H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Town Planning Dept to increase green belt
Shimla, February 11
While giving a final shape to the proposed development plan for the Capital town, the Department of Town and Country Planning has increased the area to be declared as green belt from the present 17 pockets to over 100 pockets.

Timber grading: contractors boycott auction 
Shimla, February 11
The timber grading scam has taken an interesting turn with contractors boycotting the auction organised on February 9 and 10 at the Baddi Depot of the State Forest Corporation in protest against the wrong grading of timber.

Tariff board against state’s interests: BJP
Shimla, February 11
The BJP today warned the people of the state to be prepared to pay a heavy price for the commitment made by the state government before the Planning Commission that it would constitute a public service tariff board.

Telecom network disrupted
Chamba, February 11
The entire Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh remained cut off from the outer world due to the disruption in the telecommunication network of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) yesterday thereby causing a great inconvenience to the subscribers and tourists visiting the famous hill station of Dalhousie.

NABARD staff hold demonstration
Shimla, February 11
Officers and employees of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) today staged a demonstration in support of their demand .

Dehar power house generating less power

Sundernagar, February 11 Even after heavy snowfall in the catchments areas of Mandi, Kullu, Lauhal and Spiti districts which feed the 990 mv Dehar power house, it is not generating electricity for more than 14 hours a day due to the acute shortage of water. The Beas has been diverted from Pandoh and after using it in the power house it ultimately flow into the Sutlej. It is being run by the Bhakra Beas Management Board. Six generators each having the capacity of 165 mw were installed. Nowadays, the water shortage is so acute it is not even sufficient to run a generator. About 2,200 cusec of water is required but at present the inflow of water is 1646 cusec. For the past two months the inflow has been between 1,500 to 1,750 cusec.  The 990-MW Dehar Power House in Sundernagar which remains shut for more than 14 hours in 24 hours, and during the remaining period only one or two units generate electricity. — Photo by Mahesh Chander Sharma

Ayurvedic unit owners seek single clearance
Nurpur, February 11
Himachal Pradesh Manufactures’ Association has urged the Chief Minister, Mr Virhadra Singh, to enforce single window clearance (SWC) system in the state Ayurved Department on the pattern of the Industry Department so that the manufacturers could not experience inconvenience and delay in getting approval for product licenses.

Dalits’ bail pleas rejected
Una, February 11
Session’s Judge A.C. Dogra has rejected all 66 bail applications of Dalits of the Santoshgarh area who were arrested by the police after Tuesday’s violence in which 30 policemen and one bailiff were injured.

One held on murder charge
Nahan, February 11
The Paonta police has arrested a resident of Dhaulan Kuan village about 24 km from here, Ram Singh, on the charge of murdering Tula Ram, a resident of the same village.

Gang of car thieves busted
Shimla, February 11
The police today claimed to have busted a gang of inter-state car thieves, who allegedly stole more than 15 vehicles from different parts of the state during the last one year.

Three houses damaged in a fire
Hamirpur, February 11
Three houses were burnt and property worth Rs 3 lakh was damaged in a fire that broke out at Ghariana Brahmna village in Hamirpur district last night. The cause of the fire was still not known. But it was stated to be the result of short circuit.

Town Planning Dept to increase green belt
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 11
While giving a final shape to the proposed development plan for the Capital town, the Department of Town and Country Planning has increased the area to be declared as green belt from the present 17 pockets to over 100 pockets.

Concerned over the dwindling forest cover in and around the town, efforts are being made to save the forests and green areas so as to retain the charm of the ‘Queen of Hills’. Presently there is total construction ban in the green areas and only reconstruction on old lines is permissible.

“Till now there were only 17 identified green areas in the Interim Development Plan of the town but now we have raised it to over 100 so that no further damage is done to the forests and fragile areas,” said an official. The development plan will be submitted to the government for its approval by February 20.

The decision to bring more area under the green belt might not be a welcome step for those owning plots here as this will impose many restrictions on them under the TCP Act. The government had been pressurised to ease the ban on constructions in the green areas but environmentalists and heritage lovers were strictly opposed to the idea. Thus the chances of the government accommodating them seem to be bleak. However, it is only after the government approves the plan it will become clear that the ban on construction would continue.

Another major highlight of the plan will be declaring the overcrowded colonies as ‘no construction zone’ to prevent further congestion. At present the core area of the town is in “no construction zone”. The colonies which are likely to be declared as “no construction zone” are Sanjauli, Cemetrey, Totu, Jiunu Colony, New Shimla and Vikasnagar.

Special attention is being paid towards regulating construction activities in the five Special Area Development Authorities(SADA) and other adjoining areas around the town. The SADA of Kufri, which is famous for its skiing slopes will be declared an eco-sensitive zone where only single storied structures will be allowed.

However, the rural inhabitants, owning agricultural land will be allowed two- storied houses as is the general practice in the area on the pattern of hill architecture. Another proposal by the TCP is to disallow any construction on plots measuring less than 1,000 sq mts, in order to prevent over-crowding.

“All those who have bought smaller plots before December 2004 will be accommodated but no construction will be allowed on new plots measuring less than 1,000 sq mts after the plan is approved and notification issued,” officials said.

Timber grading: contractors boycott auction 
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 11
The timber grading scam has taken an interesting turn with contractors boycotting the auction organised on February 9 and 10 at the Baddi Depot of the State Forest Corporation in protest against the wrong grading of timber.

The contractors boycotted auction of both government and private timber. In all 3,800 cubic metre of timber was to be auctioned. They alleged that the corporation had classified the inferior “C” grade timber as “B” grade as a result of which the reserve price was fixed much higher than its actual value. They also resented the decision of the corporation to not to allow the lifting of the stocks sold in the last auction at Dhanrotu. They demanded that the corporation should repay their money with interest or permit them to lift the stocks which were still lying in the depot. The sold stock which is yet to be lifted is worth Rs 25 lakh.

The contractors have decided to boycott auction at a time when the government is reportedly planning to shift some senior officers responsible for grading of timber on the basis of two inquiry reports which had found glaring discrepancies. The two inquiry committees found that a large quantity of timber which should have been classified as “B” grade as per the instruction manual of the corporation were classified as “C” grade. However, they did not find any deliberate downgrading of timber to benefit contractors. The government, which received the reports early this week, is not satisfied with the view that discrepancy was on account of human error. According to sources, some officers directly connected with timber grading may be shifted as a result of this.

The grading of timber is of vital importance in determining its market price. For instance, for superior species like deodar grade “A” fetches Rs 33,000 per cubic metre, grade “B” Rs 26,000 and the grade “C” Rs 14,000. The difference in the prices of various grades is quite huge and any deliberate downgrading could have serious financial implications for the corporation.

The corporation has been maintaining throughout that the main cause of grading problem was that felling of green trees was banned in the state and only dry and fallen trees were worked. The quality of timber was mostly poor. The percentage of Grade “A” was less than 5 per cent and that of grade “B” 15 to 20 per cent ,the rest was virtually of grade “C”, though strictly going by the manual some of its could be classified as grade “B”.

Tariff board against state’s interests: BJP
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 11
The BJP today warned the people of the state to be prepared to pay a heavy price for the commitment made by the state government before the Planning Commission that it would constitute a public service tariff board.

Former minister and BJP leader J.P. Nadda, in a statement issued here today, said that the people of the state would have to suffer for this commitment which the government had made for the Rs 200 crore increase in the Annual Plan. “The meagre increase of Rs 200 crore has come at a very big price as the interests of the state have been compromised with, for which the people will have to suffer in the long run,” he remarked.

He said that the constitution of the public service tariff board would in the long run decide the tariffs in the transport, education, health, irrigation and public health and other social sectors, burdening the common man. The experience of having a regulatory commission in the power sector was before all of us, he added.

Mr Nadda said the BJP would make the public aware on the issue so that they were not misled by the false propaganda and claims of the Congress and the government.

Telecom network disrupted
Our Correspondent

Chamba, February 11
The entire Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh remained cut off from the outer world due to the disruption in the telecommunication network of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) yesterday thereby causing a great inconvenience to the subscribers and tourists visiting the famous hill station of Dalhousie. The telecom system was restored late last night.

Taking strong exception to this occasional problem of breakdowns in the telecom network in this region, Mr Harsh Mahajan, Housing and Animal Husbandry Minister, vehemently stated that it was a serious issue and he would seek probe into it from the Union Minister of Telecommunication so that accountability could be fixed.

The subscribers have also urged the Union Minister of Telecommunication and the Member of Parliament, Mr Chander Kumar, regarding the collapse of the telecommunication system due to which the Chamba region had to suffer.

Expressing their anguish over the occasional failures of the telecom system, the subscribers resented that they were not being given the immediate information by the BSNL about the correct reasons of breakdowns in telecom network through the media like local cable, radio and television.

Since they have the right to information, the subscribers demanded that the provision for giving them forthwith information about the breakdown in the telecom network in their region should be made and the device installed in the main telephone exchange so that they could wait for the prescribed time.

Meanwhile, the BSNL Divisional Engineer, Mr Jitender Kumar, when contacted, stated that the optical cable linking the Chamba’s main telephone exchange with the outer world was damaged when the workforce of the Public Works Department was removing the debris and boulders of landslides near Udaipur on the Chamba-Pathankot highway yesterday.

NABARD staff hold demonstration
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 11
Officers and employees of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) today staged a demonstration in support of their demand. The staff of the bank which had been agitating since June last, threatened to go on strike on March 23 and 24 if their demand was not accepted.

The secretary of the officers’ association, Mr Sunil Kaushik, and the secretary of the employees’ association, Mr Balwant Singh Thakur, stated that the staff would resort to “work to rule” stir from February 22 onwards as part of their agitation. The main demands include maintenance of pay scales and other service conditions, including superannuation benefits for employees and officers on the lines of their counterparts in the Reserve Bank of India, maintenance of Development Financial Institution (DFI) status for NABARD and no dilution of the RBI and the Government of India share holding in the bank so that its public sector character was maintained.

Dehar power house generating less power

Sundernagar, February 11
Even after heavy snowfall in the catchments areas of Mandi, Kullu, Lauhal and Spiti districts which feed the 990 mv Dehar power house, it is not generating electricity for more than 14 hours a day due to the acute shortage of water.

The Beas has been diverted from Pandoh and after using it in the power house it ultimately flow into the Sutlej. It is being run by the Bhakra Beas Management Board. Six generators each having the capacity of 165 mw were installed. Nowadays, the water shortage is so acute it is not even sufficient to run a generator. About 2,200 cusec of water is required but at present the inflow of water is 1646 cusec. For the past two months the inflow has been between 1,500 to 1,750 cusec. According to source, in order to control this situation and to meet the peak load hour demands, the generation used to stop from 10 pm to 5 am and during day time from 11 am to 5.30 pm. From 6 pm to 9 pm three machines generate electricity and as the load decrease the machines stops accordingly. It was confirmed that the power house did not produce any electricity for 14 hours.

In order to control the situation the water is collected in the balancing reservoir during day time and is used during peak load hours so that maximum electricity is produced. If calculated one machine remains operational for 19 hours.

Every year from December to February the electricity production remains low. In the month of May the generation is 150 lakh units daily and during winters it is just 20 to 30 lakhs units daily. The same situation is expected for coming one month and it would start improving by the end of February.

Interestingly the BBMB is not releasing water from Pandoh Dam due to which the Beas has completely dried up to 18 km. The local residents have been demanding the release of at least 25 per cent water from Pandoh Dam. The Mandi- based social organisation Citizen Council has written to the Himachal Pradesh High Court in this regard. The court has treated this representation as writ petition and same is pending for hearing.

On the other hand the Himachal Pradesh Government has made it mandatory for every new hydel project to release at least 10 per cent of water in natural stream. But the state government has never asked the BBMB to release the water into the Beas at Pandoh from where it was diverted in 1977. In times to come if the BBMB is forced to implement this condition, it will not be possible to generate electricity at the power house during the winter. — OC

Ayurvedic unit owners seek single clearance
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, February 11
Himachal Pradesh Manufactures’ Association has urged the Chief Minister, Mr Virhadra Singh, to enforce single window clearance (SWC) system in the state Ayurved Department on the pattern of the Industry Department so that the manufacturers could not experience inconvenience and delay in getting approval for product licenses.

In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister, Mr Virhadra Singh, copies of which were released to the mediapersons here today, Mr Ashok Sharma and Mr Upender Gupta, respectively, the President and General Secretary of the association stated that in the absence of the SWC system the Ayurveda Department was taking one to three years in regarding clearance to the enterpreneurs for setting up their units.

They said due to inordinate delay, manufacturers were not able to avail even the incentives being given by the government in the shape of sales and income taxes holiday as most of the period for which the incentives were granted lapsed in seeking the approvals from the authorities concerned. Demanding 50 per cent government purchases from the approved ayurvedic pharmacies of the state and rest by floating open tenders, the association reiterated that it would promote ayurvedic industrialisation in the ayurvedic sector and generate indirect and direct employment opportunities.

The association said as many as 1150 ayurvedic dispensaries were opened by the state government in the rural areas but the urban areas were having no such dispensaries. The urban populace was being deprived of ayurvedic health facility. In its memorandum the association has also demanded to appoint at least one ayurvedic doctor in each primary health centre and civil hospital, respectively, in semi urban and urban area of the state.

Dalits’ bail pleas rejected
Our Correspondent

Una, February 11
Session’s Judge A.C. Dogra has rejected all 66 bail applications of Dalits of the Santoshgarh area who were arrested by the police after Tuesday’s violence in which 30 policemen and one bailiff were injured.

The incident occurred while the police was carrying demolition of a structure raised by the Dalits where they had placed the idol of Guru Ravidas.

The judge has mentioned that the case was already decreed in the favour of landlords. The appeals filed with the High Court, Shimla, and the Supreme Court has also been dismissed.

The judge observed that while the decree was being implemented by demolition the Dalits started throwing bricks and stones on police team as well as bailiffs.

One held on murder charge
Our Correspondent

Nahan, February 11
The Paonta police has arrested a resident of Dhaulan Kuan village about 24 km from here, Ram Singh, on the charge of murdering Tula Ram, a resident of the same village.

As per the police report, Ram Singh and his brother Naresh Kumar, allegedly entered into the house of Tula Ram on February 11 and dragged him out of his house. Tula Ram was mercilessly beaten up by the accused and they fled from the spot when local residents rushed to the scene. Tula Ram was admitted in a Paonta hospital and but he succumbed to his injuries yesterday. The police has registered a case under Section 302, IPC.

Gang of car thieves busted
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 11
The police today claimed to have busted a gang of inter-state car thieves, who allegedly stole more than 15 vehicles from different parts of the state during the last one year.

Additional Superintendent of Police Virender Kanwar said one person had been arrested by the police. During interrogation the arrested person, Inder Dev has admitted having stolen 19 vehicles, from Shimla within a span of one year. It is learnt that it was this gang who stolen the car of the Transport minister, Mr G.S. Bali, some time ago.

The police has identified Babu Ram of Nalagarh as the gang leader and is on the lookout for him.

Three houses damaged in a fire
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, February 11
Three houses were burnt and property worth Rs 3 lakh was damaged in a fire that broke out at Ghariana Brahmna village in Hamirpur district last night. The cause of the fire was still not known. But it was stated to be the result of short circuit.

An official spokesman told The Tribune here this afternoon that the fire started in such a way that it was difficult for the people to control it and to save the houses from being burnt. A fire engine from Hamirpur also reached the spot and helped extinguish the fire.

Villagers said that fire claimed foodgrains, a television set, ornaments, beds, clothing and books. The Tehsildar, Mr B.D. Sharma, visited the spot and gave fiscal relief to the tune of Rs 4,000 to each of the fire-affected family.