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CVC turns down Sutlej Jal Nigam chief’s plea
Highway in state of neglect courtesy
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Laws and hundreds of trees axed
Khajjiar lake — a bowl of silt
Scab scare haunts apple growers
Shortage of doctors ails medical college
CM launches pulse polio drive
Police yet to ascertain cause of fire in FCI office
Plan to link tehsil-level offices
Driver, conductor assaulted
Chamba water impure: residents
Preparations on for Chamba Millennium
Himachalis shy away from local industries
Hatu peak to be made tourist spot
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CVC turns down Sutlej Jal Nigam chief’s plea
Shimla, May 15 According to sources, Mr Y.N. Apparo, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the nigam, had written to the Union Power Ministry to explain the situation in which the favours were extended to the companies and urged for a review of the decision of the CVC. He tried to justify the favours and maintained that the board of directors had approved the decision subsequently and as such no irregularity was committed. However, the CVC has found no merit in the arguments and pointed out that the board took decision on the basis of facts placed before it. Action should be taken not only against the officers responsible for extending favours but also those instrumental in blocking the recovery. The management has been asked to charge sheet the officers concerned. In all 11 officers are involved in the case. The recoverable amount, which has swelled to over Rs 460 crore along with interest, came under the vigilance scanner after the CVC received some complaints in this regard. The board of directors of the nigam had all along maintained that the amount was recoverable but it did not initiate any action. The CVC and the Union Power Ministry had been pestering the management to take action against the erring officers, but it appeared to be reluctant to act in the matter. In fact, the management had not been even keen to identify the guilty officers. The CVC had to pursue the matter relentlessly for over two years to compel the nigam to sent the names of the erring officers. Subsequently, one such officer, Mr O.N. Singh, could not be granted extension as Director of Finance and he had to quit abruptly last year after the CVC denied vigilance clearance. Another officer G.S. Rao, Deputy Manager, Finance, was suspended but no action has been taken against nine other officers found responsible for recommending and approving the payment of advances and not recovering the same. According to sources, if action is taken and responsibility is fixed for the non-recovery of advances as directed by the CVC then very senior functionaries up to the level of directors and general managers will face the music. |
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Highway in state of neglect courtesy corrupt officials
Palampur, May 15 This road was declared a national highway in 1987, due to defence requirements for supply of goods to Leh and other border areas. Though over Rs 300 crore has been spent on this road in past 18 years, but the state’s Public Works Department could not cover even one third of the road into a national highway. The Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department, which maintains this highway, has neglected it and funds provided by the Ministry of Surface Transport, were allegedly misused. National highway officials are under a cloud for flouting rules, and giving contracts to contractors with doubtful background. The nexus between corrupt officials and contractors has caused serious concern among general public. Condition of the national highway between Pathankot and Kangra has worsened. Coat of premix coal tar laid by contractors only six months ago has been washed at many points. At many points the highway is in a pitiable condition. Despite repeated allegations of corruption and irregularities against officials and contractors, no action has been initiated. The state government’s vigilance agencies have become silent spectators. It is alleged that Minister and MLAs close to the Chief Minister came out to defend corrupt officials and contractors responsible for loss to the state exchequer. A few days back when Chief Minister Vir Bhadra Singh visited Dharmsala, several Congress workers complained to the Chief Minister regarding corruption in the allotment of tenders and poor quality of material used in civil works, and strengthening of national highway. Though the Chief Minister assured a high-level probe and action against the corrupt officials and contractors but nothing has come out of it till today. |
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Laws and hundreds of trees axed
Sundernagar, May 15 The work of felling trees is likely to be speeded up as soon as the current harvesting season is over. The area in which trees are being felled comprises private as well as forest area. According to environmentalists, the felling is being done in violation of the Forest Conservation Act and the HP Land Preservation Act. The site where the trees are being felled was selected by the National Thermal Power Corporation (
NTPC) for the extraction of clay. The clay was to be used in construction work at the 800 MW Kol Dam project on the border of Mandi and Bilaspur districts. The NTPC has taken this area on lease from 27 farmers and pays Rs 20,000 per bigha per year. The NTPC had applied for permission to fell 1,327 trees of 15 broad-leaved species to the Forest Department. However, an objection was raised by the department as the NTPC had not taken the required clearance under the provisions of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act. The records showed that many field reports were in favour of the NTPC and department officials were recommending the grant of permission to fell the trees. According to a report of the Forest Department 1, 327 trees were to be felled. However, according to estimates, the number of trees which may have to be felled is much higher than what has been recorded. No mention has been made of thousands of trees growing in the adjoining forest area where felling has been undertaken. The matter has taken an interesting turn with the NTPC writing to the Forest Department (letter dated April 1, 2005) that it will “not process the case” of felling trees as it has asked the land owners concerned to make the land free for use. After this, land owners started felling trees. Visits by this correspondent to the area revealed that felling has been going on for many days. Farmers started the felling of trees growing not only on their land but also in the forest
area. NTPC officials say that permission to fell the trees has been granted. However, forest officials are silent on the status of the case. They have also denied reports of felling. According to Mr
R.K. Gupta, DFO, Sundernagar, a land owner can fell five trees every year for his domestic use. If the number of trees is more, permission is to be taken for felling from the Forest Department. He said till now he had not received any application from any land owner for permission to fell trees. A senior forest official said that the area in which felling is to be done constitutes a compact forest block. The necessary permission is, therefore, needed under the Forest Conservation Act. Further, clay will be extracted up to a depth of 20 metres in the area. This is also a violation of the Land Preservation Act and mining laws. Permission, if any, was granted in violation of the existing law. Last year the Himachal Government banned mining in the Balh area. In the present case permission, if any, has been given without conducting any environment impact assessment even though the area consists of agricultural land. Many brickkilns are also located in the vicinity of this area. These pose a danger to the environment. Further, mining on 220 bighas of land up to a depth of 20 metres will further degrade the environment. Residents of the adjoining areas have opposed the indiscriminate felling of trees and demanded a high-level probe into the matter. |
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Khajjiar lake — a bowl of silt
Chamba, May 15 With cattle and abandoned horse straying all over the 1.6 km-long and 0.9 km wide tourist spot, the green carpet shows ample signs of neglect. Most tourists don’t even walk up to the lake, which is fed by streams that traverse the grassland. At a height of 6,400 feet above sea level, the area is located beneath a dense pine forest surrounding the high mountains and fringed by deodars. Talking to the Tribune, Tourism and Transport Minister G.S. Bali said there were plans to spruce up the lake to bring in more tourists and the drive would begin with its cleanliness. “Desilting of the lake and cleaning up of the area would be the first step,” he said. Meanwhile, the neglect of the lake continues to be an issue for the tourists visiting the place. “No animals should be allowed on the area surrounding the lake so that the texture of the grass is maintained. Steps should also be taken to ensure that the tree cover surrounding the lake does not decrease. Scores of trees can be seen uprooted as one drives down the road leading to the tourist spot,” says Ajit Parmar, who had come with his family from Jalandhar. “The place attracts tourists for not more than four months before the rain sets in. The government can make concerted efforts that during this time the lake remains all decked up. It should not be treated as just another community garden where people can litter and spoil at will. Since this is one of the 16 places across the world having resemblance to Switzerland, grants worth lakhs would come from the Centre as well,” added Reshmi Aneja of Panchkula. “It was in 1992 that Mr Willy T, Blazer, head of Chencery of Switzerland in India christened it as mini-Switzerland and thus put it on the world tourism map. He had also put a signboard of yellow Swiss hiking footpath, showing the 6,194 km distance of Khajjiar from the Swiss capital of Berne. But the local authorities have still not appreciated the value of the natural beauty,” says Amit Mehra, another tourist from Pathankot. Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, Rahul Anand said the lake was under the Wildlife Department and it was for them to take care of the place. |
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Scab scare haunts apple growers
Mandi, May 15 Talking to The Tribune today, the apple growers rued that they had written to the Deputy Director, Horticulture, for the supply of the pesticides, but all pleas had fallen on deaf ears. The President, Lower Kulu Valley Growers' Association, Mr Devi Singh, said the farmers needed pesticides as the summer had increased the temperature which in turn had increased the chances of scab and other parasites that feed on the fruit crop. "But there is an acute shortage of pesticides prescribed by the horticultural scientist to control the disease," he added.
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Shortage of doctors ails medical college
Shimla, May 15 The Head of the Surgery Department has made several requests to the government to fill up the vacant posts and appoint more registrars as the present staff is finding it difficult to handle the work load. It has been pointed out that besides almost eight elective surgeries taking place every day, the doctors have to bear the additional burden of performing emergency operations as well. Interestingly, the doctors in the super specialities of Urology, Paediatric Surgery, Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery (Burns) and OBG have already expressed their reluctance to attend to patients referred to them by the Department of surgery as they are somehow managing with skeletal staff. "Rather there are written directions from the authorities that since there is a shortage of registrars in various super specialities, doctors of the Surgery Department must attend to their patients as well," said a doctor. The Head of the Department of Surgery has time and again written to the higher authorities that besides providing round the clock emergency cover to the super specialities, the doctors at the department have to shoulder teaching responsibility also. Sources said against a minimum requirement of six registrars there were only two registrars in the department, whereas there should be a minimum of nine registrars. The staff at the Surgery Department points out that the hospital has also failed to meet the Medical Council of India requirement that there should be atleast two registrars per unit. Doctors admit that in case the government does not appoint registrars in the department, services will certainly be affected as there is a tremendous rush of patients at the state medical college.
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CM launches pulse polio drive
Shimla, May 15 Mr Virbhadra Singh said that the government had made elaborate arrangements to make the campaign successful. The volunteers of the Health Department also conducted a house-to-house survey after the campaign to ascertain if any children had been left uncovered. Besides, mobile vans had been pressed into service to ensure that no child was left without the dose of polio drops. He said it was the duty of the parents and all educated people to ensure that all the children aged up to five years were administered polio drops. MANDI: Of the estimated 95,000 children in the 0-5 age group in Mandi district, over 90 per cent children was given the anti-polio drops under the pulse polio programme on the first day today. Health officials told The Tribune that in over 1,100 pulse polio booths, over 90 per cent children were given the anti-polio drops. The health officials said that the district had reported over four new cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) this year that showed that the surveillance over the polio virus was active. “We have sent stool samples to the central institute at Kasauli, but none of the cases has tested positive for polio,” said S.K. Gupta, District Immunisation Officer, Pulse Polio.
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Police yet to ascertain cause of fire in FCI office
Mandi, May 15 According to sources, the owner of the house has been trying to get the premises vacated but to no avail failed. What has come as a surprise is that there was no chowkidar in the office when the fire broke out around 1.20 am. The fire engine reached the spot in time and controlled the fire in 30 minutes, the police said. The Station House Officer, Mandi Sadar, Mr N.K. Sharma, said the fire destroyed over 90 per cent of the official record, four computers, furniture and other things worth around Rs 5 lakh. “We have sent samples gathered from the spot for testing to ascertain whether the fire was caused by a short-circuit or not. We are also investigating from where it began and whether there were some miscreant behind or it resulted due to negligence on the part of the FCI”, he added. Though the FCI Divisional Manager could not be contacted, officials said nobody was in the office when the fire broke out. The police has registered a case under Sections 289, 283, 427 of the IPC.
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Plan to link tehsil-level offices
Shimla, May 15 The state has submitted a Rs 72 crore proposal to the centre for the setting up of the Himachal state wide area network (HIMSWAN) which will enable the government to start a host of IT-enabled services. It will be a major step as all official communication will be effected through the network. Besides increasing efficiency, it will also bring transparency in the administration. The innovative reference and monitoring system introduced in the state secretariat enables not only the officers but also people to track the movement of files. A pilot project is being launched which will help provide various administrative services and information under one roof. The integrated community services centres project will cover Shimla, Mandi and Kangra districts initially and extend to other districts later. A tele-medicine project is also coming up which will cover Kinnaur, Kulu and Sirmaur districts. It will enable the people living in the far-flung areas to avail the services of medical experts on their doorstep. Institutions up to the primary health centre level will be linked to the Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital which in turn will be connected to the PGI, Chandigarh. The government is also encouraging the IT industry. An IT park is being set up near Waknaghat over 126 acres. A software park has been set up in Shimla. |
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Driver, conductor assaulted
Palampur, May 15 According to the police, few students of HPAU, who were travelling in Shimla-bound bus, entered into a heated conversation with bus conductor Harnam Singh. When bus arrived at the Palampur bus stand, they called their fellow students from the HPAU hostel. A group of over 20 students descended on the bus stand and attacked driver Parveen Kumar and conductor Harnam Singh before a huge crowd. But they fled the spot before the police could reach the spot. The badly injured driver and conductor had been admitted to the Civil Hospital where driver Parveen Kumar was stated to be in a serious condition . However, the conductor was said to be out of danger. The police had registered a case against the students but no arrest had been made yet. Meanwhile, the HRTC employees union threatened direct action if the culprits were not arrested soon. A spokesman of the union told mediapersons that government should ensure safety and security of drivers and conductors. |
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Chamba water impure: residents
Chamba, May 15 According to Mr Hans Raj Singh Rathore, a senior member of the District Development and Planning Committee, the issue had been raised by him at a meeting of the committee but nothing came of it. He said the residents of these areas were not getting water supply on Sundays and gazetted holidays. “The authorities concerned should see the things for themselves and put the treatment plant into operation,” he said. |
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Preparations on for Chamba Millennium
Chamba, May 15 Stating this here today, Ms Neena Sehgal, senior manager of the HPTDC, said the staff of the tourist circuit of the HPTDC had swung into action to manage activities that suited to attract tourists. “Endeavours are being made to make Chamba a ‘holiday centre”, said Ms
Saihgal. |
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Himachalis shy away from local industries Baddi, May 15
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Hatu peak to be made tourist spot
Shimla, May 15 Stating this Mr Virbhadra Singh , the Chief Minister , during his visit to the famous Hatu Mata temple, near Narkanda, about 65 km from here, today, said the Hatu peak received abundant snow every year and it had some of the best ski slopes. He said the government would provide all required facilities to develop it as a centre for winter sports. |
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