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Wednesday,
June 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Dhumal seeks special ministry for hill states Protecting life in the wild Dalai Lama’s security reviewed Revenue subdivision sought at Salooni Sharma elected president of PPs’ body Himachal to encourage
bio-technology |
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Digvijay opens computerised booking centre Tourism picks up in Himachal Sat Mahajan ridicules
Shanta’s claim Residents
decry anomaly in meter reading Four guards booked in jailbreak case Chief Postmaster General promoted Kenyan national
arrested One dies of heat
stroke in Kangra
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Dhumal seeks special ministry for hill states Shimla, June 11 Mr Dhumal, addressing members of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Forests today urged them to help the states with smaller population in getting their legitimate share in development and other activities funded by the Centre. He said the state has vast hydel potential of 20,376 mw out of which work on 7,500 mw projects was being started with the help of various states and private sector companies. He thanked the Prime Minister for changing the ratio of thermal and hydro power from 75:25 to 60:40, which would help Himachal Pradesh in exploiting the full hydel potential and make it a power state. He said by the end of 2003, the state would be able to generate 2,100 mw hydel power and get 250 mw as its share from these projects. The state had pleaded its claim for unallocated share to the Government of India to be provided to it during the winter season when the water level in all rivers receded to the lowest resulting in low power
generation. The power demand increased in the winter season, he added. Speaking about women empowerment, the Chief Minister said female literacy rate has reached 65 per cent as compared to total literacy rate of 77.03 per cent in the state. He said the state was providing education and textbooks to girls free of cost besides providing Maharishi Valmiki Scholarships. An annual scholarship of Rs 9,000 was being provided to them. He said the Matri Shakti Bima Yojna had been introduced for women living below poverty line to benefit 5.76 lakh women between 10 and 75 years of age.
Thirty-seven per cent reservation to women was provided in Panchayati Raj institutions, which was 4 per cent more than the prescribed one. He said three rooms to each primary school would be provided by July 31, 2002. To provide staff to various institutions in tribal and remote areas, a tribal sub-cadre had been formed, he added. |
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Protecting life in the wild Shimla The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has directed the Wildlife Institute of India to revise the guidelines for the preparation of management plan for protected areas by June 30 so that the states could finalise the plans and pose those for funding. While the plans will be formulated for a five-year period, the funds will be released on the annual basis. To ensure proper management of wildlife outside the protected areas, the ministry has made it mandatory to have a chapter on wildlife management in the forest working plans. Protected wildlife areas constitute less than 5 per cent of the country’s total geographical area. This will also ensure the much needed coordination between the wildlife and forest staff. The ministry has underlined the need for setting up special courts in the states for the effective implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act. It also proposes to amend the Act to introduce the concept of “community reserves” to recognise and ensure the people’s contribution in the conservation of wildlife. A new classification of forests in the shape of special conservation areas will also be introduced to protect isolated grooves of trees. The responsibility of protecting the special conservation areas will be of the Wildlife Department. The Centre has also decided to have the same norms for the resettlement of people living within national parks and sanctuaries outside the protected areas as are applicable in case of those ousted due to the construction of big dams. The
outsees will be payed a grant of Rs 1 lakh per family, besides compensation for the land lost. Taking a serious notice of the fact that officers trained in wildlife management were not being posted in the wildlife wing, the ministry has asked the states to provide details of officials trained at the Wildlife Institute of India and their subsequent frosting. It is also finalising guidelines regarding entries to be made by the Chief Wildlife Wardens in annual confidential reports of the officers regarding interest taken and efforts made by them for the protection of wildlife outside protected areas. |
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Dalai Lama’s security reviewed Dharamsala, June 11 A team of the Home Ministry, including IB, RAW and senior Army officers had separate meetings with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Prime Minister, Prof Samdhong
Rinpoche, here yesterday. “Though there is no threat perception as such to the Dalai Lama, but the team was here to assure the Tibetan spiritual head, that even in wake of the mounting Indo-Pak tension, Mcleodganj was absolutely safe as there were no major installations located in the area,” said Prof
Rinpoche, Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Though the security of the Dalai Lama, was discussed during the hour-long meeting but the Tibetan officials said it was a mere courtesy, which had to be postponed due to the illness of the Tibetan spiritual head. “ The officials from the Home Ministry were satisfied with the security arrangements for the Dalai Lama and there is no move to strengthen it,” said Prof
Rinpoche. He informed that after the security of the Dalai Lama was reviewed last year, all recommendations made by the team had been implemented , including providing him a bullet proof car. Prof Rinpoche said there was no move to provide an aircraft to the Dalai Lama, who travels by road till Jammu from where he takes flights to Delhi. It is for this reason that Indian security agencies had recommended that a bullet proof car be provided for his travel. The security of the Dalai Lama, has been a major concern of the Ministry of External Affairs. While the Tibetan security personnel man the inner ring around the Dalai Lama, the two outer security rings are with the Himachal Police. In the past there have been several instances when Chinese spies have been arrested by the police from Mcleodganj. One of the Chinese army trained spy, had even managed to get a job in the Tibetan library as he gathered vital information about the palace of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan establishments in and around Dharamsala. It was after the arrest of these spies that the Ministry of External Affairs had beefed up the security of the Dalai Lama, by installing X -Ray scanners and providing sniffer dogs. |
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Revenue subdivision sought at Salooni Salooni (Chamba), June 11 The creation of another subdivision will help to ease the public works and speed up the development of the backward hilly area of the state. At present, there is only revenue subdivision at Bhanjraru, the headquarters of Churah tehsil. The subdivision comprises Churah and Salooni tehsils and Bhalei subtehsil, having 53 patwar circles and 85 panchayats. It is one of the biggest hill subdivisions in the state. Being located in such an inaccessible tough terrain, the inhabitants of these areas find it difficult to go to a far away subdivisional headquarters at Bhanjraru for their routine official works. Since the people of the area are living in abject misery, they find it difficult to approach the authorities based at the subdivisional headquarters to get their works done. For a long time residents of Churah and Salooni tehsils, including Bhalei sub-tehsil, have been repeatedly airing their demand of opening a new government degree college in the area. In the absence of a government college only a few well-off families manage to send their wards to Chamba town and other parts of the state for higher education. According to official sources, the creation of a new electrical division of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) in Salooni tehsil is in the pipeline and is likely to get financial approval of the state government in the near future. The Churah subdivision comprises 85 panchayats, including 45 in Salooni development block. Of the 1.50 lakh population, 33,000 are Muslims and live in Churah valley. The residents have also demanded the opening of a technical college at Surgani. Dearth of school buildings and teaching staff is the major problem in Salooni tehsil. The residents have demanded a road from Salooni to Padhri pass linking it Jammu and Kashmir. In a memorandum submitted to the Himachal Chief Minister, Prof P. K. Dhumal during his recent tour to the area, the residents demanded compensation of land as per the prevailing land cost which is being acquired for the setting up of a proposed cement plant. They have urged that each member of the ousted families due to building of a cement plant should be given jobs in the private enterprise undertaking the execution of cement plant. Jobs for each member of the 85 panchayats in Churah valley in cement plant have also been sought. Moreover, in the view of the vast potential of forest wealth the setting up of a herbal and fruit processing plants have also been sought. Alleging political injustice the residents have demanded that the posts of tehsildar, child development project officer, assistant engineer, IPH, a veterinary doctor and other staff at the health centres which have been lying vacant for the past about two years should be filled on priority basis. |
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Sharma elected president of PPs’ body Sundernagar, June 11 Mr Satish Thakur, District Attorney (Vigilance), Shimla, was elected convener of the association, Mr K.K.Sharma, ADA Palampur, was elected as senior vice president and Mr Mohinder Singh Chauhan, ADA (Vigilance) Shimla was elected general secretary. All members were elected unanimously and they authorised the president to nominate the other office-bearers and members of the Executive Committee. Talking to mediapersons, the newly elected president said he would take up the demands of the association with the government which had been accepted but not implemented so far. He urged the government to award non practising allowance to all members of the association. |
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Himachal to encourage
bio-technology Mandi, June 11 This was stated by Mr Rajan Sushant, Minister of State for Revenue and Bio-Technology, while addressing a news conference here today. He said Himachal Pradesh was the first state which had set up a separate full-fledged department of bio-technology. An action plan had been drawn up for utilising the latest technology in the field of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, medicinal and aromatic plants. The minister said the state had embarked upon a project to make the optimum use of the best-known form of genetic engineering by initiating unemployed youth to take up bio-technology as self-employment ventures with full support of the government, HP Agriculture University and banks. Mr Sushant said 20 blocks had been identified in the state where the bio-technology would be launched with full-technology support of the government. In Mandi district two of the 10 blocks — Chachiot and Chauntra — had been selected for the new venture. He said bio-technology committees would be constituted all over the state at the district and block-level. Deputy Commissioners would be the chairpersons of the district-level committees. The Department of Ayurveda, Forest, Agriculture, Horticulture, Irrigation and Public Health, Science and Technology, District Rural Development Agency, Khadi Board and lead banks would be actively associated with the programme. He said vermin farm units would be set up in each block as it had been decided to replace the chemical fertilisers by organic substitutes and no or minimal use of insecticides etc. The units would be set up with the sole objective of producing high-value products which had great global demand. The minister said youths who own land and have aptitude for bio-technology would be selected and imparted short-training to take up the self employment ventures. They would be provided plants in the extract form by the concerned departments at subsidised rates. He said the bio-technology would be extended to each block in a phased manner. |
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Digvijay opens computerised booking centre Manali, June 11 While
addressing a gathering on the occasion, Mr Digvijay Singh said this was the seventh centre attached to the passenger reservation system in the state. The minister called for the participation of the states in completion of various railway projects. He said with the opening of the centre the residents of the area as well as domestic and foreign tourists visiting Manali would have the facility of getting reserved tickets for all stations in the railway network. Mr Digvijay Singh also assured the gathering that before the Dushera festival, a computerised reservation centre would be set up at Kulu. |
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Tourism picks up in Himachal Mandi, June 11 The unprecedented slump in the industry during April and May was being attributed to trouble in Gujarat. The people of Gujarat lead in travelling in the country and abroad. This year, Gujarati tourists were conspicuous by their absence and the hotel industry had suffered a setback. Over a 90 per cent of the European tourists who used to visit this historic town on their way to Lahaul, Spiti and Leh in July, August and September have cancelled their bookings in view of the apprehension of war. This has adversely hit the tourism in the state, says Munish Sood, president of the Mandi Hotels Association. The current rush of tourists from Delhi, Punjab and Haryana and Mandi and Manali has come like a ray of hope for the hoteliers. |
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Sat Mahajan ridicules
Shanta’s claim Dharamsala, June 11 He said when he was the member of the Lok Sabha, he had raised the issue on the floor of House and assurance had been given by the then Minister for Tribal Affairs that the matter was under active consideration of the government. A deputation led by Gaddi leader Mr Manoj Kumar had also met the then Prime Minister, Mr I.K. Gujral, who had assured sympathetic consideration. Mr Sat Mahajan said though Mr Shanta Kumar was twice Chief Minister of the state, he never took up the issue with the Centre. Terming him as anti-ST and OBC, Mr Sat Mahajan recalled that during Mandal Commission agitation in 1991, Chief Minister Shanta Kumar had called out the Army to ensure that OBCs did not take out a procession in
Palampur. |
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Residents
decry anomaly in meter reading Parwanoo, June 11 One of the residents from Sector 4 said he was surprised to see the bill and on tallying the actual reading with the one written on the bill he found that the actual reading was much less than the reading mentioned on the bill. Residents added that while departing from the usual practice of issuing bills after two months, the office this time had issued bill just after a month. Interestingly, meter readers had not visited the houses but meter readings appeared on the bills, according to a resident. Residents alleged that the issuance of bills this month was an arbitrary action, which had put the consumers in a higher slab. Officials
of the HPSEB confirmed that meter readers had not visited the houses of
residents and had issued average bills from the office on the instructions from
the Head Office to issue bills on monthly basis. It was also stated that the
HPSEB would issue average bills and actual bills on alternate basis. |
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Four guards booked in jailbreak case Una, June 11 Three of them — Suchha Singh, Gandhi Ram and Des Raj — were on duty in the sub-jail of Una and the fourth — Vidhi Chand — was posted at the main gate when three undertrials escaped from the sub-jail on June 9. They have been booked by the Una police under Sections 223 and 224 of the Indian Penal Code. Mr Tek Chand, SDM-cum-Superintendent of the sub-jail, said today that undertrials Balbinder Singh, alias Punjabi, facing trial for rape and murder and Sukhwinder and Raj Kumar, facing trial for theft, escaped from the jail. He said the involvement of prison staff in the episode could not be ruled out. |
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Chief Postmaster General promoted Shimla, June 11 He has also been the Principal of the P&T Training Centre, Saharanpur, and was the first Chief General Manager (Business Development) at the headquarters. |
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Kenyan
national arrested Shimla,
June 11 He has been arrested under the NDPS Act. According to the SP of Kulu, Mr N. Venu
Gopal, during the year 2002 till date in 68 cases registered under NDPS Act, 165,41 kg hashish 160 gm brown sugar and 7 gm drug powder have been seized and 75 persons, including 19 foreign nationals and 15 Nepalese, have been arrested. |
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One dies of heat
stroke in Kangra Shimla, June 11 A 60-year-old man died of heat stroke in Kangra town, a report from Dharamsala, quoting the police, said. The body of the unidentified man was later cremated by local residents.
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