Shimla, April 4
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has accorded stage-I forest clearance to a redesigned Luhri project with the installed capacity scaled down from 775 MW to 588 MW to address environment concerns.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the ministry has also recommended the project for an environment clearance with the condition that the minimum mandatory discharge to be maintained in the river at all times will be 25 per cent as against the normal 15 per cent during lean periods and 30 per cent during monsoons. The reduction in discharge available for power generation from 480 cumecs to 380 cumecs forced the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), the executing agency, to scale down the project from 775 MW to 588 MW.

According to the revised detailed project report, the project will have a single 38.14-km head race tunnel of 10.5-m diameter for diverting water for power generation instead of twin tunnels of 9-m diameter each planned earlier.

The EAC has been concerned over the environmental fallout of twin tunnels which would have effectively dried up about 50-km stretch of the Sutlej.

The revised project will devour 271 hectare of forest land along with 7,475 trees for which the SJVN will have to deposit Rs 20.5 crore as net present value (NPV) and an amount of Rs 5.50 crore for compensatory afforestation.

Water will be diverted by constructing an 86-m high and 231-m long dam across the river near Nirath, downstream the 412-MW Rampur project. A gross head of 220 m will be utilised for generating 2,244 million units of electricity annually as compared to the 3,142 million units earlier. There will be no de-silting chambers and sedimentation over 7-km-long reservoir will take care of it. The power house at Luhri will have three generating units of 196 MW each

The revised cost of the project at January 2013 rates has been pegged at Rs 7,137 crore and as such per megawatt comes to more than Rs 12 crore, which is on the higher side. The generation cost will be around Rs 7 per unit.

Besides diversion of 271 hectare of forest land, including 89 hectare for underground work, 110 hectare of private land will be acquired. Locals and environment groups have been opposing the project on the grounds that the 38-km-long twin tunnels will spell doom for the riverine ecology.

Shimla, April 4
Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar, a judge of the Bombay High Court, was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court here today.

Governor Urmila Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Justice at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, ministers, Judges of the high court, officials of the state and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

Hailing from Pune in Maharashtra, Justice Khanwilkar was born on July 30, 1957. He is the 21st incumbent to the post. After obtaining a degree in Commerce, he graduated in law from KC Law College, Mumbai University.

He enrolled as an advocate in 1982 and started practising in the Supreme Court from 1984. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in March 2000 and became a permanent judge in April 2002. He has been in the legal profession for the last 31 years.

He was appointed as the Standing Counsel for the State of Maharashtra for Supreme Court matters in October 1985 and also worked as an Additional Advocate for the government of Maharashtra till December 1989.

In August 1994, he was appointed as Amicus Curiae by the Supreme Court to assist on environmental issues in the MC Mehta case pertaining to pollution from industries and tanneries in West Bengal. He was appointed Standing Counsel by the Election Commission of India for Supreme Court matters in March 1995 and also remained a member of the task force constituted by the Union Ministry of Health in November 1995 for examining and reporting on the amendments needed in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act.

He also remained Executive Member of the Supreme Court Bar Association and joint secretary and executive member of the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association.

Shimla, April 4
The Assembly today witnessed heated exchanges between the treasury and the Opposition benches over the issue of a large number of vacancies in various health institutions of the state.

Replying to a query by Asha Kumari of the Congress regarding vacancies of various categories in the health institutions during the Question Hour in the House, Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur assured that rationalisation would be undertaken so that people, especially in the rural areas, get quality health services at their doorstep.

Former Health Minister Rajiv Bindal sought details of the appointments made during the BJP regime. Asha said despite the vacancies, some places like Shimla and Solan had excess staff. She sought filling up of all categories along with rationalisation so that people do not face inconvenience.

The Health Minister said within a short span of three months, the Cabinet had approved filling up of 100 posts of doctors besides the backlog of 78 doctors under various reserved categories. “Besides holding walk-in-interviews of doctors, we have enhanced the emoluments being given to MBBS as well as specialists as 169 doctors had quit after joining service,” he said. He said the position with regard to the availability of specialists is likely to improve as 198 doctors were doing post-graduation. He said there was a shortage of 171 doctors, 844 male health workers, 210 pharmacists and 218 senior lab technicians.

Replying to a query regarding assessing the value of Kahir wood in Himachal by Vikram Singh of the BJP, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri said the total wealth of the forests in the state was Rs 40,860 crore. “There is a complete ban by the Supreme Court on felling of trees, including khair, on government land and it is only after the matter is cleared by the Central Empowered Committee, a final decision will be taken,” he said.

Revenue Minister Kaul Singh in reply to a query about permanent settlement of nomadic Gujars of the Nahan area said a policy had been approved in April 2006 to provide land to those who had been leading a nomadic life for the last 25 years and had no land or house.

Shimla, April 4
Ruling out the possibility of setting up of a big cement plant in limestone deposit rich Sirmaur district, Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihorti today made it amply clear that the cement companies would have to sell cement at prices lower than other states to people of Himachal, the resources and environment of which were getting impacted adversely.

He was replying to a private Member Resolution moved by Rajiv Bindal (BJP) in the Assembly today. “Since the limestone deposits in Rajgarh, Shillai and Paonta area do not have sufficient depth and width, the setting up a cement plant is not a viable proposal and the Cement Corporation of India plant at Rajban too is producing 750 metric tonnes per day,” he informed.

He admitted that the adverse impact on health, environment and traffic congestion due to cement plants was a cause of concern. “I want to tell the cement companies that they will not be allowed to run a parallel government and get away by selling cement at Rs 340 in HP as compared to Rs 275 in Punjab, as the profit of margin being made by them is too huge,” he said. He said talks were being held with the companies to bring down the prices.

He said at the same time one could not ignore the fact that there was a demand for cement for making houses, bridges and all development works. “We cannot take a policy decision of not allowing any cement plant or close down the existing ones, but if anybody is keen we can grant prospective licences to assess the scope for setting up a cement plant,” he said. He disclosed that nine private players had taken these licences and the matter could be placed before the Cabinet.

He also said the government would seek an extension of the August deadline set by the High Court for closing down 13 mines in case they did not obtain environmental clearance. He added that the Centre too would be urged to expedite these clearances. “As far as lifting the ban on mining imposed in 1986 on mining in Sirmoaur, a final decision will be taken by the Cabinet collectively,” he said.

Moving the resolution, Bindal said in view of the large limestone deposits in Sirmaur, the government should consider setting up a cement plant so that employment avenues could be created in Sirmaur from where people had to move to other parts to eke out a living. “The cement plant will create direct and indirect jobs for thousands of people as the district is very backward and considering its close proximity to Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand, the transportation cost will be very less,” he reasoned.

Those who supported the resolution included Baldev Tomar and Suresh Kashyap (BJP). Jagjivan Pal, ID Lakhanpal, Sohan Lal, Bambar Thakur of the Congress opposed it.

Mandi, April 4
The Himachal Pradesh Excise and Taxation Department has missed the April deadline set up by the high court to modernise its toll tax and multi-purpose tax barriers in the state.

Even as the department has allocated Rs 2.38 crore to modernise the Parwanoo barrier on the National Highway-22, the Khara Mora and Swarghat on the Chandigarh-Manali Highway-21, Mehatpur, Trilokpur, Kala Amb and other major barriers are yet to be put on the fast lane. The high court has set April as the deadline for the department to set up electronic barriers in the state.

However, if all the 54 toll barriers and 38 multi-purpose barriers are to be computerised, it can cost the department close to Rs 40-50 crore.

Sources in the department said the state had identified 15 major barriers for modernisation. “Each major barrier needs Rs 6-8 crore for computerisation and modernisation as ordered by the high court,” the officials said.

The department claimed that it had complied with the high court orders by setting up committees headed by respective deputy commissioners to examine the feasibility of each barrier in each district of the state. “So far, no district committee has submitted its report to the department,” officials said.

The department has provided uniform to its staff deputed at the barriers so that they are easily recognised by commuters. There were complaints as highlighted in these columns that the barrier staff misbehaved with commuters or allegedly connived with tax evaders that resulted in revenue loss to the state.

The committees have been asked to study the flow of traffic, goods vehicles and the number of lanes or parking bays required at the barriers. These are to be in place to ensure a smooth flow of traffic without putting the public and commuters to inconvenience.

The committees comprising PWD, forest, revenue and RTOs, have to examine the requirement of land and number counters needed for the barriers to operate hassle-free and transparently. “The committees have to examine the need for setting up residences for the staff as well,” sources revealed.

Excise and Taxation Commissioner RS Negi said they had complied with the high court order as Rs 2.38 crore had been earmarked for the Parwanoo barrier and techno-feasibility and design of other 14 major barriers was in the pipeline.

Dharamsala, April 4
Jagdish Sapiya of the Congress has finally been elected Chairman of the Kangra Central Cooperative (KCC) Bank as six members of the board owing affiliation to the BJP defected to the Congress.

In the elections held here today, 16 out of 21 members of the KCC Board unanimously elected Sapiya as Chairman of the bank. Sapiya is a nominated member of the board from Kangra district. He was recently nominated to the KCC Board along with two other members.

The six BJP members of the board, who were present in today’s meeting, were Jaidhnath Sharma, Amrit Lal Baradwaj, Pawan Kumar, Davinder Bhuto, Regzin Sansil Hayprapa and Gurcharan Singh.

The Congress was in minority in the KCC Board as it had just eight members out of a total strength of 21. The two votes of the Managing Director (MD) of the bank and the Registrar of the Cooperative Societies brought the Congress close to a majority.

Sapiya was elected as Chairman after two failed attempts. Initially, most of the BJP members of the board opposed his name for the Chairman’s post on the plea that he was not an elected member of the bank board.

The state government also shifted the MD of the bank due to the controversy over the election of the Chairman and the charge was given to Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, C Palrasu.

The BJP members alleged that under the Model Cooperative Act, that has been adopted by the Himachal Government, the nominated member could not be the Chairman of any cooperative body.

However, the state government had brought an ordinance under which it made a provision to appoint nominated members as Chairpersons of cooperative bodies in which government equity was more than Rs 51 lakh.

RS Mankotia, the now former Chairman of KCC, moved the Himachal Pradesh High Court and obtained a stay order on the election of the new Chairman of the bank.

However, the Congress brought a no-confidence against Mankotia in the last meeting of the board after one BJP member defected to the Congress. This reduced Mankotia to a minority in the KCC Board.

Sources here said Mankotia has once again moved the High Court against Sapiya’s election as president despite the court orders.

Meanwhile, Sapiya today assumed the office of Chairman of the bank. He was given a warm welcome by bank employees at the head office in Dharamsala.

Solan, April 4
Naresh, a resident of Behal village in Bilaspur district, was killed and his body was chopped into pieces during an inter-group clash which took place at an inter-state barrier at Bagheri in Nalagarh sub-division late last night.

The deceased was repeatedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons and even his vital organs were pierced with swords.

Naresh took refuge in a nearby office of the Excise and Taxation Department, but he was dragged out from there after gunshots were fired inside it. An excise inspector and an employee had a narrow escape.

The murder kicked up a widespread protest from the deceased’s relatives, who blocked the NH-21-A for two hours today after placing the body on the road. They pressed for the immediate arrest of the accused.

The police said Jonna, Kakal, along with their accomplices, carrying country-made pistols, swords and rods attacked the barrier employees, including Naresh, Sunil Babu, Laddi, Avtar Singh and Jagdish Singh, at a truck parking area located behind the toll tax barrier around 11:30 pm.

Naresh ran towards the toll barrier, but he was chased by the miscreants, who were firing gun shots. Jagdish and Avtar, who later reached the barrier, saw Naresh lying in a pool of blood on the road. They took him to the First Referral Hospital at Nalagarh where he was declared brought dead.

S Arul, SP, Baddi, visited the spot along with Nalagarh DSP Shushil Kumar soon after the incident. The DSP said an old rivalry between the two groups had led to the clash. He said four accused had been arrested, while hunt was on to trace other miscreants too. The police had cordoned off the area and help was also sought from the Punjab Police.

A country-made pistol has been recovered from the spot. A case under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 323, 427 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27-54-59 of the Arms Act has been registered and further investigations are on.

Solan, April 4
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Shashi Pal Singh said today that the orders to buy eight LCDs and seven split ACs by the Regional Hospital here using funds from the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) had been approved by the governing body, which met on March 20.

While terming these purchases as crucial, he said only their performance invoice had been sought while the items were yet to be bought.

He said since the installation of ACs was a crucial requirement of the blood bank and the RNTCP project, they had planned to buy it through rate contract, adding that since it had expired on March 31, their orders had been cancelled.

Addressing mediapersons here today, he said the screens of the LCDs were to be installed in various places, including his office, various administrative places and in the waiting lounge, to help monitor activities of the hospital. He said the proposal was yet to be cleared by the executive committee and 50 per cent of funds would be released after their approval.

However, the copy of the approved items reveals only two close circuit cameras at a cost of Rs 2 lakh, LED screens for a similar amount and LCDS for Rs 2 lakh as separate items.

The same governing body had also approved various other items, which were to help facilitate patients which included C-arm for orthopaedic surgery worth Rs 15 lakh, digitisation of X-Ray plants at a cost of Rs 15 lakh, proposal for centralisation of oxygen lines whose modalities were yet to be approved among other necessary works.

While no efforts were made to procure C-arm which is required by the Orthopaedic Department, performance invoice of the LCDs were the first to receive attention of the CMO.

Crucial issues like centralisation of oxygen lines failed to be on priority as its modalities were yet to be worked out while efforts were afoot to put LEDs in the hospital which lacks even steady supply of medicines.

The CMO said they were making inquiries from Tanda Medical College to procure C-arm. He, however, justified the purchase of the LCDs.

Kangra, April 4
Prevention of HIV-STI through the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) at the Regional Ayurvedic Hospital (RAH), Paprola, later supplemented with services of the Adolescent Reproductive Sexual Health (ARSH)-cum-STI clinic, termed as Yuva Pramarsh Kendra, is the only instance of being the best in the area. Paprola, located in a rural setting, caters to four districts of Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Chamba.

Dr V Kaul, Nodal Officer of the centre, stated that the key programme elements and activities of the ICTC were counselling and testing, maintaining records and reports, referral and linkages, outreach and Information, Education, Communication (IEC) activities and administration and management.

He said RAH, Paprola, was recently adjudged the best ICTC in Himachal Pradesh and the utilisation of these services had been over 10,000 since inception. He said on International Women Day this year, the ICTC team was once again awarded for providing the best ARSH services to needy youth.

He said now the services were being further strengthened with focus on quality. The challenges ahead included building the capacity of counsellor on mental health issues and drug de-addiction, he added.

By counselling adolescents, Dr Kaul said, “We are able to address the psychological problems of adolescents and provide adolescent-friendly reproductive health services (ARSH-Yuva Pramarsh Kendra-Yuva Mitra Kendra) in hospital. An attempt is also made to address the issues of adolescence and youth during visits to Red Ribbon Clubs of colleges.”

He said good management, team building and motivation, self-monitoring through the use of wall charts and checklists on assigned tasks had led to the programme goals.

Mandi, April 4
Pensioners today demanded the setting up of pensioners’ home in Mandi and a sarai for patients near the Ner Chowk, where a 500-bedded hospital is being set up by the Employees Service Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

Responding to a charter of demands by the president of the Pensioners’ Welfare Association, Mandi, Deputy Commissioner Devesh Kumar said he would try to locate a suitable place for the purpose. The pensioners would get preference at hospitals and get their general medical check-up done once a year, he said.

The DC told the Revenue Department to locate suitable land for the sarai near the ESIC Medical College.

Kangra, April 4
A candlelight vigil was organised at the memorial of 1905 Kangra Earthquake victims on the Old Kangra road this evening. More than 20,000 people of the Kangra valley were killed on this day in 1905 in a devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale.

Residents gathered at the memorial and SDM Ajit Bhardwaj and Kangra town MC chief Suman Verma initiated the vigil to pay tributes to the souls of the victims of the earthquake.

Both Bhardwaj and Verma spoke on the occasion and paid tributes to the victims.

On this day in 1905 most buildings in this temple town, McLeodganj and Dharamsala were destroyed. At least 20,000 people were killed and 53,000 domestic animals lost. There was also a major damage to the network of hillside aqueducts that fed water to the affected area. The total cost of recovering from the effects of the earthquake were calculated as Rs 2.9 million in 1905.

Despite a great devastation, multistorey buildings are coming up in this valley which is a sesmic zone V region.

Nurpur, April 4
Residents of Nagni and Bhadwar gram panchayats are up in arms against the killing of abandoned cows in accidents on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway between Nagni and Bhadwar. The irate villagers, led by Yuva Bharat, a local voluntary organisation, today staged a dharna on the highway and protested against these fatal accidents. Members of mahila mandals of Kuther and Nagni and the Youth Club of Nagni took part in the protest.

Giving a three-day ultimatum to the administration, the villagers said they would intensify their stir by blocking traffic on the highway. They rued that a herd of abandoned cows roaming on the highway had been left by unidentified persons from neigbhouring Punjab in trucks and had become a traffic hazard in the area. They demanded the fixing of responsibility of these road accidents and shift abandoned cows in a gausadan of the Animal Husbandry Department at Khazian near here.

Deputy Commissioner C Palrasu said directions were being issued to the Kandwal barrier police to keep a strict vigil on the entry of trucks loaded with cattle. Abandoned cows would be shifted in a gausadan after consultation with the Animal Husbandry Department, he added.

Nurpur, April 4
Yuthveer Singh, driver of a tractor-trolley, died on the spot when he lost control on the vehicle while negotiating a slope at Baduee near here on Tuesday evening.

The deceased, who hailed from Pacca Tiala, was going from Khanni to Nagabari.

The traffic police reached the spot and after a postmortem examination handed over the body to the family.

The police has registered a case. — OC

Bilaspur, April 4
Dr Manohar Kaushal joined as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) here on Monday after CMO Chet Ram Varma retired from service on superannuation earlier in the day.

Dr Kaushal was earlier working as Senior Medical Superintendent at the Government TB Sanatorium in Dharampur in Solan district.

Dr Kaushal, who belongs to the Hatwaad area of this district, had joined as a doctor on June 10,1983, at Sandhol in Mandi district and served at Panjgaain, Maloh, BMO Civil Hospital Banjar, Kullu and CHC Markand. — OC