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Tuesday,
June 10, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Govt not releasing funds for HP Forest
Department Reshuffle of civil
servants Stress on India’s role in world
trade Chamera II near completion |
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Parnal village to the rescue of
drought-hit Water crisis in Palampur, Shillai Shimla MC blamed for
water crisis Dam oustees to be rehabilitated VC’s reply untenable:
Vigilance Dept
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Govt not releasing funds for HP Forest
Department Shimla, June 9 Thick columns of smoke rising from the numerous raging fires in the middle and lower hill ranges have completely obscured the skyline. A pall of smoke and dust has enveloped the region. There has been a five-fold increase in the incidence of fires over the past two weeks. Until May 21 only 67 fires, involving 788 hectare of the forest area, were reported. However, the number rose to 350 on June 6 and the forest area affected 5,578 hectare. The total has been estimated at Rs 25 lakh. While the precious forest wealth has been going up in flames every summer, the fund-starved government has not been releasing even the funds sanctioned by the Centre to strengthen the fire fighting machinery of the Forest Department for the past three years. Out of the Rs 1.05 crore sanctioned by the Centre for the purchase of vehicles and other equipment required for fighting forest fires in 2000 the department was allowed to spend only Rs 50 lakh. It has not been permitted to acquire the pick-up vehicles required for carrying fire fighters to the scene and some other equipment. The department has not been able to take even the minimum required preventive measures like controlled burning of forests and maintenance of fire lines. This year it carried out controlled burning over a small forest area of 2,500 hectare and cleared 862 km of fire lines. As per norms controlled burning has to be carried out at least over one-third of the total forest area susceptible to forest fires. The total area under pine forests, where controlled burning is required, is 1,46,000 hectare and as such preventive measures are to be carried out over 50,000 hectare. In all over 8,267 sq km, 19 per cent of the total forest area of the state, is prone to fire. The high fire-risk pine forests are considered to be biotic climax forests and controlled fires are beneficial for their growth, eventhough uncontrolled blazes cause severe damage to soil, water, wildlife and the overall environment. Controlled burning enables to destroy the inflammable material which gets accumulated on the forest floor. An estimated 2 tonnes of pine needle are shed over one hectare of pine forest annually. As the mercury rises in summer the highly inflammable needles virtually transform the pine forests into tinder boxes. The department requires about Rs 5 crore for carrying out various control measures, Rs 3 crore from the Centre and Rs 2 crore from the state government to keep the fire risk at the minimum level of 0.2. However, it is receiving only around Rs 60 lakh annually for the purpose. In the absence of adequate financial support for preventive measures the department has been looking towards the rain god for dousing the fires. The raging fires are extinguished only when the monsoon breaks over the
region. This year it could take longer because of the delayed monsoon. |
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Reshuffle of civil
servants Shimla, June 9 Mr Bhim Sen, Secretary, Excise and Taxation, has been posted as Divisional Commissioner, Kangra, at Dharamsala, and Mr Deepak Sanan, Managing Director, State Financial Corporation, Shimla, goes as Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, vice Mr Vineet Chaudhary, who takes over as Managing Director, HP Financial Corporation. He will also hold additional charge of the post of Managing Director, State Industrial Development Corporation, Shimla. Mrs Upma Chaudhary, Commissioner, Revenue, Shimla, has been posted as Commissioner-cum-Director, Transport, Tourism and Civil Aviation, while Dr Desh Deepak has been posted as Managing Director, State Minorities Finance and Development Corporation, Shimla, relieving Mr Kashmir Chand of the additional charge. Mr K.S. Narang, Member, Finance and Accounts, in the state electricity board, takes over as Divisional Commissioner, Mandi. Mr Balram Sharma, Managing Director, State Small-Scale Industries and Export Corporation, has been posted as Managing Director, State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, Solan, vice Mr Puran Chand Kashyap, who has been posted as Managing Director, State Small-Scale Industries and Export Corporation, Shimla. Mr M.L. Sharma, Additional Commissioner, Appeals-cum-Ex-Officio Director of Consolidation of Holdings, Shimla, will henceforth function as Director of Land Records. Mr C.R.B. Lalit, Director, Transport, Tourism and Civil Aviation, has been posted as Settlement Officer, Shimla, while Mr J.S. Rana, Special Secretary, Food and Supplies and Transport, takes over as Additional Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Dharamsala. The government has also redesignated the post of Commissioner, Revenue, as Divisional Commissioner, Shimla. Mr V.C. Pharka, who now holds additional charge of this post, will continue to hold additional charge of the post of Divisional Commissioner, Shimla. Mr S.S. Parmar, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, will hold additional charge of the Excise and Taxation Department and Mr Avay
Shukla, Principal Secretary, Food and Supplies and Transport, will hold additional charge of the Cooperatives Department relieving Mr S.S. Negi of this charge. Mr J.P. Negi, Principal Secretary, Forests, has been given additional charge of Science and Technology. Mr Subhash C. Negi, Principal Secretary, PWD, will hold charge of Housing. |
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Stress on India’s role in world
trade Shimla, June 9 Addressing a press conference here, he said the WTO efforts at further liberalisation after Doha had seemingly come to a halt and India should now take lead to get the demands of the developing countries conceded. There were encouraging signs as Mr Vajpayee struck a very positive and healthy note at Evian for all those striving for major reforms in the international trade structure. The European Union’s reluctance to withdraw agriculture subsidies was a major stumbling block as was the insistence of the USA and other developed countries to protect pharmaceutical industries. They were not allowing access to cheaper drugs for the countless numbers affected by infectious diseases. He said the industrialised countries were not willing to lower trade barriers and provide access to developing countries to their market. Prof Nanda maintained that without the industrialised countries providing appropriate technology at concessional rates, environmental degradation would continue. |
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Chamera II near completion Chamba, June 9 The testing on the second unit will be conducted in July and the testing on the third unit in August, thereby making the project ready for commissioning successfully. Mr Yogendra Prasad, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), said the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was expected to dedicate this project to the nation most probably in August. The Stage-II is a benchmark in the history of power generation in the country which has constituted a milestone by being one year ahead of its schedule of completion, claimed Mr Prasad. Mr Prasad was all praise for the landmark achievement made by the specialised workforce of engineers engaged in the construction of this project, which was going to complete within four years instead of five years much ahead of its schedule. He recalled that the Union Minister of State for Power, Ms Jayawanti Mehta, had inaugurated the project on November 15, 1999, and today the achievement after four years proved a turning point. The CMD said the colossal 300-MW project with three generating units of 100 MW each was being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,700 crore on the Ravi in Chamba district. He said various works on the project were being executed on a contract basis through a joint venture of Indo-Canadian Hydro Consortium inclusive of Jai Parkash Indstries Limited, SNC Lavalin Inc., SNC, Lavalin Acres Transnational, Canada, and GE, Canada. The project will generate 1500 million units of power in 90 per cent dependably year, which will be fed into the northern grid for further distribution to the beneficiary states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir. Besides this, the Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) Plan with an outlay of Rs 11 crore sanctioned by the NHPC had been implemented. Mr Prasad said around 9,890 hectare area had been identified for treatment under the plan based on the delineation of the critically degraded area through satellite remote sensing data and the ground factual position. The plan envisaged treatment through biological as well as engineering methods, to be implemented within five years. The execution work of the plan had been entrusted to the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department. |
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Parnal village to the rescue of
drought-hit Hamirpur, June 9 While there is an acute shortage of water in almost all places in Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts and even in areas close to Parnal village, there is ample natural water available at the Mahre-Kathla site of the village. A large number of small and big tankers and tractors are being loaded with water round the clock and then dispatched to the drought-hit areas of the two districts. The Department of Irrigation-cum-Public Health of Bilaspur district is managing this work with the help of its small team. Water is pumped with the help of a 20 hp motor and then is filled into the tankers with the help of a pipe. Normally, it takes 20 minutes to fill a tanker with water having capacity of 10,000 litres. The water is reported to be cool and free from all problems. The water comes from a small pond and it passes through a small stream on its way to the main water source in Parnal village. Local people are, however, unhappy with the way, water is being tapped by the Department of Irrigation-cum-Public health and the public works department. They want proper tapping of the ground water as its discharge has become poor. The Irrigation-cum-Public department authorities, however, claimed that ample water was available at the Parnal source and there was no need to worry. They said this source was unparalleled in the state from where water in such a large quantity was available to the people. Meanwhile, people in Hamirpur and Sarkaghat subdivision of Mandi and Changar areas of Kangra district are also depending on “Khatri” water for their daily needs. “Khatris” are Hand-hewn caves. These can be found on both sides of roads in the Bamsan area of Hamirpur district. Water of these sources is said to be neat and clean and fit for human consumption, according to local people. Many medical officials working in the area, however, dispute theirs this claim. |
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Water crisis in Palampur, Shillai Palampur, June 9 The worst-affected areas are located on the Gurdwara road, Cinema road, bus stand complex and near police station and State Bank of India. However, in VIP areas the Municipal Council is providing regular supply. Long queues of men and women can be seen near the Cinema road. A senior official of the council admitted that the lower areas had been facing crisis. He said the pipelines laid recently had failed to maintain pressure. He said efforts were being made to restore the supply in the lower areas. Meanwhile, residents have urged the state government to hand over the water supply scheme to the Irrigation and Public Health Department. PAONTA SAHIB:
The Shillai constituency is facing a shortage of water. Residents are blaming the Irrigation and Public Health Department for not supplying enough water. Residents said in 1987 the government had introduced the Uplift Irrigation scheme at Neda khad and lakhs of rupees had been spent but the scheme failed to start. Even the former Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, had announced that the scheme would be completed by March 31, 2003. Mr Jagat Singh Tomer, president, Gram Panchayat, admitted that the villagers were facing many problems. Student of Bali Koti school have repaired the pipes to overcome the problem. Officials of the Irrigation and Public Health Department said they had written a letter to the Tehsildar to provide water tankers. Navada, Jamniwala, Ajouli and Khera villages are also facing water crisis. |
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Shimla MC blamed for
water crisis Shimla, June 9 The state unit of the CPM also condemned the Municipal Corporation for failing to provide adequate water to the town. It added that the water supply in Chhota Shimla had been disrupted for the past one week. Mr Sanjay Chauhan, member, district secretariat of the CPM, said the Satluj was flowing above the danger level. |
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Dam oustees to be rehabilitated Bilaspur, June 9 Addressing a gathering on the occasion, Mr Chatterji announced that Kol Dam, oustees of Mandi district would be rehabilitated at Kangoo oustees’ colony where 31 plots were ready for allotment. He said the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment had approved a project to construct a colony for dam oustees of Bilaspur district at Jamthal village. |
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VC’s reply untenable:
Vigilance Dept Shimla, June 9 The department had put 29 questions to him and sought his written reply. However, Dr Sharma refused to answer the queries on the plea that the university was bound to maintain secrecy in matters like the printing of question papers. The department has found his reply untenable as it had kept the secrecy aspect in mind while framing the questions and he was only required to answer in ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The identity of the printing press or its proprietor was not asked. It has taken a serious view of the defiant attitude of Dr Sharma as such questions, unless there is something incriminating to conceal, should have been answered in the normal course. Nevertheless, keeping in view the status of the Vice-Chancellor, the department has decided to write another letter asking him to reply to the questions at the earliest. The fact that answer to the queries will not in anyway undermine the secrecy will be stressed in the letter. A senior officer said in case Dr Sharma still refuses to answer the queries the department would draw appropriate conclusion and proceed further in the matter. Besides the question paper scam, the department is probing other charges like hiring a house owned by the son of Dr Suraj Bhan, the then Governor, at Panchkula without requirement, irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff and the purchase of computers. |
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VC withdraws bail plea Shimla, June 9 Mr S.D. Sharma had said in his petition that he apprehended of arrest in an alleged case registered by the Vigilance Department. It was alleged that a false case had been registered against him. It may be mentioned here that some news reports revealed the 26 questions asked from the Vice-Chancellor pertained to the budget hike in printing of question papers for 2001-02 and 2002-03, criteria for choosing the particular printing press, whether its owner was any relative of the VC and mode of payments adopted, increase in printing errors and misusing of NRI fund. The Vice-Chancellor has reportedly refused to answer the Vigilance Department’s queries regarding the misappropriation of funds. |
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