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Public-Private Partnerships
Dedicated fund for accident victims |
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Elephants intruding into human territory
Elephants outside the Rajaji Park area. Tribune
photo: Rameshwar
Freedom fighter Paripurnand Painuily (2R) talks to Salman Kursheed (L) at the Sir Abbas Tayyabi Ji Trust meeting in Dehradun. Tribune photo: Anil P. Rawat
MC Foundation Day
Novel products displayed at IMA exhibition
Fuel price cut insufficient: BJP leader
SAF
Winter Games
Mehuwalla beat Amba by 38 runs
Class IV employees raise slogans against the state government in Dehradun on Saturday.
Tribune photo: Anil P Rawat
Nihati centre win
Amber trophy
2 books released at kavi sammelan
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Cabinet approves viability gap scheme
S.M.A. Kazmi Tribune News Service
Dehradun, December 6 The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Uttarakhand cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Maj Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd) here today. Giving details of the decisions taken at the cabinet meeting, Uttarakhand chief secretary Indu Kumar Pandey said that the state government recognises that the development of physical and social infrastructure projects which requires very large investment may not be possible out of the budgetary resources alone. So in order to remove these shortcomings and to bring in the private sector, corporate and institutional resources, the government proposes to promote revenue generating projects for the development of physical and social sector infrastructure in public-private partnerships, he added. The project shall be implemented by a private sector entity to be selected by the government or a statutory entity through a process of open competitive bidding. The PPP project for physical infrastructure will include all sectors eligible as per the provisions of "Viability Gap Scheme" of the Government of India like roads, bridges, airports, urban transport, water supply, sanitation, sewerage, solid waste management, infrastructure in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and tourism projects. In addition to the central government scheme, Uttarakhand government has, for the first time, initiated its own "Viability Gap Funding Scheme" for PPP projects in social sector which include schools, technical education, sports and youth services, art and culture, medical, public health, family welfare and medical education, labour and employment, agricultural services, soil and water conservation, animal husbandry, Forest and wildlife protection, minor irrigation, non-conventional energy sources, urban and rural development, women and child development. The state government has set up an empowered committee headed by the chief secretary to consider the proposals submitted for viability gap funding. On the recommendations of the empowered committee, projects up to Rs 5 crore would be approved by the state finance minister. The Chief Minister would give his consent for viability funding of more than Rs 5 crore. As regards viability gap funding in physical infrastructure projects, the state government shall be limited to providing only supplementary support to those projects which have been approved by the Government of India under its "Scheme for support to PPP in Infrastructure." Accordingly, in cases where Government of India support does not cover the entire viability gap of the project, the state government may provide additional viability gap funding up to a maximum of 20 per cent of the total project cost. The government of India also provides 20 per cent as Viability Gap under its scheme. In case of PPP projects in social sector, the state government would provide Viability Gap Funding up to a maximum of 33 per cent subject to maximum of Rs 10 crore. However, in projects that are located in hilly areas or where majority of the beneficiaries are members of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, the empowered committee may on a case-to-case basis recommend viability gap funding up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the project cost subject to a maximum of Rs 15 crore.
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Dedicated fund for accident victims gets go-ahead
Dehradun, December 6 The cabinet approved that the chief secretary would discuss the issue with the secretary transport and transport commissioner. Both will decide how the proposed provision can be incorporated in the Uttarakhand Motor Vehicles Taxation Reforms Act, 2003, so that this benefit could be extended to the victims in accidents of private vehicles, said additional secretary transport Vinod Sharma. The idea was mooted by Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri who felt its need while discussing the reasons behind the road accidents and quick delivery of relief during a high-level meeting on Friday. Khanduri is of the view that the issue of relief should not be categorised, as the accidents do not occur only in the case of public service carriers carrying passengers under a government permit. “But one thing should be clear that the proposed relief will be meant for victims who cannot be compensated in the form of private insurance claims,” he said. As per official assessment, there was no way to cover the new category of beneficiaries except by amending the Act. In the present form, it provides that a passenger or any other person who is a casualty in an accident, in which a public service vehicle is involved, the victim shall be entitled to relief. In the case of death, the victim is given Rs.50,000 as relief while those suffering injuries are provided relief ranging between Rs.50,000 and Rs.5,000. Meanwhile, under the new dispensation, the government has set up Uttarakhand Road Transport Accident Relief Fund to simplify release of relief money to the victims. Earlier, it was given from the funds collected as additional passenger tax. Whenever an accident occurred, the state transport department had to first get the relief money sanctioned from the finance department. It then reached the victims through the district magistrate concerned. Usually, this process was time-consuming. As per the new procedure, the tax being collected earlier for the purpose will be deposited in the fund corpus from which the DMs would be given money at regular intervals so that they could release the monetary relief to the victims without losing any time. The government has distributed Rs.1.90 crore as relief in road accidents till November 2008 as compared to Rs.2.8 crore last year. The number of accidents in the state so far this year is 128 as compared to 193 last year.
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Elephants intruding into human territory
Haridwar, December 6 A flock of elephants was seen near the BHEL General Medical Hospital today and forest officials had a tough time sending them back into the jungle. The elephants flocked the bypass road, which led to interruption in the flow of traffic. The situation was resolved only after Ranger Vikram Singh Tomar along with a team of forest officials reached the spot and scared away the herd by firing in the air. A group of elephants was also seen strolling on the Chandighat Bridge near the Chila range. Villagers residing near the Shyampur range on the Muradabad-Haridwar national highway have complained that in the past few days elephants come too close to their houses during the evenings. Reports of elephants being seen at Motichoor range area in Bhoopatwala, Tibdi chowk area and Ranipur gate range have also been received. Notably, several cases of elephant deaths following collision with running trains have occurred here in the past. During the winter fog, the probability of such accidents increases. “Living in the vicinity of the forest range for several years we are used to elephants, but we fear the security of our children,” said Irshaad, a native of Tibdi area. He said villagers either make noises using drums or light a fire to drive away the elephants incase of an emergency. Meanwhile, forest officials have alerted the nearby villagers and asked them not to venture out near the border areas of the parks after sunset. They have also been advised to move in groups. Officials also said forest teams are on high alert. “We have scared away five elephants who had come close to the residential colony in Tibdi during the past week. We advise people to immediately inform us on sighting any elephant movement,” said a forest guard at the Tibdi forest checkpost. |
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National status for Tayyabji’s property sought
Dehradun, December 6 Presided over by senior Congress leader Salman Khursheed, who is on the board of trustees, the meeting called for carrying forward the ideals of Sir Tyyabji by starting educational and other charitable institutions. The meeting also decided to ask the state government to name the road between Kingkraig and Kitabghar as Sir Tyabbji road. Freedom fighter, former MP and secretary of the trust Paripurnand Painuily said that the trust firmly believes in working for the deprived sections of the society and will continue to explore means to cater to education and employment needs of girl students belonging to Dalit and tribal sections. In memory of the late freedom fighter Abbas Tayyab Ji, who spent his last days in Mussoorie, his well-wishers had recently formed Abbas Tayyab Ji Educational and Charitable Trust under the chairmanship of Justice S.H.A. Raza. The board of trustees includes MP Mohsina Kidwai, Salman Kurshid, S. Farooqui, Mohammed Akbar Khan, Anil Nodia, Madhu Sharma and Samaan Habib, the granddaughter of the freedom fighter. Tayyab ji headed the Congress in 1930 when Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned in the salt agitation. Tayyabji was buried at Landour grave on June 9, 1936. |
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No laptops, councillors to get bags
Jotirmay Thapliyal Tribune News Service
Dehradun, December 6 To commemorate ten years of its existence, the Dehradun Municipal Corporation would hold celebrations on December 8 and 9. With these slated to be a big affair, councillors were keeping high hopes and expecting laptops as mementos. But the municipal authorities found laptops too costly to distribute to as many as 60 councillors and few other nominated ones. To scale down the costs, suggestions for mobile sets was also floated by some of the councilors, but that too seemed to have not gone well with the corporation authorities who have finally opted for good quality bags. However, some of the councillors seem unhappy by the decision. Meanwhile, Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli, is taking personal interest in making the Foundation Day celebrations a memorable one. “We want to make it an apolitical function and have invited all the former heads of Dehradun municipality and also the last mayor irrespective of the party affiliations in order to ensure their participation in the celebrations,” said Chamoli. Significantly, there will be no cultural programme this time as a mark of respect for the Mumbai terror victims. However, the corporation will be laying the foundation stone of its Slum Dwellings Programme in one the areas of Dehradun.
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Novel products displayed at IMA exhibition
Dehradun, December 6 A large number of officers and their families, including Maj. Gen. A.K. Singh, deputy commandant and chief instructor, Gentleman Cadets and cadets of ACC wing were present at the exhibition. Various clubs, which participated in the exhibition, included the computer club, arts club, workshop club, science and technology club and handicrafts club, camera club and wild life and
ecology club. The computer club made various software programmes including coy allocation in Jawa language and Gentleman Cadets’ data information programme in Visual Basic. The arts club exhibits included oil paintings, water colour paintings, cartoons and sketches. The camera club displayed exhibits of creative sections, nature, training activities, various academic activities
and sports. Items of wrought iron and wood carvings were exhibited by the soft wood carving club. Various electronic and chemical projects were exhibited by the science and
technology club, including the project on security, conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy and preparation of room
freshners. At the end, Rashmi Sujlana gave away the prizes and certificates of merit to the
respective winners. |
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Fuel price cut insufficient: BJP leader
Dehradun, December 6 Addressing a press conference here, party’s state spokesman Vishwas Dawar termed the reduction in the fuel prices as “insufficient”. He said international oil prices had dipped to almost one-third, while adding, “The petrol prices should have been reduced by Rs 15 per litre.” Coming down heavily on the Congress, he said the party unnecessarily accuses BJP of ignoring the minorities. “The Congress government in the Uttarakhand failed to do anything for the minorities. So much so that even the land for
the Muslim graveyard was sanctioned by the mayor during the BJP regime,”
he said. Dawar also ridiculed former Rajya Sabha MP Harish Rawat’s statement, wherein he had stressed the need to take up issues pertaining to Uttarakhand. “What was Rawat doing when he was representing the Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand for a term of full six years,”
he questioned. |
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SAF
Winter Games
Dehradun, December 6 They are optimistic that the Games would be held on time. “Even if teams like Pakistan skip the Games, they will proceed on schedule. We should not have a preconceived notion over the postponement of the SAF Games. The construction work at both venues is on at a fast pace,” said secretary sports, Uttarakhand, Rakesh Sharma. S.S. Pangti, president of the Winter Games Federation of India, said that it is at the discretion of Indian Olympics Association to decide over the matter but hoped that the Games will be on time. He accepted that security concerns could make many teams back off from the tournament. The state government has formed a separate committee for security which has already held two meetings, said Pangti. He admitted that in the absence of a team like Pakistan, the Games will lose their attraction. Pakistan is rated as one of the best teams in the Asian region. The team has a bunch of quality players most of whom belong to the Pakistan army. “On the other hand, teams like Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh are not as strong as Pakistan,” said Pangti. About the maintenance of the structure at Maharana Pratab Sports Hostel, he admitted, “We do not have good technicians for its maintenance. Therefore, it may be handed over to private concerns after the SAF Games”. Adding weight to the Pangti word, even Rakesh Sharma admitted that there are many private concerns who were ready to take over the maintenance of the structure, but the decision in this regard will be taken after the SAF Games. |
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Mehuwalla beat Amba by 38 runs
Dehradun, December 6 Amba XI won the toss and elected to field thinking to take advantage of the freshness of the wicket. There decision proved right as their bowlers gave some early blows to the Mehuwalla Cricket Club to make it 24 for three. Things looked murky for the Mehuwalla team batsman who failed to adjust to the morning condition. The line and length with which Amba XI team bowler made it difficult for the batsman to score runs. The team was bundled out for 90 runs. Defending a low total on the board Mehuwalla bowler balled superbly and bundled out Amba XI team in just 12 overs for 52 runs. It was a shaky start for Amba XI team too, who lost both their opening batsmen for a duck. Even the Amba XI team batsman could not adjust to the batting condition. They fell as a pack of cards before the fine bowling display by the Mehuwalla team bowlers. Seven of their batsmen went for a duck dose loosing the match to Mehuwalla.
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Class IV employees protest against low salaries
Dehradun, December 6 However, the police put up barricades to stop them from moving towards official residence of Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri. The employees were demanding minimum salary of Rs 7,000 and withdrawal of order regarding reduction of pay grade to Class IV employees in the state. They are also demanding continuation of time-bound increase in their salaries. The employees had earlier submitted a memorandum to the CM at block and tehsil levels through the respective district magistrates during a statewide stir last month. However, agitated over non-acceptance of their demands, the employees assembled at the Gandhi Park today and held a protest rally before marching towards the CM residence. Their leaders accused the state government of adopting a discriminatory policy towards these low paid employees. They alleged that the government gave them replacement scale despite the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission to revise their pay scales at par with the Central government employees. |
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Nihati centre win
Amber trophy
Dehradun, November 6 NSCC won the toss and decided to field taking the dampness on the wicket due to the overnight dew to their advantage. There decision proved right as RCC got out for meager total of 72 runs. For NSCC, Abhimanyu played an important role, he took two wickets besides effecting two brilliant run out for this team. In reply, the NSCC team chased down the target in 14.3 overs without loosing a wicket. Abhimanyu scored 31 runs and Rohan Sengupta made 29 to see their team win. |
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2 books released at kavi sammelan
Dehradun, December 6 Welcoming the poets, ONGC GGM-chief HRD Tauqir Hussain said poetry inspires people to learn new things. Among the poets who enthralled the audience included well-known poet Bharat Bhushan, Dr Madhu Shukla, Lakhan Singh Bhadoria and Leeladhar Jagudi. The sammelan was conducted by Dr Basanti Mathpal. Earlier, Bharat Bhushan released well-known author Dr Girija Shankar Trivedi's book entitled "Indradhanush Kase Bijli Ki Dor". Dr Chandra Pande released the book of Ravindra Nath Tyagi entitled
"Meghdoot Uvach". |
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With the advent of winter season, incidents of elephants moving towards the
city areas has increased, which has kept the forest officers on high alert.
People living in the areas adjoining the Rajaji National Park and other forest
ranges are living in perpetual fear due to frequent intrusion by elephants.
