Shimla, April 18
The cumbersome and time-consuming process for obtaining various clearances is holding back the development of small hydropower projects in the state.

The tardy pace at which the potential of small hydropower units is being harnessed can be judged from the fact that out of the total 259 such projects allotted since 1995, only 12 (with aggregate capacity of 36 MW) have been completed so far.

Two more projects of 9.5 MW are likely to be commissioned over the next one month. While 54 projects are under construction, work has yet to begin in case of 193 projects. Out of these, implementation agreements have been signed only for 97 projects and rest are still in the process of obtaining various clearances.

The government allows three years for various clearances and two years for construction. As such, projects should be commissioned in five years. However, out of 259 projects, 135 were assigned more than six years ago. During the past five years, 112 MoUs were signed for executing projects with an aggregate capacity of 338 MW. Of these, 44 were allotted more than three years ago, but construction had actually commenced only in case of eight projects so far.

The independent power producers (IPPs) maintain that work could not be started because it required a lot of time and effort in obtaining clearances that involve six departments and acquisition of land. One has to run from one department to the other as there is no single-window service for the purpose. However, it is also a fact that under the MoU route, many undeserving parties that did not have the requisite technical and financial capability manage to secure projects using political links. There have been cases where the original allottees had passed on the projects to other parties. The government has not been taking any action for delay and mostly granting extension to the IPPs.

Hydropower expert R.L. Justa said for projects up to 5 MW all clearances should be granted at the district level and single-window authorities should be constituted under the respective deputy commissioners.

He said another reason for delay was that most of the projects had been allotted to outsiders having no rapport with the local people and they usually faced problems in acquisition of land. He said the government should cancel the allotment of all projects given to outsiders that had not progressed as per MoUs. These projects should be assigned to Himachalis under the new policy, he said.

Meanwhile, Himurja has moved a proposal to the government to either cancel the allotment of 33 projects on which work had not been started in the stipulated period or grant one-time extension to them. It remains to be seen whether the BJP government cancels the projects or obliges the parties with further extensions.

Sundernagar, April 18
The elected representatives of various panchayati raj institutions did not attend the meeting called by the administration to negotiate rates of land with farmers for setting up a cement plant near Sundernagar.

The meeting was held on April 16 under the chairmanship of Mandi additional district magistrate B.S. Dehal. It was the fourth such meeting. The effort did not yield anything due to two reasons. The first one, none of the panchayat representatives attended the meeting and secondly the farmers were demanding Rs 80 lakh per bigha, whereas the company had expressed its inability to give more than 8.4 lakh per bigha.

Panchayat representatives had attended earlier three meetings that ended without any result. This time, the panchayat representatives boycotted the meeting.

On the other hand, representatives of the Sundernagar Sangharsh Samiti and the Paryavarn Bachao Samiti criticised the administration alleging that it was involving only those farmers who were favouring the plant.

The next meeting would be held on April 29. However, the farmers have already made it clear that they will not allow the company to acquire their land at throwaway prices.

The ADM was appointed to negotiate the land rate with the farmers.

Shimla, April 18
The Himachal Kisan Sabha has warned the government of a mass agitation if it went ahead with the privatisation of the Agro-India Packaging Limited, a public-sector undertaking set up for manufacturing apple cartons.

Opposing the move to handover the unit to the private sector at a press conference, state president of the sabha Tikender Singh and Shimla district president Sanjay Chauhan blamed the successive Congress and BJP governments for the sorry plight of the undertaking. The firm has an accumulated loss of Rs 57 crore.

They said mismanagement, corruption, financial irregularities and low-capacity utilisation were the reasons behind such plight of the firm. Only 3.89 to 24.5 per cent production capacity of the unit was utilised. It was thus hardly surprising that the carton produced was expensive and the unit could never break even. Instead of making efforts to improve productivity, the number of employees had been reduced from 188 to 78.

Privatisation was not a solution to the problem as it was set up with a specific purpose of replacing the wooden fruit packing cases to save forest wealth. Moreover, it was playing an important role in stabilising the prices of cartons. If the public undertaking was wound up, the fruit growers would be at the mercy of private companies which would exploit them to the hilt. The prices of cartons would shoot up further.

The sabha would bring all associations of fruit growers under one banner to launch a mass stir to oppose the move. It urged the government to improve the functioning of the company to transform it into a profit-earning unit.

Shimla, April 18
The Atal Bijli Bachat Yojna, under which CFLs will be supplied free of cost to 16 lakh domestic consumers, will help save around 200 to 250 million units of electricity annually. But more importantly, the step will send a right message across to the people and make them realise the need to make optimum use of the available power.

The domestic consumers comprise almost 85 per cent of the total power consumers of the state, but they account for less than 20 per cent of the total power consumption. As per the projections made by the state electricity board in the tariff petition for 2008-09, the total consumption in the state will be 5,700 million units. Out of it, the consumption by domestic consumers will be just 1,130 million units.

If one takes into consideration the fact that maximum power is consumed during winters for heating purposes, the power actually used for lighting will come to around 550 million units. Most of the urban consumers were already using CFL bulbs. As such, even if the switchover to energy-efficient devices results in saving of 60 per cent, the actual quantum will be around 250 million units.

It is a pity that the board has taken three years to carry out a direction of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission in this regard. The government can do even better if it replaces the old pumping machinery installed at various lift drinking water projects as these are a big drain on power. The projected consumption for the current year is 364 million units on this account. The electricity bill of the Shimla drinking water supply alone comes to Rs 50 crore.

Under the recently announced scheme, four CFLs will be given to every domestic consumer on the basis of the payment receipt of the electricity bill for March. The government will give Rs 80 crore to the broad for the purpose. The amount will be returned in 10 instalments over the year. The consumers will have to deposit the old bulbs with the board, which will be destroyed to ensure that they are not put to use again. However, a better idea will be to auction the old bulbs, parts of which can be recycled.

The 254 subdivisions of the board will also carry out awareness drives to educate the consumers. The board will also claim carbon credits for saving energy under the clean development mechanism.

Dharamsala, April 18
Facing acute shortage of doctors and paramedical staff the government has planned to outsource nurses for Tanda medical college. Sources revealed that the medical college is short of about 300 nurses.

Since the government cannot immediately recruit such a large number of nurses on permanent basis so this problem is hitting services at the medical college. The idea has been floated to fill the nursing staff through outsourcing.

The sources told that in outsourcing the government would float a tender seeking required number of nurses. It would pay the decided amount to the agency that bags the contract. The agency would further be responsible for supplying nursing to the college.

Dr Suresh Sankhyan, principal of Tanda medical college, said outsourcing was the best option available before the college for tackling staff shortage. This would secure the future of students of the state who are undergoing the nursing courses. As and when the government recruits nurses on permanent basis the number hired through the contractor can be reduced systematically.

The college is also short of medical teachers. Presently, the sources here pegged the shortage at more than 12 per cent. Insiders here claimed that the shortage of medical teachers could be met only if separate cadre of service is created for Tanda medical college and IGMC, Shimla. Presently, many doctors have joined here just for the sake of promotion. After getting promoted the doctors manage their transfers back to Shimla.

However, if a separate cadre is created for the college then the doctors recruited here would have to serve here for entire stint of service. Presently, the college has 50 undergraduate medical seats. The college authorities are trying to get an increase in the number of seats. For this purpose equipment worth Rs 35 crore has been purchased. Another purchase of Rs 20 crore is in the offing.

The college authorities were also ruing the non-coordination from the PWD authorities carrying out construction of the college building. Most of the buildings being constructed at the college campus are getting delayed from fixed schedules. 

Shimla, April 18
A two-day seminar on “Recognising Himalayan diversity” began at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study here today.

Scholars participating in the seminar called for a fresh insight into the concept of diversity to know how it influenced the relationships within and among societies.

Director of the institute Prof Peter Ronald deSouza said the idea of diversity had so far been seen as part of the “unity in diversity” concept. It was time, he said, to populate the idea of diversity and not be anxious about its existence in India.

He explained why the institute had chosen to adopt the concept of diversity as the research theme for the current academic year. The entire series of seminar had been planned on the question of diversity in various spheres.

Convener of the seminar Prof Chetan Singh elaborated on various paradigms and frameworks through which the Himalayan region had been studied by scholars. Experts would explore the “manner” in which socio-economic dissimilarities manifest in Himalayan societies from the perspective of diversity.

Prof B.N. Goswamy discussed the diverse ways in which Pahari painters saw their surroundings. He said it was not proper to define styles of painting according to regions.

It was more appropriate to see painters as part of a tradition of family apprenticeship, he said.

Dhirendra Dangwal described how socio-economic change in Uttarakhand during the colonial rule resulted in environmental change and degradation.

Bharati Puri from IIT, Delhi, discussed the relationship between deep ecology and Buddhism. Sanjeeva Pandey gave a detailed account of the diverse practices in the field of nature conservation. His paper focused on wildlife management practices in Himachal Pradesh.

About 25 scholars from across the country are participating in the seminar.

Dharamsala, April 18
Prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche today claimed that the situation in Tibet was deteriorating. Speaking at a press conference here, he called upon the international community to intervene into the issue. “According to our sources, China has increased use of force against peaceful Tibetan protesters in Lhasa,” he claimed.

When asked if he was satisfied with the reaction of the international community, he said trade and economic relations seemed to be weighing heavy on the Tibetan cause. However, Tibetans were helpless without the support of the international community. Only the pressure exerted by the international community could force China to open channels of dialogue with the emissaries of the Dalai Lama, he said.

He said the Chinese authorities were calling upon the Dalai Lama to exercise his influence on the Tibetans to stop protests. On the other hand, they were carrying out a campaign against the Dalai Lama. All modes of communication, including radio and television, had been blocked in Tibet. The Chinese government would destroy all evidence of their repression by executing innocent Tibetans, he said.

They are also trying to defame the peaceful methods being adopted by the Tibetans to raise their voice. On March 14, the Chinese authorities allowed unusual unrest to prevail in Lhasa. Most of the protesters involved in violent acts were unfamiliar to local people. There were cases when locals had seen Chinese policemen in Tibetan dress and in monk robes during the protest.

The Chinese authorities were using such tactics to justify the crackdown on Tibetans.

A Chinese mediaperson gave tough time to the Tibetan prime minister-in-exile. Speaking in Chinese, he asked him to clarify his stand on Sikkim and Arunachal as territories of India. To this, he said that as per the agreement of 1914, Sikkim and Arunachal were integral parts of India. Even China had now recognised Sikkim as a part of India, he said.

The Chinese scribe, whose questions had to be translated to Rinpoche by an interpreter, also asked about the source of funding for the Tibetan youth congress programs. To this, he said he had no knowledge about it.

Rinpoche also claimed that China was trying to create rift between Tibetans and Chinese people.