Haridwar, May 17
Suffering a setback in his own constituency in the election of the Zila Panchayat Chairperson, Haridwar parliamentarian and Union Minister Harish Rawat today attributed the defeat of Congress candidate Kusum Devi to a behind-the-door understanding between the BJP and the BSP.

In an attempt to save his face, Rawat today alleged that both the BSP and the BJP had conspired to make sure the Congress, which had the mandate, be on the losing side.

Blaming local legislator from the BJP Madan Kaushik and Mohammed Shahzad of the BSP for playing money game to make sure the second preferential voting was held, Rawat sought explanation from both the parties as to why they had allegedly violated democratic norms and played with the trust of the voters.

Rawat, who dented the vote banks of both the BJP and the BSP in the last parliamentary elections in Haridwar, said now the BSP couldn’t even claim to be the savior of Muslims and the Dalit community as it had joined hands with the BJP.

The parliamentarian cast aspersions on the whole Zila Panchayat election process, saying that the state machinery was used by the ruling party to the full extent and varied tactics were used to pressurise the zila panchayat members.

While city Congress chief OP Chauhan has demanded the cancellation of the Zila Panchayat elections terming BSP candidate Anjum Begum’s win as unconstitutional, Rawat refrained from any such comment though he said the ball was now in public’s court which will teach a lesson to both the parties in the Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, a jubilant BSP legislator Mohammed Shahzad said the victory of their party in the Zila Panchayat elections was due to hard work of the party workers and the able leadership of their national chief Mayawati. It was the first step of the “Mission 2012” of the party.

Nainital, May 17
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva has called for according heritage building status to the Raj Bhawan, which is a legacy of the British era.

Regarding the conservation of the building in its actual form for years to come, Alva held a meeting with officials here today. Earlier, she had ordered officials of the PWD to draw up a detailed plan on how to restore and conserve the original form of the exteriors, rooms, decorations and the furniture of the 110-year-old building. The officials presented her with a plan regarding repairs and restoration works for her approval.

Approving the plan, the Governor said these works would be done in a phased manner and called for a detailed project report by May 31. In the first phase, the conservation of the exteriors and renovation of the printing press would be done. Alva said arrangements should be made to give visitors a visiting certificate from this press.

She said a plan aimed at showing different rooms to the visitors from the corridors could be included in the first phase of the proposed scheme.

Discussing the upgrading of the British time arrangements with regard to power supply, fire fighting, heating, ventilation and security, Alva said these arrangements needed to be conserved as they were.

A spokesperson for the Raj Bhawan said videography and photography of the entire premises, furniture and decoration articles had been done as per the orders of the Governor.

Alva has ordered that conservation and repair activity must be done under the supervision of experts and the originality must not be destroyed.

At present, the building is being maintained by the PWD and funds are being sought under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and from the Tourism Department. Alva also took stock of other works being carried out at Raj Bhawan.

Dehradun, May 17
The Gaura Devi Kanya Dhan Yojana, the state’s girl child protection scheme, has failed to attract girls from the SC and ST communities.

Right from the allocation of miniscule budget to inability to spread awareness about the scheme in these communities, the scheme has remained out of reach for most of them.

“The scheme has a few takers in the SC and ST communities, following which why we are being forced to broaden the ambit of the scheme. A budget of Rs 30 crore has been set aside this year to support the girls falling in the general category, Rs 10 crore for those in the SC category and Rs 4 crore for those in the ST category,” said RC Pathak, Director (Social Welfare).

The government had launched the yojana to encourage the education of girl child. Under this scheme, a sum of Rs 25,000 each is given to girls belonging to BPL families and the SC and ST communities.

Initially in 2006-2007, the scheme was started for the girls belonging to the SC and ST communities. Later, BPL families were also added. But to this day, the Social Welfare Department has not kept record on the number of girls actually opting for higher education.

In way the scheme is also helping politicians strike a chord with the masses and thereby reap political benefit. Be it the Chief Minister or the Social Welfare Minister, the practice of disbursing these cheques during camps figure high on their itinerary.

The amount is deposited under the National Saving Scheme for the period of five years and can be used either for higher education or marriage. On maturity, the family gets around Rs 40,000. Applications are received through the Education Department as girls who pass the intermediate class are eligible for the scheme.

To claim benefits of the scheme, beneficiaries have to submit permanent residency certificates procured from the District Magistrate’s office and BPL cards, which is impossible for families who have migrated from other areas and are living in slums. “We have tried to make things better for them by not demanding a BPL card. They can submit documents stating that that their monthly income is Rs 1,000 and avail the benefit of the scheme,” said Pathak.

Haridwar, May 17
With the Uttarakhand Assembly elections scheduled for early next year, political scene in the district seems to be hotting up.

Remaining almost non-existent for the past four years, the Janata Dal (United), which once boasted of bigwig politicians such as parliamentarians from Pauri Garhwal Chander Mohan Singh and from Haridwar Harpal Sathi as well as legislators like Harak Singh Rawat, Mantri Prasad Naithani, now wants to revive itself.

The state unit of the party today declared members of its executive, which has representation from all the districts of Uttarakhand. This has been done as part of preparedness for the upcoming elections though it’s unclear whether the party will go alone or have an alliance with like-minded parties, particularly those associated with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Releasing the list of the holders of party posts, Uttarakhand in charge of the JDU Suraj Shrivastav said the party leadership had decided to make inroads into all 13 districts of Uttarakhand by strengthening the party units with focus on the appointments of youngsters.

Pramod Kumar Sharma, state chief of the party, said the issues like Congress-led Central Government’s failure on various fronts, particularly in controlling inflation and prices essential commodities, will be taken into public’s court by the party.

“Anti-common man policies have fuelled the public resentment in the country. Only that party which follows the ideals of socialism will be able to govern the country better. We want to make a revival in Uttarakhand too where we have a good base.

Though due to some inefficient party leaders we couldn’t register much growth in the state, now with new executive committee in place, we will be making inroads into all districts by contesting a majority of seats in the Assembly elections,” said Sharma.

When The Tribune sought the viewpoint of the party on the hydro-power project issue with Uma Bharati continuing with her agitation in Haridwar, Shrivastav evaded the question saying that the stance on the issue will be first discussed by the party leadership and then only they will be saying anything on this aspect.

Prominent executive members include Prema Upreti, Prabal Pratap Singh Negi (Pauri Garhwal), Dwarika Prasad Semwal (Rudrapryag), Mohammed Sonu Sabri (Haridwar), Kishan Singh Danu (Chamoli), Karn Singh Pawar (Tehri Garhwal) and Dev S Pokhriyal (Uttarkashi).

Dehradun, May 17
The Uttarakhand Forest authorities have admitted to the illegal felling of trees in environmentally fragile Sankari in the Govind Pashu Vihar area of Uttarkashi district.

The Principal Chief Conservator (Forest), Dr RBS Rawat, said today that a team of forest officials, led by Govind Pashu Vihar Deputy Director GN Yadav and Warden NP Singh, was on the spot to investigate the matter.

Rawat maintained that as it was a remote area with a little connectivity, the probe report was expected to reach the Uttarakhand forest headquarters by tomorrow.

He further said after yesterday’s visit by Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden Srikant Chandola, 202 planks had been seized by the forest authorities from Sankari.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden Srikant Chandola said the matter was being probed and the Forest Department would take stern action against those responsible for the felling of trees.

Large-scale illegal felling of deodar trees was reported from the premises of an under construction bungalow of a senior bureaucrat in the Sankari region yesterday, causing a furore among environmentalists and forcing forest officials to take action.

Nainital, May 17
Residents of certain parts of Haldwani are facing an acute water shortage and are being forced to purchase water from private tankers.

The worst affected area is Dahriya locality where the motor of a tubewell, which is the primary source of water supply in the area, was burnt down 10 days ago and has not been repaired till now. Residents of this area have threatened to launch an agitation if the authorities failed to restore water supply and repair the motor of the tubewell.

They said the first thing that came to their mind every morning was how to avail water for their household. They alleged that although the Jal Sansthan had been trying to maintain water supply to the area by tankers, drivers of these vehicles are not doing their job in a fair manner.

According to reports, two of the five tankers meant for supplying water in the hour of crisis are lying defunct on the Jal Sansthan premises.

Residents of other localities in the Gaula Par area like Gajepur, Kheda, Nawarkheda, along with Lama Chaur, Mota Haldu and Talli Haldwani are also facing water crisis.

Meanwhile, residents of villages in the Haldu Chaur area heaved a sigh of relief yesterday after water supply to their villages was restored after three days as the Motinagar Drinking Water Scheme has started functioning again. The squall that had hit the region on Friday had devastated power connection to the scheme and as many as 13 villages went without water. The affected villages included Kishanpur, Sakuliya, Fattabangar, Bakuliya, Bhawan Singh Nawar, Durgabhawanpur, Khadakpur, Bhawanipur and Palipur.

Mussoorie, May 17
Residents of Landour Bazar and the cantonment area are livid at the laying of concrete tiles on a road stretch leading from Jabar Khet to Sisters Bazar, which has reportedly defaced the lush green hill and led to soil erosion.

According to Darab Nagarwala, who works at the Hanifl centre, Woodstock School, the path has been in existence for the past 100 years and is in perfectly good condition. But, the contractors of the Mussoorie Municipal Board have begun the work to lay concrete tiles on it, damaging rare botanical species, which are only found here such as oak, rhododendrons and kingor shrubs, in the process. It has also been observed that the concrete paving will become dangerously slippery with the formation of algae and moss on it during the monsoon.

There had been many accidents on a short stretch of the path, where the concrete tiles have been laid, during the monsoon last year, added Darab Nagarwala.

Shantanu from Sisters Bazar said the concrete paving was laid to ensure that the rainwater flows down in a fixed course. The rainwater flowing in a fixed course will lead to severe erosion wherever it drops off. A cemented path will also encourage anti-social elements to visit this serene place on their bikes to consume liquor.

Aashish Verma from Landour Bazar, who frequents the area regularly, said the residents of Jabarkhet and adjoining areas and students of Woodstock School are feeling insecure due to the construction of the concrete paving. They have demanded from MC to stop the work immediately. Verma said he had a conversation with MC President OP Uniyal in this regard and was planning to register a complaint at the higher level too. The women working as domestic help and students at Woodstock School, especially girl students, fear an increase in anti-social activities in the area after the construction of this concrete paving.

Eminent author Stephen Alter sent a complaint to Uniyal a few days ago against the construction work on the pathway, but no action has been initiated so far.

Meanwhile, Uniyal said the approval was given to clear the stretch from Jabar Khet to Sisters Bazar of the debris accumulated during the monsoon last year, but he was not aware of the fact that the concrete tiles were being laid on it. He said acting on the complaints received against the ongoing work, the directions had been given to the officials to halt the work immediately and investigate the matter properly.

“If the residents of the area did not consider the construction of the road beneficial to them, he would discontinue the work and use the funds elsewhere,” added Uniyal.

However, the residents of the area have alleged that the project has been initiated only to benefit a few contractors economically.

Nainital, May 17
Representatives of local civic bodies across Kumaon have sought more autonomy for these institutions and the implementation of an indigenous Municipal Act of Uttarakhand in the state.

These issues were discussed at a convention of the Uttarakhand Sabhasad Mahasangh at Haldwani in which the elected members of various municipal and panchayat institutions participated.

The participants demanded that the members of these institutions should
be paid a minimum honorarium of Rs 6,000 per month. It was pointed that while ways and means were being found to increase the incomes of various civic bodies so that people could get better amenities, it must be kept in mind that these civic bodies should be given the maximum autonomy.

The participants demanded that the state should have a Municipal Act of its own which must be implemented in totality at the earliest. The representatives of the civic bodies also called for the immediate implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment.

The participants also demanded that the civic bodies should have the right to clear the maps for various projects. They also expressed their concern at various posts in different bodies lying vacant and pointed out that the shortage of manpower was hampering work in these institutions. The participants came out with a 14-point demand charter.

They concluded that a two-member delegation would seek time from the Chief Minister to take up the issues raised by them. If the government failed to respond to their concerns, they would resort to burning of an effigy of the government at all municipal bodies in the state on June 5. The new office-bearers of the Mahasangh were also elected at the meeting.