Shimla, October 29
While the initiative taken by the state government to check carbon emissions is laudable, its plan to achieve “carbon neutrality” without carrying out any scientific studies to estimate the level of GHG emissions and quantify carbon sequestration taking place through the vast green cover over the hills has raised many queries.

In fact, given the low industrial activity, relatively fewer vehicles and lower population than most of the states carbon emissions is not a major environmental issue. Industrial activity has picked up in the Baddi-Barotiwla-Nalagrah belt only recently after the Centre granted a package of incentives. With a population of less than 65 lakh the total carbon footprint is not a problem. The main threat to the hill environment is from deforestation and excessive and unplanned construction both of which were being encouraged by the government. Since 1980, forest area of 7,875 hectare has been diverted for non-forestry use, out of which 4,225 hectare has been diverted over the past 10 years. The maximum forest area of 3,770 hectare has been swallowed by hydroelectric projects, followed by transmission lines 1,608 hectare and road projects 1,276 hectare.

Further, this small population is scattered over a huge geographical area of 55,672 sq km out of which 37 per cent is classified as forests, with 26 per cent under trees. If one takes into account the trees outside forest, horticulture and agriculture land the state has a huge capacity for carbon sequestration. The hill state will be in all probability a carbon negative state. More so because the first ever study to quantify carbon sequestration that is taking place through our forest cover which accounts for just 21 per cent of the country’s area has revealed that 11 per cent greenhouse emissions were being absorbed annually which would suffice for the next 20 years even if the emissions kept growing at the current rate.

The slogan to make Himachal the first “carbon natural” state of the country is attractive but undermines the case for “payment of environment services” (PES), which the government is claiming for maintaining the green cover. Environmentalists wonder if the state does not have the “forest carbon sink” to offset the GHG emissions how the demand for PES can be justified? Alternatively, if the state has sufficient green cover than the state will need to produce more emissions to achieve carbon neutrality.

Shimla, October 29
A two-day workshop on the ‘Unique identification project’ is being organised by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study here on October 30 and 31.A number of issues related to the execution, costs, risks and benefits arising out of the project to make verification of identity of individual and government agencies reliable and simple will be discussed.

The specific themes which will come under focus include collection of data, the challenge of cleaning up the existing data and enrolling those who are today unable to establish their identity without compromising the reliability of the data.

The contribution of the UID in tackling the problems of terrorism, illegal migrations, general security matters, and the risks it poses to the liberty of the residents will also be debated. Welfare provisions strengthen citizenship, making it possible for the citizens to participate in social life but also make the state equipped with information to intrude on the lives of individuals.

The inability to establish one’s identity is one of the biggest barriers preventing the poor from accessing government’s welfare schemes. The government is handicapped in its welfare and security related functions by the incomplete information it has about its citizens. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UDAI) aims at addressing this situation by issuing to each Indian resident a unique number that can be verified by any public authority to establish the identity of the individual. The number will be linked to the basic information about the individual and his or her biometrics.

Besides the members of the UDIAI team, headed by Nandan Nilekani, representatives of NGOs, activists, administrators, academics and fellows of the IIAS will take part in it. 

Dharamsala, October 29
CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University today released 18 new crop varieties for farmers of the state. The said varieties of different crops have been developed by scientists of the university and approved by the Himachal Pradesh State Seed Sub-Committee for general cultivation in different agro-climatic conditions in the state.

The newly released verities include three wheat varieties- HPW-249(Asmi), HPW-251(Aryan) and HPW-236(Santosh). These have been recommended for cultivation under timely sown rain fed and irrigated areas, early sown rain fed conditions and for high altitude areas, respectively. These varieties have average productivity ranging from 26 to 35 quintal
per hectare.

A new maize hybrid (HQPM-1), a pop corn variety (Bajaura Pop Corn) and a sweet corn variety have also been recommended for cultivation in the state. The new maize hybrid has a potential to give a yield of up to 70-80 quintal per hectare in the low and mid hill areas of the state.

A gram variety GPF-2, a new Mash variety UPU 0031(Himachal Mash-I), Cow Pea variety C-591(Himachal Lobia-2) are other promising varieties for cultivation in low hill areas of the state. Two linseed varieties KL-214(Himani) and KL-215(Bhagsu) have also been recommended for the linseed growing areas of the state with average productivity of 5-6 quintals per hectares. The said varieties have 30 per cent oil content.

Other varieties include one of Barley HBL-391(Gokul), one of Garden Pea Punjab-89 Onion variety Palam Lohit (DPO-1), two varieties of Turmeric variety DPT-I (Palam Lalima) and DPT-2 (Palam Lalima) and two varieties of Fenugreek DPF 205 (Palam Somya) and Pusa Kasuri have been recommended for cultivation by farmers of the state.

According to Dr SC Sharma, director, Research, these high-yielding varieties, having resistance to different diseases, will have a great impact in increasing the production and productivity of these crops. Dr Tej Partap, Vice-Chancellor, has congratulated the team of scientists who developed these varieties.

With the new releases, since inception the university has given 134 crop varieties of different crops for farmers of the state.

Though the university has developed new varieties, the state Agriculture Department will have to multiply the seeds of these varieties in their farms before they can be supplied to farmers. The farmers will be able to get seeds of newly-released varieties from the Agriculture Department only in the next cropping season.

Dharamsala, October 29
The Kangra police has arrested one Vinesh Kumar, an alleged mastermind, behind a fake driving licence racket being operated in the Sansarpur Terrace area of Kangra district.The sources available here said the racket was busted after two fake driving licences were detected in the office of the SDM, Dehra.

The persons from Sansarpur Terrace area came to get their licencesverified. On verification it was found that the licences were fake. The SDM office informed the police.

The SP, Kangra, Atul Fulzele while contacted said on investigation it was found that the racket was being run in the area by the main accused Vinesh Kumar.

He allegedly used to collect money from people for getting their driving licences prepared.

Then using his computer business being operated from Talwara township in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab he used to prepare fake licences and hand them over to people.

The sources also said the accused might have also sold fake certificates to people in the Sansarpur Terrace area.

The SP, when contacted, however, said that the investigation into the case was still going on and nothing could be said about the issue.

A case under Section 420 of the IPC has been registered.

Mandi, October 29
Passport applicants today resented against the decision of the Ministry of External Affairs to not to accept their applications through speed post.

The Regional Passport Office (RPO), Shimla, has been sending back their applications sent to the office by speed post that in turn not only waste their precious time and money but also results in harassment at the district passport office, they rued.

Narrating their tale of woes, applicants from Manali, Ani and Nirmand in Kullu; and Nagwani and Panarsa in Mandi rued that they had sent their applications to the RPO by speed post about 10 to 15 days ago paying Rs 36 each as postal charges. But the office sent back their applications on the ground that they cannot take it, said Manoj Kumar, an applicant from Panarsa.

Not only this, when they came to the District Passport Office, Mandi, the clerical staff treated them in a high-handed manner. “The dealing woman clerk told us to make fresh documents as the documents attested at Kullu are not acceptable here,” the applicants complained.

“We have spent hundred of rupees on preparing and getting the documents attested at the Kullu district office, but she rejected the documents just to harass us as if Kullu and Mandi are two different countries,” they said.

The applicants said the ministry on its website had displayed that they could send their applications through speed post directly to the RPO Shimla. “It is a good facility for people living in far flung areas, but their applications are being returned for the past 10 days or so,” they added.

Regional Passport Officer Brijmohan Sharma said the ministry had sent an order that no application would be accepted through speed post. “So we cannot accept them by post and the website must not be updated,” he added.

Sharma explained that the decision had been implemented with immediate effect in the country. “The applicants should submit their applications to the district office in person from there the applications will reach us. But we are upgrading the system to take care of grievances of the applicants,” he added.

Mandi, October 29
Even as the Mandi police today arrested an Austrian, Mortiz Karlihinz, travelling on an employee visa, under Section 20 of the NDPS Act after recovering 1.7 kg of charas from his possession and two Kullu residents after recovering 500 gm of charas from them, the police is yet to get hold of local drug trafficker in Manali and track down to the guest house or hotel where the Austrian was staying. Mortiz did not fill the mandatory C-Form under the Foreigners Act.

This is the first consignment seized by the police from a foreign national in the region. Mortiz was travelling in a private tax (HP-0IK-1371) from Manali and was on his way to Delhi, the police said.

According to the investigation officer in the case, Mortiz claimed that he arrived at Manali on October 28, but the police suspected that he had arrived there much earlier. Even he was not registered with the foreign registration office, Kullu, and the police had yet to track down the guest house or hotel he was staying.

The police said he was not novice as he had concealed the consignment tactfully in a pillow and was travelling in a taxi to Delhi. The police was interrogating him so as to get to know the source of charas.

In the second case, the police arrested two residents- Inder Dev, buyer, a resident of Thagta, Kullu, and Gyan Chand, seller, a resident of Matraro, Kullu. Inder Dev had attached 500 gm of charas on his body with tape and was coming to Mandi.

Mandi SP Sonal Agnihotri said the police had tightened up its nakas and a team led by ASI Ramesh Lal caught the Austrian and recovered the consignment. Two locals from Kullu were also caught in a separate case when they were on their way from Kullu to Mandi.

The police will get to the source and investigation is on, the SP added.

Shimla, October 29
Disapproving of the government approach to combat “climate change”, action committees of about two dozen ongoing people’s movements in the Himalayan region will hold a parallel conclave here tomorrow and come out with a “Shimla Declaration” to put forward the viewpoint of those most-affected by it.

They will also present a memorandum to Union Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh who will be in the city to attend the state government sponsored conclave of Himalayan Chief Ministers’ on climate change.

It will also mark a protest against the state government’s failure to invite and associate true representative bodies of the region like Himalaya Niti Abhiyan (HNA), an apex forum of non-government organisations pursuing environmental issues, to the official conclave.

The HNA wants that before finalising the country’s stand on reduction of emissions and climate change, the government should come out with a environment-friendly development model, particularly for the ecologically fragile Himalayan region, to protect livelihoods, prevent displacement of people, ensure community management of natural resources like forests, common land and water and ensure ecological equity and justice.

It maintained that the development policies being pursued currently were only enhancing the process of climate change instead of mitigating it. The impounding of rivers for mega hydropower projects not only affected the lives of the people and degrade the environment downstream but also produced huge quantities of toxic methane gas, which contributed more to global warning than carbon dioxide.

Chairman of the HNA Kulbhushan Upamanyu said the stand of the country was that the industrially advanced nations, which were responsible for unsustainable carbon emissions, should economically compensate the developing countries. His organisation supported it but wanted that the government should follow the same principle within the country. It must identify the “climate offenders” responsible for emissions and ask them to compensate the people dependent on natural resources like land, forests and water who were losing their livelihoods as a result.

He also disapproved of the conflicting proposals being made by the panel on climate change. One mission recommended construction of storage dams to tackle water scarcity, the other suggested increase in carbon sequestration capacity by planting fast-growing species, which depleted water.

Shimla, October 29
While asserting that the situation with respect to glacier melt and climate change was not as alarming as being projected by the western world, Dr Akhilesh Gupta, Adviser, Department of Science and Technology, today said India would not be bullied by dictates of the western world in achieving high development index without exceeding the global emission levels.

“There is no way that India will succumb to pressure as out per capita emissions are almost one 10th of the USA and we will ensure that we achieve better human index levels and at the same time keep our emissions less,” he said. He is here to attend the two-day Himalayan Chief Minister’s Conclave on “Indian Himalayas: Glaciers, Climate Change and Livelihoods.”

Gupta who is also the coordinator of climate change programmes said there was need for coordinated response both from the Centre as well as the Himalayan states so that there was periodical dialogue between stakeholders and annual reports on eco-system could be prepared. He said the Centre was considering setting up of an institute for studying glaciers in the five states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Reiterating the need for integrated research and studies on climate change and related issues like snow and glacial hydrology, he said concerted action needed to be taken to achieve sustainable and inclusive development. “It is high time that we strike a balance between development and conservation as there is no scope for further delay,” he maintained.

He said post-Bali declaration India had proved beyond that it had knowledge at par with the western world. “The panic button pressed by developed world has to be taken very seriously by countries like the Maldives and Bangladesh, as almost 17 per cent of the country would be under water if the present trends continue,” he said.

Earlier inaugurating the conclave, Himachal Chief Secretary Asha Swaroop said there was need to focus attention on the critical issue of sustainable development of the Indian Himalayas.

The two-day workshop will dwell on various issues pertaining to the present state of Indian Himalayas and find out ways and means to preserve and save its eco-system. 

Solan, October 29
In a shocking incident, eunuch Ratni (50) and her associate Des Raj (60) were found murdered at their residence at Kotla Nullah this afternoon. Ratni was also a former councillor in the local municipal council.

A team of the police, led by Solan SP Prem Thakur, visited the spot soon after receiving information about the murder from the two other eunuchs Shilpa and Priya who resided along with the deceased.

According to investigations, the SP said they were informed about the murder by the two eunuchs around 3.30 pm and their associate Manish who had gone out to attend to their usual chores around 10 am. Their driver Rajesh said he had come to collect the car keys around 10am, but he did not enter the house. It was after Shilpa and Priya returned from the market that they raised an alarm about the double murder confided the policemen. Police officials added that the bodies of the two eunuchs were found tied with some cloth and tapes were stuck on their mouth and head and a deep cut mark was visible on their necks. This led the police to believe that the two had been done to death with a sharp-edged weapon though the exact cause would emerge after the autopsy.

SP added that the trio had been detained for interrogation as according to the statements of carpenters, who operated in the adjoining building, no one was seen entering the house in the morning. A case under Section 302, IPC, has been registered.

Shimla, October 29
The Himachal Pradesh High Court today adjourned the matter pertaining to withdrawal of criminal cases pending against BS Thind (ADGP). The court adjourned the matter after hearing the counsel for Thind.

In this criminal revision, Thind has challenged the order of the Special Judge (Forest), Shimla, whereby he allowed the public prosecutor to withdraw the applications filed by the prosecution for withdrawal of criminal cases pending against him.

Today the matter came up for hearing before Justice VK Ahuja and after hearing arguments of both parties the court adjourned the matter for further hearing on November 5.