 |
|
Fiscal responsibility
Bill passed
High Court summons MC Commissioner
Exams in stables, truck sheds!
Project to channelise Bata
25,000 acres along reservoir under illegal cultivation
Chamera-III gets environment clearance
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Industrialist assaulted by truck operators
Construction workers threaten stir
Man burnt alive
|
|
Fiscal responsibility
Bill passed
Shimla, March 16 Initiating the discussion on the Budget Bill, earlier introduced in the House, he said the bill was being brought for the first time in the state with the objective of building a roadmap for fiscal management in Himachal. “The Bill provides for greater transparency and will give an opportunity to the legislature to undertake mid-term appraisal of the accounts of the government every six months instead of the single annual scrutiny,” he stated. Dismissing the apprehensions in the minds of some members about the possible taxation following this Bill, he said it would ensure socio-economic development of the state with a humane face. “I reiterate my government’s commitment of keeping the interest of the weaker section of the society in mind,” he assured the House. Mr Virbhadra Singh said some of the issues being raised in the House pertaining to the Bill were not germane. “It is only when the executive fails to deliver or take action on an issue that the ball goes to other’s court, for which the government is to be blamed,” he remarked. The Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, said nobody doubted the intentions of the Chief Minister as far as the Bill was concerned as it was a step towards improving the financial health of the state, but suggested an amendment. “A time frame should be set for framing of the rules as it is often seen that even after a Bill is passed and Act framed, there is delay in its implementation because the rules have not been framed,” he suggested. Mr Kuldeep Pathania and Mr Mohinder Singh also participated in the discussion, expressing their apprehensions. Later, the Bill was passed by voice vote. Participating in the debate on budget proposals, Transport Minister, Mr G.S. Bali, termed the budget presented by Mr Virbhadra Singh as growth oriented as the GDP had gone up to 7.3 per cent, which was being sustained. “With a higher growth rate the government will ensure speedy and uniform development, regional balance, poverty reduction and most importantly employment generation,” he said. Mr Bali regretted that the trend of mud-slinging and personal allegations being levelled against each other was very unhealthy. He also requested the Chief Minister to reconsider the decision of imposing excise duty on three lakh below poverty line (BPL) families in the state. Participating in the debate on budget proposals, Mr I.D. Dhiman, said the Congress which had criticised the BJP regime for raising loans had itself taken loans worth Rs 7,500 crore in two years, which will cross Rs 30,000 crore in five years. He said the budget, which had been prepared under the shadow of the MoU on the fiscal reforms would lead to unemployment as there would be retrenchment and non filling up of vacant posts. |
|
High Court summons MC Commissioner
Shimla March 16 Division bench comprising Chief Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta and Justice V.M. Jain directed that the Commissioner shall remain present in the court to answer the queries of the court in this regard. This order came in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) where in counsel for the petitioner informed the court that respondent corporation had not taken steps to shift the bio conversion plant from Darni Ka Bagicha to Totu. It was further submitted that corporation had also failed to implement the door-to-door garbage of collection scheme effectively. However, Corporation counsel informed the court that corporation had taken steps to shift the plant. The garbage collection scheme had been success in three or four wards. The Bench observed that " we are convinced that garbage collection scheme is applicable on every resident of the MC Shimla area and fixation of fee is to commensurate with the extent of collection of garbage as well as size of the unit. The court observed that if this scheme was failing it seemed to be the fault of implementing authority. The Bench added that the corporation should file an affidavit informing the court about the steps taken to implement the scheme and shifting of the plant to Totu. |
|
Exams in stables, truck sheds!
Dharamsala, March 16 Parents of 300 students of the Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV), Yol, have complained to the Director, Regional Office, CBSE, seeking grace marks or re-examination, considering the uncongenial infrastructure in the examination centre at KV, Dharamsala. Mr R. Chaturvedi, Principal, KV, Yol, said the principal of KV, Dharamsala, had written to the CBSE that the school did not have the required infrastructure to accommodate so many students. “Despite this, our students have to appear for their exams in the sheds under the inclement weather conditions on March 1, 3 and 9,” he said. “The sheds had curtains on all sides which were flying in the air, letting in rain and chilly wind. Most of our attention was focussed on keeping the question paper from flying away and saving the sheets from rain,” said a Class XII student. Ms Ranjana Tripathi, a parent, said the students were made to sit in barracks, open from both sides, meant for Army vehicles and horses. “No protection was provided against water entering the room. The leaking tin rooftops worsened the situation,” she said. “My son expected to get 100 per cent marks in mathematics but he couldn’t perform well under those circumstances. As exams are still on, the CBSE must take action,” she added. Electricity shutdown on March 1 and 9, when students of Class XII were appearing for physics and Class X students for mathematics papers. The students were not given any extra time,” said Renu, another parent. “With rain entering the sheds, some students felt very cold and most of them could not even complete the paper despite knowing the answers,” she added. Another teacher said their school had been the examination centre since 1974. “It was only last year that they stopped this practice, sending the students to a school which did not even have proper classrooms”, he said. Ms Manju Sehgal, Principal, KV, Dharamsala, said the staff tried their best to make the students feel comfortable. “In this weather, even houses in Dharamsala start leaking, what to talk of tin roofs of Army barracks,” she said. In fact, she added that the students were earlier allotted an examination centre in Dalhousie, which would have required them to stay there for more than a fortnight. “At least this centre was nearer home,” she said. |
|
|
Project to channelise Bata
Shimla, March 16 This was stated by the Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Kaul Singh
Thakur, during question hour in the Vidhan Sabha today. Replying to a question by Mr Sukh Ram of the BJP, he said it was a fact that valuable fertile lands were being washed away by the waters of the Bata river after electricity generation at the Giri Power House. “With the state government making budgetary allocation of Rs 51 lakh for the Centrally-sponsored scheme, work on the channelisation of the river will begin shortly,” he informed. He further disclosed that a Rs 30.11 crore detailed project report of a model study for the channelisation of Bata river was under the consideration of the Ganga Flood Control Commission,
Patna. “A Rs 1.37-crore NABARD-sponsored scheme has already been completed in the year 2003-04 to plug the most vulnerable points,” he added. He informed the House that 1127.15 bighas of land had been washed away during the past five years. He also assured Mr Sukh Ram that if need be, the I&PH Department would get a survey done to assess the damage to tube wells due to flooding of the river. Mr Vijai Singh Mankotia of the Congress raised the issue of awarding of contract at higher rates for crate works in the Khouli project. He pointed out that seeing the variation of almost Rs 800 per cubic
metre, it appeared that undue favour had been extended to the construction company. “He said contrary to the impression that the company was getting a special kind of stone from a distance of over 30 km, the stone from the adjoining khud was being put to use,” he stated. He demanded that seeing the resentment among the local people for this undue favour to an outside company, the government must constitute a technical committee which can look into the matter and see if there is justification in giving the contract at this rate. The Power Minister, Mrs Vidya Stokes, said if there were any doubts, she would get the matter examined. Mr Jai Ram Thakur of the BJP sought details from the Transport Minister, Mr
G.S. Bali, about the agreement for the construction of Mandi bus stand. Mr Bali informed that an agreement for more than Rs 8 crore had been signed in December last year. |
|
|
25,000 acres along reservoir under illegal cultivation
Dehra, March 16 Since these thousands of acres, acquired by the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB) in 1972, are very fertile, most of the original owners refuse to give up cultivation. Some of them have even given it on rent to landless locals. This is despite the fact that they were duly compensated when the land was acquired by the government and transferred to the BBMB. “Where else will we go? As it is, this land will lie useless in case we do not plough it,” said Ram Saran Singh of Bhatoli village. “Last year, most of our wheat crop was destroyed by the migratory birds coming to the dam. Consequently, this time, we decided to start cultivation in October, a month before the arrival of the birds,” added a farmer in Bhangoli village. Mr L.C. Verma, Deputy Chief Engineer of the BBMB, Talwara, admitted that farming along the reservoir was illegal. “But we do not have the kind of manpower required to deal with so many local farmers. It is for the administration and the police to take action,” he said. “Considering all this, we have now asked the Department of Science and Technology to pass a legislation that will legalise farming on this land in return for revenue to the BBMB,” he said. “Considering that no government agency has been able to curb cultivation on the land as it involves keeping a check on thousands of local people, this appears to be the only way out,” he said. More than the cultivation just along the reservoir, it is the farming in the nearby areas that loosens the soil and leads to silting. Another BBMB official pointed out that since now ownership of the land was not with any of the locals, it led to frequent disputes. “It has become a prerogative of the powerful,” he said. It is the reduction of water level in 1998, after floods in some areas of Punjab, from 1410 feet to around 1350 feet, that has led to availability of vacant land along the water body. Nearly 75,000 acres were acquired by the government, of which cultivation of wheat and vegetables was done on around 25,000 acres. “Most villagers in Dehra and Jwali have taken illegal possession of the land,” he said. When contacted, the Subdivisional Magistrate, Dehra, Mr M.L. Sharma, said it was for the BBMB to take action against the violators. |
|
Chamera-III gets environment clearance
Chamerea (Chamba), March 16 The proposed dam is located 250 metres downstream of the confluence of the Tundah nullah and the Ravi and is accessible through the Chamba-Bharmour highway 46 km upstream of Chamba town. According to Mr O.P. Thakur, general manager of the project, the proposed headrace tunnel is 15.93 km long having a horseshoe-shaped concrete lined section of 6.5 metre diameter. Three generating units of 77 MW each are to be installed in the underground cavern and Francis vertical axis turbines shall be provided. The project would cost about Rs 1,400 crore. The project is scheduled to be completed within a period of five years. The major works are expected to be started by June next. |
|
5 new species of bat found in HP
CHANDIGARH: The superstitious have associated bats with evil for ages and these are considered to be a bad omen. However, these mammals play a crucial role in the ecosystem and saving them is of the utmost importance to maintain the delicate balance in nature.
Biologists in the region have been conducting studies to gather more information about this mammal and have discovered five new species for the first time in Himachal Pradesh. With this, the number of bat species reported in the state has risen to 24. The new species were recorded by a team of scientists of the Solan-based Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). The species are the great Himalayan horseshoe bat, the intermediate horseshoe bat, the great Himalayan leaf-nosed bat, Schreiber’s long-fingered bat and the Siliguri bat. Dr R.M. Sharma, officer in charge of the ZSI, says during the course of the study the team observed a number of colonies of bats in the Arki, Kot Beja, Solan, Barog and Karol areas. Mr Uttam Saikia, a researcher with the ZSI, who is currently working on small mammals of the Shivaliks, says two of the five new species — the great Himalayan horseshoe bat and the Siliguri bat — have been declared near-threatened by the Washington-based International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. He says two specimens of the great Himalayan horseshoe bat were recorded in the Arki area of Solan district. In both cases the roosting sites were not found to be shared by any other species. Only one specimen of the Siliguri bat was sighted in the Solan area. Mr Saikia says a big colony of Schreiber’s long-fingered bat, which is one of the common species found in India, was recorded in a railway tunnel in the Barog area. He says this shows the species is not disturbed by railway traffic provided other conditions are favourable. The great Himalayan leaf-nosed bat, which was earlier recorded at an altitude of 1,910m in Mussoorie, was now recorded at Karol Hill (2,250m), near Solan. Dr Sharma says bats, the only mammalian species that can fly, help control the insect population, pollinate flowers and assist in seed dispersal. They prefer tall trees, caves, abandoned huge buildings, tunnels and rocks and eat a variety of fruits and insects. However, 70 per cent of the bats eat insects. A little brown bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes in just one hour. “They are wonderful nocturnal creatures. Very few studies have been conducted on them. The loss of bats means more use of pesticides on crops,” says Dr Sharma. But their population is declining as in the case of other species and for similar reasons — habitat loss, pollution, deforestation and spraying of pesticides. |
|
Industrialist assaulted by truck operators
Nahan, March 16 According to information here, Mr Kanawat, a CA was on his way to Gondpur on his vehicle when he was attacked. In his complaint filed with the Paonta police, he has alleged that while he was on his way to Gondpur, in the afternoon today, he was stopped by some truck operators in front of the office of the union and was beaten up by several persons. Later he was brought to a Paonta hospital where his medical examination was done in the presence of the police. Mr S.R. Sharma, SP, Sirmour said the police had registered a case under the different sections for rioting, confinement and hurt. He added that culprits would be arrested soon. Police parties had been despatched to nab the attackers. District administration faced an embarrassing situation as a few minutes before this incident Sirmour DC, M.L. Sharma, at a press conference, claimed that controversy between truck operators and industrialists had almost been resolved.
|
|
Construction workers threaten stir
Shimla, March 16 The two-day meeting of the national working committee of the federation which concluded here today, resented the fact that the UPA government was following the anti-worker policies of the NDA and ignoring the common minimum programme. The decision to allow 100 per cent FDI in the construction industry would not only affect the indigenous companies but also severely curtail employment opportunities as the multinational corporations adopted capital intensive and highly mechanised methods. The federation decided to observe March 28 as anti-unemployment day and decided to carry out the necessary spadework for a nationwide strike. |
|
Man burnt alive
Dalhousie, March 16 According to Dr D.K. Choudhary, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Chamba, the deceased had been identified as Ram Prasad, a resident of Dibba village, in Tehri Garhwal district. He had come here to seek job in the hotel industry. The deceased was staying along with his cousin, Atidya, in an outhouse. |
| 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 | |
