Shimla, June 16
The state eco-tourism society would be spending Rs 8 crore on renovation and infrastructure development at 143 forest rest houses in Himachal Pradesh.

Presiding over the first meeting of the governing body of the eco-tourism society today, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said these forest rest houses, known as Himachal forest lodges, would be thrown open to tourists. He also launched the society website: www.himachalecotourism.com.

He said the constitution of the eco-tourism society would further supplement the endeavour of the state government in promotion of eco-tourism. “There is no death of budgetary provisions to undertake projects directed towards safeguarding the environment and ecology of the Himalayas,” he said.

The CM said Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) plan would be utilised by the local eco-societies for boosting the eco-tourism by repairing and maintaining the forest rest houses, inspecting huts, maintaining hikes, treks and trails, besides other activities on the eco-circuit.

He said the Government of India had made provisions for improving status of biodiversity, land-use planning and improving socio-economic factors to help increase livelihood options of the locals and ensure decreasing dependence on forest resources.

He said 1 per cent of the CAT plan had been earmarked for promotion of eco-tourism in respective areas. He further said services of the eco-tourism professionals would be utilised to operate the forest rest houses.

The CM said the society would evolve strategies for capacity building of the personnel involved in eco-tourism, undertake visits of success areas in Sikkim, Bhutan or Annapurna project of Nepal to handle mountain-based community eco-tourism.

He said eco-lodges and heritage buildings had been planned at Sonu Banglow near Tara Devi and that Craig Naino and Shimla Catchment area would also be taken up for restoration. He added that the old Hindustan Tibet Road, the Penelope Chetwood trail, the Kasol-Kheer Ganga Trek, the Naina Devi hike and others would be restored and improved besides introducing camping, home-stays, treks, trails, hikes, medicinal plants hubs in every eco-circuit of the state forests.

Shimla, June 16
The government has issued a show-cause notice to the 192-MW Allian Dhuhangan power project in Kullu for violation of the Environment Protection Act.

An official spokesperson said here today that the government was ensuring that the power projects and other developmental projects were set up as per the Environment Protection Act. He said an agreement for the construction of the Allian Dhuhangan project was signed in 1993 whereas an implementation agreement was signed in 2001 and a quadripartite agreement with certain terms and conditions was signed between the state government and the project promoters on November 5, 2005.

He said it had been brought to the notice of the government that the company had carried out construction without taking adequate steps for the protection of environment.

The government constituted a committee in March to conduct an inquiry into the environmental damages caused by the company in the project area and its surroundings. The report found company guilty of violating the act.

Palampur, June 16
Hundreds of villagers staged a dharna at Bandla village and blocked the roads leading the construction site of Om Power Corporation, which is executing a 15 MW hydel project here, today. The villagers were protesting the large-scale reckless and unsystematic cutting of hills, loss caused to natural water sources and village pastures by the company.

A newly-formed village society ‘Telhaka Welfare Society’ is heading this agitation. Zila Parishad member Yash Pal Walia and panchayat members of the area also joined the protest march and agitation.

Walia said the company was playing havoc with the natural resources and had destroyed hundreds of trees without valid permission. Besides, over 500 hectares of forest land had been affected by the reckless cutting of hills.

In direct violation of directions issued by the HP High Court and the SC, the company was dumping the debris and clay in the Neugal, they alleged.

The residents of Bundla village told The Tribune that they had informed the local administration and forest officials about the illegal activities of the company time and again but nothing had been done in this regard.

Instead of taking action against the erring officials of the company, the government machinery was extending their full support, they alleged. They said no case had been registered against the company for indulging in illegal felling, reckless and unscientific cutting of hills and damaged caused to water sources, etc. They said three labourers had been killed on the project site due to the company’s negligence. But the administration had remained a mute spectator and no compensation was paid to the victims’ families.

Palampur SDM C.P. Verma said the dispute was between the villagers and Om Power Corporation and so the administration had no role to play in it. He said the administration had received no complaints about illicit felling and reckless cutting of hills.

Later in the afternoon, a police party reached the spot and persuaded the villagers to lift the dharna. The villagers decided that they would intensify their agitation from June 18 if no action was taken against the company officials by then.

Meanwhile, manager of Om Power Corporation Yogesh Aggarwal said they had valid permission of the government of Himachal Pradesh to execute the project.

Shimla, June 16
The high court directed the state government not to finalise the process of allotment of small hydro projects in private sector without the leave of the court.

The interim order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Deepak Gupta and Mr Justice V.K. Ahuja on a petition filed by 15 interested parties challenging the change of conditions by the government for allotment of hydro projects up to 5 MW.

Earlier, it was provided in the policy that the preference would be given to Himachalis for allotment of these projects, but the state government changed the condition on the last date of submission of the applications.

The court further directed the state government to file reply within four weeks and observed it might continue with the process of assessment/appraisal of project reports, but the final decision should not be taken without the leave of the court.

Shimla, June 16
I.D. Dhiman was elected leader of the BJP legislature party here today.

Members of the BJP legislature party unanimously elected Dhiman as their leader. Dhiman, a fourth time MLA from the Mewa constituency in Hamirpur district, was the deputy leader of the BJP in the House.

He also remained education minister in the Dhumal government. With Dhiman’s election as the legislature party leader, he would lead the party in the House during the ensuing monsoon session beginning from August 4.

It was also decided at the meeting that Dhiman, in consultation with senior leaders and MLAs, would decided on the name of the person to be chosen as the deputy leader of the opposition in his place.

It is possible that either Ravinder Ravi, representing the Thural constituency in Kangra, or Harbans Rana, representing the Guler assembly segment, could get the post of deputy leader of the party in the House.

Both Ravi and Rana have won for the third time.

Shimla, June 16
The BJP will be submitting a fresh chargesheet against the Congress government, demanding a CBI probe into the allegations of corruption levelled against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and other leaders.

Talking to mediapersons after a meeting of state BJP office-bearers here today, Sat Pal Jain, in charge of the party affairs in the state, said the chargesheet would be submitted to the Governor by the end of June. “With corruption being the focal point of all other issues like price rise and unemployment, the BJP will hold dharnas, demonstrations and rallies in all 68 Assembly segments in July,” he said.

He said the Chief Minister, who had said that corruption would be the main issue during the Hamirpur byelection, was himself facing serious allegations, levelled by his own party MLA. He, however, said since very little time remained for the Assembly elections, it was immaterial if Virbhadra Singh resigned himself or people vote him out of power.

He said it was surprising that no explanation had come in from AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister or the in charge of Congress affairs in Himachal on the CD issue.

He said though it was Congress’ internal matter to suspend its MLA Vijai Singh Mankotia, it was surprising that no action had been taken against the person against whom the allegations were levelled.

Solan, June 16
Taking a stern view of the gross negligence of the Pollution Control Board in checking erring units from dumping toxic effluents into the Sarsa river, principal secretary of the Department of Environment J.P. Negi today sought a report on the issue from the board within two days. A high-powered team comprising board officials was dispatched to the industrial area today.

The team comprising senior scientific officers from the board has been directed to collect fish samples from the affected area after touring the affected stretch of the Sarsa river. Negi said accountability of the erring officers would be fixed and those found responsible for the lapse would be taken to task. He said it was a serious issue related to environmental degradation and would be dealt with seriously.

He said the team had been directed to draw samples from the industrial units in the area and submit a report on their effluent-treatment systems. The team had been asked to submit a report in two days and if it was not found satisfactory another report would be sought, he added.

This has set the alarm bells ringing for the erring units that had made it a practice to dump toxic effluents on the sly with the onset of the monsoon. Such units had gone unpunished in the past as the Parwanoo-based laboratory of the board failed to detect the exact effect of toxic industrial effluents on fish mortality.

Negi said though he had asked the Parwanoo-based board’s laboratory to submit regular reports of industrial samples, these were rarely made available. He said the units found guilty of having discharged toxic effluents would be closed down on receipt of the report.

Dharamsala, June 16
Eighty-year-old noted environmentalist Sunder Lal Bahuguna who has spent most of his life opposing the construction of big dams in the Himalayan region, has said that he would continue his fight to save the Himalayas from environmental degradation till his last breath.

He was talking to The Tribune on the telephone after his arrival at Sundernagar, this evening. He has come over to address a protest rally on Sunday opposing the alleged devastation caused by the local cement industry.

He said the governments of eight countries in and around the Himalayas needed to sensitise on environmental issues and frame a comprehensive policy on Himalayan regions by considering the views of the local people.

He said, “The Himalayas are the mountains of emotions, not rocks and boulders, and we must preserve and nurture it to save our culture, to save our souls”.

Regarding the role of environmentalists who were continuously maintaining a strong pressure group on the respective governments from time to time in the country to protect the environment of the Himalayas he said, “We are engaged in a bigger struggle- the struggle to save the Himalayas, which is dying due to the onslaughts of aggressive development in the form of damming the rivers, deforestation, mining and luxury tourism”.

He further said the environmentalists like him were educating the people to heal the wounds of the Himalayas, keep it a place to live for the local inhabitants and accessible to nature lovers and spiritual seekers, use natural resources in a sustainable manner, to achieve regional self-sufficiency, to keep the landscape intact, to protect biodiversity and to establish local autonomy for the advancement of traditional culture.

“This will save the nature and culture of these great mountains, a source of varied inspiration to humankind”, he added.

Shimla, June 16
The Western Himalayan mountaineering and adventure sports institute would organise courses in disaster management for police, home guard and government officials.

Presiding over the third meeting of the general house of the Western Himalayan mountaineering and adventure sports society, Manali, here today, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said disaster management was an important subject and the state needed to be adequately prepared for any eventuality.

“The services of experts in the disaster discipline would be hired to create a disaster management force within the government machinery and to impart basic training to the people,” he said.

He said Bilaspur was fast emerging as a sports town where best sports infrastructure was being crated for holding national and international events. “The Sports Department, in association with the mountaineering institute, would take effective steps to upgrade infrastructure at Bilaspur to enable holding of national and international events,” he said.

He said the mountaineering institute needed to upgrade its training skills by requisitioning services of young and trained instructors who could train instructors. 

Kangra, June 16
A couple who has been married for the past 12-years, are facing the wrath of the people in village Baldar, as they are being subjected to extreme humiliation and are being harassed. Their fault is that both belong to different castes, which is not acceptable to the people of the village. They have also been declared as ‘untouchables’.

Deputy superintendent of police, Kangra, Jeet Singh Thakur said Beena Devi, 32, resident of Pathiar village who is a member of the Scheduled caste community had married Pratvi Raj (35), a Choudhary boy, of Baldar village in 1995. He said this was not acceptable to people in the village as Baldar was dominated by members of the Choudhary community.

Thakur said Prathvi Raj and Beena have four children which included three daughters and one son. He said the couple have lodged a complaint with Nagrota Bagwan police post that Beena was being tortured, humiliated and harassed by women folk and had mentioned names of five women.

The DSP said Beena was not even allowed to take water from the public tap and women passed sarcastic remarks to her and said the couple’s children were also being humiliated.

Thakur said a case under Section 3 and Sub-Section 5, 10 and 14 of the SC, ST Atrocity Act 1989, has been registered. No arrests have been made so far. He said the five women mentioned in the FIR would soon be arrested.