Shimla, December 2
With the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) failing to come up with any concrete plans for the development of plots and flats over the last more than a year, frustrated applicants have started withdrawing their applications and seeking a refund of the booking amount.

A total of 72,848 applications were received under two schemes for acquiring plots and flats. Charging Rs 5,000 as the booking amount, HIMUDA collected Rs 36.5 crore.

It promised to pay 5 per cent interest after one year. A total of 45,357 applicants under the first scheme became eligible for interest from January 1 and the rest from April 1.

Over the last few months, over 800 applicants have withdrawn and they have been paid Rs 4,500 each after deducting 10 per cent service charge instead of paying them 5 per cent as interest.

HIMUDA maintains that as per terms and conditions, service charge will be deducted in case applicants withdraw on their own. Applicants allege that HIMUDA has taken them for a ride and has failed to come up with any concrete plan.

Instead of deducting service charge, it should have paid interest, they say. It could not keep the money of applicants locked indefinitely and should return the amount if it is not in a position to develop plots and flats, they add.

The fact that the scheme is unviable is evident from the fact that land is not available in the state. HIMUDA has been able to acquire less than 500 bigha, and that too, riddled with controversies, in Sirmaur, Solan and Kullu districts.

Some of the land is not considered suitable for housing. The maximum number of 62,484 applications were received for plots, followed by 7,020 for flats and 3,344 for independent houses.

HIMUDA will have to acquire between 20,000 bigha and 25,000 bigha, a tall order, to provide plots and flats to applicants. With the money of applicant locked, it will have to pay Rs 1.8 crore as interest to applicants annually. If someone moves court, there is every possibility of an enhancement in the rate of interest.

The HIMUDA Vice-Chairperson has said the process of land acquisition has come to a halt due to Assembly elections and pending offers from private parties for land acquisition will be pursued after the installation of the government.

There is no option but to acquire private land as government land is not available and it is a cumbersome procedure. The HIMUDA Vice-Chairperson says it was only a demand survey to help formulate plans for future development.

Nothing Concrete
A total of 72,848 applications received under 2 schemes
Over 800 applicants have withdrawn in last few months
10% service charge cut, 5% interest not paid to them
HIMUDA says land acquisition halted due to elections

Dharamsala, December 2
The canalisation of the Swan in Una district has helped in reclaiming thousands of acres of agriculture land, but has also threatened many natural wetlands.

The destruction of natural wetlands has destroyed the natural habitat of many rare wildlife species, including the sarus crane. The wetlands of the Swan were the breeding ground for the species.

Wildlife experts have reported a considerable decline in number of sarus cranes visiting the Swan wetlands. Prabhat Bhatti, a wildlife expert, has said just a few birds are seen in the area as their habitat has been destroyed primarily due to the channelisation of the river.

It has also led to a decline in the groundwater level in many areas of Una district. The water level in areas adjoining the Swan and its tributaries has a very high water level. At certain places, farmers have installed artisan wells due to the high water levels.

Experts attribute the reduction in water to the over-exploitation of underground water and canalisation of the Swan. They say natural wetlands in the Swan used to recharge groundwater. After canalisation, water is not retained in the riverbed and recharging of underground water has decreased.

The Swan originates in the Talwara area of Punjab, passes through Una district and merges in the Sutlej near Anandpur Sahib. It has over 70 tributaries, generally seasonal rivulets bringing water from the Shivalik hills in the monsoon.

The Swan is a perennial river and the water in it peaks during the monsoon. Due to floods in the Swan, it was also once called the sorrow of Una district. Small and large wetlands were created in the river and its tributaries.

The state government spent over Rs 500 crore on the canalisation of the Swan. A project of about Rs 600 crore has been sent to the Union Ministry of Water Resources for the canalisation of tributaries of the Swan.

Though canalisation will help in containing floods and reclaiming thousands of acres of water-logged land, its impact on the environment and underground water in Una is an aspect that is worrying environmentalists.

They are of the view that the government should make provisions for water recharging in the Swan so that underground water does not go down at an alarming rate.

Shimla, December 2
The Congress has dismissed as misplaced all apprehensions of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the move of direct cash transfer of subsidies to beneficiaries and alleged that the stiff opposition by the party has only exposed its stance against the common man.

State Congress media coordinator SP Katyal alleged that the statements being issued by BJP leaders reflected their mental bankruptcy and indicated that they were never interested in the welfare of the common man.

He reminded the BJP leaders that in a parliamentary democracy, programmes and policies of the party voted to power were implemented for the benefit of the common man and those were not programmes of the executive.

He alleged that the BJP and its leaders were not able to digest any schemes devised by the Congress for the welfare and benefit of the common man.

He added that the BJP was interested only in reaping political benefits by claiming the schemes formulated by the Centre as its own.

He said the direct cash transfer of subsidies to beneficiaries was a dream of Congress leaders like Rajiv Gandhi, who had first stated that only a fraction of the rupee meant for the uplift of the poor was reaching the target, and the scheme was a step in addressing this problem.

Katyal said BJP leaders had apparently admitted their incapability to successfully implement the programmes for the benefit of the common man by asserting that direct cash transfer of subsidies was not possible.

He added that BJP leaders need not to worry as the people would throw the party out of power on December 20, when the counting of votes would take place.

He further said the Congress would take care of all programmes, including direct cash transfer of subsidies, which would help eliminate all hassles and intermediaries between the government and beneficiaries.

He said this was probably not acceptable to the BJP and its leaders. He added that the Congress would expose the BJP and was not deterred by its opposition.

Solan, December 2
With retailers failing to get themselves registered under the Mobile Fertiliser Monitoring System (MFMS), the farmers are facing a shortage of fertilisers as under the new guidelines, no unregistered retailer is being supplied fertilisers by manufacturing companies.

The Union Government had introduced the MFMS initially on a pilot basis and Bilapsur district was among the first districts in the state where retailers as well as consumers were provided direct cash subsidy after being registered.

The scheme has become operational in the entire state since November 1, but it is observed that barely 50 per cent of the depot holders and retailers have got themselves registered.

Various fertiliser manufacturing companies, including Indian Potash Ltd (IPL) IFFCO, NFL and RCF, were assigned the job of educating fertiliser dealers and each was assigned a specific area to create awareness. In Solan district the IPL was to educate retailers about this scheme and they had organised two camps each at Nalagarh and Solan.

According to this scheme, the movement of fertilisers like purchases from HIMFED and sales to farmers has to be conveyed to the Government of India by an SMS for which an ID No. and password are allotted to the registered dealers.

But despite detailed presentations to the dealers, it was observed that 50 per cent of the fertiliser retailers in Solan failed to get themselves registered, thus forcing HIMFED to stop sale of fertilisers to the unregistered dealers. This was not only adding to the hardship of farmers, but creating a shortage of fertilisers.

As a stop-gap arrangement, HIMFED has now obtained retail licences of fertiliser stores, and fertilisers will be available to farmers at Nalagarh, Dharampur, Kunihar, Darlaghat, Kandaghat and Chambaghat in Solan at government-approved rates, confided its Area Manager BC Bhardwaj.

He added that since quite a few people who ran societies were in their 50s, they found it difficult to become cell-savvy and learn functions like operating an e-mail.

With the level of literacy limited, uploading details of fertiliser receipt, its sale, etc through specially generated IDs and passwords appears to be an arduous task for a depot holder or a retailer on a daily basis, thus hitting the implementation of the scheme. 

Dharamsala, December 2
The construction of vital bridges in Kangra district is getting delayed inordinately. The delay in the construction of the bridges is an impediment in the plying of smooth traffic on the roads.

Work on the construction of a bridge near Kotla on the Pathankot-Kangra road was started a few years ago. Since December 2011, no work has been executed on the bridge.

Work has come to a standstill as the construction company allotted the task of construction has abandoned the work. People using the road are still using the old bridge that can support just one-way traffic, only for small vehicles.

Superintendent Engineer, National Highways, Chauhan admitted that the company that was allotted the work had not executed any construction since December last. The department had started the proceedings for cancelling the contract and a new tender would be floated, he added.

The other bridge that has been delayed inordinately is the Bathu bridge on the Kangra-Ranital highway.

Another bridge that has been delayed is on the Baner khud, near Kangra. Though construction of the bridge has been complete, its approaches have been left incomplete for the last many months. The completion of the bridge would have removed a major bottleneck on the Kangra-Ranital highway.

Chauhan said completion of the bridge was being delayed due to budgetary problems and cost escalation. He said the matter was being taken up with the Union Ministry of Surface Transport and the budget is likely to be sanctioned soon.

In a communication from Hamirpur, the Executive Engineer, National Highways, pointed out that Rs 11.44 crore had been sanctioned for the construction of the Mubarakpur-Ranital road and the department had been carrying out periodic patchwork on the road.

Kangra, December 2
The 88-year-old Bathu Bridge located on National Highway-88, a lifeline connecting the Kangra valley with the rest of the country and the state capital, is crying for attention as the new Bathu Bridge can not be completed despite great urgency.

Fifteen km from here, this bridge on the Bathu river was built during the British rule in 1924 and was a prominent and strategic link between the Yol Cantonment area and the Kangra valley with Chandigarh and Delhi. But the authorities are not taking its importance seriously and not pushing the construction work on the new and alternate bridge to reach its logical conclusion despite the fact that the construction was started a few years back.

Lakhs of tourists, who include foreign visitors and pilgrims, cross this bridge annually to visit Dharamsala, tourist hill town, and McLeodganj, seat of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalia Lama, the Bajjreshwari and Chamunda Devi shrines and Baijnath in the lush green Kangra valley.

This bridge was damaged by rains in August, 2006 and people were put to a lot of inconvenience. They had to adopt an alternative route via Lunj, Tiara Gaggal, wasting at least two hours of travel time.

Six years back the National Highway authorities said the work on the bridge would be expedited and completed. This bridge was closed for vehicles carrying 9-tonne weight, thus indicating its strength.

Work on Rs 4.47-crore new bridge project was started in August 2008 after it was awarded to a Chandigarh-based construction company with a deadline of August 2011. The company failed to complete the work within the stipulated time. Later, the work was withdrawn and after retendering, the work was allotted to a local contractor.

Satish Naag, Executive Engineer, National Highway, said the contractor was asked to complete the bridge by March 2013. He, however, was not hopeful that this work would be completed by that time. The work on the bridge was going on at a snail’s pace and the old bridge is sustaining heavy traffic pressure. The authorities are mute spectators to the situation.

Kangra, December 2
The Lifestyle Products and Accessory Design Department of NIFT has been working on the craft design research and development programmes. Initial steps are being taken in this direction by the National Institute of Fashion Technology to promote handicrafts of the state.

Director, NIFT, SK Bala Siddhartha said students must learn ethnic values and social norms of traditional crafts from the perspective of a modern-day designer. The artisans understood the changes in traditional practices and their modernisation, he said.

Anil Tirkey, Assistant Professor, Accessory Design Department, NIFT, said various crafts involved during the workshop were Chamba chappal, Pulla jutti and metal from Kullu. 

Shimla, December 2
Even 16 years after the implementation of the Persons with Disability Act, the state has failed to put in place the requisite support structure to effectively address the concerns of the physically challenged.

A review reveals that the state has taken only half-hearted measures to enforce the Act. It took over 15 years to frame a policy for the disabled, its basic mandate.

The other mandatory provisions are also not being implemented in letter and spirit, which is evident from the fact that meetings of various panels set up under it are not being held as mandated.

The State Coordination Committee constituted under the Minister for Social Welfare and Empowerment for disability related policies and programmes, which is required to meet twice a year, has held only nine meetings in place of 32.

The Executive Committee set up to implement policies, programmes and decisions of the State Coordination Committee has met only nine times instead of the mandated 68 times.

Ajai Srivastava, Chairman of the Umang Foundation, laments that the government has failed to put in place a complaint-handling mechanism in accordance with the Act.

It is mandatory to appoint an independent state commissioner for persons with disability to monitor the implementation of various provisions of the Act and adjudicate complaints pertaining to its violation.

However, the government had designated the Principal Secretary, Social Welfare and Empowerment, as the Commissioner, which is not proper.

Moreover, as per the Act, only a person with sufficient experience in handling issues related to the disabled and their rehabilitation can appointed to the post. As such, an officer from the IAS cadre cannot be given this additional charge.

Srivastava has said his organisation will file a public interest litigation in the High Court to get the appointment quashed and seek action on other matters related to the disabled.

The provisions of providing free education and reservation in government jobs to the disabled are not being enforced. The government has also failed to identify posts to which the disabled can be appointed.

The results of the School for Deaf and Blind at Dhalli are and eye-opener. The matriculation result of the deaf was zero and for the blind 50 per cent. There is no reservation for the disabled in higher education institutes and no proper arrangement for regular education.

Even authentic data about the disabled is not available. As per the 2001 Census, there are 1,55,950, disabled persons whereas a survey conducted by the state in 2006-07 has put their number at 66,932. As many as 1,44,756 disabled persons, almost 90 per cent, are in rural areas with a literacy rate of just 52 per cent.

The data of the 2011 Census is yet to be released, but the Umang Foundation wants the government to conduct a special survey as those engaged in the head count exercise are not familiar with disability.

Srivastava has said this issue will also be raised in the public interest litigation as the exact number and category wise data is a sine qua non for framing proper policies for them.

Shimla, December 2
The state will have the largest representation in the Indian contingent for the World Winter Games to be held at Pyeong Chang in South Korea from January 29 to February 5 next.

Stating this here today, Special Olympics Himachal Pradesh president Mallika Nadda said 23 of the 85 athletes and coaches were from Himachal Pradesh, which was an achievement for the state.

The final preparatory camp for snow events will be held in Manali and for floor hockey in Bilaspur from January 3 to 9 next. The formal sendoff ceremony will be held in Bilaspur. The Asia-Pacific Regional Games will be held at Newcastle in Australia from November 28 to December 8 next year. A 300-strong contingent will be sent to the games.

The aim is to ensure that the state has at least 50 participants in the national squad. The country will also participate in the newly introduced Football World Cup, to be held in Brazil next year.

Kangra, December 2
The Aman Satya Kachroo Memorial Trust, set up by the HP Government immediately after the death of Aman Satya Kachroo, a 19-year-old first-year MBBS student of DRPGMC, Tanda, Kangra, has proved to be non-starter even after three years. But it has now decided to spread its wings in its first phase by carrying out an awareness campaign among students in different colleges in this district.

During an anti-ragging committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Principal Anil Chauhan in his office on Friday, it was decided to constitute a sub-committee to chalk out a long-term programme to be carried under the trust.

A four-member sub-committee was constituted comprising Dr Parveen Sharma, member secretary, Anti-Ragging Committee, Ashok Raina, media representative and member, Parent-Teacher Association, Dr Rahul Gupta, president, Resident Doctors Association, and Akshay Sharma, president, Students Central Association, DRPGMC, Tanda.

The committee would hold an awareness programme in the first phase for professional and degree colleges of this district on anti-ragging, students’ mental health, management issues and steps to prevent further deterioration in cultural values in the present young generation. It was decided to take up these programmes in different colleges and students who figured among the best would be honoured on Aman Kachroo Day on March 8, 2013, at the Tanda medical college.

The trust was set up here in 2009 by the government to check ragging and make civic society in general and student community in particular institutionalise zero tolerance to ragging. The SDM, Kangra, had registered and attested the trust through its five trustees, the Chief Secretary, Vice-Chancellor (HPU), Principal Secretary (Health), Secretary (Education) and Principal of Tanda Medical College.

The state government had announced that a corps fund of Rs 50 lakh in five instalments would be created and funds to the tune of Rs 10 lakh annually would deposited in the trust. However, so far only Rs 10 lakh had been put in the corps fund by the state government. 

Kullu/Anni, December 2
Diabetics are not only ignoring regular treatment, but also not taking treatment for its complications like neuropathy and hypertension, the most common cause of heart disease among diabetics, say doctors.

This aspect came to light today at the 30th free diabetes awareness camp organised at the Anni hospital by a team of doctors headed by Dr Jatinder Mokta, Associate Professor in Medicine, IGMC, Shimla.

As many as 77 diabetics were examined at the camp. “Fifty of them suffer from hypertension and most of them are not taking medicine for this,” said Dr Mokta after the camp.

He said most diabetics suffering from hypertension were women. “We have put them on medicine as they are ignoring hypertension, which is the common cause of heart disease among diabetics,” he added.

Dr Mokta said 77 patients had been diagnosed with diabetes between five and 10 years ago. “The disease is poorly managed by patients. They are not taking regular treatment that, in turn, is giving rise to complications like hypertension and neuropathy,” he said.

He said five patients were put on insulin and taught how to inject it themselves. He said 10 diabetics suffering from neuropathy were put on treatment.

“If diabetics ignore complications like hypertension and neuropathy, they are likely to run the risk of suffering from heart disease,” he warned.

Delivering the talk on awareness, Dr Mokta emphasised that patients should take treatment religiously, managing the complications as advised by doctors from time to time.

He said they should do non-programmed work and physical activity and take simple cooked meals at regular intervals as there was no diabetic diet for patients, as claimed by certain so-called healers.

The team was assisted by Anni Block Medical Officer Dr R Thakur and Medical Officer Dr Rajinder Singh. The idea of the camp was to take treatment and awareness to the periphery where specialist services were not available, they said.

Bilaspur, December 2
Panchayat presidents and vice-presidents have demanded that their honorarium be increased to Rs 10,000 per month and other demands be met at the earliest.

A meeting was held here today under the chairmanship of Puran Chand Bhatia. A resolution demanding free travel facility in all state transport buses was adopted. They wanted the MNREGA daily wage to be increased.

Panchayat presidents and vice-presidents Ramesh Sandyaar, Ramesh Chand Thakur, Devi Ram, Roop Lal, Pyare Lal Sharma, Surender Singh Thakur, Ranjeet Chaudhary, Suresh Kumar, Kamla Sharma, Anjana Kumari, Nisha Chandel, Indu Dogra, Meena Kumari, Soma Devi, Bachan Singh, Jeet Ram and Prem Chand Thakur were present.

Kangra, December 2
Students of Green Field Senior Secondary School, Nagrota Bagwan, will represent Himachal Pradesh at the national-level competition at Banaras in Uttar Pradesh.

Stating this here today, Principal Sudhanshu Sharma said the school had participated in various activities which included survey reports, quiz and Mathematics Olympiad during a state-level children science congress held at Chamba.

He said the school had won the overall trophy for the best performance in survey reports. In Mathematics Olympiad, trophies were bagged by Akhil, Itika and Radhika. Sonal Dhiman and Arushi Walia won prizes in survey reports and would represent Himachal Pradesh in the national-level science congress.

Principal Sharma said Tilak Raj Rana of the school got the best guide teacher award for his survey reports.