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Govt poised to segregate power board functions
Watershed project hikes farmers’ income
Pak advocates meet CM
Water shortage in Shimla
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Lawyers continue protest
Red Cross organises medical camp
BJP opposes closing down of schools
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Govt poised to segregate power board functions
Shimla, May 8 With the deadline of June 9 for segregation of the board drawing near, the exercise is being carried out simultaneously at government-level and within the board to take care of both the eventualities whether or not the extension is granted. Over the past one week, a series of meetings had been held to finalise the restructuring plan and the issue had also been discussed in meeting of the board at which the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, and Principal Secretary, Power, were also present. As an immediate step towards fulfilling the requirement of the Act, the board has decided to set up a separate company to look after the transmission activity. The board is studying the set-up in Haryana and Delhi where the state utilities have already been trifurcated. The board has already formed two subsidiary generating companies and by putting in place a transmission company, the obligations under the new law will be met. The board is keen to complete the exercise before the deadline so that the government does not face any problems in case the Centre refuses to grant extensions. According to senior officers, in case an extension is granted the proposed transmission company will be set up as a subsidiary of the board. However, if the Centre turns down the state's request for extension ,it will be incorporated as an independent government company. The government will also take into consideration the statutory advice given by the State Electricity Commission which has suggested that besides a generating company and a transmission company, three distribution companies be set up to take care of the three existing zones. Thereafter, a delimitation exercise be carried out to identify financially viable building blocks within a year to generate competition in partnership with the private sector. Mr
J. P. Negi, Principal Secretary, said the government would not do anything in haste as it was a complicated task. Besides division of assets, the staff would also have to be redeployed. |
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Watershed project hikes farmers’ income
Shimla, May 8 The successful implementation of the project, which was launched in 1996, has brought a discernible change on the development front and conservation of natural resources. A major shift has been witnessed in the traditional cropping pattern with farmers gradually switching over to the cultivation of off-season vegetables to increase their income. The water table has been rising and the ever increasing moisture content in the soil is mitigating the drought conditions to a great extent. It is one of the few projects in which cent percent participation of the people has been ensured and by setting up micro watershed-level and panchayat-level, watershed associations and pradhan along with the gram panchayat members are implementing the project. To enlist the support of non-government organisations self-help groups and user groups have also been formed at panchayat-level and micro watershed-level. Requisite training has been imparted to persons engaged in the implementation of watershed programme. Under community organisation, several activities like conducting participatory rural appraisal exercises and exposure visits. Multifarious activities such as land development, soil conservation and drainage line treatment by vegetative and engineering structure have been taken up. The development of small water harvesting structures, check dams, water percolation tanks and ponds is another important area of watershed treatment. Nurseries for fodder, timber, fuel wood and fruit plants species have also been raised under the project and different types of afforestation works are being undertaken. Under the project being implemented at a cost of Rs 23 crore as many as 42,500 hectare of watershed is being covered. So far 538 gully plugs, 317 contour and graded bandhs, 1,638 create/spurs, 116 farm ponds, 1060 nalla bandhs and 248 minor irrigation schemes have been executed. Besides 626 hectare area has been brought under pasture development, 1,381 hectare under trees by planting the different fruits, fuel, fodder and timber species. Out of the total targeted area of the project, 17,320 hectare has been treated under different water activities. |
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Pak advocates meet CM
Shimla, May 8 This was stated by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, while addressing members of the Pakistan Bar Association who were on a two-day visit to the state. He said the state government organised Pakistani food festival, a goodwill friendship golf tournament and hosted a visit of journalists from the Lahore Press Club. Mr Virbhadra Singh said both countries had similar culture and traditions, besides legal system, inherited from the British. He said more avenues in all sectors needs to be explored to boost the economy. Mr Hamid Khan, Vice-Chairman, Pakistan Bar Council, said it was a long cherished desire of the legal fraternity of Pakistan to see Shimla about which they had read a lot. He said people of Pakistan had special affinity towards the people of India and visiting their relatives and friends across the border was the most joyous moment for them. He appreciated the prevailing legal system in India and said the legal fraternity of Pakistan had been taking notice of various judgements of Indian courts.
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Water shortage in Shimla
Shimla, May 8 Taps in Chakkar, Boileauganj, Kusumpati, Tutu, Summer Hill, Bharari and parts of Kaithu remained dry as water in the main reservoirs on the Ridge and Sanjauli plunged to 7 ft as against the normal 13 ft because of inadequate pumping from Gummah. According to the municipal authorities, only three out of six pumps installed at Gummah were operational. The situation was no better at the Ashwini khud pumping station where three out of five pumps were functional. As a result of which only 58 lakh gallons of water was pumped yesterday and 56 lakh gallons today. Even today the water level in the reservoir on the Ridge was barely 7 ft and that of Sanjauli 9 ft which was not adequate for ensuring normal supply to the town. Mr Mohan Chauhan, Municipal Commissioner, however, maintained that the situation was not too bad though the corporation was facing problem in supplying water to tail-end localities because of low pressure. He expected the supply to improve over the next couple of days. |
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Lawyers continue protest
Dharamsala, May 8 Members of the Bar Associations in Dehra, Nurpur, Jawali, Indora, Palampur and Baijnath in Kangra district are also observing strike to highlight these demands. The state government should have reconsidered both the issues as the imposition of profession tax is in contradiction to the right to freedom of profession of all citizens of the state, especially advocates who adopt the profession after acquiring the necessary qualification and not otherwise,” said Mr Tek Chand Rana, president of the Kangra District Bar Association. He said that the government was not providing chairs, tables or books in the library for the lawyers, though these facilities were provided to the employees of the state government. Since professionals in the state were paying income tax, land revenue, chullah tax and house tax, there remained hardly any place of need for imposition of profession tax, he said. Also, the present government had enhanced the rates of court fees beyond the paying capacity of common man. |
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Red Cross organises medical camp
Mandi, May 8 Dr Arvind Sahni, a gastroenterologist, said “It is essential for people living in the hilly areas to drink boiled, chlorinated or bleached water”. Experts said a large number of people drink water fetched from the traditional water sources, which were not properly bleached and chlorinated. This exposes the false claims of the Irrigation and Public Health Department, which has failed to provide safe portable water to the people in the state. “The people who complained of stomach pain or diarrhoea should go for endoscopy and colonoscopy”, Dr Sahni said. But when Irrigation and Public Health engineers were contacted for comments, they claimed that the department does the routine chlorination and bleaching in the water supplied to residents in towns and villages. Diseases like diarrhoea and gastroenteritis could also be caused by other factors like having unwashed vegetable and fruits by the patients”, an Irrigation and Public Health chief engineer said. |
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BJP opposes closing down of schools
Shimla, May 8 Mr Randhir Sharma, spokesperson for the party, alleged that the Congress government had taken the people for a ride on the issue of employment. It promised jobs to one member from each family but after coming to power it was throwing workers and employees out of jobs. He claimed that so far over 6,000 workers had been retrenched in the Public Works Department, Irrigation and Public Health Department and the Forest Department. Technical assistants had been retrenched even though the Chief Minister had given an assurance in the Vidhan Sabha that they would be retained. The entrance test for admission to the JBT course had been cancelled twice which indicated that the government was not keen on providing jobs. He accused the government of misusing Rs 533 crore sanctioned by the previous Vajpayee government for the sarva shiksha abhiyan. Instead of opening new
schools, the government was closing down existing schools. |
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