiding over a meeting of the HP Council of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry Education and Research here today, she said the research undertaken by scientists in laboratories must reach farmers in the field. She added that the farm activity of Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Nauni and Chaudhary Sarvan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya at Palampur should be expanded so that rural masses gain from it.

Swaroop said emphasis should be laid on strategic, need based and farmer-oriented development of horticulture and forestry in the state through excellence in education and research, which was need of the hour. She added that there was a need for human research development through quality education, practical training and career advancements.

“Linkages with state, central and international institutions, NGOs, horticulturists, farmers and industrialists for ensuring economic and ecological security in the state needed to be developed,” she asserted. She stressed the need for vocational courses of three months duration for farmers in mushroom, floriculture and poly house technology.

She said poly-house cultivation, vegetables, flowers, medicinal plants, certified planting material, hybrid seeds production should be given emphasis in the state.

She said students should manage the poly houses and universities should provide inputs to them and profits could be shared on 50:50 basis.

The council approved new course of MBA agri-business and PhD programme at College of Veterinary Science, Palampur. It also approved the increase in student intake for 2010 by more than 2,000 students.

Hamirpur, February 20
On the initiative of the Central government, the rural development department of the state has started process of opening multipurpose resource centres in every block and panchayat-level to strengthen networking and training in the rural areas.

These resource centres, which would be built under the Bharat Nirman Scheme and known as Rajiv Gandhi Resource Centres, will act as multipurpose computer and training centres.

The state government is already in the process of sanctioning Rs 10 lakh for centres at panchayat level and Rs 25 lakh on block-level, as per money earmarked under this scheme by the Central government and had issued instruction that presently existing panchayat offices could be converted into the resource centres too.

After construction of the resource centres, it would be equipped with latest techniques under Information Computer Technology having computers and internet facility and would have a programme officer and other staff.

Since the thrust of the government agencies and gram panchayats at present is on creating employment opportunities by taking up development works under the MNREGA, the resource centres would have information concerning this scheme like number of job cards, applicants for this scheme etc.

These centres would also be utilised to provide training to people and elected public representatives about MNREGA.

An official linked with this scheme has said, “These centres will be utilised as multipurpose centres with facilities like remote sensing and to impart training to self-help groups and elected representatives besides other activities.”

The state government had already issued instructions to respected BDOs to prepare a report in consultation with panchayats and block development committees and start the process of setting up these centres.

The director of rural development said, “We have at present been entrusted the job of creating physical infrastructure for Rajiv Gandhi Resource Centres by the Central government and are working on this job and act as per further directions in this regard.”

Shimla, February 20
Appreciating the positive role media can play, Chief Justice Kurian Joseph, today said the fourth estate could play a pivotal role in taking important judgements from the confines of the court to the common man from which they could benefit immensely.

He said there were important messages contained in judgements, which should reach the masses rather than just the petitioner gaining from it. “You have every right to criticise a judgement but not the Judge who is merely an instrument,” he opined. He added that a Judge was bound by a “Lakshman Rekha” as he has to deliver justice as per the law enshrined in the Constitution.

He said in the pursuit for truth the media interacts with large number of people while the court is able to get views from lawyers and limited persons so the fourth estate could play a significant role in highlighting important issues.

The Chief Justice said a Public Relations Officer (PRO) would be appointed in the High Court besides setting up of a Media Room for the legal correspondents to ensure complete transparency.