 |
Saturday,
January 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Himachal proposes
Rs 10,750 cr plan Shimla, January 11 With the Special Services Bureau (SSB) being assigned the new role of guarding the sensitive Indo-Nepal border, its three battalions are moving out of Himachal Pradesh and its training centre is being shifted to Srinagar in Uttaranchal. Earthen
dam a boon to farmers Mining probe indicts department officials Panel report not vendetta: ministers |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Mahasabha to
set up medical, engg colleges Briton’s plea dismissed Sessions Judge
to inspect home for disabled
|
|
Himachal proposes
Rs 10,750 cr plan Shimla, January 11 Social services has been accorded priority in the 10th five-year plan and of the total proposed outlay, Rs 1882.48 crore has been proposed for this vital sector which comes to 45.4 per cent of the total plan outlay. The economic services put together account for 53.6 per cent of outlay in the 10th plan. As for the annual plan proposed for 2002-2003 the outlay on social services has been proposed at Rs 869.73 crore accounting for 45.7 per cent of the total proposed outlay. Mr Dhumal said in terms of the socio-economic infrastructure during the tenth plan emphasis would be laid on consolidation rather than
expansion. This, however, does not be mean that the areas deprived of the facilities in the past would continue to remain in the same state of neglect. Balanced development of all areas and regions would remain a central objective of the plan. The government would continue to focus on development of the under-privileged section of society and backward areas in the state, he added. He said the state government had adopted wide-ranging steps to encourage private sector participation in core sectors, better targeting of subsidies, decentralisation and delegation of powers to the third-level of governance, Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies. He said emphasis would be laid on exploiting new areas of growth and employment such as information and bio-technology-related industries and services so that not only employment opportunities were enhanced but Himachal Pradesh was made more a attractive destination for tourists. The chief minister urged members of the board to give suggestions towards optimising the use of limited resources of the state. Mr Dhumal said that the members of the Planning Commission had complemented the state government for achievements in social sector and also in some area of economic sectors, including achievement of a higher rate of growth of state domestic product, generation of employment. Ms Shyama Sharma, Deputy Chairperson, state Planning Board, said Himachal Pradesh’s achievements in the social services sector had been adjudged the best and the state had achieved a growth rate of 6.6 per cent in 1998-99. Mr Maheshwar Singh and Mr Suresh Chandel, MPs, members of council, ministers, members of the state planning board and senior officers of the state government attended the meeting. |
|
|
Economic advisory
panel set up Shimla, January 11 The council consists of Dr S.S. Johar, Dr Chadha, Dr Ramesh Chand, Dr A.K. Gupta, Dr Ranjot Singh and Dr Tej Pratap, Vice-Chancellor of Agriculture University, Palampur. The Financial Commissioner (Finance) and the Secretary (Planning) are its official members. The announcement regarding the setting up of the committee was made by the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, at a meeting of the Planning Board. |
|
|
SSB battalions move to Indo-Nepal border Shimla, January 11 Highly placed sources told the TNS that the battalions had been issued marching orders. The 32 battalions of the SSB are presently deployed in the border states but now these shall function on the pattern of the other border forces like the
ITBP, BSF and Assam Rifles. This has been done following the recommendation of the group of ministers which suggested that the SSB should be utilised for guarding the Nepal border, which has become a route of terrorist infiltration and smuggling of arms and ammunition. The two training centres of the SSB in the upper areas of Shimla—Kumarsein and Sarahan—are being shifted to Shamsi in Kulu and Srinagar in Uttaranchal, respectively. The two other training centres at Sapri and the existing one at Shamsi have been ordered to shift near the Nepal border. This is the second vital set up of the Home Ministry that is being shifted out of Himachal Pradesh. Earlier, the ITBP battalion deployed in the Chamba areas was ordered to move to Jammu and Kashmir, but the decision was reviewed by the Home Minister, Mr L.K.Advani, on the request of the Chief Minister, Mr P.K.Dhumal. Eight battalions of the SSB have already been deployed on the Indo-Nepal border after shifting these from Rajasthan and other states. The Rajasthan government has already raised the matter with the Centre and has demanded that the SSB be allowed to function in the areas bordering Pakistan. Shifting of the SSB would cause a setback in the confidence building exercise which it was currently undertaking among the residents of the Kihar sector in Chamba district where the terrorists had gunned down 38 persons. The personnel of the bureau were also giving training in handling of arms and ammunition to the residents of such areas with a view to create a second line of defence. The personnel of the SSB were also undertaking development activities in the inaccessible areas of the state and had recently provided valuable help to the poor shepherds by giving treatment to their sheep stock which had started dying because of some disease in the tribal areas. The SSB battalions functioning in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir were also expected to be moved to the Nepal border shortly. Recently, the SSB has been brought under the Home Ministry. Under its redefined role, the SSB among other things will ensure movement of people only through the specified traditional routes on the Indo-Nepal border and also do intelligence gathering in the border areas. |
|
Earthen
dam a boon to farmers Nalagarh The
village, where seasonal rivulets caused a havoc, now presents a
picture of greenery today. This was made possible with the
construction of an earthen dam which, in addition to channelling
water, has also provided a perennial source of water to residents of
Gol Jamala and Amlidol villages. Agriculture which was the main occupation of the villagers fetched little returns with seasonal rivulets inundating a large chunk of the arable land along with entire drainage line rendering it unfit for agriculture. The near-barren land sustained little vegetation and farmers barely managed to meet both ends with the meagre produce. The hillock overlooking the village also presented a barren look. Combinations of various vegetative and engineering structures were put to use to treat the run-off from this watershed. The drain was treated against inundation by erecting a number of structures, including dry stone structures, brush wood check dam, crate wire structures and live hedge spurs. These effectively plugged gullies and prevented the soil from being washed away. The villagers contributed free labour and within a short span of four months an earthen dam was constructed in a nullah with small perennial flow under technical guidance from project officials. This small source of water makes up for the seepage and evaporation losses of the water body up to March. The dam has facilitated irrigation of about 300 bighas of arable land. The locals laid RCC pipes for distribution of water from the dam to the village. The beneficiaries were organised into user groups who charge Rs 25 per user. The money thus collected is used for the maintenance of the dam. According to the village pradhan, Parma Anand Sodhi, the dam has proved to be a boon with land getting irrigated throughout the year. This has given a boost to agriculture with farmers now growing a number of crops like guava, potatoes, tomatoes, barseem and fodder. Even a small land holder who produced only two to three sacks of wheat earlier is now producing up to 10 now. This has been made possible with the rise in the watertable of the area, feel the villagers. A tomato crop raised on one bigha fetches anything between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 to a marginal farmer, exclaims the pradhan with joy, adding that the people who barely managed to meet their requirements earlier are now producing surplus crops which are sold at a profit. In
addition, plantation of sheesham and khair has been taken up which
will fetch a neat profit. The grass grown on the hill is also sold.
The green hillock overlooking the dam can also be developed as a
picnic spot, feels the assistant project director, Dr Gurnam Singh.
Villagers plan to take up pisciculture in the dam. Seeing the success
of the project more areas are likely to be incorporated into the Kandi
project, says the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr R.A.
Singh, adding that the emphasis would be given to people’s
participation in implementation of the plan by involving them at every
stage. |
|
Mining probe indicts department officials Kasauli, January 11 The action follows raids by a flying squad in the area in September last on the orders of the director, Industries, after environmentalists filed a public interest litigation in the high court against the illegal mining. According to sources in the Industries Department, the flying squad had found violations of the M form in which the same form had been issued to more than one truck for lifting quarrying material from the riverbeds in the industrial area. The sources said besides this the squad had also found irregularities in the mining operations where the mining was being carried out from areas other than the one shown on the papers. Massive mining around the bridges had damaged the structures. The report has further pointed out that contrary to laid norms mining was being carried out without seeking a no-objection certificate from the panchayats concerned. It has been recommended that in future the lessees would seek a prior no-objection certificate from the panchayats before initiating mining. The flying squad, which had carried out the inspection in the presence of locals, panchayats and environmentalists, had submitted the report to the Industries Department. The president of the society, Mr Gyanender Bhardwaj, had made available the M forms to the squad which had been inappropriately filled and issued to truck and tractor-trailer drivers for lifting of quarrying material. The officials, however, remained tight-lipped about the findings of the report when contacted. |
|
Panel report not vendetta: ministers Shimla, January 11 In a joint statement here today, these ministers said the incidents of lawlessness in Shimla and around between March 3 and 12, 1998, were a slur on the polity of the state and the commission had held Mr Virbhadra Singh guilty of having created the situation. The ministers said the state government ordered an inquiry by Mr Deepak Sanan, the then Divisional Commissioner, Shimla. It had also found Mr Virbhadra Singh, Congress MLAs and other leaders guilty. However, they objected and demanded the probe by a judicial officer. On their demand , the state government had appointed Mr H.D. Kainthla, a retired District and Sessions Judge, as commission of inquiry. The ministers said Mr Virbhadra Singh had challenged the legality and validity of the appointment of the Kainthla Commission on the grounds that the state government had no proper authority to appoint the committee and it amounted to contempt of court in view of the orders passed in a criminal writ petition filed for the release of Mr Ramesh Chaudhary who was alleged to have been kidnapped. The Division Bench of the high court, dismissing the petition filed by Mr Virbhadra Singh, held on October 23, 2000, that the issuance of the notification by the commission did not interfere with any judicial orders passed by the court and that the powers had not been exercised malafidely. The ministers said Mr Virbhadra Singh had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court in which no stay had been granted. |
|
Mahasabha to
set up medical, engg colleges Shimla, January 11 Stating this here yesterday at a press conference, Mr Sanjay Singh, the newly elected President of the Mahasabha, said the 104-year-old organisation had been helping poor students but it never thought of setting up of professional institutions. The need for such institutions was being increasingly felt by the community. He said the colleges would be set up by an educational body of the mahasabha, which would be named after Maharana Pratap. He said it would try to acquire land free of cost for its projects. He added that if the Himachal Government provided land, the colleges would be set up in the state. The organisation was also helping victims of communal and casts violence and it provided Rs 50,000 each to those killed and Rs 10,000 to those injured in the recent attack on the gathering during a conference of the mahasabha at Sasaram in Bihar. |
|
Briton’s plea dismissed Shimla, January 11 A Division Bench comprising of Mr Justice L.S. Panta and Mr Justice K.C.Sood while dismissing the appeal of Ian Stillman observed that it was difficult to believe the defence version that the accused had been made a scapegoat by the police. The Briton was arrested on August 28,2000, by the police, near Kulu, allegedly for smuggling over 20 kg of charas in the shape of tablets in a vehicle. |
|
Sessions Judge
to inspect home for disabled Shimla, January 11 These directives were given by a Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Kamlesh Sharma and Mr Justice M.R. Verma on a suo motu notice issued by the court on a news item published in a daily. The report published in the daily alleged that inmates were being denied the basic facilities and there was a shortage of staff in the institution. The state government stated in its reply that the aforesaid institution was being run for the deaf and dumb children to provide them free education up to Class V and added that there was no shortage of staff in the institution. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
