H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Farmers await new tubewells
KASAULI: Inadequate supply of water has hampered the prospects of developing agriculture in Mandhala village and the surrounding areas, about 40 km from here. The village, located near the Baddi- Barotiwala industrial belt, has been meeting its irrigation needs from only one tubewell. Although the IPH Department has promised the sinking of two more tubewells, the state exchequer is fund starved and the plan remains only on paper. The hapless farmers are running from pillar to post to get funds released for the tubewells.

Mohinder Singh sees Sukh Ram’s hand
MANDI, Nov 26 — The controversial Himachal Public Works Minister, Mr Mohinder Singh, today charged the HVC supremo, Mr Sukh Ram, with hatching a conspiracy with some BJP and Congress leaders to destabilise the Dhumal government and said some of his colleagues were demanding his resignation at a time when panchayat and urban local bodies elections were underway.

Unauthorised constructions to be regularised 
SHIMLA, Nov 26 — All unauthorised constructions in the newly merged areas here will be regularised by the local Municipal Corporation by March 31. The government has ordered the Corporation to settle the cases of unauthorised constructions till March 31.

Seva Dal complains to poll panel
SHIMLA, Nov 26 — The Congress Seva Dal has complained to the State Election Commission that the announcement of the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, for setting up a separate Wakf Board in Himachal Pradesh was in violation of the code for the panchayat elections.

New scheme to woo tourists 
SHIMLA, Nov 25 — The Kufri Holiday Resorts, near here, has introduced a unique discounted tariff scheme to check unhealthy practices in the tourist trade in wake of growing competition and save them from exploitation at the hands of guides, touts and porters.

ONGC to digwell in Mandi
MANDI, Nov 26 — The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) has decided to launch the digging of the first oil well at Dhaban village in Balh valley of this district in the second week of December.

Farmers await new tubewells
From Ambika Sharma

KASAULI: Inadequate supply of water has hampered the prospects of developing agriculture in Mandhala village and the surrounding areas, about 40 km from here. The village, located near the Baddi- Barotiwala industrial belt, has been meeting its irrigation needs from only one tubewell. Although the IPH Department has promised the sinking of two more tubewells, the state exchequer is fund starved and the plan remains only on paper. The hapless farmers are running from pillar to post to get funds released for the tubewells.

The village has about 3,500 bighas of fertile land and a rich supply of underground water. It had its own tubewell sunk by farmers under the SFDA cooperative scheme about 18 years ago which irrigated about half of their land. The discharge of this tubewell was the highest in the area and it functioned smoothly for a year. But after the IPH Department took it over for “better maintenance,” the scheme ran into rough weather. The department, instead of extending the command area or improving the system, started supplying drinking water to around 15 villages from the tubewell. Many of the shareholders were denied water for irrigation, contrary to the agreement. Consequently, their fertile land was adversely affected.

The supply of drinking water is also erratic and inadequate to meet even the needs of residents of this village. Pipes are either undersized or too old and have not been replaced even after several requests to the department, complain villagers. Pumps and machinery also need repairs. The reservoirs are small and the disruption of the water supply for weeks together has become a regular feature there.

Although the IPH authorities, when threatened by shareholders that they would approach the court on the issue of denial of irrigation water, had assured them that at least two tubewells would be sanctioned. So far, the promise has not been fulfilled. Adjoining villages like Kulariwala, Kurranwala, Sehren, Kalu-Jhinda and Kotiwala, which are about one-tenth the size of this village, have been provided with two or more tubewells.

Farmers hope that the government, which is according top priority to water supply, will redress their grievances.

A junior engineer of the IPH Department says the scheme to sink the tubewells will be drawn up within about three months. The department, he says, is aware of the problem relating to old plastic supply pipes and efforts are being made to replace these. When this correspondent visited the village, farmers were seen using water accumulated in ditches to meet their requirements. They complained there was an acute shortage of water. 

Mohinder Singh sees Sukh Ram’s hand

MANDI, Nov 26 (PTI) — The controversial Himachal Public Works Minister, Mr Mohinder Singh, today charged the HVC supremo, Mr Sukh Ram, with hatching a conspiracy with some BJP and Congress leaders to destablise the Dhumal government and said some of his colleagues were demanding his resignation at a time when panchayat and urban local bodies elections were underway.

Addressing a press conference here, he said internal feuds in the BJP would only help the Congress and the HVC in the ensuing elections which the ruling combine had fair chances of winning.

“I would not be provoked by the action of others and continue to support for the full term,” he said, adding that he had unflinching faith in the leadership of the Chief Minister.

When asked, if he was dropped from the Cabinet by the Chief Minister under pressure from the BJP dissidents, he said he would consult his partymen before taking any action.

He alleged that some leaders were trying to create a wedge between him and the Chief Minister by spreading canards and were forgetting the sacrifice made by his party at the time of formation of the government when the BJP was falling short of majority.

Meanwhile, HVC President Sukh Ram described the development as an internal matter of the party and added that Mr Mohinder Singh should have been dropped from the Cabinet the moment he was expelled from the HVC.

Unauthorised constructions to be regularised 
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 26 — All unauthorised constructions in the newly merged areas here will be regularised by the local Municipal Corporation by March 31.

The government has ordered the Corporation to settle the cases of unauthorised constructions till March 31.

The retention policy has sparked off a controversy and residents of the areas were demanding regularisation of their constructions without going through the process.

According to the government decision, all buildings constructed up to December 31 last year within the newly merged areas, are to be considered for compounding irrespective of the size of the plot or land. No compounding shall be allowed where the owner has encroached upon the neighbours or the government land.

Every applicant for regularisation of an unauthorised construction shall have to contribute towards the urban development fund which shall be utilised for development works within the same area where it is collected. The amount of penalty has been fixed for different deviations which is Rs 250 per sq metre for first extra storey and Rs 500 per sq. metre for the second extra storey. Besides, other deviations have also been specified.

Seva Dal complains to poll panel
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 26 — The Congress Seva Dal has complained to the State Election Commission that the announcement of the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, for setting up a separate Wakf Board in Himachal Pradesh was in violation of the code for the panchayat elections.

The announcement was made by Mr Dhumal while addressing a gathering of Muslims in the Jama Masjid here yesterday.

In a complaint to the Commissioner of State Election Commission, Mr K.C. Sharma, the president of the Sewa Dal, Mr Satya Prakash Thakur, sought action in this regard.

He also complained that the Panchayat Raj and rural development department were inciting that the candidates should produce “no due certificate” before filing their papers. However, the certificates were not being issued by the officials of flimsy grounds, he alleged.

New scheme to woo tourists 
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 25 — The Kufri Holiday Resorts, near here, has introduced a unique discounted tariff scheme to check unhealthy practices in the tourist trade in wake of growing competition and save them from exploitation at the hands of guides, touts and porters.

The scheme under which up to 75 per cent discount will be available, on room tariff, depending on the season, on advance bookings, aimed to pass on the benefit directly to the customers. At present the touts were having a field day, particularly in Shimla and Manali, and making money at the cost of tourists and hotel owners.

The discount will be 50 per cent to 75 per cent for bookings made four to six months in advance, 40 to 65 per cent for four to three months, 30 to 55 per cent for three to two months, 20 to 45 per cent for two to one month and up to 35 per cent for one month to seven days.

ONGC to digwell in Mandi
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, Nov 26 — The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) has decided to launch the digging of the first oil well at Dhaban village in Balh valley of this district in the second week of December.

After conducting a series of drilling, ONGC engineers and scientists are expecting huge deposits of oil and gas, 5050 metres under the earth. Mr D.P. Sarkar, responsible for the drilling operation, told mediapersons who visited the drill site today that huge oil deposits were expected on the basis of underground exploration and seismic survey.

He said upgraded rigs had been shifted from Bangladesh to Dhaban to execute the drilling operation on a war-footing.