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| Saturday, February
10, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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HP to
discuss power MoU with Centre HP plans to combat drought Cong to take up ‘abduction’ issue New
impetus to animal husbandry HVC willing to take
back rebels |
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Improve performance, minister tells dept HP
Governor signs census form HP Secretariat staff
opposes govt move Empty pitchers may
greet CM 50-acre pasture
destroyed by fire Attempt to blow
up house CSTE to
develop 3 wetlands Plea to
regularise Welfare Officers Relief for
quake victims
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HP to discuss power MoU with Centre SHIMLA, Feb 9 — After having initiated the process of reforms by setting up the state Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Himachal Government will impress upon the Centre to remove the bottle-necks in the way of speedy exploitation of the hydel power potential before signing an MoU on the power sector. As the Centre has linked the financial assistance to the state electricity boards with the reforms, it has to sign an MoU to secure funds. However, it wants to take up certain basic issues to ensure the smooth implementation of reforms and make its hydro power development plan part of the agreement. The draft MoU will be discussed with the Union Power Ministry by a team of officers headed by Mr Harsh Gupta, Secretary, Power, and the Chairman of the state electricity board, on February 15. The agreement, Mr Gupta says, will cover all aspects of the power sector in the state and speedy hydro power development will be the main concern for a state with hydel potential of 21,000 MW, besides structural reforms. The state had been facing problems in assigning projects to the private sector as only projects up to 100 MW could be allotted through the MoU route. For projects of higher capacity competitive bidding route has to be followed. However, in the absence of any guidelines from the Centre and several other factors like geological variations, floods, time and cost over-runs, the board has been unable to finalise bids. It invited global tenders for Kol Dam four years ago, but to no avail. The board had completed the detailed project reports of some projects like Kuther (240 MW), Hibra (231 MW) and Sawara Kudu (162 MW), but these could not be offered to the private sector as competitive bidding was not feasible in the present situation. The state wants the Centre to allow the development of hydro projects up to 300 MW through the MoU route. It also wants a higher allocation to hydro states for the speedy development of the sector, liberal grants for investigation of projects and preparation of detailed project reports and permission to float tax-free hydel bonds with suitable fiscal incentives to raise funds at an interest rate not exceeding 10 per cent. It also wants hydel projects to be financed through external aid from agencies, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, OPEC and various governments through bilateral arrangement. It had already sought funds for the Larji project from the Kuwait Oil Fund and the Khauli project from OPEC. The board had also submitted schemes involving an expenditure of Rs 300 crore under the Accelerated Power Development Programme. Made wiser by the experience of other states, the board will insist on independent functioning of the state Electricity Regulatory Authority in the MoU to ensure that power tariff was not subsidised at its cost. Subsidy to any section must be borne by the government, it asserts. Moreso, because the government was getting 12 per cent free power from various projects. However, the state will have to agree to undertake reforms to get financial assistance. It has proposed its own model by going for internal restructuring instead of unbundling the board to carve out three independent corporations to look after generation, transmission and distribution like other states. It remains to be seen whether the Centre agrees to the new reform model put forward by the state. |
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HP plans to combat drought HAMIRPUR, Feb 9 — The Himachal Government is worried about the drought in the state due to the non-arrival of timely and adequate rains. The government will spare no effort to deal with this situation, the Chief Minister, Prof P.K. Dhumal, said at his native Samirpur village today. Talking to this correspondent the Chief Minister, said the state government had already asked field agencies of various departments operating in districts to be ready to face the situation. He said the government would provide water and fodder to people and for this purpose timely arrangement of water tankers and fodder trucks would be made by the state government. Prof Dhumal said the Department of Irrigation-cum-Public Health and the Health and Family Planning had been asked to coordinate with the Department of Welfare to clean village-level water sources in time so that there was no water shortage in
summer. Chlorination of all old water sources like wells, “bowlis” and “khatris” would be done on a war-footing and necessary tablets and powder would be made available to the people. The Chief Minister said there was a need to conserve water. While mini check dams would be constructed in the coming months to store water, efforts would also be made to lift the water from other sources like rivers and khads. The government had already initiated several schemes with the help of foreign countries and the Central Government in this regard. He said there was a proposal to increase the number of fire watchers in each division of the state so that these persons might be able to collect pine needles from the forests. The government would strictly implement the order regarding the burning of fire near the forest areas. Prof Dhumal said he would meet the Prime Minister and other Central ministers to tell them about the drought and would seek more funds from the Centre for the lifting of water and on the forest front. The Chief Minister said he would also hold meetings with leaders of all parties and other organisations to chalk out a strategy on how to deal with the drought. He asked the people to use tap water judiciously. He issued warning to those who used tap water for gardening purposes. He said their water connections would be disconnected and they would be penalised. |
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Cong to take up ‘abduction’ issue SHIMLA, Feb 9 — The state Congress has decided to take up the issue of the alleged abduction of two OBC women members by BJP leaders during the Kangra Zila Parishad elections at the ensuing Budget session of the Vidhan Sabha. Stating this here today, Ms Vidya Stokes, PCC chief, said the ruling BJP had made a mockery of the election process by resorting to such tactics to grab key posts of the parishad. She said the fears expressed by the party in the Vidhan Sabha during the winter session when the government moved an amendment to extend the term of various Panchayati Raj institutions by a month had come true. The party had objected to the move and clearly stated that this was aimed at buying time for horse trade. The manner in which elections to various zila and nagar parishads were repeatedly postponed until the ruling party managed to cobble up a majority had only prove the party’s charge. She blamed Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, for the blatant misuse of state authority to capture panchayat and local bodies and said under his leadership political ethics had taken a severe beating. He had spoiled the state’s “sober” political culture. She refused to comment on the statement of Mr Dhumal that all elections should be held directly and simultaneously. To the issue of cross-voting by certain Congress members in the zila parishad elections, she said the election was not held on the party symbol. As such, there was no occasion for cross-voting. She said the committee set up by the party under Mr Kaul Singh was preparing the second charge sheet against the Dhumal government. She announced setting up of a trust to manage the properties of the Congress in the state. The nine-member trust headed by her would have Mr Gian Chand Tutu, Mr Sat Mahajan, Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, Mr Vijendra Singh and Mrs Satyawati as members. The treasurer of the All-India Congress Committee and the Central leader in charge of the state party affairs would be ex-officio members. The party has property in Solan, Sirmaur, Mandi and Kangra districts. Regarding the Gujarat earthquake relief fund, she said as against a target of Rs 5 lakh, the state unit had already raised about Rs 7 lakh and the final figure would be around Rs 8 lakh. The party high command was busy with earthquake relief and rehabilitation operations as a result of which the new state executive, which was to be finalised last week, could not be announced so far. As such, it could take a few more days for the constitution of the executive. |
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New impetus to animal
husbandry MANDI, Feb 9 — Mr Ram Lal Markanda, Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, said here today that a plan to modernise animal husbandry in the state was being implemented on a war-footing with a view to improving the economic condition of farmers, particularly in the backward areas. He said prior to the formation of Himachal Pradesh, the farmers had been rearing cattle on the traditional lines manure, fuel, wool and meat. Milk production was secondary and there was no quality feed of fodder. The concept of selling milk was also not there. Mr Markanda, however, said all this had changed in the wake of rural development programme launched in the country. He said over the past five decades, Himachal Pradesh had emerged a pioneer in adopting the latest techniques of animal husbandry. About half a dozen liquid nitrogen plants had been set up in the state under the Indo-German agriculture project and Indo New Zealand livestock improvement project which ushered in an era of “white revolution” in the state. The minister said as many as 4.12 lakh cows and buffaloes were artificially inseminated for upgrading the breed. Presently, the facility of artificial insemination had been extended to 1,062 centres and it would be covering more centres in the next three years. Mr Markanda said efforts of the department had born fruits as there was record milk yield of 7.40,000 tonnes last year. Mandi district pioneered the white revolution in the state where two cattle farms at Komand and Bhngrotu proved a boon to the farmers. A modern milk plant had been set up at Chakkar in Mandi district under the Indo-German agriculture project in 1972 which went a long way in solving the problem of marketing of milk. Every farmer had at least one Jersey cow. The white revolution also spread to the neighbouring districts of Kulu, Lahul-Spiti and Kangra, he said. He claimed that the Animal Husbandry Department was giving incentives and subsidies to cattle breeders. A network of 302 hospitals, 1,433 veterinary dispensaries and 25 central veterinary dispensaries had been set up to ensure animal health care and disease control. Besides this, 14 mobile dispensaries were operating to control the outbreak of epidemic and treat animals on the spot, he added. |
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HVC
willing to take back rebels SHIMLA, FEB 9 — The Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) today indicated its willingness to take back those who deserted the party in the wake of the revolt by Mr Mohinder Singh, former PWD Minister, last year. The state executive of the party, which met here today under the chairmanship of Mr Sukh Ram, party President, gave the nod for the return of estranged partymen by stating that the doors were open for all, except those who had shut the doors on themselves. The party, however, decided to wait for the outcome of the meeting of the splinter organisation, the Himachal Vikas Party, to be held at Bilaspur on February 17, where the issue of rejoining the HVC is to be decided. According to party sources, most of the deserters, except Mr Mohinder Singh, and a few others who did not even bother to reply to the show-cause notice, will be taken back into the party fold. The party expressed concern over the selling off of valuable assets of the Animal Husbandry Department in the name of privatisation. It urged the government through a resolution to improve the functioning of various cold storages and milk plants, instead of closing them down. The department, which played a vital role in bringing white revolution in the state, should be strengthened as a large section of farmers were entirely dependent on dairy farming for livelihood. It also expressed concern over the imposition of toll tax by various municipal committees, which was causing inconvenience to tourists. The party suggested that the tax should be replaced by a special road tax and collected at the entry points to the state. The party also discussed the situation arising due to the prolonged dry spell in the state and asked the government to take immediate steps to deal with the problem of water shortage. It also urged the Centre to declare Himachal Pradesh as a drought-hit area and provide all possible help to it. |
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Improve performance, minister tells dept HAMIRPUR, Feb 9 — Mr Ram Lal Markandya, HP Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, said here today that he was not happy with the performance of his department. He said there was lack of communication between the department and the farmers which was increasing day by day. It was a serious matter and the officers concerned should take a note of it. He said doctors along with treating animals should also go to farmers and tell them about the latest inventions in the field of animal science. He was addressing an orientation camp organised by the HP Pharmacist Sangh at Bachat Bhavan today. He said the government was keen to protect the interests of the farmers and all out efforts would be made to develop the state as a dairy farming state on the pattern being followed in Denmark. He said there was no dearth of funds with the government to carry out various types of public welfare activities. Efforts should be made for the timely execution of the programmes and policies of the state government being launched from time to time. He added that there was a need to grow more fodder and the experts should tell the farmers which variety of grass should be grown in the areas. The minister further said employees were free to approach him or the Chief Minister, but indiscipline in the department would not be tolerated. He announced that the demand of the employees to create and fill 302 more posts of pharmacists in the state was under consideration. The matter would be taken up at a Cabinet meeting shortly, he said. Earlier, Mr Subhash Rana, state president of the HP Animal Husbandry Department Pharmacist Sangh, welcomed the minister and submitted a charter of demands to him. |
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HP Secretariat staff
opposes govt move SHIMLA, Feb 9 — The Himachal Pradesh Sercretariat Services Confederation has opposed the proposed move to amend the rules for appointments on compassionate grounds. The confederation in its emergency meeting warned the government not to change the rules failing which it would be forced to launch an agitation. It alleged that the move to deny appointments on compassionate grounds to the wards of those who had completed 20 years of service was against the spirit of the provision. |
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HP Governor signs census form CHAMBA, Feb 9 — The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Dr Suraj
Bhan, today inaugurated the launching of the second phase of the census at Darbar Hall here after lighting the lamps. The Governor put his signature on the census form to enroll himself as the “first citizen” of the state. The Director of the Himachal Pradesh census, Mr
R.L. Bisotra, said census would be carried out in the state from February 9 to February 28. He said during this period 75 tehsils and
sub-tehsils, 17 municipal councils, 20 nagar panchayats and five cantonment areas would be covered. Several snow-bound areas falling in
Mandi, Kulu and Chamba district, besides Shimla and Lahaul-Spiti, however, would be covered in May and June. The Director said the census would be updated from March 1 to March 5. In order to carry out the census operation, 350 officers, 48 master trainers and about 10,000 enumerators and supervisors had been deployed. He said districts of
Chamba, Bilaspur, Mandi, Solan and Sirmour had shown a higher growth rate than the state average of 111.53 per cent during 1951 to 1991, especially in the rural areas. He urged people to assist the census staff. Correct statistics would pave the way for the advancement of information technology in the future, he added. Earlier, the Governor was honoured by the Industries Minister, Mr Kishori
Lal, and the Minister of State for Ayurveda, Mr Mohan Lal, who presented a shawl and a Himachal cap, respectively, to him. A colourful programme was presented by artistes of the Zila Saksarta Kala Jatha and school children. |
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Empty pitchers may greet CM PALAMPUR, FEB 9 — The Chief Minister will be greeted with empty water pots in case the Irrigation and Public Health Department failed to repair Kathul-Ghanetta Kuhal immediately. This was declared by the president of the C Ghanetta panchayat, Mr Shivpaul Singh at Palampur today. He alleged that crops in the three panchayats of Ghaneta, Darang and Dhoran were withering for the want of irrigation but the department had failed to repair the Kathul-Ghanetta Kuhal despite repeated representations. He also alleged that the Jharet water supply scheme was not functioning for past 10 days and the IPH officials were not taking any steps to repair it. People in many villages were facing acute shortage of drinking water due to this, he added.
— PTI 50-acre pasture
destroyed by fire SOLAN, Feb 9
— A fire that broke out on the north-western slopes of the 6,000 feet Karol mountain overlooking this town, devastated over 50 acres of privately owned pasture land yesterday. Besides some trees, grass worth Rs 2 lakh, which constituted the main source of fodder for the cattle during winter, was destroyed. The fire, is believed to have been caused by some pranksters, one of whom threw a burning match stick on a stack of hay. The children first tried to extinguish the fire by themselves but fled when they felt that the task was beyond them. A group of 150 villagers, helped by the forest officials led by DFO, S.K. Sharma and some firemen battled with fire for more than seven hours even as strong winds kept on fanning the fire onto adjoining and thick pal of smoke made breathing difficult. The DFO said efforts of the villagers, the firemen and his staff helped save the oak forests behind the pasture lands. |
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Attempt to blow
up house
MANDI, Feb 9 (PTI) — Tension prevailed in the small village of Bandanu on the Mandi-Kulu national highway following an attempt by miscreants to blow up the house of Veena Devi with the help of dynamite. The house constructed on prime land had become a bone of contention between the families of Veena Devi and Saroja Devi as it allegedly blocked the front view of the house of the latter. The police have registered a case and
detained Saroja Devi and her sons Vidhi Chand Tej Chand for investigations. According to a report registered with the police, sons of Saroja Devi tried to blow up the house of Veena Devi but did not succeed. Only the rear wall was damaged. |
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CSTE to develop 3 wetlands NURPUR, Feb 9 — The Centre has approved the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (CSTE) as a nodal agency for conserving three national wetlands of Himachal Pradesh Renuka, Pong (Mahrana Pratap Sagar) and Chandertal. Mr Rajan Sushant, Revenue Minister, presiding over a two-day workshop, review meeting-cum-awareness camp at the Pong reservoir in Jawali subdivision yesterday, said the Pong wetland would be brought on the international map. After the declaration of its national status, the Ministry of Environment and Forest had started funding the development project of the wetland through the CSTE. He said a pilot project for about 10,000 hectares catchment area between Pong Lake and Fatehpur had been formulated. Mr Sushant said the Pong wetland had a vast potential for tourism and the state government had also formulated a special tourism plan for it. He underlined the necessity for the creation of a wetland development authority and a broad-based advisory body consisting of forest, wildlife, fishery, tourism, local bodies and NGOs. The workshop was organised by the CSTE. Representatives of government departments like forest, fisheries and wildlife and geological wing participated. |
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Plea to regularise Welfare Officers NAHAN, Feb 9 — The Tehsil Welfare Officers in Himachal Pradesh are sore over the “rigid unjustified attitude” of the government regarding their promotions as District Welfare Officers. In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, the Himachal Pradesh Tehsil Welfare Officers Association has urged that vacancies of the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) and District Welfare Officers should be filled up immediately and services of the CDPOs promoted in 1997 should be regularised. They alleged that there had been no promotion in their cadre for the past four years. It was made clear that it would be most unjustified if promotions to the posts of the District Welfare Officers would be made from those officers who were already promoted in the equivalent scale of the District Welfare Officers (DWO) as CDPOs in 1997. The association has further said out of 68 Tehsil Welfare Officers in the state, 17 were promoted in 1997 as CDPOs. The services of these officers were still ad hoc which they demanded be regularised should to immediately and remaining officers who were seeking promotions for more than 20 years should be picked up for the posts of the District Welfare Officers and CDPOs. The association has protested the move of the Welfare Department to promote the CDPOs as DWOs as they were already in the same scale for the past four years. |
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Relief for quake
victims MANDI, Feb 9 — Employees of the State Bank of India on Thursday contributed Rs 12,000 to the Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund. The demand draft was handed over to the Deputy Commissioner by the Chief Manager of the SBI, Mr K.C. Kashyap. One-day salary of the employees has already been donated. The SBI employees have also collected clothes for quake victims. KANGRA:
The local unit of the Vivekananda Kendra on Wednesday organised a blood grouping camp at the local polytechnic college where 200 persons got their blood grouping done. The camp had been organised to keep the people in readiness for donating blood for the earthquake victims as and when required, organisers of the kendra said. |
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BJP activists call
for ‘bazaar bandh’ KULU, FEB 9 — BJP and RSS workers in a meeting at Dhalpur this evening, have decided to call for “bazaar bandh” tomorrow in protest against the decision of the BJP state president to suspend Mr Dinesh Sen as district president. They said this “one-sided” decision should be withdrawn. |
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