Shimla, April 18
While justifying the need for more sawmills in the hill state, the forest department has informed the central empowered committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court that it will carry out computerised coding of the mills in the state to effectively monitor their functioning.

Responding to the queries of the (CEC) it further said that in all there were 2,930 registered sawmills in the state with an aggregate annual sawing capacity of 68,000 cubic metres.

The availability of timber outside government forest areas was much higher as evident form the report of the Forest Survey of India, which worked out the total quantum of the growing stock in Kulu, Kinnaur, Una and Solan districts at 43 lakh cubic metres.

The department would conduct a survey for all 12 districts of the state to assess the total volume of private timber so that the annual availability for sawing could be worked out on the basis of the 10-year felling cycle.

The CEC had sought this information in connection with the state’s case for reopening 450 unregistered sawmills which were closed down following the court order.

It has been insisting that the state government must provide exact data about the availability of private timber along with the sawing capacity so that it could be ascertained whether there was scope for more mills.

To regulate the functioning of registered sawmills complete information will be maintained through a computer-based monitoring system under which a code number will be assigned for each sawmill. It will also enable the department to track the movement of mills banned under the court order.

There has been a complete ban on green felling in the state and the CEC has been trying to ascertain if enough private timber was available for sawing to justify such a large number of units.

Dharam Prakash Gupta adds from Hamirpur: The report submitted to the high-powered committee CEC has justified the reopening of these sawmills in Hamirpur district by saying that the annual consumption of timber is estimated to be 5,445 square meters.

Principal chief conservator of forests Pankaj Khullar said:“We have submitted a report justifying the reopening of these sawmills based on facts and figures like availability of timber and annual consumption etc. We shall justify our case in the next meeting of the CEC in New Delhi”.

Sundernagar, April 18
In a significant order passed by Sundernagar additional chief judicial magistrate Bhupesh Sharma who has issued a notice to Mandi SP and further directed him to appear in person before the court on May 21 with the detailed report as to why the non-bailable warrants issued against an accused was not served for the past more than eight years by the police.

The court further directed the Mandi SP to depute an officer not less than the rank of Deputy SP for the execution of non- bailable warrants against the accused.

The court directed Mandi SP to appear in person before the court on May 21 with a detailed report for the non-execution of non-bailable warrants.

The court has also sent a copy of the order to the DGP to look in to the matter as the police had shown casual approach in compliance of order of the court.

Shimla, April 18
Though the Wild Flower resort at Mashobra has become a favourite holiday destination for the Gandhi family, this time it is the search for a piece of land to have their own house that has brought Priyanka Gandhi here.

Back after some hectic electioneering in Uttar Pradesh, where her brother Rahul has taken charge of the party reins, Priyanka, accompanied by husband Robert Vadra and her two children, arrived here yesterday. The family visited Retreat, Rashtrapati Niwas around 11 am and later went to Mashobra around 2 pm.

It is learnt that she is keen to purchase a piece of land in the vicinity of Mashobra to build a house. Priyanka and Rahul developed a fondness for the place when they first spent a quiet holiday with their mother at Mashobra some years ago.

Wanting to spend some quiet moments with her family, Priyanka is learnt to have been quite annoyed with her SPG security personnel, who, despite her instructions, did not allow them to drive out without security. Despite a dressing down from her when the family drove out of the hotel, the SPG men followed them dutifully.

Priyanka is expected to be here till April 20 and there is also a possibility that she might extend the holiday. After landing in Chandigarh, they drove up to Shimla to spend a quiet holiday at Mashobra, yesterday.

As has been the practice, their visit was kept a closely guarded secret although police and intelligence personnel had been deputed around the resort in plain clothes.

Dharamsala, April 18
The excise department has ordered investigation into the raids conducted by an excise inspector at the illegal storehouse of a local liquor baron in Rakkar village, near Dharamsala, last evening.

As many as 2,600 cases of illicit liquor of various brands from the left-out stock of the last financial year were seized by local excise inspector A.N.Sharma with the assistance of the police.

However, under pressure from the liquor baron he allegedly released the seized stock of liquor on ‘supurdari’ to the liquor baron late in the night. The liquor baron was neither arrested nor was the storehouse sealed by the excise inspector.

Realising the failure of the excise inspector to take stern action against the evader of excise duty, the excise department today ordered reinvestigation into the whole episode and conduct fresh raids on the storehouses of the liquor baron.

N.C. Beakta, additional commissioner of the excise department of Dharamsala zone based at Palampur in Kangra district, told The Tribune that he would himself conduct fresh investigation by visiting the spot. He admitted that there were certain flaws in the raids conducted by the excise inspector as no proper action was taken after such a big evasion of excise duty was detected.

Another senior official of the excise department revealed that the excise inspector has no power to release the stock of seized liquor on ‘supurdari’.

It was an offence committed by him and departmental action would be initiated against him for adopting a soft approach towards the liquor baron, said the official. It may be mentioned that the total excise tax evasion calculated on the seized stock of liquor and beer is Rs 19.44 lakh on IMFL, Rs 3.80 lakh on CML and Rs 17.55 lakh on beer. Apart from the recovery of this excise duty, a penalty would also be imposed on the liquor contractor if found guilty of stocking the illicit liquor.

Apart from this, there were reports of a few drums and boilers with empty boxes available in the storehouse that might have been used for making illicit liquor. The excise department would also look into this matter, said Beakta. The excise inspector in his raid had ignored these items found in the storehouse.

Sundernagar, April 18
Thanks to apathy of the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department, farmers in Dandara and Dubrain villages in this subdivision have yet to get the irrigation facility. The department has allegedly procured pipes of wrong size for the Dinak
lift irrigation scheme meant to irrigate 400 bighas of fertile land in these villages.

The scheme was started around five years ago. Boring was undertaken for a tubewell by the department’s mechanical wing at a cost of around Rs 12 lakh with a water discharge of 40 litre per second, sources said.

Showing utter callousness, department purchased pipes of 100 mm diameter although the requirement was that of 100 mm pipes. “As a result, the flange that fits around the pipe inside the pump-pipe is not fitting, which has delayed the scheme for years and rendered it un-operational so far,” sources said.

On the other hand, farmers told The Tribune that they had been making rounds of the IPH Department at Sundernagar for the past few years, but to no avail.

They said they want to grow cash crops and paddy to raise their income, but they could not do so due to the lack of irrigation facility.

When Sundernagar superintending engineer O.P. Chauhan was contacted, he passed the buck on to the executive engineer, saying he was not aware about the scheme as nobody had brought the matter to his notice.

Executive engineer M.S. Thakur also said he was not aware about scheme as it was initiated few years ago, but he would ask the field staff to file a report on that. “You can send a complaint to me as I have not received any so far,” he added. He, however, admitted there could be some technical reasons why scheme was not started.

Shimla, April 18
Even though the summers have just begun, the woes of local people as far as water scarcity is concerned have already begun. The local municipal corporation (MC) will start water rationing from tomorrow.

The MC today informed the public that in view of the rise in mercury and arrival of tourists in large numbers, water supply in the town would be on alternate days only. People have been advised to ensure that there is no wastage of water.

The areas which will receive water supply tomorrow, include the entire central zone comprising Mall, Lower Bazaar, Lal Pani, Ram Bazar, Ruldu Bhatta, North View, Fingask, aIdgah, CTO, Krishna Nagar and the Lift.aWhile some parts in Lakkar Baza, Sanjauli, Chotta Shimla and Chaura Maidan zones will receive water supply tomorrow, other areas within these zones will be given water day after.

Chamba, April 18
The ‘Sal Ghati Bachao Morcha’ led by noted environmentalist Rattan Chand Sharma has finally come out against the Hul hydroelectric project in the Sal valley of Chamba district.

Rattan Chand Sharma, a zila parishad member of the area, said residents of the area had been resisting the construction of the project forcing the state government to constitute a ‘review committee’. Though the matter was pending with the committee, the private company which had been allotted the execution work of the project was planning to start construction in and around the project site without waiting for the decision of the committee, Sharma said.

“The hydropower company would not be allowed to undertake construction of the project until the matter of safeguarding the riparian rights of locals was resolved by the government,” Sharma said.

He pointed out that Sillaghrat, Jadera, Baraur, Sungal and few other adjoining panchayats were likely to be affected by the construction of the Hul hydroelectric project. He said these panchayats were known for fertility and wooded forest ranges; adding that the irrigation channels of these areas would become dry as a result of the project.

The main reason for the people’s opposition is that they fear that the project would destroy rich forests of devdar and banned species of trees in an area where more than 95 per cent of the people were dependant upon forests for their survival.

Besides, the Hul river sustains about 24 water mills, the future of which is feared to be doomed if the two proposed projects on the river are allowed to materialise.

Mandi, April 18
Revenue and panchayati raj minister Sat Mahajan announced that revenue grievance redressal camps (RGRC) initiated by divisional commissioner Mandi, K.J.B.V. Subrahmanayam, in the central zone have turned out to be successful in resolving pending revenue matters and they would be extended to Shimla and Dharamsala zones.

He said the state would slowly switch over to uniform metric system in revenue matters and the revenue staff and members of panchayats and zila parishads were being trained to make them computer-savvy.

Presiding over the 59th Himachal Day celebration at Seri Munch, Mahajan alleged it was due to bureaucratic lethargy that no district in Himachal was covered under the UNDP programme.

“We have enough funds and have put in place a sound system of sirens and river monitoring cells to take care of natural disasters in the state for which the government has amended the relief manual increasing relief of Rs 75,000 in case of life loss and Rs 50,000 in case of house loss,” he said.

He added the government had given power to the Gram Sabha to issue NoC in case of projects except big hydro projects, and it could cancel to NoCs if it finds them harmful to the panchayat. But the panchayat is authorized to issue NoC in case of bigger projects, he clarified.

He inspected the parade and honoured panchayats which had achieved 100 per cent target in rural sanitation of the district.

Solan, April 18
Throwing norms to the winds an influential non-Himachali builder has not only initiated construction of a road through a reserve forest at Bi-Ka-Kheel village about 4 km from Bhojnagar without obtaining the requisite permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests but has not even cared to seek any clearance from local forest officials.

The matter came to light after villagers of the nearby panchayats, including Upender Sharma, Vimla Devi, Kanti Prakasah, Hari Dutt and Sakth Ram Sharma lodged a written complaint with the Bhojnagar police post last week. The builder who has recently bought about 100 bighas of land nearby was attempting to connect his land through a road that fell short by nearly one km.

The villagers said though the police had impounded two JCB machines used in the process to clear about 65 metre of land last week but the builder again initiated the process to clear the forestland.

He not only cut as many as seven to eight fully grown (chir) pine trees but also carried out straight cutting of the hill slope on Sunday night. The villagers discovered the construction activity yesterday morning, following which they informed the local range forest officer at Parwanoo.

He immediately sent a team of forest officials to the spot and managed to erect a temporary wall of stones around the site so as to cordon the forest area and dissuade any further attempt to construct the road.

The forest officials were now camping at the site to locate the owner and catch the culprit red-handed. The range officer immediately dispatched a team comprising three guards and one block forest officer to the area last night but despite spending the whole night, the builder remained elusive. A naka had been set up to catch them.

The forest range officer said he had sent his men to inquire about the land deal from the revenue officials but no report had been received till today about the owner of the land.

It was after knowing about the owner only that an FIR would be lodged in the case. It was being assumed that the owner, presumably from Haryana, had entered into an agreement with some locals and the mutation of the land was pending with the revenue officials.

The revenue officials said no such sale deed had been done as per their mutation records but some agreement could have been executed at the local level that was yet to be entered in the revenue records.

The forest officials had swung into action after learning of the illegal road. The concerned range officer said they had completed fencing of the affected area today and plantation would soon be done on it. This would altogether eliminate all chances of the road getting carved out again.

The irate villagers said it was highly unjust that an outsider had dared to take out a road from the forest area while their genuine public interest works like construction of a 9-km road between Sandhog to Byala could not come through in the absence of permission.

The DFO Alok Nagar said if such a road had been made they would have to demolish it and the land would be reclaimed by the end of this week without any delay. Suitable action would be initiated against the builder.

Shimla, April 18
The state government has reduced the stamp duty on instruments of conveyance amounting to sale of immovable property (sale deed), gift deed and mortgage deed from 8 to 5 percent. An announcement to this effect was made in the budget. The Cabinet had subsequently taken a decision that has come into effect with the issue of notification in this regard. — TNS