Creation of van panchayats ‘violates constitutional mandate’
Dehradun, September 10
Van panchayats were “hastily formed” in Uttarakhand to secure and use World Bank funds under the Joint Forest Management (JFM) Programme, says a study by the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, even as there are reports of van panchayats coming into direct confrontation with gram panchayats in various parts of the state.

Dehradun, September 10
A task force committee constituted by the Dehradun District Magistrate to check illegal mining in the district is only on paper.

The committee was constituted by former District Magistrate D. Senthil Pandiyan on June 18 last year. Its members were asked to visit the areas near river beds every day to keep tabs on the activities of illegal miners and submit a report to the DM’s office on a daily basis. However, even after over a year, not a single meeting of the panel has been held so far. The committee members have also failed to submit any report to the District Magistrate.

However, sources said though raids were being carried out by officials, owing to a lack of coordination in all departments, miners managed to got off scot-free.

They said the Mining Department had already sent reminders to the committee twice to conduct a meeting. It was also trying to organise their meeting with the District Magistrate, they added.

Officials of the department, however, said they did not get vehicles on time to visit the areas. Moreover, illegal miners had a strong network and fled before any raid.

On the other hand, Kusum Chauhan, Tehsildar (mining), said they were sending their reports to the DM on a regular basis.

Neither any committee member nor District Magistrate Sachin Kurve was available for their comments.

Dehradun, September 10
After the success of “Chak De India”, based on the Indian hockey team, another film, “One More”, on ice hockey is being made.

While most of the shooting has been done in Ladakh, its remaining part is being shot in Dehradun’s ice-skating rink. The shooting started from today.

The 90-minute film is being made by Shivajee Chandrabhushan, who had earlier directed “Frozen”, a movie that had won a national award. The film had also been selected to be screened at the Busan International Film Festival, South Korea, sources said here today.

For the purpose, officials from the Canadian High Commission have been invited to Dehradun to play their role in the film. The film at the Dehradun rink shows Canadian players taking on Ladakh players.

SS Pangti, former president of the Winter Games Federation of India, said Canadian officials had told us that 60 per cent of the Canadian population played ice hockey.

“Ice hockey and ice skating are not much popular in India. Since this is the only artificial ice rink in South Asia, it can draw a large number of tourists, amateurs and players from across the world if promoted well,” added Pangti.

Dehradun, September 10
Van panchayats were “hastily formed” in Uttarakhand to secure and use World Bank funds under the Joint Forest Management (JFM) Programme, says a study by the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, even as there are reports of van panchayats coming into direct confrontation with gram panchayats in various parts of the state.

Van panchayats came into existence after a number of rebellions took place against the control of forests by the British. A committee, known as the Kumaon Forests Grievances Committee was formed in 1921 under the chairmanship of P Wyndham, which led to the creation of van panchayats.

The major grievances of the people, which were reflected in a “Forest Grievances Committee Report”, were the restrictions imposed on lopping and grazing, the placing of boundary pillars too close to cultivated areas and rules regarding fire protection.

The recent increase in government interference has resulted in ‘van panchayats’ losing their original character. This interference by the Forest Department into the functioning of van panchayats is fast eroding the spirit of forest conservation by local communities.

Avdesh Kaushal, Chairperson of the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), asserts that the emphasis being given by the Forest Department on the creation of van panchayats is tantamount to the creation of parallel structures to the gram panchayats.

“The creation of new van panchayats in the recent past at the instance of the Forest Department is violative of the constitutional mandate. Under the 11th Schedule falling in Article 243 G of the 73rd Amendment Act 1993, village-level panchayats have been assigned the duty to manage the village forests,” argues Avdesh Kaushal.

To oppose the new rules, the Uttarakhand Van Panchayat Sangarsh Morcha has been formed in Kumaon. The morcha points out that the forest bureaucracy of Uttarakhand, which has come from the state of Uttar Pradesh, has inherited the mindset and policies which earlier caused the depletion of forests in Uttar Pradesh.

On the other hand, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Van Panchayat) SS Sharma denied that van panchayats were parallel structures to gram panchayats.

He even denied having knowledge of any case where van panchayats had come in confrontation with gram panchayats. However, Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RBS Rawat admitted having received one such complaint from Mussoorie, but called for better coordination between the two institutions for the betterment of villages.

Pithoragarh, September 10
The India-China border trade from the Lipulekh Pass in this district took a step further as one more group of 25 traders today started for Tibet from Gunji.

“As demanded by their Tibetan clients, the traders have taken with them goods including sugar candy, tobacco, tinned milk, jaggery and raw cotton,” said Dr Abhishek Tripathi, SDM, Dharchula, and Trade Officer of the India-China border trade.

According to the trade office, maximum trade takes place this month between the Indian traders of Dharchula and Munsiyari tribal villages of the high Himalayan region and their clients at Taklakot mart in western Tibet.

“After the trade began on June 1 this year, two groups of Indian traders having 170 traders and 270 helpers with 2,405 horses have returned from Tibet, while 126 traders and 242 helpers with their 1,788 horses are still in Tibet,” said the SDM.

According to the trade office, the Indian traders this year are importing ready-made clothes and Pashmina wool from Tibet as both items have huge markets in India.

“Till date, out of the total imports of goods worth Rs 31 lakh, Pashmina wool worth Rs 1.5 lakh has been bought by Indian traders in lieu of the export of goods worth Rs 21 lakh,” said Tripathi. “We are expecting that the import of Pashmina wool would touch Rs 1 crore this year,” added the trade officer.

According to Padam Singh Raipa, president of the Bharat-Tibet Vyapar Samiti, Indian traders are witnessing brisk business this month due to a local fair in the Taklakot region of Tibet. He expects that business would get better in the coming days.

“Generally, the trade period lasts till September 30. But as the administration has been extending it till October 31 for the past four years, the traders expect the same this year as well,” said Raipa.

Dehradun, September 10
To keep his father’s dream alive to promote education among the girl child, advocate Nandan Singh Bisht of Gopeshwar left his job after his father’s death in 2003 to run an NGO launched by him.

Bisht said: “My father had launched the NGO, Jakheshu Shikshan Sansthan, in 1979 to educate the illiterate girls of our area. There were no opportunities for them to study and they used to spend the entire day doing household works.”

Bisht also runs six balwadi and anganwadi centres in Chamoli district. “I want every child of my district to study and bring laurels to the country,” he added. He also runs several units of self-help groups in the rural areas of the district that involve cultivation, dairy farming, and handloom.

Bisht said he wanted to enlighten the rural population about the efficiency of self-employment through the latest technical equipment and government schemes for rural development.

“With the help of villagers, my team of 40 volunteers has grown napier and ons grasses that can be used as fodder for cattle and it is also a source of income,” he added.

Bisht wants to set up an organised source of income for the people living in the rural areas. “My dream is to provide employment to at least one person of every family of Chamoli,” he added.

Dehradun, September 10
Prof Mathew Prasad, Vice-Chancellor, Uttarakhand Agriculture and Forestry University, today said that grandparents played a very important role in binding a family. They also helped in their grandchildren’s growth. He was speaking at a programme held by Mount Zion School to celebrate Grandparents Day. “Our children will respect us only when they see us respecting our elders,” Prasad said. He said small clubs should be formed for senior citizens at various places so that they could meet other people of their age and chat. Welcoming the grandparents, school Principal Sonia said they were important in a child’s growth. — TNS

Mussoorie, September 10
Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary (GNFC) School won the team event and the overall trophy at the 16th Late Sardar Sarmukh Singh and Sardarni Gurpal Kaur Memorial Inter-School Hindi Debate on the municipal council premises today.

More than 30 students from different schools showcased their oratory skills on the topic “Enormous treasures with religious organisations should be declared national asset”.

The students in favour of the motion said that the treasure accumulated by religious organisations was lying idle. Therefore, it was imperative that all such treasures be declared national assets and brought under government control on the lines of the Vaishno Devi Temple.

The students opposing the motion were of the view that considering the fact that politicians themselves were corrupt, it was not advisable to give the treasures, which the temples have accumulated over centuries, to the government. Some students also suggested that all such treasures counted and used during a emergency situation for the benefit of the poor. After a keen contest, the judges declared Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary School as the winner. Mussoorie International Girls School was declared runner-up in the team event.

In the individual category, Saumya Rastogi from Mussoorie International School and Avinash Tivari from GNFC (boys) were declared joint first for securing 111 marks out of 150. Joyee Bhatia from GNFC (girls) and Himani Negi from Mussoorie Public School were declared joint second for getting 105 marks and Simran from Shishu Mandir School, Avtansh Gupta from Wynberg Allen School and Anuj Tivari from GNFC were declared joint third with 94 marks. Shilpa from GNFC, Sukriti Sayana from St Clares, Suraj Prakash from Sanskrit Vidyalaya were given consolation prizes. — OC