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Dhumal meets PM
NTPC submits proposal for diversion of sanctuary area
Vivekananda’s teachings more relevant today
Decision on retention policy awaited
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More forests justify being sanctuaries
Power panel move to hit exchequer
Govt to have first right on ‘non-commercial’ power
Rural areas may be excluded from TCP Act
Contract labour clause being reviewed
Absconding convict held
200 farmers get loans
Rs 304 cr for water supply schemes
Kasauli to have medical college
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Dhumal meets PM
Shimla, September 11 Dhumal called on the Prime Minister today and informed him that as per the statistics released by the department of industrial promotion of year-wise investment intentions, Haryana ,Himachal Pradesh and Punjab received investment proposals of Rs 6350 crore , Rs 3596 crore and Rs 10737 crore, respectively during 2007-2008 which clearly indicate that there was no shifting of industries from the two adjacent states. In fact , the expression of intentions for investment in Himachal Pradesh was marginal in comparison to the two states. As such there was a strong case for restoration of the industrial package up to 2013 as the figures clearly indicated that the state was still lagging behind. He said the state had been receiving investment in normal course even before special industrial package and out of the total investment of Rs 1711 crore from 1991 to March 2008, Rs 934 crore came prior to 2005. It was clear that there had not been any shift in the investment pattern in the region due to special industrial package. All the major industrial areas were linked through national highways which were under the control of the Government of India and certain roads of inter-state connectivity required joint action by the state, the Centre and the neighbouring states. He said initial years of special industrial packages had been utilised for upgradation of infrastructure even though railway and national highway connectivity was yet to be implemented at ground level. The state had developed good infrastructure like power delivery system and land bank in recent years and it had now reached a stage where it could take advantage of the package. He said that midway reduction of industrial incentives had caused enormous loss to the state and told him that the state assembly had unanimously passed a resolution to extend the industrial package up to 2013. The excise duty exemption which was curtailed to March, 2010, should be restored up to 2013 and the income tax exemption which was valid up to December, 2012 should also be restored up to March, 2013. He also met union finance minister P. Chidamabaram in this regard. It has been claimed that both assured the chief minister that the Centre would a take sympathetic view of the genuine demands of the state
government. |
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NTPC submits proposal for diversion of sanctuary area
Solan, September 11 Earlier, the NTPC had obtained the permission for merely 954 hectares of land, while conveniently excluding the protected area falling in the wildlife sanctuary. With nearly 46,000 trees of various broad leaf species, its net present value (NPV) was estimated at Rs 56 crore now. This delay in seeking the permission would cost the project an additional burden of nearly Rs 40 crore as the Chief Empowered Committee (CEC) of the apex court has recently hiked the NPV rates for sanctuary areas. The fresh rates were five times the rates for non-sanctuary area. Confirming the receipt of proposal from the NTPC, DFO wildlife Nagesh Guleria said the NTPC had submitted a proposal on August 27. The case would now be put up before the State Wildlife Board, and, later, the National Wildlife Board. It would then be sent to the CEC for approval. It would be finally placed before the apex court for formal approval to divert the sanctuary land. Once this approval is received, the case for seeking clearance under the Forest Conservation Act and Wildlife Protection Act would be sent to the Centre. Had the Forest Department and project officials presented the correct picture, it would have saved both time and money, officials in the department said. Earlier, the Forest Department had concealed the fact that 124 hectares of land falling in the wildlife sanctuary was to be submerged in the Kol Dam Project in 2004. It was after a PIL filed by a NGO following news reports of The Triune that the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee had halted the work. It had also directed the state government to clarify its position. The department had all along maintained that no wildlife area was to be submerged. However, it was only after the survey was conducted in 2005, it was confirmed that 130 hectares had been left out. An area of merely 80 hectares had been diverted under the Forest Conservation Act and not under the Wildlife Protector Act. Thus, the protected area was left out from the diversion plan that was submitted to seek mandatory clearance. This error had made the forest clearance granted by the Centre redundant as trees could not be felled without obtaining permission. This had also delayed the project work. |
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Vivekananda’s teachings more relevant today
Kangra, September 11 Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education Chaman Lal Gupta said this while addressing a gathering of youths and intellectuals in the auditorium of the local polytechnic on the occasion of the ‘Universal Brotherhood Day’ today. The programme was organised by local branch of Vivekananda Kendra Kaniya Kumari to commemorate the historical speech delivered by Vivekananda on September 11, 1893. He said Vivekananda had expressed apprehensions 115 year ago that fanaticism of the religions was going to drench the earth with blood that came true when the World Trade Centre was smashed. He said the youths should follow Swami Vivekananda as their ideal that would keep them close to their cultural roots and religion, which was need of the hour. He said Vivekananda was eager to have yoga as apart of curriculum to make children mentally alert and intellectually sharp. He said this would help to inculcate the quality education among children. A declamation contest was organised by the kendra on the occasion. Sandeep of Government College, Dharamsala, bagged the first position, Isha Bhadan of MCM DAV College, Kangra, stood second and Kanica Kaushal of Dr. RP Government Medical College, Tanda, third. The overall running trophy was bagged by Government Degree College, Dharamsala. The highlight of the programme was the speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda in his own voice on September 11, 1893, which was presented through audiovisual techniques before the gathering.
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Decision on retention policy awaited
Shimla, September 11 With the public interest litigation in the High Court being dismissed, now the ball is in the court of the government, which is yet to take a decision on the stand to be adopted for disposal of the pending applications for regularisation. It was the previous Congress regime, which had floated the retention policy to accommodate people who had committed violations of the Town and Country Planning Act (TCP) while undertaking construction. Sources said although a final decision in the matter was yet to be taken but initial scrutiny of the cases had indicated that only 761 of the 3235 cases qualified for approval under the retention policy. The Town and Country Planning Minister, Kishan Kapoor, has already stated in the assembly that cases will be decided strictly on merit. The total 3235 applications for regularisation under the retention policy have been received from the 34 Special Areas and 20 Planning Areas in the state. The maximum number of cases are from the state capital where almost 2,100 people had sent in their cases for regularisation. A large number of cases in Shimla pertain to regularisation of five storeys built in violation of the norms while in other parts of the state there are applications for regularising four storeys. The floating of the retention policy by the previous Congress regime just before the elections had come in for a lot of criticism. While on the one hand the government spoke about regulating construction and imposing complete ban on new constructions in Shimla and on the other it announced the retention policy. Interestingly, even though planners and architects had recommended that only 25 per cent deviation from the approved building plan should be allowed under the fifth retention policy but with pressure from influential people this was straight away raised to 50 per cent, defeating the entire purpose of TCP Act and the rules. The only saving grace is that this retention policy will not be applicable in the green, heritage and core areas as defined in the development plan. |
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More forests justify being sanctuaries
Chamba, September 11 However, there are some areas, particularly in Chamba district,
which are rich in wildlife, but are not a part of any sanctuary or a national park. In Chamba district, the Sahoo area is one such tract that has got a variety of wildlife and is fit to be declared a sanctuary. Another area is opposite Sanghni-Langera across the river. This area is rich in wildlife and there is almost no habitation, which makes it suitable for forming a part of
a sanctuary. Wildlife is one of the most valuable and fascinating gifts bestowed upon the Himalayan region. From time immemorial, there has been a close link between the wildlife and the man. With the passage of time, he started taming and domesticating animals. Earlier, human population was less and wildlife in abundance, and at that time there was no need to protect wildlife, but with the increase in population, proper preservation of wildlife became very important. Chamba district was, at one time, very rich in wildlife. Its thick, extensive and varied flora, gorges, inaccessible alpine and high-lying areas provided the safe abode for wildlife. Gradually, the forests were cleared to make room for villages and cultivation and consequently the wildlife was greatly affected in this process. The interior areas of this region were not easily accessible during those days and the wildlife, which was pushed into the interior areas, remained protected. But after Independence, more areas were opened by roads and population also increased. All these factors had adverse effect on wildlife. Considering the fact that the forests like Sahoo, Sanghni and Langera are rich in wildlife, these areas should be declared as sanctuaries. |
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Power panel move to hit exchequer
Shimla, September 11 The increasing gap in demand and supply, particularly during peak hours, has sent the electricity tariff skyrocketing. The power surplus hill state has been a major beneficiary with the revenue generated by sale of power taking a quantum leap from Rs 248.06 crore in 2005-06 to whopping Rs 1,151.48 crore in 2007-08. In fact, the sale of electricity has emerged as the biggest source of revenue with the highest receipts of Rs 1,475 crore during the last financial year. Power has been sold at rates ranging between Rs 8.50 to Rs 9.50 per unit during peak hours. Concerned over the increasing tariff, the commission has proposed various measures, including price caps for inter-state sale of electricity in short-term by the distribution licensees, trading licensees and the power from generating stations. The proposed ceiling of tariff is 20 per cent higher for the sale during peak hours as compared to that during off-peak hours. Alternatively a price cap of Rs 5 per unit of electricity for inter-state sale of off-peak hours and Rs 6 per unit for peak evening hours has been proposed by the commission in the discussion paper analysing the prevailing scenario in short-term trading, the cost of generation of power from typical power projects, the trend in prices of electricity being traded and the current power supply position in the country. The state government loses revenue to the tune of Rs 225 crore for a reduction of Re 1 per unit in the sale price. If the proposed steps are put in place to cool down the electricity prices, the average decline in the sale rates compared to last year will be around Rs 2 per unit which means a loss of annual revenue to the tune of Rs 450 crore. However, the state power board, which purchases costly power to meet the winter shortfall, will be a gainer as the proposed cap on prices will bring down its annual power purchase bill by Rs 80 crore to Rs 100 crore. |
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Govt to have first right on ‘non-commercial’ power
Shimla, September 11 The condition of “right of first refusal” on the sale of such power as remains after meeting commitments of royalty and additional free power and merchant power has been imposed on five projects with aggregate capacity of 496 MW for which bids have been invited. The tariff for the non-commercial power, to be determined in accordance with the National Hydropower Policy, will be determined by the state electricity regulatory commission. There is no provision for commercial power in the state hydropower policy, whereas under the national policy, 40 per cent of the total power generated could be sold as merchant power to anyone at any rate by the IPP. The state electricity regulatory commission had urged the government to review and amend its hydropower policy so that it conformed to the national policy. The government has so far not carried out any exercise to review the policy, but by reserving the first right to purchase non-commercial power, it has recognised the concept. The five projects for which bids have been invited are 60-MW Patam project, 104-MW Lara-Sumte, 104-MW Tandi, 102-MW Rashil and 126-MW Badrang projects. In fact, the Pattam and
Lara-Sumte projects are being re-advertised. Bids were invited for these two projects in June this year along with 15 other projects. However, as there was only one tender for each project, the government decided to invite fresh bids. The IPPs will be required to give free power as royalty and an upfront premium of Rs 20 lakh per megawatt. The bids had been invited on the basis of free power as per which “additional free power” will have to be quoted by the IPPs. |
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Rural areas may be excluded from TCP Act
Dharamsala, September 11 Minister for transport and urban development Kishan Kapoor said rural areas might be excluded from the preview of the Act as the residents of these areas had been facing problems. He said suggestions had also been sought from various quarters for making amendments in the Urban Development Act in the state. Recently, the government had increased the charges for change in land use for developing colonies. However, if the rural areas are excluded from ambit of the Town and Country Planning Act, the taxation on colonies coming up there would also get reduced or abolished. The minister further said the Gramin Rozgar Pravahin Yojna of the Transport Department would help improve the public transport system in rural areas besides providing employment opportunities to unemployed youth. They would be given permits to ply 6 to 22-seat vehicles in rural areas. Those doing so would be given 85 per cent tax relief. He also said the government had already acquired 2,000 kanal land near Dharamsala to develop a satellite township. The work for the development of township would be started as soon as the land was transferred to HIMUDA.
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Contract labour clause being reviewed
Solan, September 11 Labour commissioner B.R. Verma, who was here to attend a seminar on labour regulation, told The Tribune that the Chief Minister had directed the department to take over this responsibility during a recent review meeting. This would ensure that the units that went scot free due to lack of coordination between the two departments were now made accountable as various incentives granted to them under the 2003 Central Industrial Policy could be withdrawn if they faltered, he added. Verma said though this was a clause under the industrial policy, they could not enforce it as a law. He said a committee had been formed to check the excess intake of contract labour in the industries. While the Industrial Policy (2004) had laid a clause that a unit employing more than 10 per cent contract labour had to pay double the wages and the quantum of wages would rise with the increasing number of contract labour, but it was not a practical norm. Hence, the recommendations would be submitted to amend it, though it was being mooted to ban the contract labour in the core industrial activities. |
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Absconding convict held
Sundernagar, September 11 A case has been registered under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Arms Act. The court has sent Satish along with another accused Nand Lal to judicial custody and other two accused Ravinder of Slapper (Mandi) and Kashmir of Barmana, (Bilaspur) have been released on bail. The police said Satish was convicted for the offence of a murder and serving the life sentence at Central Jail, Nahan. While undergoing the sentence, he was released on parole on April 22, 2007, and had to report back before the jail authorities on June 2, 2007. However, he did not report before the jail authorities at Nahan and had been declared absconding. |
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200 farmers get loans
Bilaspur, September 11 Presiding over the function, bank circle head J.R. Sharma gave details of the loan waiver recently announced by the central government, and also various loan schemes being implemented by the bank for the benefit of various
sections of society, including agriculture and horticulture sectors. He said, at present, the bank was serving over 2,500 families of the farmers through its 52 rural and 7 town branches in
district here. |
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Rs 304 cr for water supply schemes
Shimla, September 11 This was stated by chief secretary Asha Swaroop while chairing the 13th meeting of the HP State Water and Sanitation Mission here today. She said the cost of schemes would be borne by the Centre and the state on 50-50 basis. Out of the 418 schemes, 277 were gravity water supply schemes while the remaining were lift-irrigation schemes, she added. |
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Kasauli to have medical college
Kumarhatti, September 11 He said this while addressing a public meeting on the occasion of Guga Mari Fair at Subathu, 19 km from here, yesterday. An urban health centre would also be opened at Subathu by MM University where free medical facility would be made available to patients. The government was committed to improve health services by giving priority to strengthening infrastructure in rural areas, he maintained. He said the construction of main and link roads would be accelerated in the Kasauli constituency. |
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