H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

CAG report exposed Cong on MoU, claims Dhumal
Nurpur, April 10
Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Prem Kumar Dhumal has claimed that the CAG report for 2003-2004 presented by the Virbhadra Singh government in the Assembly, had exposed the Congress on the issue of signing of the MoU with the Government of India.

Tribune Impact
Forest Dept asked to send report on dumping of silt
Sundernagar, April 10
The Ministry of Environment and Forests while acting on the report published in The Tribune has asked the Forest Department to send the factual report regarding the dumping of silt in Suketi Khud so that further action could be initiated against BBMB for the violating the Forest Conservation Act.

Himachal is polio free
Shimla, April 10
Himachal Pradesh has virtually emerged as a polio-free state in the country with no polio case reported in the state over the last six years.

Flags in forests enhance fire threat
Mandi, April 10
With the summer heat fast catching up, forest fire threaten the ‘chil’ and pine forests in the state, more particularly the Sar Ki Dhar pine jungle as the pilgrims have tied fire-catching prayer flags all over the pine forest, about 28 km from here.

Two Panchkula residents killed in mishap
Solan, April 10
Two occupants of a Tata Indica Car (HR-03-D-1862) was killed, while other two were seriously injured when the vehicle rolled down a 150-meter-deep gorge, near Timber Trail Resort, near Parwanoo, this afternoon. All occupants hailed from Panchkula.

Leopard cat shifted to zoo
Sundernagar, April 10
An injured leopard cat was spotted at Slapper village, 18 km from here, yesterday. Villagers informed wildlife officials at Sundernagar, but they did not attend to the Schedule 1 animal on the pretext that it was lying outside the Bandli sanctuary area.

An injured leopard cat that was spotted at Slapper, 18 km from Sundernagar, on Saturday. — Photo by Mahesh Chander Sharma

20 jhuggis gutted in fire
Baddi, April 10
As many as 20 jhuggis were gutted in a fire which broke out on the Sai Road here this afternoon when a kitchen fire spread uncontrollably engulfing all nearby jhuggis.

CAG report exposed Cong on MoU, claims Dhumal
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, April 10
Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Prem Kumar Dhumal has claimed that the CAG report for 2003-2004 presented by the Virbhadra Singh government in the Assembly, had exposed the Congress on the issue of signing of the MoU with the Government of India. Talking to this correspondent on telephone from his residence at Samirpur today, he gave his hard-hitting reaction to the CAG report.

The CAG report has made it clear that the much-publicised MoU on fiscal reforms was signed with the Union Government by the Virbhadra Singh government and not the former BJP government, which vindicates the stand of the BJP”, he said. He claimed that the report had also exposed the distorted picture presented by the government relating to the fiscal position in the state.

Mr Dhumal reiterated that the CAG report for the financial year 2003-2004 clearly stated that the then government had not signed the MoU on fiscal reforms and therefore, the state could not get the revenue deficit grant to the tune of Rs 125.88 crore from the Government of India. Referring to the figures from the CAG report, Mr Dhumal said according to the 2002-2003 report, the total revenue deficit was Rs 1482, which rose to Rs 1607 crore in 2003-2004. “Similarly, the fiscal liabilities were enhanced from Rs 7104 crore in 1999-2000 to Rs 14,437 crore in 2003-2004, recording a sharp increase of 103 per cent in four years”, he said.

Ridiculing the white paper on the MoU presented by the Chief Minister in the Assembly, Mr Dhumal termed it a bundle of lies. He asked the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, to tender an apology to unemployed youths, government employees, farmers and fruit growers for signing an anti-people MoU with the Central Government and to initiate steps to revoke the MoU.

The former Chief Minister also lashed out at the Virbhadra Singh government for imposing value added tax (VAT) and professional cess in the current year’s budget. He added that it had immensely burdened the common man and had hit the weaker sections of society. 

Tribune Impact
Forest Dept asked to send report on dumping of silt
Mahesh Chander Sharma

Sundernagar, April 10
The Ministry of Environment and Forests while acting on the report published in The Tribune has asked the Forest Department to send the factual report regarding the dumping of silt in Suketi Khud so that further action could be initiated against BBMB for the violating the Forest Conservation Act.

The board has been duping the silt from the Balancing Reservoir in Suketi Khud for the past two decades. The Beas-Sutlej link project was commissioned in 1977. The course of the river was diverted and the water used to finally fall in the Sutlej after generating electricity at 990 MW Dehar Power House in Slapper, 20 km from here. For using the silt-free water at Dehar Power House the water is first collected in the Balancing Reservoir and then the silt is dredged in Suketi Khud which after flowing 22 km from the Balh valley finally falls in the Beas at Mandi. During the commissioning of the project the Forest Conservation Act was not enacted. Though now it has been enacted, BBMB continues to throw the silt in the Suketi Khud without taking permission from the Central Government.

As per the provisions of the Act the forest land can not be used for non-forest activities without taking prior permission from the Central Government. The most fertile Balh Valley has got damaged due to continues discharge of the silt in Suketi Khud. Though this problem was discussed at various levels but the BBMB authorities were never questioned for more than two decade as to why the forest land was being used for non-forest activities till the matter was highlighted by The Tribune. After this the Forest Department issued show cause notices to BBMB for violating the Act.

The office of the Northern Regional Office, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Chandigarh, asked the Conservator Forests (Mandi circle) to submit the factual report along with photographic evidence so that necessary action could be taken against BBMB.

The Forest Department after taking the report from BBMB had sent it to the Ministry of Environment and Forests for further action. According to the Conservator Forests (Mandi circle), Mr C.S. Singh, his office had sent the report to the Ministry of Environment and Forests. As per the report BBMB has been found guilty under the Act. A letter in this regard, dated April 1, was also sent to the Chief Engineer, BBMB, Sundernagar.

The Forest Department on its own issued notices to the BBMB for violating the Act and decided to lodge an FIR against its top officials. The cognisance taken by the ministry will definitely help in restraining the BBMB from using the forest land for other activities. Mr Yudh Chand Saklani, President, Himanchal Kishan Union, has welcomed the step taken by the Ministry of Forest. He further demanded that BBMB officials should be booked for violating the Act.

According to a source in BBMB, the letter written by the Conservator Forests was received by it. BBMB officials had met officials of the Forest Ministry in this regard. 

Himachal is polio free
Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 10
Himachal Pradesh has virtually emerged as a polio-free state in the country with no polio case reported in the state over the last six years.

Stating this while launching the state-wide pulse polio immunisation campaign, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said the state had maintained a consistently high coverage level of administration of oral polio vaccine and pulse polio immunization campaigns since 1995. As a result no polio virus case had been detected in the state and the Acute Flaccid Paralysis had confirmed the zero case target. He said the state’s effective and efficient immunisation system alongwith well organised National Polio Surveillance Programme had supplemented the efforts of the state government in combating the disease in the state.

He said the state Health and Family Welfare Department was vigorously pursuing the pulse polio immunisation campaigns to ensure that polio did not resurface in the state. Strict vigil was being kept over the migrant families and pulse polio drops being administered to their children. Besides parents were also being educated.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said 5,823 booths manned by 24,402 volunteers had been set up and 7,28,830 children in the age group of zero to five were being administered anti-polio drops today.

The Chief Minister also flagged off a fully equipped mobile pulse polio van which would go to different places and administer pulse polio drops to the children who had not got the anti-polio drops.

Flags in forests enhance fire threat
Kuldeep Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Mandi, April 10
With the summer heat fast catching up, forest fire threaten the ‘chil’ and pine forests in the state, more particularly the Sar Ki Dhar pine jungle as the pilgrims have tied fire-catching prayer flags all over the pine forest, about 28 km from here.

The threat of forest fires is even more pronounced as these prayer flags have fallen from trees on the forest floor, which is littered with fire-catching pine needles, that virtually adds fuel to fire.

Though the Forest Conservation Act forbids any interference in the demarcated and protected forest area, the Forest Department has yet to take measures to arrest this menace in the Sar Ki Dhar forest range, the villagers revealed.

As a matter of fact, the state’s 50 per cent forest area is fire prone, but the Forest Department neither has enough equipment and field staff, nor ever involved villagers or NGOs in fighting the fire menace.

In Mandi district over 49 per cent forest is exposed to the danger of forests fire every year. The wildlife sanctuary got burnt as prayer flags caught fire accidentally near the Lomas Rishi caves.

Two cows from a neighbouring village were burnt alive, revealed villagers. “The flags are tied every year and neither Forest Department nor monastery officials care to remove the flags from the ground”, they complained.

The caretakers of the monastery at Sar Ki Dhar said flags were cleared as soon they dropped on the ground. “Pilgrims bring and tie the flags here, which we can not refuse”, they said.

The Conservator of Forests, Mr C.S. Singh, said the department cleared the fire lines and deputed forest guards for patrolling in the jungles.

“We need more funds to hire patrolling staff during the summer season. We have asked for a sum Rs 40 lakh to control the forest fire, but got just Rs 9 lakh”, he added.

Two Panchkula residents killed in mishap
Our Correspondent

Solan, April 10
Two occupants of a Tata Indica Car (HR-03-D-1862) was killed, while other two were seriously injured when the vehicle rolled down a 150-meter-deep gorge, near Timber Trail Resort, near Parwanoo, this afternoon. All occupants hailed from Panchkula.

The girl, Neha, was killed on the spot, while a boy, Sanjay, succumbed to his injuries while being taken to the PGI, Chandigarh. The driver, Raj Kumar, lost control while trying to negotiate the hill road. Another occupant, Ritu, was admitted to the ESI hospital at Parwanoo. A case has been registered.

Leopard cat shifted to zoo
Our Correspondent

Sundernagar, April 10
An injured leopard cat was spotted at Slapper village, 18 km from here, yesterday. Villagers informed wildlife officials at Sundernagar, but they did not attend to the Schedule 1 animal on the pretext that it was lying outside the Bandli sanctuary area.

According to villagers, the leopard cat was noticed by some of the morning walkers. As the news spread, a large number of residents gathered at the spot and informed the Range Officer of Kangoo, Mr Narinder Sharma. He along with staff visited the spot and shifted the animal to Sundernagar Veterinary Hospital.

The Range Officer informed officials of the wildlife range, Sundernagar, but a Deputy Ranger refused to attend the animal on the pretext that it was lying outside the sanctuary area.

Later, forest officials informed top wildlife officials and on their intervention the animal was finally shifted to the Rewalsar zoo.

According to forest officials, it was the duty of the wildlife officials to take care of the animal.

20 jhuggis gutted in fire
Tribune News Service

Baddi, April 10
As many as 20 jhuggis were gutted in a fire which broke out on the Sai Road here this afternoon when a kitchen fire spread uncontrollably engulfing all nearby jhuggis.

Police officials who rushed to the spot managed to save occupants while all belongings of the jhuggi dwellers were reduced to ashes.

Nothing could be retrieved as the jhuggis were constructed of thatched dry material.

The dwellers comprised daily wage workers from Bihar and Orissa. The fire reportedly started when some children initiated cooking in the absence of their parents who had gone for work.

The officials who rushed to their rescue later extended relief to the affected families.