Dehradun, March 27
The entire Uttarakhand Cabinet led by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will be calling upon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 29 to demand extension of the special industrial package for the state.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Chief Minister Nishank said the special industrial package given to Uttarakhand in 2003 by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee till 2013 was reduced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government till March 31, 2010.

He said he, along with all MPs of the state, had met the Prime Minister last month to demand an extension of the package, but he lamented that with only few days left for the package to come to an end, there had been no response from the Prime Minister.

Nishank said the extension of the industrial package was necessary for the development of the state keeping in view the geographical difficulties faced by the people of the state.

He said each and every political party in the state had been demanding the extension. “Three states, namely Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, were given the industrial package. But it is unfortunate that while the package has been extended for the J&K, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the other two Himalayan states have been left out,” he said.

Nishank feared that if the industrial package was not extended beyond March 31, 2010, then the expected industrial investment of Rs 30,000 crore would not come to the state. And that in turn would hamper two lakh job opportunities that would come with these investments.

“Any retardation in the industrial development of the state would also lead to greater migration of unemployed youths to other parts of the country, particularly from border districts that would also have an adverse the impact on the security scenario,” he feared. He said it was a grave injustice that the industrial package, which was earlier till 2013, was reduced by three years. “Uttarakhand has been giving water, youth to the Army and security forces and clean air through its 66 per cent forests to the country and in return can expect an industrial package that can take care of the economic development of people of the state,” he added.

Nishank said he was also in touch with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on the discrimination being done by the Central government with these two states.

The Chief Minister said the state had attracted a total industrial investment of Rs 45,679 crore in the past nine years, out of which Rs 21,173 crore came during the present Bharatiya Janata Party government while the rest Rs 24,516 crore came during the previous Congress government.

He further said the 13th Finance Commission had given Rs 1,000 crore for better financial management of the state and the state had been making rapid economic progress. “The per capita income of Uttarakhand was Rs 14,500 at the time of the formation of the state in 2000, which has now risen to Rs 41,000.

“Moreover, the state is the third as per the survey done by the Union government in terms of growth rate and the first amongst the Himalayan states,” he claimed.

On the issue of an agreement reached with the Akhada Parishad of Haridwar on the issue of stoppage of hydro-electric projects on the Ganga, the Chief Minister said the agreement would be made public after a meeting with the Akahda Parishad on March 28 at Haridwar.

On the fate of the two hydro-electric projects of Pala Maneri and Bahiron Ghati to be built by the state government, Nishank replied that both projects were stalled and a committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as per the recently formed Ganga River Basin Authority would take a decision on these two projects also.

Haridwar, March 27
Finally, several rounds of meetings between the representatives of the state government and the Akhada Parishad seem to have borne fruit with Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank agreeing to attend the Akhada Parishad meeting tomorrow. He is expected to announce the government’s stance on the hydel projects on the Ganga.

The three-hour meeting between government representatives - Urban State Minister Madan Kaushik, Chief Secretary NS Napalchiyal, Prinicipal Secretary to CM Subash Kumar, Mela Officer Anand Vardhan, DIG Mela Alok Kumar and other high officials - and members of the Akhada Parishad executive council has already laid the foundation for tomorrow’s meeting.

Though both sides refrained from speaking clearly about the nine-point agenda that the Akhada Parishad had put up, yet both sides said the talks were positive. The Chief Minister will announce the outcome of the meeting during his special visit to Haridwar.

Pokhriyal’s visit indicates the importance and sensitivity of the issue which the saint community, particularly the Akhada Parishad, has raised.

The parishad is adamant on closing the Lahori Nagpala and Bhairon Ghati projects and that no further projects be granted on the Ganga which disturb the natural flow and sanctity of the river.

In the course of the meeting, the chief of the Akhada Parishad got angry when he saw the parishad’s national general secretary showing a soft corner to the government representatives.

It was only after Madan Kaushik’s intervention that the Akhada chief softened somewhat, but was still adamant that the parishad would not backtrack from its earlier stance.

The state government had stated that dams on the Ganga come under the purview of the Central government and it would write to the Ganga Basin Authority in this regard.

With the Chief Minister coming to Haridwar specially to have a talk in this regard with the Akhada Parishad, it is being understood that both sides have arrived at a compromise and that the parishad will not quit the Maha Kumbh proceedings.

The parishad has stated that if they are not satisfied by the CM’s assurance, they would restart their agitation with full force and even boycott the ongoing mega fair to save the Ganga. The support of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also bolstered the movement.

Haridwar, March 27
Though little more than a month is left for the completion of the Maha Kumbh in Haridwar, yet there is a lot of unrest among several departmental employees that come under the mela administration.

Since the beginning of the Maha Kumbh, there have been protests by several departmental employees on the issues of facilities and pay.

Now, the mela administration is facing the heat from health and sanitation employees. The Medical-Health and Family Welfare Kumbh Mela Sangarsh Samiti has warned of stopping the emergency services from March 29 if their demand is not met.

The samiti is demanding dearness allowance (DA) of Rs 500 daily, considering their tough duty. President of the samiti Arun Kumar Sharma said they were planning to boycott the health services earlier, but on the request of the Director, General Health, they had postponed it till March 29. If their demand was not met by then, they would boycott the health services from that day, he added.

Putting the blame on the mela administration, Arun K Sharma said the inconvenience that would be caused to pilgrims would solely lie on the mela health administration.

Support for the samiti has come from various other related organisations like the Diploma Pharmacist Association and the Ministerial Federation Union.

Meanwhile, adding to the woes of the mela administration, sanitation workers, involved in the cleaning of the Kumbh mela area spanning 130 sq km, have also lashed out at the administration at their “exploitation”. They were angry over the discrepancies in pay and allowance being given to them.

Holding a one-day symbolic agitation under the Manavadhikar Jagrook Samiti, contractual workers held a meeting and staged a protest at the Rishikul Ayurvedic Medical College.

The protesters complained that from November they had not been given full payment as Rs 500 was being deducted for which no reason had been given.

District head of the samiti Yogesh Sharma demanded a probe in the matter and also against those workers who figured in the workers’ list, but did not come to work and yet got full payment.

“Mela officials are not taking any action on this. We work day and night and yet are fighting for our daily wages, while the Kumbh budget is in hundreds of crores. The administration should look into this matter as we are playing our part in ensuring a successful Maha Kumbh,” said Yogesh Sharma.

“We had earlier also apprised the mela officer and officers concerned of our problems, but no action has been taken. We demand instant action as two Shahi Snans are to follow and still a month is left for the Kumbh,” said Murari Lal Vadhwa, Uttarakhand chief of the samiti.

The samiti’s other demands include reinstatement of those workers who were suspended from work without any reason, provision of cleansing equipments and products and timely payment of salary.

Dehradun, March 27
The Uttarakhand Congress Legislature Party (CLP) had never faced such an embarrassing situation where it surrendered the entire initiative earned during the Budget session of the state Assembly to Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on the last day of the session on Friday. This has led to a fierce debate between the ruling party BJP and main Opposition the Congress on the issue.

Chief Minister Nishank, who had been under tremendous pressure since the word go in the Budget session of the Assembly, turned the tables on the main Opposition the Congress by daring them for a debate on the no-confidence motion moved by the latter.

While the Chief Minister dared the Congress that brought the no-confidence motion, the CLP, ever divided, could not muster enough courage and tried to take shelter behind rules and regulations.

Nishank had been at the receiving end since the start of the Budget session as a determined CLP did not even allowed the Governor to read her Budget address on March 8. Almost every day, the Congress MLAs brought out alleged scandals and stalled the proceedings of the House.

They raised questions about the allotment of hydro projects, release of government land to a building company at Rishikesh and proposal to give college land in Mussoorie to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar University. The ruling BJP was unable to put up an effective defence on all these issues.

However, the climax came on Friday when the CLP came up with a no-confidence motion. As the House assembled, the CM dared the Congress for a debate on the issue, but the Leader of Opposition, along with Congress MLAs, trooped into the well of the House demanding question hour.

In the din that followed, Speaker Harbans Kapoor disallowed the motion. “This has never happened that the ruling party wanted a debate on the no-confidence motion and the Opposition ran away. It showed that the Congress was not interested in having a debate on the allegations levelled against my government,” said Nishank here today.

On the other hand, Harak Singh Rawat, Leader of Opposition, argued that the state government was not interested in giving answers during question hour. “We only demanded that no-confidence motion be taken up after question hour as per the rules and laws, but the Chief Minister insisted on the debate first,” said Rawat.

He could not give a convincing reply that’s why the Congress shied away from a discussion on no-confidence motion. “We were not interested in destabilising the government,” he added.

“But then why bring up the no-confidence in the first place and get exposed in the process by wasting the time of the House and precious money of the state exchequer?” asked Nishank.

Nainital, March 27
District Magistrate (DM) Shailesh Bagauli has promised industrialists in Nainital district that the matter pertaining to the establishment of a testing laboratory to primarily address the concerns of the soap stone powder units in Haldwani will be taken up with the state administration.

He has also asked the mining officer to take up the matter pertaining to the inclusion of Ramnagar and Haldwani Blocks in the Industrial Encouragement Policy, 2008, with the state administration.

At a meeting of Udyog Mitr held here today, Bagauli asked the officials to ensure that such meetings would be organised every month so that the issues and concerns of entrepreneurs could be taken up on priority.

On being told that premises of several units were lying vacant in the Haldwani industrial area of the Social Welfare Department, Bagauli directed the Sub Divisional Magistrate and Social Welfare

Officer to conduct a joint survey and submit a report on the status of industries there.

The entrepreneurs sought that permission be granted for mining on the riverbeds of Kosi, Dabka and Sharda. Responding to the demand raised by them, Bagauli said he would write to the state government on this issue.

He also asked the officials to conduct regular medical camps for the labour working in various industrial units.

A total of 10 women were presented commendation certificates. Dilma Devi from Tehri district took the job of a cobbler after her house and fields got submerged during the construction of the Tehri Dam. She took up the family occupation of mending shoes.

Bheema Devi hailing from Purola Block in Uttarkashi district is an expert in repairing cycles and stoves. She was forced to fend for her family after her husband died.

Besides mending cycles, Bheema Devi also learnt the hard way that money saved can be of big help, especially in difficult times.

Kamla Negi hailing from Nainital district is expert at repairing JCB tyres. Men often wonder at her dexterity with the plier and the hammer. Though only class VIII pass, Negi is aware that her children must study to make a living.

She fought against the purda system and what a battle it was in her village at Mudyikala Block in Udham Singh Nagar.

Noorjehan is an inspiration for women and helped around 200 women to come out of the closet. None of these women wear burqa now.

Using a plough to tend her fields come easy to Khasti Devi of Champawat district. Married at 15 years to a feeble man, Khasti Devi shouldered the responsibility of looking after her family. Her decision to use the plough led her being ostracised in her village. Undeterred, she continued.

Hemlata of Rishikesh fought against patriarchal norms when she was denied rights while married.

That forced her to become economically independent. For the past six years she has been editing Lok Ganga magazine and is committed to women’s issues.

Nainital, March 27
Uttarakhand’s Chief Information Commisioner (CIC) Dr RS Tolia has asked the information and appellate authorities in various departments to ensure the effective disposal of applications coming to them under the Right To Information (RTI) Act so that a minimum number of people have to approach the Commission.

Speaking at a workshop on RTI held at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) today for officials of Kumaon, Dr Tolia further pointed, “The officials should not take providing of information as a burden but should look at it as their moral responsibility”.

He asked the Public Information Officers (PIOs) of various departments not to be lax in attending to the applications coming to them under the RTI Act so that the Commission was not compelled to take action against them.

Dr Tolia asked the officials to come up with the RTI Act manuals for every department and ensure its publicity on a wide scale.

State Information Commissioner (SIC) Vinod Nautiyal asked the appellate authorities to patiently listen to the applicant as well as the PIOs before deriving at any conclusion.

He said the purpose of the Act was to provide information to the applicants and not giving him the same was a violation of his rights.

Dehradun, March 27
The Vigilance Department, Dehradun, nabbed a cashier of the Rural Engineering Services, Haridwar, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from a contractor from his office here this afternoon.

According to Vigilance officials, contractor Pankaj Kumar of Ranipur, Haridwar, lodged a compliant with the department.

He said in his complaint that he had taken a contract of Rs 7,23,000 to construct a multi-purpose sports stadium in February 2010.

Cashier Parmjeet Singh demanded 2 per cent of the amount as a bribe.

But Pankaj approached the Vigilance that conducted an inquiry into the matter and found the allegation genuine. Following which the Vigilance team laid a trap and arrested the cashier at 1:30 pm while accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from the contractor.