Shimla, November 2
Public sector Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), which owns and operates the country’s largest Nathpa Jhakri hydroelectric project, has drawn up a plan to harness 500 MW of power from renewable resources during the 12th plan.

The joint venture company of the Centre and the state is aiming at creating an installed capacity of 250 MW each in the solar and wind energy sectors.

Director (personnel), SJVN, NL Sharma said the company’s maiden venture in wind power, a 47.6-MW project at Khirveri in Maharashtra, was all set to be commissioned. Out of the 56 turbines of 850 kW each, 35 turbines had been tested and the transmission line for evacuation of power to the power grid had also been completed. The company was waiting for the nod from the Maharashtra government to start generation from the Rs 300 crore project.

The power purchase agreement would be signed after the commissioning of the project in accordance with the policy of the Maharashtra government as per which the procurement rate of for wind energy for the 2013-14 is Rs 5.81 per unit.

The project would generate 85.65 million units of electricity annually. The actual power generation would depend on the wind profile which changes with the season.

He said that the sites for wind power had already been identified in the country, but the main concern was the willingness and the capacity of the states to purchase the relatively expensive power. The SJVN take up projects only after firm commitments from the state for purchasing power like the Maharashtra government.

The company was in the process of setting up a 5-MW solar power plant in Gujarat and its plans to harness solar energy received a big boost recently when the Government of India included it as a partner in the world’s largest 4,000 MW solar power project to be set up near Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan.

The mega venture is proposed to be executed by six public sector undertakings in phases with an investment of around Rs 30,000 crore. The SJVN will have 16 per cent stake in the project being set up on 18,000 acre of unutilised land available with Hindustan Salts Limited.

The company’s 412 MW Rampur project is also slated to be commissioned by March 2014 and it will generate 1,770 million units of power annually. With the commissioning of the wind power project and the Rampur project, the total installed capacity of the SJVN will increase to 1959.6 MW.

Shimla, November 2
With eight big investors evincing keen interest in setting up satellite townships under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the state, the Himachal Pradesh Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) will be inviting bids after the formal approval by its Board of Directors (BoD) on November 5.

The draft policy for an integrated township will be placed before the BoD of HIMUDA, which will be meeting here on November 5. It is after the approval from the BoD that the policy will be put through a legal and financial scrutiny and, finally, it will get the Cabinet’s nod.

“About eight companies have expressed desire to invest in satellite townships under the FDI in the state and we have asked them to apply when the expression of interest is floated,” said Sudhir Sharma, Urban Development and Town and Country Planning Minister.

He said the five places where the satellite townships were proposed were Shimla, Solan, Dharamsala, Mandi and Hamirpur.

“We have decided that the land required for setting up of satellite townships will remain in the name of the government while the investment will be made by the entrepreneur,” he said.

He said one of the options being considered was charging upfront money for the land that would be utilised for the township. The HIMUDA has worked out the exact modalities for the FDI in satellite townships so that the integrated townships are well planned with all the modern facilities.

One of the companies keen on the project is Noida-based 3C Universal Developers, which has a tie-up with a foreign company, Lotus Boulevard. Sandwoods Infrastructure Private Limited, New Delhi, and Shrishti Infrastructure Development Limited, Kolkata, are the two other companies that have shown interest in the project.

The townships will have all the modern facilities with expansive green areas and proper provision for soil and water conservation. The government had been mulling over the idea of setting satellite townships for the past several years, but it is now that the plans have begun to take shape. With most of the big townships like Shimla, Dharamsala, Mandi and Solan getting crowded and its resources under tremendous strain, the need for developing satellite townships is being felt.

Huge chunks of land measuring 500 bighas have already been identified near Shimla, Solan and Dharamsala. “Though there is ample availability of land in the vicinity of Hamirpur, water shortage is a major impediment. In Mandi only 80 bighas has been identified so far,” officials said.

At least 500 bighas of land and an investment of about Rs 5,000 crore will be required for setting up a satellite township under the public-private partnership mode.

Shimla, November 2
The Forest Department has registered a case against Shatiyan Gram Panchayat and a tourist resort for an alleged construction of a road, serai and toilets on forest land and undertaking commercial activity in the Kangar and Pir Mahasu reserve forest area in the Koti and Cheog area falling under the Theog division.

The Forest Department inspected the entire area from October 21 to 27 and registered a case under Sections 32 and 33 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and Section 26 and 63 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, on October 31. The department had also received complaints about the panchayat having constructed a panchayat ghar, serai, toilets and a horror house for tourists on the forest land. About 520 m of road has also been constructed illegally in the Pir Mahasu area.

“Following an inspection of the forest area, it was found that 89 stalls, shops and dhabas, seven platforms for ropeways and telecom towers of six cellular companies have been erected illegally on the forest land,” said Sanjay Sood, Conservator, Forests.

He said a case had been registered against the Shatiyan Gram Panchayat and a tourist resort allegedly involved in the illegal activity.

Officials said Rs 10 was also being charged illegally by the panchayat from hundreds of tourists visiting a picnic spot in Pir Mahasu. Yak and horse rides for tourists were also being organised in the forest area. “Another shocking aspect was the manner in which the border pillars, which demarcate the boundary of the forest area, had been removed and were found to be missing,” he said.

With the area near Pir Mahasu and Shatiyan being popular tourist destinations, many people are illegally undertaking commercial activity in the forest, which is totally prohibited in the protected and reserved forest area.

The action by the Forest Department will deter others from undertaking construction or any other commercial activity in the forest area. 

Palampur, November 2
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated an advanced veterinary multi-disciplinary services and farmers capacity building centre at the Dr GC Negi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar HP Krishi Vishvidhalaya, Palampur, constructed at a cost of Rs 11 crore, on Thursday.

Virbhadra said the centre would provide immediate diagnosis for various diseases of animals. It would also provide super-specialised therapeutic treatment to the ailing animals and act as an advanced training and referral unit for updating knowledge of technical personnel, pertaining to prevention, treatment, control and cure of various diseases.

The Chief Minister said the centre had been equipped with a seminar room for training of farmers and veterinary officers, ambulatory service section, museum and dispensing unit-cum-drug/medicine store.

An orthopaedic unit had also been provided in the centre. Besides, a toxicology, advanced molecular and micro biological, pathology and necropsy, semen, artificial insemination and embryo transfer technology R&D, blood bank and transfusion medical labs had also been set up at the centre.

He said one should not abandon domestic animals as it was against our traditions, adding that now micro chips would be implanted to cattle with complete information regarding their owners to check stray animals. He said the guilty would be punished suitably.

The Chief Minister said one-year crash course in veterinary sciences would be conducted for pharmacists who were recruited last year to improve their efficiency.

Speaker, HP Vidhan Sabha, BBL Butail welcomed the Chief Minister and said he had always given added priority to the Palampur area.

Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jagjivan Pal, MLAs Sanjay Rattan, Ajay Mahajan and Pawan Kajal were present on the occasion.

Palampur, November 2
Shanta Kumar, senior BJP leader and MP, today donated Rs 10 lakh for the purchase of Automatic Blood Analyser Chemistry equipment for the local Civil Hospital.

Disclosing this to mediapersons here, Dr Vinay Mahajan, Senior Medical Officer, said with the installation of this machine, it would reduce the delay in blood testing reports. Earlier, the hospital was using a semi-automatic blood analyser which had gone obsolete in the present circumstances.

Devotees attend a hawan at the Hanuman temple within the Baba Balaknath temple in Kangra on Saturday. Photo: Ashok Raina

Hanuman Jayanti celebrated at Kangra
Our Correspondent

Shimla, November 2
The state government has referred the request of the Himalayan Ski Village to allow certain modifications in the project to the Himachal Pradesh Infrastructure Development Board so that a final decision can be taken on the fate of the project, which ran into rough weather during the previous BJP regime.

The Himachal Pradesh Infrastructure Development Board will examine the modifications sought by the promoters to see that they are not violative of the earlier agreement that the state government had entered into with the company on December 9, 2005.

The final decision of allowing an amended project or directing the company to proceed with the earlier approved plan will depend on the advice of the Himachal Pradesh Infrastructure Development Board and the Law Department.

It was in the first week of September this year that John Sims, Managing Director of the Himalayan Ski Village project, had made a request to the government to allow certain modifications and scaling down of the project under the changed circumstances.

In a shift from the previously proposed foreign direct investment project, the promoters are now keen that it is taken up under the public private partnership mode so that local residents are able to get direct employment.

Sources said the government was keen to see the project being executed and was getting the matter examined by the Himachal Pradesh Infrastructure Development Board.

"We want the project to come up, but the matter will have to be examined legally as well to see if earlier terms and conditions can be changed," said an official.

The promoters have already clarified said under the present circumstances the project will be on a much smaller scale and will be taken up in a phased manner.

"I do not think that there should be any problem with certain changes as over the last few years, the land where the project was proposed has been sold and it will be difficult to retain the exact shape of the project," said Ajay Dabra, partner in the project.

He added that the company was waiting for the final verdict of the government on its request for certain modifications and a decision would be taken accordingly.

With the promoters keen to scale down the project, the earlier requirement of 93.1 hectare, including 16.3 hectare of government land, is likely to be halved.

The company is keen on having greater participation of the local community as the project ran into rough weather owing to stiff opposition from villagers.