Shimla, September 27
Even though environmentalists and heritage-lovers are opposed to lifting of the ban on construction in the green areas of the town, pressure is being mounted on the government to give some relaxation.

Though formally only 37 representations have been made to the Department of Town and Country Planning, but it is learnt that almost 700 persons owning plots in the green areas are affected by the ban. As per a revenue exercise undertaken in March, the total green area in Shimla was 414 hectares, out of which 150 hectares is open area. The government owns 124 hectares and the remaining 26 hectares is with individuals

At a recent meeting held by department to deliberate upon the objections the finalisation of the development plan, the municipal corporation too favoured some relaxation. The MC has floated the idea that only single or two storied light buildings should be allowed.

“Rapid and haphazard urbanisation has already taken its toll on the depleting green cover of the town and even a slight relaxation will play havoc,” department officials said.

The environmentalists point out that along with the buildings, a lot of space within the green area would have to be spared for parking, sewerage, water and electricity connections. “When all this will be added up along with the buildings, a lot of the old deodars would have to be axed or will die a natural death,” they say.

A study undertaken by the Himalayan Forest Research Institute had indicated that hundreds of deodars in and around the town were being “suffocated” to death. “Due to the presence of concrete and gravel instead of soil cover, regeneration of the deodars is extremely poor and is restricting the growth of the roots. Retaining walls and septic tanks are worsening the situation,” admit officials of the Forest Department.

“Barring a handful people who are facing accommodation problem, a majority owning plots in the green areas already have two to three buildings and are looking at it from the commercial point of view,” explains an official.

Hamirpur, September 27
Former HP Chief Minister and senior BJP leader, Prem Kumar Dhumal today lambasted the Chief Minister for the fiscal crisis, that the state was facing these days. It was due to wrong policies of the Congress party and its inept handling of the situation that led to such a pass, he alleged.

In a statement here today, he alleged that had the Chief Minister not presented wrong budgetary figures to the Ninth Finance Commission during his previous term, the present fiscal crisis would have not been developed.

Mr Dhumal said that the state was facing such a crisis due to top heavy ministry and the chairpersons of the boards and the corporation and further wasteful expenses on their part.

The BJP leader alleged that while all developmental works had come to a halt, those having links with the Congress were thriving and looting the public money.

He said that law and order situation in the state had worsened since the arrival of the Congress in state. Cases of rape, thefts, arsoning and corruption were on the increase.

Talking about the figures given by the Chief Minister regarding per capita income in the state, Mr Dhumal claimed that it had increased only during the BJP regime.

Mr Dhumal blasted the Chief Minister for dubbing the BJP nominee from Guler, Dr Harbans Singh Rana, an aged person.

Shimla, September 27
The special package of incentives granted by the Centre to accelerate the pace of industrialisation in the state has started yielding the desired results. Big industrial houses and companies are making a beeline to the state to set up their units.

As many as 369 medium and large-scale new projects and 33 proposals of substantial expansion of existing units, besides 2781 small-scale projects involving an investment of over Rs 6,700 crore have been approved over past one year. These units will generate employment for more than 1.15 lakh persons.

Incentives apart, reliable power supply at reasonable rates and industrial peace are an added advantage for the entrepreneurs.

Today, the state has 211 medium and large-scale units and about 30,850 small-scale units with an investment of about Rs 3,170 crore. In all, about 1.64 lakh persons have been employed in these units. The state has taken a number of steps to ensure prompt clearance of projects.

To provide all-encompassing support to the existing and new industrial ventures, the government has set up a state- level single window clearance system.

A monitoring authority has also been constituted to discuss and resolve all industry related and inter-departmental issues, monitoring and reviewing the progress of units already approved and granting approval to the projects proposed to be set up in a time-bound manner.

The authority has so far given approval to 124 medium and large-scale industrial units with an investment of about Rs 1,671 crore.

The new industrial policy of the state is also being formulated to focus efforts on the infrastructure development and creation of a congenial investment climate.

The Central Government has extended the validity of the package of incentives for the industries to be set up in the state till March 2007.

The government has taken up the case with the Centre for extending the benefit of the package up to 2013 on the pattern of northeastern states.

Effective steps are been taken for the rehabilitation and revival of sick units and to create investor-friendly atmosphere in the state.

To avoid unnecessary delay and hardship to the entrepreneurs, all industry- related cases are being disposed off within time-bound period.

Dharamsala, September 27
The issue of discrimination against lower Himachal region has suddenly gained momentum with both Congress and BJP raking it up. The controversy, which was kicked off by Congress leader Major Vijai Singh Mankotia, has now got support from an unexpected quarter, the BJP.

Talking to The Tribune, senior BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal today alleged that the developmental works had come to a halt in Kangra region ever since the Congress government had taken over. The chairmen and directors of most commissions and boards were now all from upper Himachal. All this, he said, was giving out wrong signals to voters of this region.

He further said although the BJP government had declared Dharamsala as the second capital of Himachal, the present government had withdrawn this, after the building of the mini secretariat had been constructed.

“It is good that leaders like Major Mankotia had the moral courage to raise this issue and more people are expected to come out in its support. This issue of regional discrimination would be taken up during the Guler byelections as well,” he said.

Major Vijai Singh Mankotia, who started it all, feels that his concerns for the lower Himachal region have been “misunderstood and taken rather personally” by the leaders of his own party.

“There is no hidden agenda behind this and I am definitely not in the race for the CM’s post when I say that the party should be led by someone from this long neglected region,” he told The Tribune.

“I am committed to the leadership of Ms Sonia Gandhi and plan to meet her soon to brief her on the issue. Moreover, I have not said anything which is illegal or against the interests of our party. When we fought the elections on these issues, how can they be overlooked when we have won? Our voters from the lower Himachal would cross over to BJP if their sentiments are hurt this way,” he added.

“And it is not that people from lower Himachal do not have the potential to lead the party. Leaders like Pandit Bhagat Ram, Dr Salig Ram and Choudhary Hari Ram did have the potential but were ignored. No wonder, out of the nearly 23 presidents of the Pradesh Congress Committee so far, 16 have been from the upper areas,” he said.

Echoing his views, Rajinder Rana, joint media secretary of the BJP, said the Congress government had no right to treat people of Kangra partially. “The Chief Minister does not want that leaders from this region be active in the government and that is why four ministers from Kangra were dropped, he said.

Mr Krishan Kapoor, a former BJP minister, said people of Guler would teach a lesson to the Congress for its discriminating policies in the forthcoming Guler byelections.

Meanwhile, Congress leader and former Health Minister Chandresh Kumari says that she was sure that the Chief Minister would take the required corrective steps to remove any doubts raised by the way downsizing was done. “It is expected that this would be made up for during the appointments of Parliamentary Secretaries,” she said.

Manali, September 27
The Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, today expressed concern over the low water level in Pong Dam and the Gobind Sagar reservoir.

Addressing mediapersons here during a short visit to this hill resort, he said he had come to review the situation in the major reservoirs responsible for power and water supply to Punjab.

During a brief interaction with officials of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, he was told that for the past 13 years, glaciers in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh were receding due to global warming.

Replying to questions about the power generation royalty dispute between the two states, he said both states had Congress governments, which would enable them to find a solution to the problem.

He reiterated his position on anti-corruption cases in Punjab and said he would continue to ensure that all those found guilty were punished.

He said 1,100 cases were still being processed, of which 140 involved ex-ministers and senior officials. He said he had requested the judiciary to speed up the process.

On Ms Uma Bharati’s Tiranga Yatra, he said the yatra was a total failure and she was acting on her irrational impulses.

He said his government had made adequate security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident during the yatra. He had directed three Inspector-Generals of Police to maintain law and order on the route of the yatra.

To promote tourism between the two states, the Chief Minister said he would discuss the matter with his Transport Minister regarding starting of luxury buses between Chandigarh and Manali, Pathankot and Manali, Ludhiana and Manali and Amritsar and Manali.

Hamirpur, September 27
The police has taken into custody five persons for moving in suspicious conditions near Ghanal village in the district today. A case under Section 109, Cr.P.C, has been registered against them.

Arrested persons have been identified as Shah Alam, Mohammed Kasim, Tarbudin, Mohammed Sartaj Ismiludin and Javed.

The police has confiscated a van, 10 grinders, two video cameras, one tape-recorder and a number of audio cassettes from their custody.

The SP, Mr Shyam Bhagat Negi, told The Tribune here this evening that all the five persons were taken into custody following complaints by the people. He said that the police was verifying their antecedents.

He, however, ruled out involvement of these persons in any bid to kidnap children from Hairpin.

There was panic in the town in the morning and afternoon when reports came that a gang of five persons moving in a van and trying to distribute sweets among children to take them as captive had been moving in the district.

The police and the people were put on alert and they started following the vehicle.

Ultimately, the vehicle was caught near Ghanal village and brought to Hamirpur police station along with five of its occupants.

Sources said that during investigations it was found that these persons were visiting villages for selling various types of products and some one mistook them as kidnappers.

However, the police was still interrogating the five persons who were reportedly living in a rented house at Sujanpur Tihra.

Chamba, September 27
The local unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Sabha today held a demonstration in Chamba and raised slogans against the state government and the Chamera project authorities for not providing them with jobs and other benefits.

The protesters included men and women, especially the youth.

Leaders of the sabha alleged that the government was claiming that it had signed a memoranda of understanding of various projects in which the employment of the locals was ensured but it was not launching any hydel project anywhere in the state where the locals could get jobs.

Dalhousie, September 27
The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the Rural Electrification Corporation of India have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to undertake electrification works of one lakh villages in the country under the Accelerated Development of Power Reforms programme launched by the Centre.

Besides, another MoU was signed between the two organisations to attract investment in the hydropower sector.

This was stated by Mr S.K. Dodeja, Executive Director of the NHPC, here today.

Shimla, September 27
The High Court today granted bail to five security personnel of Modern Central Jail, Nahan, who were allegedly responsible for the escape of Shyamal Rao Reddy, a convict sentenced to death, from prison.

Granting bail to Sanjeev Kumar, Narender Singh, Tikender Singh, Padam Singh and Sanjeev Kumar, the court observed that the accused would not tamper with evidence.

According to prosecution, Shyamal Rao Reddy was lodged in the jail on August 16 and had escaped from the prison. It was alleged that the security personnel were on guard duty at that time. It was alleged that it was due to their negligence that the convict escaped.