 |
|
No move to declare Dharamsala as second capital Residents protest against forest guard’s transfer Bill to make monkey-feeding offence
Rescued sambar calf goes missing |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
No move to declare Dharamsala as second capital Shimla, December 22 Giving this information to Major Vijay Mankotia of the Congress during question hour, Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, said development of a second capital required huge funds running into thousands of crores of Rupees. The financial position of the state did not permit this at present. Even a state like Haryana could not afford to have a second capital for the past over 40 years. He said the matter would be considered as and when the state had the requisite funds for building a second capital. It was also not possible to hold a session of the Vidhan Sabha at Dharamsala as it did not have the necessary infrastructure. However, the Chief Minister would continue to have his winter sojourn at Dharamsala for the convenience of the people of the lower hill areas. He would not only have a first-hand account of the problems being faced by them but also review the progress of the development works. During the last winter sojourn, two Cabinet meetings were also held at Dharamsala. The Chief Minister’s winter sojourn apart, other ministers had also been making themselves available in turns at the mini secretariat. Mr Rangila Ram Rao, Excise and Taxation Minister, informed Mr Harbhajan Singh of the Congress that under the retention policy for sub-urban areas of Shimla, two storeys in addition to the maximum permissible number of storeys and parking place could be regularised. Under the existing rules, a maximum of four storeys and a parking floor were allowed. He said so far 444 structures had been regularised and 1,781 cases were pending. The cut-off date for submitting applications for regularisation was June 30, 2004. He said the government would take into consideration the recommendation of the national seminar while finalising the development plan for the Shimla town. Replying to a question of Mr Satpal of the BJP, Mr Kaul Singh said the government would take all required steps within the constitutional framework to safeguard its interests, which had been jeopardised by the decision of the Punjab Government to annul all the water pacts. The decision involved the Shah Nehar accord and the Annadpur Sahib Canal agreement. The government initially palnned to move the Supreme Court but when the matter was taken up under the presidential reference, it dropped the move. It had already presented its case before the apex court. |
|
Residents protest against forest guard’s transfer Nurpur, December 22 Residents of Jonta gram panchayat are up in arms against the mafia for allegedly influencing leaders of the ruling party and mounting pressure on them to get the guard transferred before completing three years of his posting. Annoyed over the transfer order of the forest employee, the residents have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, a copy of which was released to mediapersons here yesterday, demanding immediate revocation of the order. The memorandum was signed by as many as 400 people. They also warned that they would launch an agitation in support of their demand. Appreciating the role of Mr Sharma in guarding the forests of their area, curbing the menace of illegal felling of trees and theft of forest wealth, the residents have attributed the success of afforestation drive to the hard work and honesty of the guard. They have alleged that the local forest mafia, indulging in illegal felling and pilferage of forest produce, had used their political connections to get Mr Sharma transferred. Meanwhile, the Divisional Forest Officer, Mr Girish Hosur, Nurpur division, said he had received the order from the higher ups to relieve the guard immediately so that he could join duty in the Fatehpur beat in the Jawali forest range. He confirmed that he had also got a representation in favour of the guard. |
|
Bill to make monkey-feeding offence Shimla, December 22 The Bill also seeks to make it mandatory for the house owner or occupant of any premises to connect his latrines, urinals and septic tank with the sewerage of the corporation at his own expenses. Failure to do so will be an offence punishable with a fine which may extend to Rs 200 but shall not be less than Rs 500 in addition to other charges for such connection. The Bill further seeks to make spitting at public places, streets or walls and throwing of any type of garbage at any public place and open hillside an offence punishable with a fine of Rs 500. Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, while introducing the Bill said it was necessary to check feeding of stray animals at public places as it attracted monkeys, langurs and other stray animals to localities. He said the ban on the feeding of animals would not be applicable at temple premises. He said a non-cooperative attitude of the people had led to make the door-to-door collection of garbage scheme mandatory for all persons to subscribe. The corporation had spent Rs 80 crore on the sewerage scheme but the people were still not obtaining sewerage connections leading to unhygienic conditions and polluting groundwater. The Bill also seeks to replace the ordinance issued on October 25, 2004. |
|
Rescued sambar calf goes missing
Una, December 22 The sambar calf was found tied in the temple of Jagatkhana village of Una district by members of the NGO along with a team of the Himachal police while on trail of the hunters. The hunters had allegedly killed its mother. The young sambar was badly injured in legs allegedly by hunter dogs. It had deep wounds in its legs and other parts of the body. The forest officials of the area were informed about the injured calf. They assured the members of the NGO that the calf would be taken safely to some zoo. However, after a few days when the members of the NGO asked the forest officials about the calf, they were told to their surprise that it had been released in jungle. Mr Bhatti said how could a badly injured sambar calf survive in the jungle. Even if the forest officials wanted to release it in jungles, they should have first treated it for injuries. He apprehended that the poor calf that was left in the village by the NGO members might have ended up on the dining table of some officials or influential persons. The NGO has lodged a complaint with the SP, Una, against the forest officials who allegedly failed to rescue the young sambar. Mr Bhatti alleged that the NGO would fight the case till the guilty forest officials were booked. The NGO had recently helped the Una police in cracking a nexus of hunters in the remote villages of the district. A large number of sambar anklets, body parts of a recently killed sambar and the sambar calf were recovered from the hunters at Jagatkhana village. The police arrested two panches of the village who were allegedly running a racket of hunting wild animals and selling their parts in markets.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
