Shimla, July 20
The Green Area Committee constituted to look into the existing ambiguities in the17 green areas in the state capital has ordered review of the final report to incorporate landmarks like nullahs and roads to enable easy identification of the green belts.

The sub-committee which had prepared the report after undertaking khasra wise identification of the green belts and transferring their boundaries into revenue record submitted its report before the Green Area Committee on July 16.

The sub-committee has now been directed to submit its final report on July 25. The Green Area Committee headed by Town and Country Planning director felt that the best way to ensure easy identification of the green belts was to mark their boundaries along the landmarks like roads, nullahs and bridges. Besides making identification easier, this would also rule out any possibility of excluding any part.

The committee will now straighten and simplify the boundaries of the green belts by marking landmarks with in a week’s time, after which the report will be finalised and approved.

The other members of the Green Area Committee include commissioner, municipal commissioner, additional deputy commissioner (ADC), additional district magistrate (ADM) and DFO (urban).

After the Green Area Committee approves the report, the green belts of the town could even be re-notified by the government after examining the fresh demarcation. This task has been undertaken jointly by of the Revenue and the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department to remove the existing ambiguities.

It is after undertaking a four-month-long tedious exercise that the two departments have completed the task of transferring the boundaries of the green belts into the revenue record after verification from the physical survey maps.

It is on the directions of the Cabinet that the task of khasra-wise identification of the green belts was undertaken. Even though the 17 green belts in the town were notified by the government in 2000, but there were no khasra numbers of the area forming part of the green belts, leading to a number of missing links. Now the exact khasra numbers would be mentioned in the green belts leaving no scope for ambiguity.

The total area demarcated as green area falling under 17 belts in and around the town is about 414 hectares. In order to ensure that the dwindling green cover in the town does not shrink further, the government proposes to increase the number of green belts to almost 100.

The 17 green belts include the forest in Tuti-Kandi, Nabha, Phagli, Lal Pani, Bemloe, Himfed, Khalini, Chotta Shimla I and II, Kasumpti, Charlie Villa, Jakhu, Bharari, Shankali, Ruldu Bhatta, Summer Hill, Boileauganj and Chaura Maidan.

It was in December 2000 that the state government had imposed a complete ban on constructions after the green belts were notified.

Mandi, July 20
Medical experts have expressed their concern over the increasing menace of fake drugs that have entered the markets in the state through a chain of drug suppliers operated by pharmaceutical companies.

These allegedly pay hefty commission to those who are associated with the trade, including drug inspectors, who are supposed to check the menace.

Though the Health and Family Welfare Department claimed that they did regular random sampling and testing of drugs procured by the government for its hospitals and shops every year, but the department had just 10 drug inspectors to check the proliferating business of spurious drugs run by certain chemists in the state.

The members of the Indian Medical Association revealed that there was no way available with the doctors and hapless patients to ensure whether drugs were genuine or not until something hazardous happened.

The dubious companies operate through a chain of drug suppliers or medical representatives, who further sell the drugs to the chemists at much lesser prices than the drugs procured from the certified and reputed companies under the nose of the drug inspectors, the doctors revealed.

The doctors revealed that fake drugs are being sold in the markets in the state over the years as enforcement of the inept Drugs and Cosmetic Act remains weak.

Inquiries from drug inspectors revealed that they did random checking and collected samples just to complete paper work and send them for testing to the composite testing laboratory at Kandaghat.

“All samples tested there turned out to be genuine as samples of fake drugs are never collected from the chemists as they allegedly bribe them”, revealed members of the IMA.

The network of fake drugs suppliers not only flourish in towns, it has even reached rural pockets in the state where so-called registered medical practitioners(RMPs) or quacks run their chemist shops-cum clinics freely, playing with the health of innocent villagers, revealed IMA members.

“Even certain drug companies bribe certain doctors to prescribe their drugs”, they alleged.

Over 300 chemist shops have come up in district in the past few years. “Even a drug factory, which was shut down due to losses earlier, has been restarted recently. The drug inspector has yet to test samples of capsules and tablets made in the factory, though drugs are being sold in the market,” revealed sources.

Health services director Dr M.L. Mahajan admitted that there was no authentic method of knowing as to whether the drugs were fake or genuine, except that the drugs inspectors took random samples of the drugs procured by the government and then tested them in the lab every year.

“We have not received any complaint and all samples tested in the laboratory are genuine”. Dr. Mahajan said. The government had constituted a technical committee with experts from IGMC and the Health Department who decided as to which drugs were procured from which companies, he said.

“The lowest bid is not the criteria, but the companies have to produce certificates from the testing laboratories and have good manufacturing practices.

Bilaspur, July 20
The police on Thursday arrested the in-laws of Rita Devi, 23, after her body was found from the village well.

On the complaint of the girl’s father Jamuna Das, the police arrested husband Suneel Kumar, father-in-law Milkhi Ram and mother-in-law Savitri Devi from Barotta village under Bharari police station.

Rita got married to Suneel Kumar last year. Jamuna Das alleged that Rita was repeatedly harassed to bring more dowry, which he could not afford at all.

He held Rita’s in-laws responsible for her death. A case has been registered.

Nahan, July 20
Four persons and two trucks allegedly involved in the illegal transportation of sand and grits from the Yamuna have been reportedly trapped in the river.

As per information, around 6 pm, the flood water was released from the Dak Pather Barrage in theYamuna due to which two trucks and four persons got trapped in a small ‘Tapu’ in the middle of the river in front of Paonta cremation ground.

One truck was completely submerged in the water and the other got partially submerged. However, the four persons were reportedly safe till late evening.

Narvir Rathour, SHO, Paonta police station said the police had sent a team of local expert swimmers with tubes to rescue the stranded persons but they refused to return and said they would return with their trucks after the level of flood water goes down.

Neelam, who was already depressed over her husband’s affection towards the first wife, could not digest this and killed her baby.

Kumarhatti, July 20
The JP Associate today admitted to stop work on its upcoming 25-MW thermal plant at Bagheri in Nalagarh subdivision.

The company’s managing director, Rajiv Gaud, while speaking to the agitating villagers claimed to have suspended the work till further instructions from the state government were received.

The project landed in trouble after five panchayats got notice from the Pollution Control Board to attend the public hearing over the plant.

Enraged over the development, the villagers supported by an NGO, Himprivesh, formed the Sangresh Samiti to oppose the plant.

The villagers had protested the public hearing who termed the plant devastating for the ecology.

The JP plant suffered another setback after the government suspended the then member secretary of the Pollution Board, who is now the director, Forest Department, for allegedly giving NOC to the plant without holding the public hearing.

The matter has also put two senior officials of the Power Department in the dock.

As per Himprivesh’s allegation, the public hearing was an ‘eyewash’ as JP had already got NOC for the plant by the Power Department and the Pollution Control Board on April 12, 2006 and September 27, 2006, respectively.

Shimla, July 20
The government has drawn up a plan for the expeditious exploitation of its vast hydroelectric potential to make the hill state a power house of the country, said power minister Vidya Stokes while presiding over a meeting of officers of the state electricity board.

She stressed the need for monitoring of works being executed by the HPSEB to achieve targets.

She reviewed the performance in respect of APDRP (accelerated power development and reform programme) and various hydel projects being executed by the board.

She said priority was to increase power generation to make Himachal a model of hydel power in the country. She directed the officers to ensure the completion of each scheme as per the schedule.

The government was committed to supplying quality and reliable power to the consumers at reasonable rates. It was providing subsidy of Rs 132 crore to domestic and agriculture consumers. The government had also formulated a comprehension plan to strengthen the transmission network.

Mandi, July 20
Health teams headed by Mandi CMO Dr D.K. Arora today toured the fever-affected areas of Baggi-Lohara and Rati and distributed medicines to patients, who were suffering from ‘viral fever’ due to weather conditions.

He said no fresh case of viral fever was detected by the team. “Patients suffering from viral fever have been treated”, he added.

Dr Arora said all routine cases of diarrhoea were reported from the Patsal and other areas which was normal in the rainy season. “The IPH department has been asked to treat the water supplies in the area”, he added.

Though IPH engineers claimed that the water supply for Patsal had been treated, but the villagers complained that they were still getting muddy water. The water supplies had been treated and debris had been stopped from entering the IPH supply there, the engineers claimed.

Shimla, July 20
The Himachal Drug Manufacturers Association has opposed the move of the Centre to withdraw exemption from excise duty granted under the industrial package.

According to the association, it will spell doom for the pharmaceutical industry in the state.

It has urged the state government to take up the matter with the Centre to get the move stalled as such a step will put the process of industrialisation in the reverse gear.

Addressing a press conference here, president of the association Rakesh Arora said the economic advisory council had recommended that area-based exemption in respect of drugs manufactured on loan licence or contract basis be disallowed.

The Prime Minister office had already accepted the recommendation and a notification in that regard could be issued any time.

It would spell doom for the pharmaceutical industry in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, where the new units enjoyed exemption from excise duty under the package.

The government had announced package for 10 years and the Union ministry had also clarified that exemption was for manufacturing goods in the specified area and thus available irrespective of the fact whether they were produced on job work or loan licence basis.

However, the government had now initiated a move to withdraw exemption from units producing drugs on loan licence and contract basis.

It would create a plethora of problems for the industry, banks and the state government.

The Baddi-Barotiwala belt had emerged as the biggest pharmaceutical hub in Asia as the industry from all over the country had shifted to the place to take advantage of incentives.

About Rs 4,500 crore had been invested in 350-odd units so far. Out of that Rs 3,000 crore had been provided by banks.

Stakes were high not only for entrepreneurs but also the financial institutions. About 150 ancillary units that were making packaging material and other items for drug companies would also be affected, he added.

The executive council of the HPU has approved the implementation of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations with regard to holding of student elections. Various political outfits are unhappy but have little option but to fall in line.

The authorities on the other hand are hoping that with constraints and checks the elections this time will be a peaceful affair. They are keen that holding of the elections should not vitiate the academic atmosphere of the university.

As per the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, the students cannot paste printed posters nor distribute pamphlets and hand bills. They will have to rely on hand -made posters and above all on one-to-one contact with students.

The committee recommends that the guidance centres which the student outfits like the SFI, ABVP and NSUI have put up have not been allowed.

Though these guidance centres were set up to help and assist students seeking admission but the real motive was to garner support in favour of their outfit right at the onset.

The committee recommends that research scholars have been given voting rights which they did not have earlier.