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Hardcore environmentalists disrupt function
Policy on urbanisation soon
Central team to visit Nahan for steel plant
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No case for steel price
hike: Minister
Ministry agrees to release funds
Rs 16.95 cr for welfare schemes
Panel formation right step to unravel truth: MLA
Crisis management group formed
Forest fires cause loss of over 1 cr
Residents resent shortage of water
Call to end child labour
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Hardcore environmentalists disrupt function
Palampur June 12 As soon as Chairman of the World Council for Corporate Governance and other foreign delegates reached the venue, about 10 to 15 protesters, including members of the Himalayan Niti Abhiyan, started raising slogans. The efforts of Madhav Mehra and others to control the situation failed. The protesters had their way as they addressed the school children who had come to participate ina human chain. The core issue of protest was the Golden Peacock Award announced for Vedenta Alumina Refinery. The protesters alleged that the company had a bad track record on environment front. The Norway government had banned the company and the Orissa pollution control board had also indicted the company for violation of pollution control board norms. Still it was getting the award, they alleged. Madhav Mehra announced there that the award was not being given to the Vedenta Company. However, this did not pacify the protesters, who left the venue only after they had themselves satisfied that their motive has been achieved. The school children and many VIP guests left the venue due to disruption caused by protesters. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal who was scheduled to inaugurate the convention also disassociated himself from the programme though he was present in Dharamsala, just 40 km from the venue of the convention. Madhav Mehra when contacted by The Tribune was fuming. He alleged that it was a conspiracy hatched by some residents of Palampur against him. They were trying to fleece money from me, he alleged. When asked about the Golden Peacock Award given to Satyam Computers for corporate governance and controversial company Vedenta, he said he was in no way associated with the jury that decided the awards. He said after the controversy the award given to Satyam Computers was withdrawn. About the Vedenta company he said they had not yet decided to give awards to the company. Peeved at non-participation of Dhumal, Madhav Mehra also alleged that it was his loss. ‘I am bringing people from across the world and giving business to Palampur hoteliers and it is unfortunate that Dhumal tried to disassociate himself from the programme at the last moment just at the instance of some negative people,’ he said. The entire imbroglio delayed the inauguration to about 5 pm. Today, activities in the convention were limited to declamation contest by school children and painting competition. The experts would present their papers tomorrow.
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Policy on urbanisation soon
Shimla, June 12 The Department of Town and Country Planning will prepare the policy to save areas, which are eco-sensitive from haphazard and unregulated activity so that the extent of constructions is not more than the carrying capacity of that particular zone. In these areas the floor area ratio (FAR) will be the least so that the built up area as well as the number of storeys is the least possible. The areas where regulatory control will be made most stringent is at places like Shimla, Kasauli, Kullu-Manali valley, Dharamsala and Dalhousie, which have become congested and over-crowded. All these areas are not just popular tourist destinations but even otherwise amongst the busiest towns which have been witnessing excessive construction activity. The fact that large parts of Chamba and Kangra fall in high seismic zone, most vulnerable to earthquakes, it is felt that such parts under these two districts should be placed under a strict regulatory zone where the restrictions on construction are very stringent. The policy on urbanisation would also put a check on the number of storeys being raised by apartments, which are dotting various parts of the state. It is proposed while in eco-sensitive zone only four storeys would be allowed, in other areas additional two floors could be raised. Followed by the eco-sensitive zone is the middle areas of the state which would include lower parts of Kangra district, including Palampur, Balh valley of Mandi and Solan. The areas of the state, which are not under too much pressure and can witness construction activity will have relatively less stringent norms. More built-up area would be allowed on the plots and even higher number of storeys would be allowed. The planners point out that this would help in checking the quantum of construction in certain areas, which are witnessing ribbon development along the main highways, as is the case in the entire Kullu valley. The policy on urbanisation would be able to put a complete check on such haphazard growth which at times hampers further expansion plans.
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Central team to visit Nahan for steel plant
Shimla, June 12 Stating this here today union minister of steel Virbhadra Singh said that setting up a steel plant in Nahan was a priority as it had one of the oldest foundries of the country. The plant would be set up there if the team found the site suitable. In case more land or some other site had to be selected, the state government’s cooperation would be sought. The state must provide land, water and other basic facilities for the purpose. In fact, Sirmour district was the first priority of the ministry for setting up a plant in the public sector but the state government was keen on Kandrori, the foundation stone of which was laid on the eve of Lok Sabha polls. He had now given approval for setting up the plant. Demand for steel products was increasing in the region and if required more processing plants would be set up in the public sector in the state. He expressed concern over the manner in which the rural health mission was being implanted in the state and said as per his information the first referral unit status granted to a number of primary health centres and community health centres during the Congress regime had been withdrawn. Instead, district hospitals which already had all the facilities were being turned into referral units. It was against norms as the basic objective of the programme was to strengthen the healthcare delivery system in the rural areas. He criticised Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal for taking credit for central projects like the IIT, ESIC medical college and central university being implemented in the state and said head of the government must observe some norms
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No case for steel price
hike: Minister
Shimla, June 12 Addressing a press conference here today he said there were indications that the industry had planned to increase the prices of steel which was a crucial infrastructure product like cement and power. The slump in demand for steel in the wake of global economic meltdown had also impacted the prices of inputs required for steel industry like iron ore and coal, which had come down significantly. In such a scenario there was no case for price hike by private or public sector manufacturers. He said the government had taken notice of the fact that certain countries where demand for steel had come down drastically were dumping there products in India at very low rates. The situation was not as serious as was being made out by the industry but the government was on the job and the required steps to deal with the situation would be reflected in the budget. Regarding disinvestment in PSUs he said there were some units but the final call would be taken only after the Cabinet took a decision and came out with a policy for the purpose. The ministry had chalked out a Rs 70,000 crore expansion plan, including greenfield and brownfield projects, to double the steel production and the immediate aim was to achieve a production of 124 million tonnes by 2011-12. |
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Ministry agrees to release funds
Shimla, June 12 The decision was taken following a meeting between Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Union Minister of Environment and Forest Jai Ram Ramesh at
New Delhi. The Chief Minister said the state government would soon constitute the CAMPA authority for the proper utilisation of funds and all necessary formalities would be completed in a time-bound manner. He said model guidelines for the proper utilisation of the CAMPA funds would also be issued by the government. Dhumal said the Centre had approved cold desert bio-sphere project for snow-bound areas of Lahaul-Spiti in principle and a meeting of senior officers of the state and the Union Ministry of Forests would be held soon for finalising the project. The ministry agreed to extend services of specialists to the state for the preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). He apprised the Union Minister that green cover in the state had increased considerably over the years. He added that there was no scope for raising plantations in the snow-bound tribal areas and the parameters for fixing
targets for such areas should be different. |
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Rs 16.95 cr for welfare schemes
Shimla, June 12 Presiding over a district welfare committee meeting here, he said 32,198 persons were being provided social security pensions in the district on which a sum of Rs 10.50 crore was being
spent annually. He added that provision for Rs 1.33 crore had been made under housing subsidy and 479 persons would be benefited by this. The minister said the state government had made an amendment in the Mukhya Mantri Kanyadan Yojna and Mother Teresa Asahay Matri Sambal Yojna. Under the kanyadan yojna, the annual income for eligibility had been enhanced to Rs 15,000 from Rs 7,500 and in case of Mother Teresa yojna, the amount had been enhanced from Rs 11,000 to Rs 18,000. The childcare amount had also been increased to Rs 2,000 per annum for two children, he added. Deputy Commissioner JS Rana assured that all targets under the social welfare schemes would
be achieved. |
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Panel formation right step to unravel truth: MLA
Hamirpur, June 12 Urmil has come under a sharp criticism of a few BJP leaders after a sizable decline in the vote bank of the BJP in the elections, particularly in Hamirpur district. BJP activists also accused her of not putting her energy in the election campaign of party candidate Anurag Thakur, who was contesting the Hamirpur seat, since her brother-in-law Narinder Thakur was contesting the seat on Congress ticket. While no mandal-level leader is ready to comment on the deliberation held in their meetings, but sources in the party say few party activists even furnished evidences to support their charges. Though leaders of the Hamirpur Mandal did not say anything on the issue, office-bearers of the Sujanpur Mandal went on record to say that “they had recommended expulsion of the MLA from the party”. While Thakur had taken up the matter of action by the Sujanpur Mandal with the state party leadership terming it "as an attempt to tarnish her image by some of her detractors", she also welcomed the inquiry into the allegations of "anti-party work against her". She said, “I welcome the formation of the probe committee since this can only unravel the truth."
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Crisis management group formed
Shimla, June 12 The District Magistrate will be its Chairman in his district while the Superintendent of Police and the Additional District Magistrate will be its convener-member and member-convener, respectively. Representatives of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the CRPF and the Commandant, (Home Guards) located in the district would be its members. This group would be responsible for on-scene management of incidents. All agencies will provide resources to the group as per requirement. In case the state or the Centre deputes a specialist team, the group will abide by the advice of the special team but the
ultimate decision would be that of the district or state crisis management group. |
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Dhumal opens tourism conclave
Shimla, June 12 Inaugurating the four-day tourism conclave and Shimla Mega Mart 2009 he pointed out that the country had not been able increase the tourist arrivals beyond 3.5 million mark, whereas countries like China which started much later attracted over 40 million tourists every year. The main reason for the unsatisfactory growth of the major tourist destinations had not been developed in a systematic manner. The government had now decided to adopt a holistic approach and focus on planned development of distinations and maintaining cleanliness to prevent both environmental and aesthetic degradation of the hills. The government wanted to make the state a knowledge hub of the country which would also help boost tourism. He urged leading hoteliers and aviation companies in the country and abroad to join hands with the state and take advantage of the opportunities available in the tourism sector which was poised to become the principal industry of the state. The Chief Minister said that the government had approved mega tourism projects over worth Rs 50 crore, simplified the procedure for grant of essentiality certificate and was in the process to prepare a 20-year prospective tourism master plan for development of tourism-related infrastructure. He said that the state government had introduced a Home Stay Scheme for rural areas under which water, electricity tariff would be charged at rates applicable to domestic consumers and no tax would be charged. Guidelines had been formulated for construction of ropeway and offered three projects on public-private partnership and a few others were in the pipeline. He said that the state had requested the Centre recently to extend the period of tourism package beyond 2010. Diplomats and foreign delegates participating in the conclave included High Commissioner of Brunei Sidek Bin Ali, Third Secretary, Brunei, Syed Addy Adnan, Ambassador of Indonesia Andi M. Ghalib, First Secretary, Indonesia, Leonard F. Hutabarat, Minister- Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission, Vietnam
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Forest fires cause loss of over 1 cr
Mandi, June 12 Forest officials, however, attributed the sudden burst of forest fire to rise in temperature and a continuing dry spell. They say dry pine needles in dry spell catch fire quickly and windy conditions in the region are making it difficult to quell forest fires. Though the department has deputed 10-member teams each in all fire-prone ranges, they have become silent spectators as strong winds are sweeping through fire-prone spots in many areas. Sources revealed that the forest ground fires have burnt over 14, 000 hectares of forest area in over 1,199 incidents of fire reported in the state between April 1 and June 10. It has caused a loss of over Rs 1.40 crore so far, they added. The most hit is the Nahan division where 3,962 hectares of area have been affected by over 284 incidents of fire.In Mandi, 254 incidents of fire have destroyed over 2,043 hectares of area in which 692 hectares of area lie at Karsog, which has a large area under chil forest. In Shimla divisions, 114 incidents of fire has burnt 2,665 hectares and in Dharamsala, 248 incidents of fire has burnt 1,874 hectares of area. In Chamba, 37 incidents have destroyed 3,251 hectares of area. Kullu division has, however, the lowest area-95 hectares- hit by 11 incidents of forests fire. In Bilaspur, over 101 incidents of fire destroyed about 992 hectare of area. Chief conservator of forests Avatar Singh said teams of 10 persons each had been rushed to the fire-affected areas in all ranges.
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Residents resent shortage of water
Palampur, June 12 Among them, Har and Neharan Phukhar areas are the worst hit as people here are getting drinking water only once in a week and long queues of people waiting for water tankers hired by the State Irrigation Department is a common site here these days. A team of mediapersons visited these villages today. It has been revealed that there is no regular schedule of water tankers and people keep on waiting for it and sometimes for whole of the day. However, when the team reached in Har villages, hundreds of villagers gathered on the roadside and condemned the functioning of the irrigation department. They alleged that there was no one to listen to their grievances. Residents of the Harijan Basti of Har village alleged that the augmentation of the drinking water supply had been left half way. They said though senior officers were aware of the problem, no efforts had been made in this regard. However, Ravinder Thakur, IPH Minister, maintained that there was no shortage of funds for the supply of drinking water. He said he was conversant with the problem and executive engineer, Deharagopipur, had been directed to hire more water tankers and make regular supply of water to affected villages.
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Call to end child labour
Bilaspur, June 12 This was stated by District and Sessions Judge and chairman of the District Legal Services Authority Sureshwar Thakur while presiding over a day-long workshop organised by the authority on World Child Labour Day at the district Judicial Complex today. Thakur said no child should be employed for labour work till he had passed matriculation examination. He asked labour inspectors to visit every industry to ensure that this law was honoured. He said this evil was destroying our future generation as most of the children would be deprived of their childhood pleasures. |
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