Shimla, June 12
The horticulture ministers of four hill states today urged the Centre to provide them with a special financial package to strengthen road and rail connectivity and change the norms under various central schemes to suit their geophysical needs.

Addressing a joint press conference after the conclusion of their conference, the ministers said strengthening road and rail connectivity along with transport subsidy would help strengthen the economy of the hill states in a big way.

“The Centre must have separate norms for the hill states under various schemes and we should be consulted at the time of formulation of the policy,” said horticulture minister Narender Bragta.

Jammu and Kashmir horticulture minister Mohammad Dilawar said the Centre must give subsidy for setting up controlled atmosphere storage and cold chain facility as over 15 lakh metric tonnes of fruit is produced in his state.

The ministers said that they would take up the issue of including horticulture and animal husbandry under the loan waiver scheme. Two coordination committees, one headed by Bragta and the other by Jammu and Kashmir agriculture secretary Sonali Chander were constituted to take up various issues with the Centre. “A joint delegation of the horticulture ministers from the four states will meet Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit to resolve the problem of 6 per cent commission being charged from apple and other fruit growers of Himachal in Delhi,” informed Bragta.

Earlier, Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal said today that the Trans Himalayan Development Authority was the need of the hour so that the hill states could collectively raise issues of common interest at the central level and benefit from sharing mutual experiences.

Delivering the inaugural speech at the first-ever horticulture ministers’ conference of hill states here today, he said the hill states had common problems, geo-physical conditions and different developmental requirements which if raised collectively could yield the desired outcome.

“Being small in size the hill states lack political weight and are as such being overlooked at the central level, depriving people of many developmental benefits,” he remarked. Taking up common problems at the level of the forum would put pressure on the Centre to accept the demands of the hill states, he added.

“The developmental requirements of the hill states should not be equated with other states, where constructions costs are much lower,” he said. He stressed that the Centre should include the perishable horticultural commodities under the crop insurance scheme and fully finance the natural calamities.

Dhumal said the hill states should be given relaxation with regard to forest laws, special concessions under the horticulture technology mission and transport subsidy. “We should now make efforts to motivate other Himalyan states like Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim to join us to add strength to the forum,” he said.

“We have made a beginning to provide a platform to the hill states to assemble, deliberate and decide the future course of action to get its common problems addressed at the central level,” said horticulture minister Narender Bragta

Mohammad Dilawar, horticulture minister of Jammu and Kashmir, emphasised the need to change the old rootstock and plant high-yielding varieties.

Trivender Singh Rawat, agriculture minister of Uttarakhand, emphasised the need to redefine the horticulture policy and infrastructure upgradation for marketing of farm produce to in main markets. “Uttarakhand is the only state to have an organic board and other sates too can benefit from it,” he said.

Tsering Gyurmer, parliamentary secretary and principal adviser to the Arunachal Chief Minister, said his state needed a proper Land Act and expert planning for interconnecting the state and strengthen the infrastructure to market the produce.

Shimla, June 12
Generation in the country’s largest hydroelectric project remained suspended for the second consecutive day today due to a high level of silt in the Sutlej.

The level of silt at the Nathpa dam from where the water is diverted into the head race tunnel was 7,500 ppm (parts per million) as against the permissible limit of 4,000 ppm. The silt content was still higher upstream at Powari (10,200 ppm), indicating that it will take some time for the level to come down.

According to engineers of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, the silt was being brought down into the river from the Spiti valley as the silt level in the Sutlej was normal at 4,500 ppm up to Khab, where Spiti joins it. The silt level in the main Spiti has been hovering between 11,500 ppm and 12,000 ppm. The SJVN authorities had requested the Army authorities to identify the tributary of Spiti responsible for excess silting of the river.

The engineers believe that the silt content had increased due to delayed but sudden melting of snow.

Palampur, June 12
Over 50,000 residents of Palampur town and its adjoining areas are forced to consume muddy and contaminated drinking water during the rainy season every year as the water treatment plant of the Irrigation and Public Health department virtually become non-functional due to large-scale inflow of silt and mud as a result of reckless cutting of hills by a private company executing a power project near the water source.

Though the state government had spent over Rs 3 crore on the water treatment plant installed at Bundla village, near here, it hardly functions satisfactorily, forcing the of the town to consume contaminated and muddy water.

The IPH Department had so far failed to initiate any action against the Om Power Corporation, a Andhra-bsed company executing a 15-M hydel project near the town which had damaged the water sources.

IPH executive engineer L.R. Chaudhry alleged that because of reckless cutting of hills by this company, the sources and supply lines carrying water to the town and adjoining areas had been damaged at various places. In the present circumstances the water treatment plant could only treat water to a certain limit. Whenever there was heavy flow of silt it stopped functioning.

He said the company had so far caused a loss of Rs 3 crore to the IPH Department which had asked the management to deposit the money in the state exchequer immediately so that the entire water supply system and treatment plant could be repaired. The matter had also brought to the notice of IPH minister Ravinder Thakur.

It was seen that water tanks of the IPH Department were in bad shape. In the absence of regular cleaning, most water tanks were filled with silt, mud, leaves and insects. In the absence of a boundary wall, stray animals freely roam inside the water treatment plant complex. It may be recalled that six small hydel projects were being executed by private companies, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, between Dharamsala and Baijnath. Since these companies have strong political connections, these were playing havoc with nature and flouting the MoUs signed with the state government and damaging water supply schemes. These companies do not bother to reply to the legal notices served by the SDM and the IPH executive engineer, Palampur.

These companies have not only caused loss to environment but also damaged as many as 24 drinking water supply schemes in the region. The water sources of all major drinking water supply schemes had been covered with debris and clay thrown by these companies.

Dharamsala, June 12
Rain this month has brought both good and bad news for farmers of the state. Experts of Palampur Agriculture University said the rain was bad for farmers of the higher reaches but beneficial for those in lower areas.

As wheat is still to be harvested in the higher reaches, the rain would damage the standing crop there.

In lower areas, however, it has created ideal conditions for sowing paddy, soyabean, maize and arhar.

However, the experts have advised farmers to delay sowing of horse gram and black gram by June end, as the rains can ruin them.

Director extension education K.K. Katoch said the farmers were advised to sow HPR 2143 variety of paddy. This variety was suitable for conditions prevailing in the lower areas of the state.

The variety of paddy gives yield of 70 quintals per hectare against other varieties that give yield of 35-40 quintals per hectare. In case of soya bean, the farmers have been advised Sarista, Palam Soya and Him Soya varieties.

The un-seasonable rains are also good for sowing vegetable and fodder. The farmers, who have maintained nurseries for vegetable, should keep them covered with polythene or any other material.

The sources in the agriculture department said in Una district, the food basket of the state, the farmers suffered loss of Rs 42 crore due to damage to wheat crop. Agriculture Department officials have sent the report of the loss to the state government.

When asked about the possibility of compensation to the farmers, the officials of the Agriculture Department said till date no state government had given cash compensation to farmers. The compensation was given only in the form of subsidy in seed or agriculture implements.

However, the subsidies in seeds and implements were given under the schemes sponsored by the Centre and the state had very little to contribute to it.

The farmers of the lower areas have demanded that they should be given compensation for corps on the pattern of Punjab.

Hamirpur, June 12
B.R. Rahi, a former chairman of the HP Board of School Education, has decided to sue state BSP convener Vijay Singh Mankotia and Jagroop Singh, principal of Shiva Public School, Chuwari (Chamba) for their unfounded allegations made against him at a press conference in Dharamsala yesterday. In a strongly worded press statement issued here today Rahi said “the allegations are not only part of a low-level act under a political conspiracy but also an attempt to tarnish his image.” He said “I would continue to fight it out legally and politically and would lodge a criminal case against the two, besides filing a defamation suit to expose the blackmailers, so that they do not dare to tarnish anybody else’s image in future.”

Giving reply to the charges levelled against him by Jagroop Singh, Rahi said “ Jagroop Singh was running an education shop in the name of a school and I had received several complaints against the school from students as well their parents. The board flying squad had cancelled a paper during an examination in the school for mass copying a few years back. There were many other complaints against the school and now he is targeting me and board officers to take revenge for cancellation of this paper. Rahi questioned why did he not file a complaint against me when the issue pertains to March, 2005?”

Rahi said the affiliations are granted to schools on set norms and all records in this connection are available in the board office for verification. 

Shimla, June 12
The Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) sought more financial assistance from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for strengthening its infrastructure and introduction of new job-oriented courses under the 11th plan.

A nine-member expert committee of the UGC, with Prof Suranjan Dass, vice-chancellor, Calcutta University, as its convener, today visited the HPU and held detailed discussions with the authorities.

Prof Dass appreciated the university’s strict adherence to 75 per cent lecture condition at the postgraduate and undergraduate level. He lauded the work being undertaken by the Biosciences and Bio-Technology Departments in the emerging areas. “The fact that there are only 14 per cent women on the faculty of the HPU is an indicator that steps need to be taken to increase this percentage,” he said.

Vice-chancellor Prof Sunil Kumar Gupta presented proposals of Rs 151.77 crore prepared by the HPU under the 11th plan before the expert committee of the UGC.

Prof Gupta stressed the need for undertaking concerted efforts to make higher education accessible to students in every nook and corner of the state for which more facilities were needed. He also emphasised the need for starting more applied and job-oriented courses through regular and distance mode of education. He said there should be provision for separate building for each department so that they are able to carry out their activities effectively.

Prof Gupta said the HPU had done extremely well in research and extension despite many constraints. “We are running 100 programmes with an intake capacity of 4,322 students per year and the number of affiliated institutions had also gone up to 232,” he said.

The UGC team also held talks with members of the Executive Council and the University Court. They also called on the Governor, V.S. Kokje, at the Raj Bhawan later in the evening.

Kangra, June 12
Former transport and tourism minister G.S. Bali has dared the government that if former tourism minister and state BSP chief Vijay Singh Mankotia has given sufficient evidence regarding the alleged ‘hawala transactions’ of the ill-gotten money by four senior Congress leaders of the state, including a woman MP, the state government must act swiftly to bring culprits to the book.

Bali stated this while addressing a press conference at his residence here today. He in the beginning refused to comment on the allegations levelled by Mankotia but at last dared the government to take action against the Congress leaders if there was any sufficient evidence passed against them.

He lambasted the state government headed by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal of politicising the trauma through which the people of the state were undergoing following the price rise of essential commodities and petroleum products, including LPG cylinders.

He said Dhumal was not serious about common man’s problems and was not taking a clue from Punjab and Haryana where the VAT had been slashed down to 8.8 and 8.3 per cent, respectively, to push down the price hike to help the people of those states.

He demanded that VAT in the state should be slashed down if not below but at least at par with Punjab or Haryana so that the cost of a LPG cylinder slashes down by Rs 50.

Shimla, June 12
The state government has decided to include the ginger crop in the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme on an experimental basis to fulfil the demand of farmers of the Sirmaur area.

An official spokesman said here today that the scheme which provided compensation to farmers in case of losses during natural disasters would continue during the current kharif season for maize, paddy and potato.

He said the last date for insuring the crops for those interested in raising loans for maize, paddy, potato and ginger crops during the current kharif season was September 30. The scheme was mandatory for those raising a loan while those who were not raising a loan could insure their crops by July 31.

The farmers could contact the nearest primary agriculture cooperative society, rural commercial banks, agriculture extension officers, agriculture development officers posted at the sub-divisional level to get more information about the scheme.

Shimla, June 12
The mega project to bring water of the Pabber river from Rohru to find a permanent solution to the problem of water scarcity may be grounded. The 13th Finance Commission has not been impressed by the project which the government considered essential for economic growth of the state capital and the peripheral areas right down to Waknaghat where an Information Technology Park and a new township is proposed to be set up. However, the commission is not averse to funding road tunnel projects to help reduce the travelling time and cost and protect the fragile hill environment.

As the government had not included any tunnel project in the memorandum presented to the commission, it is likely to submit a supplementary document to seek for some major tunnels.

The commission found the Rs 715-crore project “too expensive” to deserve special funding. The government’s plea that being a gravity scheme it would help save pumping power to the extent of Rs 50 crore annually did not cut much ice with the commission. Non-availability of drinking water has been the main constraint in the economic development of the Shimla-Solan belt, which had immense potential for the eco-friendly IT industry, institutions of professional education and tourism ventures.

The WAPCOS (water and power consultancy services), a government undertaking, had prepared the detailed project report for the gravity scheme under which water is to be tapped from the source at an altitude of 2800 metres flowing down to Shimla (2200 metres) located at a lower level without any pumping as is the case with all existing schemes catering to the capital. The project was designed to bring 45 million litres of water daily to the city, almost double the existing supply. It would have served the capital’s water needs for the next 50 years.

The PWD, which is in the process of preparing feasibility reports for seven traffic tunnels, has been asked to prepare a comprehensive document for the purpose. 

Nahan, June 12
Sirmaur deputy commissioner Pushpender Rajput and revenue officers, besides army officers from the Western Command, Chandimandir, today inspected the area for the proposed Narayangarh - Mandlahan heavy artillery field firing range.

Officers heard public objections at Kolanwala Bhood village where hundreds of villagers would be displaced owing to the firing range. As much as 22215 bighas of agriculture land of more than 30 villages of Nahan and Pacchad tehsils in Sirmaur district is required for the purpose.

Residents of the area have been opposing the establishment of the firing range from the very beginning and have constituted an action committee to fight for their cause. The committee has met top state leaders, including the Chief Minister, in this regard and have also taken out protest marches in Nahan.

The BJP has also opened a front against the proposed firing range. BJP leader Shyama Sharma demanded that the government should quash the notification for acquiring the land for the purpose. She pleaded that the Army should be allowed to establish such firing ranges in barren land only.

Dharamsala, June 12
The doctors of Tanda medical college today wore black badges against the government decision to create separate cadres for both medical colleges of the state.

The protesting doctors said Himachal was the first state to have created separate cadres for the government-run medical colleges. The government move is detrimental for career options of doctors working in medical colleges of the state.

They alleged that the college was already suffering acute shortage of staff. There is just one teacher in the Department of Psychiatry, no dental teacher, one assistant professor in the Department of E&T, one professor on contract in Skin Department. The shortage of doctors is so acute that just three out of 12 operation theatres in the college are functional. In Casualty Department there should be at least 12 doctors. However, there are just three doctors posted there.

The new policy of separate cadres would create problems for the college in the Medical Council of India inspections. Earlier during inspections, doctors from Shimla were transferred to Tanda and vice-versa. However, after creation of separate cadres the shortage of staff at both the colleges would become permanent.

Bilaspur, June 12
The police here has arrested two persons Daulat Ram and his son Dina Nath, father-in-law and husband, respectively, of Monika Devi (25) of Bada-da-ghat village, near Ghumarwin. She died under suspicious circumstances after consuming some poisonous substance on June 5.

SP K.K. Indoria said here today that Monika’s father Braham Dass had registered an FIR against Monkia Devi’s in-laws alleging that they were maltreating her for bringing more dowry, which forced her to take away her life.

The SP said Monika’s mother-in-law Sarla Devi and sister-in-laws Anju and Ranu have been given bail but are being associated in the interrogation in this case.