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Departments fail to use development plan funds
Phase- II of Industrial Expo kicks off
Assignment carried out on biomass power generation
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Five SSB units to serve in Jammu areas
Students given tips on entrepreneurship
Soon, door-to-door garbage lifting in Hardiwar periphery
Face of the week
Pall of gloom in Mussoorie as former principal of Wynberg school dies
Doon panchayat members’ concern
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Departments fail to use development plan funds
Dehradun, January 19 Almost all the departments are lagging behind in spending plan money. Under agriculture head the department has spent only Rs 731 lakh, while the budgetary provision stands at Rs 16,586 lakh. “The agriculture sector is in need of a push in Uttarakhand amid reports of agriculture proving unproductive for farmers but there are no good schemes coming from the government,” said a senior official. Similarly, even the roads and bridges department, having in it's kitty a sum of Rs 1,03,660 as budgetary provision was able to spend only Rs 38,872 lakh against the sanctioned sum of Rs 57,056.80 lakh. The record of Department of Panchayati Raj has been dismal against a total budgetary provision of Rs 5469 lakh, the total amount sanctioned was Rs 1299 lakh, while the department has so far incurred an expenditure of Rs 301.12 lakh. “If you look at the total budgetary allocation, there is carry forward from the previous year; the total spending ought to be viewed from the perspective of total budgetary provisions. If the expenditure incurred is viewed against the sanctions, it may prove to be a face-saving device for the departments but it is not the true picture,” said YS Pangtey, Director, Directorate Of Economics & Statistics Planning Further, several departments have yet to submit utilisation certificates for pending projects. The next instalment can only be released once the certificates are issued. The blame is hurled at the door of the Department of Finance for not releasing the plan money when the sanctions can only be released on the basis of progress reports that are rarely prepared on time. Under the state’s share ( Annual plan) against the total budgetary provision of Rs 4,26,935 lakh only 36.73 per cent of the budget has been spent. Under the Centre’s share (Annual plan) against the budgetary provision of Rs 3,077,15.35 lakh, 56.85 per cent has been spent by the end of December 2012. While out of the budgetary provision of Rs 1,27,928 lakh allocated under externally aided project (Annual plan), 23.49 per cent of the budget has been spent. Spend thrift Almost all the departments are lagging behind in spending plan money. Under agriculture head the department has spent only Rs 731 lakh, while the budgetary provision stands at Rs 16,586
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Phase- II of Industrial Expo kicks off
Haridwar, January 19 On the very first day, this expo attracted hundreds of company representatives, delegates and visitors from across the country participating in this expo. This is the second edition of industrial expo with special focus on medium sector medium enterprises and buyer seller meets being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) jointly with the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand. A delegation of senior officials from the Directorate of Indigenisation, Army, New Delhi, today visited the industrial expo to expand their vendor base. Jayant Davar, Deputy Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industries, Northern Region, said the Defence Production Policy (DPP) would enhance the potential of SMEs for indigenisation and broadening the defence research and development base of the country. “The policy gives the first priority to indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment. It also states that when the industry is not in a position to make and deliver the equipment in the requisite timeframe, procurement from foreign sources be done, added Davar. While Nitin B Tilak, DGM, Utilities Maintenance, Pantnagar plant, Tata Motors Ltd, lauded the objects and motives of the expo saying that this would attract investors from across the country to Uttarakhand. V Gandhi, Co-Chair, CII Steering Committee for Industrial Expo, said buyer seller meets (BSMs) was a two-way communication with all people involved in it to benefit significantly from these BSMs.This would give a fresh push to the manufacturing sector of the Uttarakhand state, he added. |
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Assignment carried out on biomass power generation
Dehradun, January 19 Arun Dhand, Director, Public Relations of the UPES, informed that entrepreneurs, investors and other relevant stakeholders were invited from across the country and through various sessions were provided an update on the latest emerging biomass conversion technologies and fiscal incentives offered by the Union Government. These included developing skills on preparing authentic detailed project report’s, case studies on biomass resource management , tariff calculations and economic and financial viability of biomass power generation projects. The workshop was inaugurated at the Management Development Centre at UPES, Dehradun, by chief guest Manjul Joshi, Additional Secretary, Science and Technology and Home Affairs, Government of Uttarakhand. Joshi in his inaugural address talked about the various hurdles being faced in biomass and renewable energy sectors, challenges such as raw material, resource management and cost bifurcation. Promoting the development and use of alternate energy, he drew the attention of the audience to the price one paid for environment degradation.
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Five SSB units to serve in Jammu areas
Pithoragarh, January 19 The IG said the process of raising new battalions of the SSB was under way along with other paramilitary forces. It was likely that 12 new battalions would be added to the force by next year, taking the total number of battalions to 73. “The SSB, which has the basic duty of guarding the Nepal border, will have to man 10 border outposts within couple of months,” he added. The IG said a bicycle rally would be organised by jawans of the SSB from Dharchula to Almora on its raising day on January 22. “Besides the rally, a number of other programmes will also be organised by the SSB on its raising day,” he added. |
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Matra Sadan saint gets bail
Haridwar January 19 The saint was given a rousing welcome by his followers, anti-quarrying activists and local people on reaching Haridwar. Immediately, Swami Poornanand visited the spot where one-month long agitation was being held by local citizens in support of the release of Poornanand. Swami Poornanand though made it clear that his release didn’t mean he would stop fighting against the anti-quarrying mafia and those in nexus with the mafia in the administration. He said after a few weeks Matra Sadan would review the quarrying situation in Haridwar and then decide for the future course of action. The head of the Matra Sadan, Swami Shivanand, though had written a letter to the District Magistrate, Haridwar, seeking explanation from him about quarrying stance taken by the administration. The demand of removal of Cabinet Minister Indira Hridayesh and Secretary, Rakesh Kumar, is also being raised by the Matra Sadan. Aam Aadmi Party district member JP Baduni has asked the police administration to provide adequate security cover to the Matra Sadan saints, owing an agitation against multi-crore illegal quarrying trade going on in the district on the Ganga riverbed. |
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Students given tips on entrepreneurship
Dehradun, January 19 The objective of this workshop was to bring about an attitudinal change in the young minds by assisting them in their thought process whereby their inherent job mentality can move from that of an "Employee to an Employer". The workshop was divided into four sessions and each session was addressed by four speakers, all of whom are successful first generation entrepreneurs and experts in their fields. The ball was set rolling in the opening session titled "Why Seek Employment, Give it!" by Sanjay Kaul, the founder president of UPES, to become their own bosses. The second session and probably a session on which the students were very anxious was titled "Raising Capital for Ventures". This was taken up by Kunal Kumthekar, the founder of Plexus Capital, a company which focuses on investment banking and investment management activities and caters to its customers in the niche area of efficiency-oriented businesses. It has also invested in a venture called IRIS Energy and has filed a patent for a product which reduces energy consumption for all street/Industrial lighting. Kunal shared his experiences of raising capital for his own venture and also shared with the students various aspects of financing a project or a business idea. The next session titled "What does an Investor Look for to Fund a Project" was taken up Sanjay Bansal, a partner of Anuram equity. Bansal carries with him more than 18 years of experience in corporate finance business. He was the founder member of the Ambit Corporate Finance. An Indian Investment Bank, Bansal spoke to the students on the various parameters which the investors evaluate in a project before he decides to put in his money. The last session was taken up by Dr. Naresh Nagpal, a qualified medical practitioner settled in the USA, a successful serial entrepreneur having an experience of over 30 years. Dr Nagpal has successfully founded and led several businesses in the healthcare sector in the US. Some of the companies founded and launched by him were taken over by others and are today listed in NASDAQ. The session taken up by Dr. Nagpal was titled My Learnings & Unlearnings from Various Ventures" wherein he shared brief details of the various ventures which he took up in the last 30 years and at the end of the day what did he learn from each one of them and how he incorporated those learnings in his subsequent ventures. The one day workshop concluded with a open house questions and answers session. |
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Soon, door-to-door garbage lifting in Hardiwar periphery
Haridwar, January 19 Executive Officer, Municipal Corporation, Harshwardhan Mishra said to make the pilgrim city clean and greener, door-to-door garbage collection was a must as it was already being done in Dehradun. He added the Doon model could well be replicated here as a private firm would collect garbage on a daily basis from residential colonies and ashrams falling in the municipal limits. Dr Anil Tyagi, Health Officer, said there were clean-green zones in the city where round-the-clock garbage lifting was being done and more such points would be earmarked. Former Municipal Councillor Dinesh Joshi suggested that a mass awareness drive about the disposal of garbage and the door-to-door garbage collection initiative be launched in the city. |
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Face of the week
Dehradun, January 12 They came with sacks and brooms and went about cleaning the place belonging to lawyers who had been too busy disposing of cases, while the garbage kept increasing exponentially. At the end of mammoth sweeping, eight bags of waste were carted away for further disposal and recycling. The volunteers also managed to deliver the message “Keeping the place clean is not somebody else’s problem but ours and together we can do it and change Dehradun for the better.” For that matter Jodie and her NGO stand for evolving a culture of cleaning rubbish in a systematic manner. “Normally, the safai karamcharis after a brisk session of sweeping dump garbage in gutters or burn it, instead of stacking it for collection and further recycling. I have discussed the issue with the Municipal Corporation officials. The safai Karamcharis need to be given sacks attached to brooms so that waste could be collected in them,” said Jodie. At Mount View apartments, where Jodie now resides, there are no mounds of waste waiting to be lifted; plastic or garbage carelessly littered, all thanks to her efforts. “If people are not ready to comply with the norms, penalise them. They need to be made aware that there is punishment awaiting them for not keeping their surrounding clean,” said Jodie. It is a kind of mission for her, coming all the way from England and working among men and women who are bewildered to see a well to do woman literally stooping to clean the mess created by them. At times, their insensitive attitude does touch a raw nerve, as even after three days of hard work of cleaning the posh Astley Hall the NGO could manage only a small sum of donation. The incident is still fresh in her mind. “Yes, at times, I worry how I will sustain the NGO and our activities. We survive on donations and whatever is collected goes in paying to our volunteers. Let us instill in the people and our children the dignity of labour. I have been urging the Municipal Corporation to give uniform to the safai karamcharis and reward them on the basis of their performance. Involve senior citizens and children in community cleaning so that there is a sense of belongingness and satisfaction in keeping the neighbourhood clean,” she stressed. It is this reason that Jodie will be organising a three-day workshop with the help of the Army in Dehradun on ‘Solid Waste Management and Bio Medical Waste’. The workshop is meant to train sanitary workers in adopting safe methods of waste disposal. |
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Pall of gloom in Mussoorie as former principal of Wynberg school dies
Mussoorie, January 19 Edwards, a popular figure around
Mussoorie, who was Principal of Wynberg Allen School from 1983 to 1988, passed away on January 15 while he was staying at Pune in
Maharashtra. According to a teacher from Wynberg Allen, Kurian Arackal, the funeral took place at St. Mary's Church in Pune on January 17, which was attended by close friends, ex-students and family members around 11
am. Kurian Arackal, extending his condolences to the bereaved family, said that Edwards was an excellent administrator apart from being a good human being. The school flourished and reached new heights under his able guidance in both academic field and field of sports during his tenure. Kurian Arackal termed the death of Edwards as an irreparable loss not only to the family members but the students and the teaching fraternity as well, who came across his style of working during his years in the school. Edwards also served as Headmaster at Oak Grove School,
Jharipani, another school in Mussoorie for several years, and was an extremely popular personality in
Mussoorie, added Arackal. Kuran Arackal expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for his soul to rest in peace. |
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Doon panchayat members’ concern
Dehradun, January 19 Members at the meeting expressed concern over the slow pace of progress in the development proposals put up for the 2011-12 financial year. They asserted that the financial year was about to come to an end but many development proposals meant to be taken up during the year were yet to get started. They said funds released in the financial year 2011-12 were being used to complete works sanctioned in 2010-2011. The meeting also failed to finalise the plan for 2012-13 as it was yet to receive all proposals from panchayat members. Many members also expressed concern over little development in their areas of representation in the district. Dehradun District Panchayat Deputy President Shiv Prasad Devli and Chief Development Officer Sushil Kumar were also present at the meeting, which was attended by a large number of District Panchayat Members.
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of the Industrial Expo 2012 kicked off today which is being held at Integrated Industrial Estate, SIDCUL,
Roshanabad.
The Municipal Corporation will soon provide door-to-door garbage collection services in the periphery of Haridwar. On the lines of other major cities, the civic body has decided to hire a private agency on contract to collect garbage from residential houses. Its earlier system of earmarking points for garbage collection in the city periphery has failed to give desired results.
Who could have imagined that the dirty premises of the district court would one day be swept clean of years of accumulated waste by volunteers of the Waste Warriors (NGO) led by indomitably spirited Jodie Underhill.
They came with sacks and brooms and went about cleaning the place belonging to lawyers who had been too busy disposing of cases, while the garbage kept increasing exponentially.
Mussoorie, January 19
