Shimla, January 28
The government has decided to cancel seven small hydroelectric projects allotted to independent power producers (IPPs), who had failed to start work in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down in the memorandums of understanding (MoUs).

As per the decision taken by the Cabinet yesterday, the earnest money and the bank guarantee given by the IPPs will be forfeited as they did not start construction within the prescribed time frame.

The projects that have been cancelled include 3-MW Machhad-I, 2-MW Machhad-II and 5-MW Koot projects in Shimla district, 2-MW Anu, 3-MW Chennari and 4.5-MW Bakhli in Mandi, and 2.5-MW Moujhi-III projects in Kangra. It also decided to re-advertise these projects and invite fresh offers. The allotment of projects to IIPs was started in 1995. However, only 19 projects, with aggregate generation capacity of 63 MW, have come into operation till date. Fifty-six projects were under construction while work was yet to commence on ground in case of 191 projects.

It also decided to rationalise staff deployment in veterinary institutions in the state to boost animal husbandry activities and accordingly gave nod for upgrading 25 existing veterinary dispensaries to hospitals, opening two new veterinary hospitals, 15 dispensaries and two semen banks.

It also decided to regularise the services of 14 school-cadre contractual lecturers and teachers on the completion of 8 years of service by January 31, 2009, and March 31, 2009, respectively.

Similarly, service of 122 contractual JBT teachers in the elementary education department with 8 years of service as on March 3, 2008, will be regularised by granting relaxation in the plus-two qualification condition to graduate teachers.

Cabinet also approved policy guidelines for the allotment of self-identified hydroelectric projects. It was further decided that the power department would not accept any self-identified project till June 30, 2009, and decide all previously received cases at its own level by that date. The allotment letter would contain the condition that the state power board would have right of first refusal for the power generated from all projects, except where the IPP intended to use it for captive consumption within the state.

The Cabinet approved the Himachal Pradesh Sports (Registration, Recognition and Regulation of Associations) Repeal Bill, 2009, for introduction during the coming budget session. The Sports Act, 2005, is being repealed as out of 42 associations registered with state sports council, only 21 had got themselves registered under the Act, which was being opposed by the Indian Olympic Association. It had even directed various national sports federations not to allot national championships to the states that had enacted such legislations.

The Cabinet also decided to amend the industrial policy to include biotechnology as industry for providing various incentives, except exemption in the electricity charges. It also decided to adopt liberal attitude for the transfer of industrial plots and sheds in accordance with the policy.

Shimla, January 28
The government today shifted four IAS and 14 state administrative services officers.

Managing Director of the Small-Scale Industries Corporation SKBS Negi has been shifted as member (administration) of the state electricity board in place of Nisha Singh, who takes over as the Divisional Commissioner, Shimla. Earlier, she was holding the additional charge of the post.

Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil), Nahan, Meera Mohanty has been posted as the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, relieving Priyanka Basu of the additional charge. Ritesh Kumar Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil), Palampur, takes over as the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mandi.

Land Acquisition Officer (LAO), Parbati Project, KD Lakhan Pal has been posted as the Additional Director at the IGMC, Shimla, vice Dorje Chhering, who goes as the ADM, Solan, vice KC Chaman, who has been shifted as the General Manger, District Industries Centre, Solan. LAO, state electricity board, Mandi, NK Lath has been posted as the Assistant Commissioner to Divisional Commissioner, Kangra. Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Hamirpur, Narinder Sharma goes to Amb in the same capacity.

Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Mandi, Arun Kumar goes to Nahan in the same capacity and Registrar, NIT, Hamirpur, Amrit Lal takes over as the Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Kullu. Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Baijnath, DK Rattan moves to Jogindernagar in the same capacity vice Rattan Gautam, who in turn goes as the Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Palampur.

Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Arki, Rohit Jamwal has been posted as the Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Bhoranj and Additional Director, Information Technology, Shimla, Pankaj Rai goes as the Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Hamirpur. Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Shimla (urban), has been posted as the Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Mandi, and the Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Bhoranj, Balbir Thakur goes to Arki in the same capacity. Sub-Divisional Officer, Civil, Amb, Prem Ram Verma goes to Baijnath in the same capacity.

Dharamsala, January 28
The settlement vows of the people might finally end. The state government with help of the Union Government has decided to start a pilot project to carry out settlement work with the help of satellite imagery. It is for the first time that satellite images would be used for carrying out settlement work in the state. The project is being initially started in Sirmaur district.

Minister for Revenue and PWD Gulab Singh said the Union Government is contributing 80 per cent cost of the project while the remaining 20 per cent would be contributed by the state.

The land settlement work in the state was started in 1952 from Chamba district. It has been 56 years since then, but the work is yet to be completed in the entire state. It is still going on in many districts, including Harmirpur, Kullu and Una.

Earlier, the Department of Revenue Officials used calibrated iron chains or ropes for carrying out the measurements in field. The system was time consuming and prone to errors. The officials used to carry chains to the field and required manual labour to carry out the measurement.

However, satellite imagery can accelerate the work of settlement as well as consolidation in the state. The Madhya Pradesh Government has already produced revenue records in the state using satellite images. At present, the people have to travel to respective settlement offices to get copies of ‘Musavi’s’ (basic survey reports of the Settlement Department). In Madhya Pradesh the government has created copies of Musavi’s and given them to booksellers for sale. The advantage of the scheme is that the people get record at their doorsteps rather than wasting time and money on travelling to settlement offices to fetch records.

The settlement office at Dharamsala in the recent past had also procured total solution machines of Nikon to carrying out the settlement work.

The new total solution machines use infrared technology to carry out the measurements. The said machine can be installed at one point. The measurements of all visible points can be taken from the machine by just carrying the prism to other points. In addition to that the measurements taken by the machine are accurate up to millimetre levels.

The officials here maintained that the work that was done earlier in two months could now be completed in just two days.

At present the north zone settlement office at Dharamsala just has two such machines. These machines have been put to use in Dharamsala and Kullu districts. The department had sent a request to the government for two such additional machines to speed up the settlement work. However, the request is still pending despite the fact that it involves cost of just Rs 10 lakh. However, the government had failed to post a regular officer at the Settlement Office, Dharamsala, due to which the work is suffering. At present the charge of settlement office here is with the Regional Transport Officer, Dharamsala.

Shimla, January 28
Decks have been cleared for the release of Rs 3,800-crore loan with the signing of the project-administration agreement between the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

An eight-member team the bank headed by Andrew Geoffrey, which has been in the city for the past one week, not only finalised the agreement but also provided training to staff of the corporation regarding financial and administrative management and monitoring of projects. Special emphasis has been laid on the proper management of environment-related issues.

The corporation has already started work on two of the four projects for which loan has been sanctioned and it will now submit claims for reimbursement to the bank for the expenditure already incurred. As per the agreement, the corporation will have to make a minimum claim of at least $ 1 lakh for reimbursement at a time. Out of the total loan of $ 800 million, the first tranche will be $ 150 million against which the corporation will submit claims immediately. The bank has also kept open an option of direct payment to the contractors.

The corporation has already awarded a Rs 155-crore package pertaining to civil works for the 1,110-MW Sawara Kuddu power project. Another package of Rs 172 crore pertaining to electromechanical works will be awarded with the approval of the bank shortly.

A Rs 300-crore package concerning stage-I of the 243-MW Kashang project is also likely to be awarded soon.

Besides Kashang and Sawara Kuddu projects, 100-MW Sainj and 400-MW Shongtong-Karcham projects are also being executed with the ADB funds. The total cost of the four projects is estimated to be around Rs 5,400 crore at Rs 6.5 crore per megawatt. With the ADB advancing a loan of Rs 3,800 crore, the corporation will have to raise Rs 1,600 crore.

The corporation has set a target to complete all projects by 2014. The Sawra Kuddu project will be the first to be commissioned in 2011, followed by the Kashang project. The government has 60 per cent equity in the corporation, while the remaining is with the state electricity board.

Nurpur, January 28
Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Jawali Mohar Singh Chouhan has detected irregularities and bungling in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme in Farian gram panchayat under Nagrota Surian Block Development Office (BDO) following written complaint submitted by panchayat’s Gram Rojgar Sevika (GRS) Dimple Kumari.

The SDM said after conducting thorough inquiry he had submitted his report to the Kangra DC and director, Panchayati Raj, Shimla, today for issuing order to suspend panchayat pradhan and secretary allegedly found responsible during the probe for tempering with NREGA scheme record and serious irregularities committed in carrying out panchayat works under the scheme.

He said he had detected forged muster rolls to enter fake attendance of labourers. “Trilok Chand and his wife Veena Devi of Farian panchayat are government employees, but their names have been entered in the muster rolls and one Manhor Lal of Dann panchayat who did not applied for any labour job under NREGA has his name shown in Farian panchayat’s muster rolls,” he stated.

He also informed that serious irregularities had been committed to render labour job to the beneficiaries above 100 days in a year by even tempering with the record.

Meanwhile, Dimple Kumari, who complained against the panchayat pradhan, alleged that she had been receiving threats from the pradhan and if no action was taken against him she would move high court.

Shimla, January 28
The Congress has warned Chief Minister PK Dhumal that its leaders would not be cowed down by threats of legal action and give a fitting rely to the false and misleading propaganda being indulged in by the ruling party.

Party spokesperson Mukesh Agnihotri said the false claims of the Chief Minister and other BJP leaders would be exposed and a true picture presented before the people. The BJP leaders were jittery because they know that they were taking credit for the achievements of the previous Congress regime.

The Congress government had provided Rs 300 crore in the budget for paying arrears on account of pay revision and it was also a fact that Rs 1,365 crore World Bank loan for widening of roads was sanctioned during the tenure of the previous government. The decision to set up a central university and an IIT in the state was announced by then Union Finance Minister PC Chidambaram at a public rally in October 2007. However, the BJP government was claiming all these as its achievements.

The BJP’s only achievement was winding up of the State Administrative Tribunal to deny justice to the employees and increasing electricity tariff and bus fares. The rates of diesel had been reduced, but the bus fare hike had not been withdrawn.

Manali, January 28
Snow continues to elude winter sport lovers in the entire region of western Himalayas. The famous Solang ski slopes, which used to play host to national winter games on many a times in the past years, are presenting a deserted look this year. The ski slopes, which normally used to have three to four feet snow, are totally devoid of snow disappointing ski lovers.

This year the Solang ski slopes experienced the first snowfall on December 20 and then on January 5. The ski slopes had only about 20 inches of snowfall, but due to high temperature it also melted after a week. The Solang valley experienced third snowfall on January 18 and received about 9 inches of snowfall, but due to rise in temperature the snow melted after four days.

According to Mahavir Thakur, deputy director of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, at present 59 persons are participating in the basic ski course and 14 in the special ski course. However, due to lack of snow on Solang ski slopes the participants have to climb up to the Phatru slopes (about 2 km) to learn their ski lessons.

He further said the first basic ski course which commenced on January 11 was completed successfully. But the fate of special ski course starting on February 8 and a regular basic ski course on February 11 hangs in balance.

According to some private tour operators at Manali, who used to conduct many ski courses at the Solang ski slopes every year had to cancel or postpone the courses till fresh snowfall.

Bilaspur, January 28
Hundreds of Congress activists accompanied by villagers of four gram panchayats blocked the National Highway (NH) No-88 for about an hour on the Ghamani Chowk across Kandraur bridge, about 20 km from here, last afternoon. They expressed their resentment against stopping of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus service on Ghumarwin to Trifaalghat via Harlog route by the HRTC.

They were led by Congress party Bilaspur Sadar president Jitender Chandel. He said the people would be forced to launch a regular agitation if the route was not restored.