 |
Wednesday,
June 26, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
HP warned
against forest land allotment Levy on
diversion of forest land Policy to
regularise encroachments relaxed Proposal
for new districts evokes mixed response |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ATMA
project a success story 29.59 cr
given under scholarship schemes ‘Give
teeth’ to Domestic Violence Bill Physics
refresher course at HPU begins 9
leprosy, 926 TB cases detected Disburse salaries by
June 30: school union Hindu
Mahasabha chief flays VHP Hall
cries for repair HC
quashes Mandi DC’s order Man
gets 10-yr RI for raping minor Residents
await BSNL mobile phones Declare assets, BJP dares HP Cong
MLAs CPM to
organise functions in HP Catchment plan
fails to take off Helpline
for women instituted 
|
|
HP warned against forest land allotment Chandigarh, June 25 Mr
D. K. Sharma, Conservator of Forests, (Central), Ministry of Environment and Forests, in a letter to the Secretary, Environment and Forests of Himachal Pradesh, has reportedly said that complaints of allotment of “nautod land” in Chamba and Kinnaur districts have been received by the Union Ministry. These allotments were not only in violation of the Forest Conservation Act but also overlooked the directives of the Supreme Court. The Himachal Government, however, denied any fresh allotments, maintaining that certain allotments, running into a few hundred cases, were made long ago. People in the tribal belt of Kinnaur have been cultivating the “nautod land” allotted to them for two decades or even for longer periods. “We are recommending their case to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for the regularisation of the allotments,” says Mr Abhay Shukla, Secretary, Environment and Forests, Himachal Pradesh. He says that certain cases of allotment of “nautod land” by the Deputy Commissioner of Chamba were brought to the notice of the state government by the Conservator of Forests (Central) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. “We subsequently issued directions to all Deputy Commissioners to strictly enforce the directive of the Supreme Court,” Mr Shukla adds. Under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, no allotment of “nautod land” in a forest area can be made for the purposes of agriculture. Though the Act was passed in 1980, many states continued to violate its provisions with impunity until 1996 when the apex court came down heavily on such states. It directed that no “such allotment of nautod land be allowed” and wanted the state governments to ensure that the provisions of the Act were strictly implemented. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests maintains that no allotment of “nautod land” made after 1980 can be regularised by the state government. As such, the plea of Himachal Pradesh for the regularisation of even a few hundred allotments is not tenable. The Ministry has also reportedly taken a serious view of the public utterances of the Himachal Revenue Minister with regard to the regularisation of not only “nautod land allotments” but also encroachments in the forest area. No encroachment made in the forest area after 1980 can be allowed to be regularised, claim sources in the Ministry. The gradual regularisation of encroachments on non-forest public land are indicative of the government’s intentions with the Assembly elections due early next year. Mr Shukla maintains that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has been probably misinformed about the “nautod allotments” . Initially, such allotments were allowed in tribal belts. But now after the December, 1996, verdict of the apex court, all such allotments have been banned. Ministry officials, however, maintain that such allotments are continuing even today under political pressure. They also maintain that the number of such allotments is not in hundreds but runs into a couple of thousands. The Himachal Government had even set up an experts’ committee to look into the matter. As such, it cannot claim that it is unaware of the provisions of the Act or the apex court directives. Informed sources reveal that the issue has been figuring prominently not only at the meetings of the Council of Ministers but also at those of state government officials with the Union Government. They maintain that the issue was also raised by the Chief Minister with the Prime Minister during the latter’s visit to the state last month. |
|
Levy on diversion of forest land Shimla, June 25 As per the official notification issued in this regard here today, all projects, including hydel projects, for which one or more hectare of forest land had been diverted would be levied a one-time charge at the rate of Rs 8 lakh per hectare for the areas having a forest cover above 10 per cent and Rs 5 lakh per hectare for the remaining forest land before handing over the possession of the land to the user agency. The projects of the state and the Central government departments have been exempted from the levy. The levy will come into force with immediate effect and will be applicable to projects where approval for diversion of land under the Forest Conservation Act has been accorded but possession of land is yet to be handed over to the user agency. The levy will be in addition to the cost of compensatory afforestation and the cost of the catchment area treatment plan. The rate of compensation will be revised every three years and its payment will not confer any additional rights on the user agency over the diverted land. |
|
Policy to regularise
encroachments relaxed Shimla, June 25 By allowing the regularisation of encroached land upto 200 square metre instead of 50 square metre as announced earlier in the urban areas and reducing the compounding fee by more than 50 per cent, the government has come out with a bonanza for the encroachers. Surprisingly, the condition regarding the contiguity of encroached land with the land owned by the encroachers has also been waived. As per the amended policy, the maximum limit for regularisation in the four categories has been increased from 10 to 50 squire metre 20 to 100 square
metre, 30 to 150 square metre and 50 to 200 square metre. While the compounding fee for the 50 square metre category will be charged at the prevailing market rate, for the other three categories the fee has considerably reduced. A new special category of war heroes, war widows and their dependants has been created, for which the regularisation of encroached land will be effected at 25 per cent of the applicable compounding fee. Dr Rajan Sushant, Revenue Minister, maintained that the policy had been amended on the basis of the suggestions and objections received from various sections of society. The cut-off date for filing application for the regularisation of
encroachments would be August 15. The authority for the regularisation of land, which was earlier vested in the Deputy Commissioner and the Settlement Officer, had now been delegated to Sub-Divisional Officer and Assistant Settlement Officer. The registration of cases would be done at the office of the Tehsildar and Naib Tehsildar. For quick disposal of cases open panchayats would be organised all over the state. The encroachers can now pay the compounding fee in three instalments. Besides, revisional power has been granted to the Financial Commissioner and the Commissioner. He, however, made it clear that encroachments on forest land and the land leased out to other departments would not be regularised. |
|
Proposal
for new districts evokes mixed response Dharamsala, June 25 The move to carve new districts was planned during the Congress regime when the then Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, toyed with the idea of creating districts of Palampur and Rampur in 1986. The move was shelved as people belonging to Nurpur and Dehra sub-divisions of Kangra also demanded the creation of new districts and launched an agitation in support of their demand. Professor Dhumal said it was necessary to create new districts for administrative convenience . He had hinted that Rampur and Palampur would be made districts and Mandi would be bifurcated. But residents of Dehra and Nurpur are up in arms, demanding district-level status for their sub-divisions. The Congress has rejected any such move and the HVC is also not in favour of new districts. HVC supremo Sukh Ram told mediapersons here yesterday that Himachal Pradesh was already in debt trap and could not afford the luxury of having new districts. Political pundits feel that the move has political overtones. As elections are approaching, the Chief Minister may be trying to woo the voters with this gimmick. It is also said the move might be an attempt to cut certain senior BJP leaders of Kangra to size. To set up two new districts will require additional expenditure on buildings, vehicles and staff. According to an estimate this will cost more than Rs 200 crore. |
|
ATMA project a success story Dharamsala, June 25 “The credit goes to the new innovative scheme launched by the state Agriculture Department known as Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA), which has helped him earn more than Rs 30,000 with a small investment of Rs 5000 on inputs, he added. Being implemented in all 14 development blocks of Kangra, Rs 6 crore World Bank-funded project ATMA was launched last year. In the district 322 groups of farmers, particularly women, have been formed and these groups are themselves executing small local projects which are helping the members in improving their economic status. Agriculture, vegetable production, horticulture, animal husbandry, floriculture and such schemes are undertaken in the villages with technical support from ATMA. At Kachhiari village of Kangra block, two brothers Ishwar Dass Saini and Kamal Saini have been helped in growing vegetables by the project and their enthusiasm is motivating other villagers. According to them, “earlier, most of our crop was destroyed by parasites and other insecticides . This used to eat into our earnings and despite hard work, we were living just above the poverty line. ATMA helped the villagers grow their own plants in a poly house constructed in the village by using the best seeds. This year our income has multiplied many times due to the technical support from ATMA. “1974 graduate Sujinder Singh Bains is a proud owner of 18 Jersey breed cows today. The project helped him in getting good cows and support for their care and timely medical facility for
artificial insemination. Mr Bains says that his dairy was set up with just two cows, but today his daily sale of milk exceeds Rs 2000. Fruit growers, flower growers, agriculturists and other farmer groups in different villages of Kangra are effusive in their praise for the project. Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Prabodh Saxena, recently visited villages in three blocks to have a first-hand knowledge about its success. Farmer groups, who earlier kept themselves aloof from such visits, came forward with praise for the working of ATMA and the technical support received by them through its implementation. According to Mr Saxena, “The project has been able to impart necessary technical know-how to fruit growers and farmers and has also provided help in organising farmers in small groups so that the benefits are more”. The project is not only helping the farmers in increasing their production but is also finding new markets for them so that they get the best value for their produce. |
|
29.59 cr given under scholarship schemes Mandi, June 25 Addressing a district social welfare committee meeting the minister said meritorious general category students of plus 1 and 2 were being given annual scholarship of Rs 10,000 each. Under the Thakur Sen Negi Meritorious Scholarship Scheme, 200 tribal students were being provided annual scholarship of Rs 11,000 each he said. The minister said 25,885 students of the district were benefiting under various scholarship schemes. Besides this, 35,550 persons were being given monthly pension under various schemes in the district, he stated. He said women welfare schemes were being launched on a priority basis. A sum of Rs 9 lakh had been allocated to execute these schemes in the district in the current financial year, he added. |
|
‘Give
teeth’ to Domestic Violence Bill Shimla, June 25 The issue was discussed at a two-day meeting of the national office-bearers of the morcha which concluded here today. It was felt that the Bill, in its present shape, was vague and liable to be misused. There was a need to define in clear terms what constituted domestic violence to prevent the abuse of the proposed law. Besides, prosecution should be carried out in a time-bound manner for the law to be effective, they observed. The meeting held under the chairpersonship of Ms Surama Padhy, president of the morcha, and attended by Ms Kanta Nalwade, secretary of the BJP, also called for bringing the workplaces within the purview of the proposed law to ensure safety of working women. The morcha will take up the issue with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and press him to make essential changes in the Bill. It was also decided to constitute a five-member committee for each state to study the problems faced by women and suggest the required measures. Briefing newspersons, Ms Nalwade and Ms Padhy said a strategy for the 10 states which were scheduled to go to polls over the next year was also discussed and it was decided to deploy two workers for each polling booth to apprise the people about the schemes and programmes implemented by the Centre and the state governments for the benefit of women. Senior leaders of the morcha would tour these states. The morcha reiterated the demand for reserving 33 per cent seats in state legislatures and Parliament for women. It pledged to press the leadership to grant maximum tickets to women candidates. |
|
Physics
refresher course at HPU begins Shimla, June 25 Inaugurating a refresher course in physics at the Academic Staff College in Himachal Pradesh University, he suggested that an interdisciplinary approach should be adopted in research on every subject as it provided broader understanding to the scientists. Prof Yoginder Verma, Director of the college, said students should always be encouraged for active participation and efforts made to bring out their hidden talent. He said the real learning comes by way of interaction. Prof
S. P. Sud, coordinator of the programme, said that primary goal of a student was the pursuit of knowledge and it should also be the goal of a teacher. For being a good teacher there are two essentials. One, he should have the knowledge of the latest developments in his subject and secondly the communication skills to transfer that knowledge to the students. Frontiers of knowledge are expanding every day and if we teachers wish to impart the latest knowledge to our students, we must first acquire that knowledge ourselves. It is with these twin intentions that the refresher courses in various subjects are conceived and organised. The motivation behind the present refresher course is two-fold. One to bring the latest development in some of the selected areas of physics to the knowledge of our participants. Second, we as teachers, find, several concepts difficult to relate to the students. So it will be our effort to hone our communication skills. He added that eminent physicists from neighbouring states would be called for interaction, Prof S.C. Katyal, Chairman of the department, presented a vote of thanks. As many as 55 teachers from colleges/universities belonging to Assam, Gujarat,
U. P., Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are participating. |
|
9
leprosy, 926 TB cases detected Hamirpur, June 25 Talking to reporters in the presence of the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Anuradha Thakur, she said under the leprosy-control programme, nine cases were detected last year and provided the required treatment. Under the TB control programme, 926 new cases were detected and put on drugs under the DOTS system of treatment. The CMO said, the number of HIV positive cases in the district might be over 3,000 although the confirmation of only 92 had so for been received from the Shimla-based authorities. Of these cases, the total number of full-blown AIDS cases in the district was 31. Dr Sharma said the Rogi Kalyan Society had collected Rs 8.20 lakh of which Rs 4.70 lakh were spent on various items, including a semi-auto analyser for the blood. She said the new building of the zonal hospital here would become functional shortly. |
|
Disburse
salaries by June 30: school union Kangra, June 25 The spokesman of the union, Mr Sanjay Kapoor, in a statement issued here today said the union in a meeting organised at Una had demanded that the teachers who were working for the past three years should be also paid salaries along with other employees before June 30. Mr Kapoor said the union had further urged the state government to pay 95 per cent of the employees provident fund
(EPF) as such facility was being given to the employees of the government aided colleges in Himachal Pradesh. Mr Kapoor said the union had also urged the Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, to fill all sanctioned posts in aided schools before the beginning of the new session. |
|
Hindu Mahasabha
chief flays VHP Kangra, June 25 Mr Gautam told this correspondent here today that this demand was raised by Pannun Kashmir more than a decade ago but no political party had supported this demand till date. He alleged that today the issue was being raised only to help the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir September poll by arousing the sentiments of the people. Mr Gautam asked the VHP leadership why they remained silent for more than a decade on the demand of Pannun Kashmir and urged the VHP to direct the BJP leadership to help solve the problems being faced by the Kashmiri Pandits. |
|
Hall cries for repair Kangra Mr D.R. Sharma, Principal of Government Polytechnic College, here in a letter to the Chief Engineer, PWD, has pointed out that despite repeated requests by the Department of Technical Education no action has been taken to rectify the leakage of the hall. The principal has asked the Chief Engineer as to why is there profuse leakage from the roof and why has there been so much of damage to the wood work in this newly constructed hall? The hall which had proved as a boon for the people was in a bad shape, the principal said. The building was inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Prof
P. K. Dhumal, on September 16, 2000, and leakage was reported officially to the PWD authorities on April 25, 2001. A reminder was issued by the Director, Technical Education, on August 21 last year without any response from the PWD authorities. Mr Sharma alleged that the wooden stage was damaged substantially by the termite. The letter further said, “This shows the poor quality control on the part of the PWD and subsequent neglect of the department. He said there was need for heavy repairs of the hall. The principal also lamented that the department concerned had shown total indifference towards the problem. When contacted the Chief Engineer, PWD, said as he had joined at Dharamsala just 10 days ago, he was not aware of any communication as yet. But he was asked as to why the Technical Education Department had taken over the building when it was leaking even before the inauguration. He, however, said that after verifying the details his department would try to rectify faults. The college authorities alleged that the building housing more than half a dozen workshops constructed during the Partap Singh Kairon’s rule when Kangra was a part of Punjab, was profusely leaking despite the replacement of tin sheets costing Rs 18 lakh by the PWD authorities just a year or so ago. They said that the machines costing crores were just rusting and getting damaged due to rain water. The principal said that despite an investment of Rs 18 lakh there was no redressal of the problem because the PWD authorities were treating it casually. He said the portion of the building having six-decade old sheets as roof was not leaking at a single place. |
|
HC quashes Mandi DC’s order Shimla, June 25 The petitioner stated that the panchayat had come into existence after the bifurcation of the Thachi Gram Panchayat. He said the elected members of the Mohar Gram Panchayat had established its head office at Kandhidhar village, but the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, had shifted it to Ghatadhar village. The petitioner, challenging the order, alleged that the Deputy Commissioner had no power to shift or fix the headquarters of gram panchayats. While quashing the order of the Deputy Commissioner, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice
W. A. Shishak and Mr Justice Arun Kumar Goel held that the state government had failed to show that the head office of the Mohar Gram Panchayat was fixed by it under the Panchayati Raj Act. Therefore, the order of the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, was quashed by the Bench. |
|
Man gets 10-yr RI
for raping minor Hamirpur, June 25 According to the public prosecutor, Mr
V. K. Behal, the convict had raped the eight-year-old girl inside a house on July 13, 2001, after promising to give her some mangos. The incident was later on reported to the Bhoranj police and accordingly a case had been registered against Manohar Lal. |
|
Residents
await BSNL mobile
phones Chamba, June 25 Earlier the target was fixed in June and later extended to December 2000. But till date the authorities do not seem to be bothered about this pressing demand of the residents of the area. The residents have urged the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution System
(PDS), Mr Shanta Kumar, to take the authorities concerned to task and direct them to provide the service immediately. |
|
Declare
assets, BJP dares HP Cong MLAs New Delhi, June 25 State BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said here the Dhumal government had fulfilled all pre-election promises. He said all BJP MLAs had submitted details of their property to Chief Minister, who had forwarded it to the Assembly Speaker. “The Congress MLAs, who have been making a hue and cry about probity in public life, have not declared their assests,” he said.
|
|
CPM to organise functions in HP Shimla, June 25 Mr Mohar Singh, Secretary of the party, said the main function would be organised here on June 28. The function would be presided over by Mr Subhash Chakravarty, Transport Minister of the West Bengal Government. He said the party had made history by retaining power in West Bengal for 25 years. The policies of the government had not only strengthened the party but also enabled the state to achieve new milestones in the various spheres of development. It was leading in agriculture production and had also set an example in maintaining communal harmony. Similar functions would also be organised at district headquarters, he added. |
|
Catchment plan fails to take off Chamba, June 25 According to information, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation
(NHPC) has already approved a CAT plan for Rs 10.72 crore. These funds would be utilised for forestation, conservation and treatment of hillsides near the Chamera project. For the past three years, over Rs 3 crore has been deposited with the government by the
NHPC. The government has, however, failed to provide funds even for the maintenance of the forestation and treatment works executed under the CAT plan. |
|
Helpline
for women instituted Shimla, June 25 Launching the
helpline, Mrs Kanta Nalwade, national secretary of the BJP and a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, said such a facility would not only help in providing speedy justice to the victims of atrocities, but also ensure prompt solution. Mrs Malvika Pathania, Chairperson of the commission, said the commission had decided 334 cases and another 424 were being processed. The commission had also recommended to the government to set up two lok adalats for the disposal of
the cases. |
|
BJP leader’s
house burgled Solan, June 25 According to the SP, Mr
S. Z. H. Zaidi, the burglary came to light when an uncle of Dr Srikant went to the latter’s house at around 2 p.m. A case has been registered. |
|
Computer
workshop
for librarians Solan, June 25 Dr Negi said more and more nations were expanding the horizons of scientific research and development, necessitating the adoption of information technology at virtually every centre associated with scientific research. |
 |
| 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 | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
