Shimla, February 4
Hopes of restoration of some incentives for accelerating the pace of industrialisation were raised with Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma supporting the case of Himachal Pradesh for the revival of the industrial package which was scrapped prematurely in 2010.

A state government team headed by Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri held detailed discussions with the Commerce Minister and made a detailed presentation before officers in New Delhi today. A 42-page document focusing on constraints, industrial growth roadmap and requirement for the purpose was also submitted.

It was a follow-up of the meeting between Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the Union minister on January 21 in which it was decided that the state should come up with concrete proposals for boosting industrial growth. The team was hopeful of a positive outcome as giving incentives like capital investment subsidy and transport subsidy were up to the Commerce Ministry.

Besides presenting the case for package restoration, the team submitted proposals amounting to Rs 1,500 crore for industrial infrastructure upgrade (Rs 240 crore), setting up two textile parks (Rs 110 crore each), promoting exports (Rs 95 crore), 10 centres for skill upgrade in handlooms and other projects.

The proposal of the HPMC for strengthening post-harvest infrastructure was also put up and Anand Sharma assured them that a team would visit Shimla within 10 days to ascertain the requirement. He indicated that a tussor silk research centre would be set up in the state and steps would be taken for tea industry rejuvenation.

It was emphasised during the meeting that premature withdrawal of the package had virtually stalled the process. The main reason was that excise exemption was withdrawn in March 2010, income tax exemption in 2012 and capital investment subsidy in January 2013.

Agnihotri not only made a strong plea for restoring capital investment subsidy, but also urged Anand Sharma to increase the cap from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 75 lakh on a par with Jammu and Kashmir. He also demanded a change in parameters for setting up new industrial estates in hill states keeping in view topographical constraints.

Agnihotri said land was scarce in the hills and the minimum quantum of 5,000 hectare was very large, as a result of which the state was not able to take advantage of it. He suggested that the Centre come out with a scheme to promote industrial clusters in hill states.

Shimla, February 4
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today and urged him to provide a special financial package of Rs 7,565 crore to the state to tide over the financial crisis caused due to the reported faulty recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission (FC). He also sought the restoration of the industrial package.

The Chief Minister drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the fact that the FC misjudged and miscalculated committed liabilities on account of salaries, pensions and interest as a result of which the resource gap was increasing progressively and would increase from Rs 3,522 crore during 2012-13 to Rs 4,043 crore during 2013-14.

The Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister to reconsider the request of the state for restoring the Rs 106.08 crore cut in the approved special Central assistance allocation for 2012-13. The state was allocated special Central assistance of Rs 900 crore, but only Rs 793.92 crore had been released. The Prime Minister assured the Chief Minister that the matter would be examined to bring down fiscal deficit.

Virbhadra Singh urged Dr Manmohan Singh to provide liberal assistance for the completion of ongoing Centrally aided projects and sought timely clearance of projects lying pending with the Centre. The Chief Minister not only sought resumption of the special industrial package, but demanded its extension up to 2020 as well.

The Chief Minister sought uniform funding of Centrally sponsored schemes in a 90:10 ratio for all special category states. At present, the funding pattern under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (65%), the Midday Meals Scheme (75%), Indira Awaas Yojna (75%), the Rashtriya Madhayamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (75%), the Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (75%), the nutrition component of the ICDS (50%) and the ambulance service under the NRHM (20%) was different for various schemes.

Virbhadra Singh also requested the Prime Minister that the power to grant environmental clearance for hydroelectricity projects be given to the state as it was a clean source of energy. Hydroelectricity projects were being delayed inordinately due to the delay in environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The Chief Minister also pleaded for the restoration of air service to Shimla and Kullu and an increase in frequency of flights to Kangra keeping in view the vast tourism potential of the state. Manmohan Singh assured the Chief Minister that he would consider all demands on a priority basis and initiate measures to speed up development in the state.

Shimla, February 4
The BJP has supported the state government’s demand for a financial package of Rs 7,500 crore to the state to compensate the financial loss incurred due to reportedly wrong estimation of committed liabilities by the 13th Finance Commission (FC).

State spokesperson of the party Ashok Kapahtia said the previous BJP government had been raising the issue time and again. It had also highlighted the reported step-motherly treatment being meted out by the Centre. The neglect of the railway projects and the premature termination of the industrial package provided a glaring example of it.

Former Chief Minister PK Dhumal had met the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister for this purpose but to no avail. Now, the present Congress government was also demanding a special financial package, which vindicated the BJP’s stand and endorsed its plea for rectification of the recommendation of the FC.

Kapahtia alleged that top Congress leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi, had made tall promises during the Vidhan Sabha elections for granting liberal financial assistance to the state.

He demanded immediate release of Rs 4,250 crore due from BBMB without any cuts as per the Supreme Court order and restoration of special industrial package and funding of central schemes on 90 to 10 per cent basis.

Shimla, February 4
Normal life was thrown out of gear in the state today as heavy snow lashed the tribal belt and other high and mid-hill areas while lower areas received widespread rain.

Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts were buried under knee-deep snow and the higher reaches like Dhauladhar, Churdhar and Hatu peaks were received heavy snow. Keylong and Kalpa received 60 cm of snow by the evening.

Tourist destinations like Narkanda (45 cm), Kharapathar (40 cm) and Manali (35 cm) received incessant snow. Kufri and Fagu had 5 cm each of snow while Shimla was lashed by heavy rain accompanied by sleet throughout the day.

Vehicular traffic beyond Kufri was suspended as large stretches of the Hindustan-Tibet, Shimla-Rohru and Shimla-Chopal highways were under a thick blanket of snow.

Kumarsain in Shimla district recorded the highest precipitation of 107 mm while Dharamsala (37.6 mm), Palampur (26 mm), Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Una and Mandi also received moderate rain. The mercury plummeted with Kalpa and Salooni recording -5°C.

According to the local weather office, heavy snow and rain would continue for the next 48 hours. The administration warned tourists and local residents not to venture into the high hills.

Educational institutions in Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Kullu districts and the Bharmour and Pangi subdivisions of Chamba district were closed due to heavy snow.

Manali: Life was thrown out of gear on Monday as Manali and adjoining areas received a fresh spell of snowfall while lower parts of the region were lashed by widespread rain.

Manali was covered with a white blanket. Markets were deserted while tourists came out of hotels to have fun in the snow. Vehicular traffic in the upper Manali area was disrupted and motorists had a tough time.

All long-route Manali-bound buses were halted near the Aloo ground, 5 km from here. Local bus service on the Kothi, Solang and Naggar roads was suspended.

Chamba: High-altitude areas in Chamba district like Khajjiar and Dalhousie received snowfall since Sunday night. Low-altitude areas received raining continuously till Monday evening.

The snowfall caused a loss of about Rs 1 crore to the horticulture sector in the district even though rain was supposed to be beneficial to rabi crops.

Solan, February 4
Scientists at the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Nauni have developed a technique of raising apple plants in one year, bringing about a major change in the harvest calendar for apple.

Apples are raised on 2,11,295 hectare in the state, with production touching 10,22,821 metric tonnes per annum and an annual revenue of more than Rs 2,000 crore expected. Dr RC Sharma, Director, Research, with the university, said the plants were generally propagated through grafting or budding on root stocks.

He said this method took at least two years and sometimes three. He said root stocks were raised one year and grafted or budded with a scion variety in the next during February and March, with plants attaining saleable size during December.

He said the scientists developed and standardised the technique for apple plants in one year. He said seeds were put for stratification in alternative layers of moist sand and seed in wooden boxes mid-December and boxes kept in refrigerators at 3°C-4°C for 60 days.

He said stratified seeds were sown in seedbeds at the polyhouse in mid-February. He said seedlings were transplanted to nursery beds at the 2-3 leaf stage at a spacing of between 10 and 15 cm per seedling, with between 15 and 20 cm between rows.

He said all nursery management practices like weeding, irrigation and pesticide and fungicide spray were done at regular intervals. He said the seedlings attained budable thickness of between 0.5 and 0.9 cm in July and then seedling root stocks were budded with a chip method, which generally gave over 98 per cent bud-take success rate.

He said plants attained the adequate height of more than 4 feet in December and more than 90 per cent of the plants became ready for sale in a year. He said about 3,000 budded plants could be prepared in a 100-square-metre polyhouse and farmers could earn Rs 1.5 lakh from the plants.

Bilaspur, February 4
The Himachal Government is paying special attention to improve the quality of education and also lay more stress on technical education for enabling youth to get gainful employment in the state itself. This was stated by state Planning Development and 20-Point Programme Implementation Committee Chairman Ram Lal Thakur while addressing as chief guest the concluding function of two-day silver jubilee celebrations of DAV Senior Secondary Public School here today.

Ram Lal eulogised DAV schools and said these schools were providing ethical education to children and attempting to make good citizens out of them. He also praised the schoolchildren for presenting cultural programmes, each one of which had some message for society to fight against our social evils. He urged them to help in the eradication of female foeticide and maintain “natural population balance” in the state.

Ram Lal took the previous BJP government to task as it had not solved a single problem of Bhakra Dam oustees and wasted full five years in making false promises. He said rehabilitation plots would be allotted to oustees soon. Even earlier it was the Congress government of Virbhadra Singh which had totally waived off their rehabilitation loans and solved their other problems.

Local MLA Bambar Thakur, who presided, said people should remain vigilant against evil effects of TV serials in every household. He said some of these serials were giving a totally wrong and distorted picture of society and misleading young minds. These serials were also another cause of youth taking up unusual crimes.

Earlier, Additional Director General of Police SR Mardhi inaugurated these celebrations and gave a call to students to obey their elders and teachers and also work hard to carve out a brilliant and befitting future for them.

Principal K Parthipan read the school progress report.

Former MLA Tilak Raj Sharma, Block Congress president Sarpal Thakur, SDM ML Mehta, Beopar Mandal president Sunil Tadu, Conservator of Forests Anil Thakur and Divisional Forests Officer DR Kaushal etc were also present among others.

Bilaspur, February 4
“Life is a perpetual battle and only those who accept this challenge boldly, can go ahead.” This was stated by local Bilaspur Sadar MLA Bambar Thakur while addressing as chief guest the annual prize distribution function of Government Girls Senior Secondary School here today.

He said girls should not only be particular regarding their studies, but also prepare themselves for this “battle of life” by taking part in all activities of the school, including sports, NSS and other extra-curricular activities, which were very essential for the development of an all-round personality.

Bambar exhorted teachers to ensure that they took interest in each and every student and develop whatever was the best in them.

He advised teachers to develop in their students good character and ethics, discipline, punctuality, hard work, dignity of labour, obedience, spirit to fight against and eradicate social evils and the ability to oppose social exploitation.

Earlier, Principal Mahima Lakhhanpal read the school progress report.

Bambar said funds would be provided for developing the school stadium and a befitting water tank. He distributed prizes and certificates to talented students and those who excelled in other activities.

Present on the occasion were Deputy Director of Education Bir Singh, School Management Committee president Soma Devi and retired Principal Ambika Bhardwaj among others.

Hamirpur, February 4
Sujanpur MLA Rajender Rana, accompanied by several Himachalis living in Chandigarh, met Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in Chandigarh yesterday.

The MLA raised the issue of expansion of railway line in the state with the minister and urged him to connect Hamirpur and Sujanpur with a railway line keeping in view tourism and historical needs of the area.

Rana said the Railway Minister had assured them to give priority to expand the railway network in the state.

Hamirpur, February 4
Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), constructing the 66-MW Dhola-Sidh hydro power project in Hamirpur district, organised a mega medical camp at Sujanpur yesterday.

The camp was organised in collaboration with the BBC heart care centre and the Rotary Club, Hamirpur.

Project head SK Mahajan inaugurated the camp, where as many as 500 persons got medical advice from a team of doctors, besides getting blood and other tests done.

Four expectant mothers from below poverty line families were also given Rs 5,000 each under the SJVNL’s silver jubilee women and child development scheme.

Mahajan said the organisations had been holding several activities like iodine deficiency survey and remedial measures in project-affected schools, medical, dental and eye camps and had participated in pulse polio campaign. The firm had also sponsored technical education of students their skill development. 

Mandi/Keylong, February 4
Residents of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Bharmour and Pangi valley have demanded a speedy implementation of the Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, in letter and spirit in the state.

Talking to The Tribune, tribals, villagers and NGOs said the Act provided for the regularisation of possession of forest land up to four hectares i.e. 50 bighas, which was essential for their survival.

Prem Chand, a zila parishad member from Lahaul, said the former BJP government did not do much to implement the Act, except for forming forest rights committees.

However, after the inception of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the common land shown as unmeasured in the revenue record was declared as forest land, which had put brakes on over 16 to 20 rural roads in Lahaul, he added.

The residents urged the government to de-notify unmeasured land declared as the forest land under the Forest Conservation Act and demarcate both the forest and revenue land as the settlement of Lahaul and Spiti was done in 1950-51 when it was a part of Punjab.

“People were allowed to graze their livestock on the common land and landless were granted ‘nautors’ till 1980,” he said.

“We have been deprived of using our constitutional rights over the common land and getting ‘nautor’ land for the last 32 years,” he added.

Guman Singh, convener of Himalyan Niti Abhiyan, an NGO, said the government had been acquiring cultivable land for projects, companies and private universities and the size of land holdings had decreased, making agriculture a losing enterprise in the state.

RK Gupta, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, said, “The Act is being implemented in cases where violations of rights of dwellers are involved”.

“There is no provision of regularisation of encroachments on forest land under the Act,” he added.

Sundernagar, February 4
As many as 15 passengers were injured when a speeding private bus overturned at Bhor village on National Highway No. 21 (NH-21), 6 km from here, this morning.

According to the police, a private bus (HP-31-4785 of Kunhalia Travels) was on the way to Mandi from Sundernagar and it overturned on NH-21 as the driver tried to overtake and could not negotiate the curve.

All the injured were immediately shifted to the Civil Hospital, Sundernagar, from where three were referred to a private hospital. All were stated to be out of danger. Most of the injured were teachers who were on the way to their respective schools and boarded the bus around 8.15 am at Sundernagar.

The police has registered a case against the driver who was also injured in the accident and started the investigation. The district administration has disbursed Rs 3,000 as relief money to 14 victims and Rs 1, 000 to another injured.

Bilaspur, February 4
A man was injured after being attacked by a wild boar at Reedhi village, 27 km from here, today.

Krishnu Ram (73) was working in his fields where he was attacked by the boar coming from a nearby nullah. The animal did not allow the farmer to escape as he fell on the ground and was profusely bleeding, reports said.

The farmer received head, legs and arms injuries. The animal fled to a nearby jungle when the farmer raised shouts.

Krishnu Ram was rushed to the nearby Community Health Centre from where he was immediately referred to the Regional Hospital here. His condition is said to be stable. 

Solan, February 4
Unidentified miscreants looted around Rs 4.7 lakh cash from Aman who works as a collection agent of Airtel near Khera when he was travelling towards Nalagarh after collecting cash from various agents in Baddi today.

DSP Praveen Dhiman said Aman, who was riding a bike, was hit by a white Scorpio car bearing a Punjab registration number. He fell down and two miscreants alighted from the Scorpio and hit him on his head with swords, thus injuring him. They snatched the bag containing cash and fled.

Aman, who hails from Anandpur Sahib, was on his way to Nalagarh to deposit the cash at UCO Bank. It appears he was being followed from Baddi. The police is trying to locate the vehicle and a case has been registered.