Dehradun, March 11
The Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) has sent a proposal to the Centre for an amount of Rs 150 crore required for electrification of 3,000 hamlets/toks/majras with population below 100 in the state under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyuteekaran Yojana (RGGVY).

The UPCL has asked for the exclusive permission for the electrification of these hamlets, which otherwise nowhere fits into the guidelines laid down for the village electrification under the scheme.

For electrification of a village Rs 13 lakh and of a tok Rs 2 lakh are approved and the village population must exceed 100 or more than 100 under the scheme.

In this matter, the UPCL officials had contended their point, while elucidating the geography of the hills. They have stated that a hamlet in the hilly area comprised 25-100 residents, out of which some of the residents may not be stationed close to the main villages where the UPCL had provided electricity.

Because they were situated far off, it costs them more and separate infrastructure is needed to provide electricity in these small hamlets. These hamlets remained in dark, whereas 98.9 per cent villages were electrified in the entire state as per the claim made by the UPCL.

According to the UPCL, 15,593 out of 15,761 villages have been electrified, thus achieving 98.9 per cent electrification. Under the RGGVY, these hamlets, too, have got a God-sent opportunity, as the Centre has already been providing 90 per cent subsidy and 10 per cent loan component for the villages under 13 districts of the state. For this, the UPCL has asked for an extra fund of Rs 150 crore.

In the state, there are 727 villages that are not electrified, 786 villages where electricity set up was established but is not working due to some reasons and 9,160 intensive electrified villages, 11,721 tok/hamlet electrified and 2,37,819 BPL households electrified.

The final awarded cost of project allowed by Ministry of Power (MoP), Government of India, under the RGGVY is 105 per cent for the total sanctioned 760 crore, whereas M/s REC, New Delhi, nodal agency, has submitted a proposal for sanction of Rs 800.66 crore with 120 per cent. Additional sanction of Rs 40 crore is pending with the MoP.

The expenditure incurred had been Rs 638.98 crore by July 15, 2010. The total fund received in the last five years had been Rs 660.77 crore. 

Pithoragarh, March 11
As Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank proposes to visit Pithoragarh district for the second time in two months’ time on March 12, he will be facing a series of agitations in the district.

There are two strong and enduring movements by people who are demanding a new district and a separate subdivision. “The Uttarakhand Government is doing much flip-flop in announcing the district status for Didihat, the people from where are demanding it for the half century past,” said Jodh Singh Bora, UKD leader and orgniser of the movement.

“As we have been cheated by this government as well, we have decided to stage a protest at Askote when the Chief Minister arrives there on March 12,” said Bora.

Not only the agitators from Didihat but people from the Devalthal area are also likely to stage a demonstration demanding tehsil status for the existing sub-tehsil of Devalthal. “The people of Devalthal have to travel 40 km to reach the district headquarters even for their minor revenue works,” said Jagdish Kumar, organiser of the agitation.

“The SSB guerrillas have also given a notice to the authorities concerned about staging a demonstration when the Chief Minister reaches in the district on Saturday,” confirmed the Pithoragarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Nilesh Bharna.

“We have deployed sufficient police force, including 3 circle officers, 3 inspectors and 200 police personnel, at the venue of the function and at the site where the Chief Minister’s chopper will land,” said the SP.

“We have decided to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister with out demand for adjusting the SSB guerrilla cadre on some position in the state government,” said KS Firmal, spokesman for the organisation.

“Besides, these organisations, we have also received notices from the Trained Unemployed Teachers Association, which will stage a peaceful demonstration to press for their demand for the removal of TET condition in the recruitment of teachers in the state, and from the anganwari workers who will also hold a demonstration,” said Bharna.

Dehradun, March 11
It is not the shortage of funds but the shortage of manpower that is hampering the implementation of several Central Government schemes in the state.

Despite the uproar by the BJP Government on the issue of inadequate funds for the Centrally sponsored schemes, in realty there has never been any shortage of funds.

All the top Central Government schemes like the National Rural Health Programme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, special component plan for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the Right to Education Act programme require adequate manpower for their smooth implementation.

In some cases exceptional performance by the staff is keeping the programmes rolling while in other cases the shortage of manpower has affected the programmes, denying the beneficiaries the fruit of these centrally funded programmes.

Take the case of the Central Government’s flagship MGNREGA scheme under which the posts of Gram Rozgar Sahayaks have been created. But, in the state only 37 per cent posts have been filled (1,811). The shortage of Gram Rozgar Sahayaks hampers the efforts of the state to make the programme’s implementation uniform in all the districts. The Central Government has released Rs 343.96 crore till February, 2011.

Similarly, the government has also failed to provide adequate training to the staff. “For implementing the Right to Education Act and the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) programmes, proper training to ASHA workers and primary teachers is of utmost importance but it has not been so. They have only received the stipulated training and even the officials from the Central Government have been asking the state authorities to ensure that they get proper training,” said a top official.

He said the way they were going about the task the state might have surfeit of ill-equipped teachers and health workers.

Similarly, going by the past records rarely do the authorities chalk out plans against the sanctioned budget for implementing the special component plan for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

“Many departments entrusted with the task of preparing plans do not have adequate staff. It is an exercise carried out in haste and in many cases the plans are faulty,” said the official.

Dehradun, March 11
President of Uttarakhand Poorva Sainik Evam Ardh Sainik Sangathan Lt Col Ganga Singh Rawat (retd) has demanded administrative action against the Dehradun District Magistrate for transferring SDM and Vikas Nagar tehsildar for refusing to accept his order of handing over the 10-hectare land of the golden forest to an institute, a case under subjudice.

He said, “As per his demand to enquire into the illegal encroachment on the government land, village land and golden forest properties, the DM had unmasked the scam of Rs 162 crore.”

Haridwar, March 11
On occasion of the 17th death anniversary of Acharya Jagdish Muni, saints and politicians gathered to pay homage to the acharya, who ably donned the role of both a saint and a politician for which he is still revered.

Terming Acharya Jagdish Muni as a patriotic saint, former Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Swami Chinmayanand Saraswati said acharya was instrumental in giving a new identity to the Gheesapanth sect.

Swami Chinmayanand further added that his efforts towards resurrecting the Gheesapanth, while as a representative of the people, ably donned the role of a politician by carrying out basic infrastructure works and facilities furnishing the pilgrim city with basic amenities.

While shedding light on acharya’s life, Mahant Devendra Das Khekhda said he was the first saint, who used the medium of religion and spiritualism effectively to give right direction to the politics, eradicating social malpractices and differentiation prevalent in the society on various aspects for which he carried out a specific drive in the North India.

Swami Hari Chetanand, Brahamswaroop Brahamchari, Rajendra Das, Mahant Ravindra Puri, Rameshwaranand, Dr Shyam Sunder Das Shastri, Swami Pragandas, Swami Raghawanand, Swami Jeetvanand, Swami Brahamweshwar Das, Satpal Brahamchari, Balwant Singh, Swami Yatishwaranand, Mahant Gyandas, former legislator Amreek Singh Dhillon, State Cabinet Minister, equivalent ranked Ram Moorti Veer, Naresh Bansal, Pankaj Sehgal, Omprakash Jamdagni and Pramod Sharma were present on the occasion. 

Mussoorie, March 11
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Harish Rawat, while speaking to mediapersons here today, said the state should identify the regions where millet, rice or any other crop could be grown in clusters, so that contract farming can be promoted in the state, keeping in view the interest of the small farmers.

Rawat, speaking on the allegations that the Centre was not giving adequate ration to the state, said the state was lying and this came into notice after a question in the Parliament, where it was revealed that Uttarakhand was last in picking up the allotted quota of the food grains from the Centre.

Speaking on the food processing industry, Rawat said the government was focusing on the infrastructure in which more than 15 mega food parks would be developed this year and one food park would come up in Uttarakhand.

Speaking on the mining restraints in the state, Harish said they have raised the issue in front of the Environment Minister effectively, but the delay was from the side of the state government, as it has failed to submit its impact assessment report.

Speaking on corruption, he said the Central Government was plugging the loopholes. He said the Manmohan Singh Government had been prompt to act on any such allegations of the corruption and even ministers have been removed, whereas the BJP had failed to do so.

The Mussoorie Hotel Association also presented a memorandum to the minister and demanded to exempt the hotels in the hilly region from the service tax as proposed in the budget.

Spokespersons of MHA Sandeep Sahni, presenting the memorandum addressed to the Finance Minister, said the hoteliers in the hill state have barely a business of 20 per cent average occupancy in the whole year, but were spending a large sum on its maintenance. 

Mussoorie, March 11
For the past few days, residents of Mussoorie have been flocking to catch a glimpse of a lamb which has a birthmark on one side that looks like “Allah” written in Arabic. Another birthmark on its other side appears like “Mohammad”.

Speaking to the media, Nafees, local BJP leader and the owner of the ‘butcherkhana’ at Landour Bazar, said the animal was born a few months ago, but the markings were not prominent at that point in time. Now, one can clearly make out the two sacred words marked on the coat of the lamb on either side.

Fatima, a resident of Mussoorie who walked all the way to see the markings, said that these clearly indicated God exists and one should devote time towards prayers 
and worship.

Dehradun, March 11
A Sub-Inspector (SI) of Saharanpur, his two sons and a brother, who allegedly attacked a fish shop owner and his staff members in their shop here with lathis and also misbehaved with the police last night, were released on bail by the local court here today.

SI KP Sharma had a quarrel with the fish shop owner over some trivial issue. He also called up his two sons Amit and Sumit and brother Brijpal Sharma to the shop. All of them allegedly attacked the shop owner, his son and staff with lathis. The SI also reportedly manhandled the cops, who took him to the Kotwali police station.

The SI abused the cops at the police station and tried to beat them. The police then sent them for a medical test and lodged a case against them. However, all four were released on bail by the court today.