Shimla, May 5
Tardy progress and failure of the state government in initiating reforms under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) could severely affect the chances of liberal funding from the Centre for various ongoing works in the town.

A three-member team of the Planning Commission, headed by Saumitra Chaudhuri, today undertook physical verification of the schemes for which funding is being provided by the Centre. The team, including senior adviser BS Kalha and deputy adviser BB Sharma, visited the site of Auckland tunnel and the urban poor housing scheme being constructed near the Dhalli police station.

According to sources, the team expressed displeasure over tardy progress and failure in initiating reforms, which includes vesting powers with respect to management of urban forestry, fire services and land use with the local body.

“The manner in which there has been delay in initiating reforms, the second instalment under JNNURM, estimated to be over RS 40 crore, could be delayed,”admitted a senior bureaucrat.

Even thought the local municipal corporation (MC) has urged the state government to restore control and management of the urban forests to it, the matter has been delayed as the high-level meeting for the purpose could not be held. The Planning Commission team also inquired about shifting of the solid waste management from the present site at Darni Ka Bagicha on the bypass. Thought the bids have already come, shortlisting is yet to be done so that financial viability could be assessed.

The Planning Commisson team also expressed displeasure over the fact that Rs 72 crore received under the Water Rehabilitation scheme had not been put to use despite over one year since the money was released. The scheme is aimed at replacing old machinery, pipelines and revamping the system.

“The government is yet to decided the executing agency though initially it was decided that the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) department would implement it,” said an official.

Even with regard to execution of the first phase of laying of sewerage system in the newly merged areas, the Planning Commission team expressed unhappiness. A sum of Rs 53 crore had already been released as first instalment of the total Rs 180-crore scheme. In this case too, there has been a delay in deciding about the executing agency.

Shimla, May 5
A team of the Planning Commission of India headed by its member Dr Saumitra Chaudhuri held a high-level meeting with officials to review performances under plan for 2009-10, here today.

At very outset Chaudhuri asked about the tangible results achieved in various programmes being funded by the central government with regard to the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and other socio-economic programmes. He also sought information about various other programmes and was by and large satisfied with the implementation. The main programmes which were reviewed in the meeting included Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-Day Meal, National Rural Health Mission, PMGSY, MNREGA, Indira Awas Yojna, Total Sanitation Campaign, Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidutikaran Yojna and Irrigation and Water Supply Schemes.

Chief Secretary Asha Swarup urged the Planning Commission for following the 90 is to 10 ratio for funding of the state under various centrally sponsored programmes and asserted that good performance as reflected by various human development indicators should not stand in its way. She said Himachal Pradesh was a special category state and it should be given funds as per the 90 is to 10 Centre:state ratio norm of funding.

She said the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission have adversely impacted the fund flow from the Centre as the revenue deficit grant had been reduced below the amount recommended by the 12th Finance Commission. Not only this, the net borrowing allowed to the state was 3.5 per cent of the GSDP during 2010-11 and 3 per cent thereafter. This would have a serious impact on the plan size. It was suggested that all funds under the off-budget schemes should be routed through the state government. She requested for strengthening of veterinary services under “Mukhya Mantri Arogaya Pashudhan Yojna”.

Principal Secretary, Finance, Ajay Tyagi urged for enhancement of special plan assistance to the state and sought funds for the Apple Rejuvenation Project to help replace the old low yielding apple plants with new high yielding varieties. An area of 12,500 acres was proposed to be covered in the next year and the project cost was estimated at Rs 85 crore, he added.

Shimla, May 5
Arrested HAS officer BR Kamal has got some respite as the five girls residing in his house in Rohru have given statements to the police that he was supporting them in their education and providing them all other economic benefits.

According to Shimla SSP RM Sharma, the statement of the girls were recorded in the presence of DSP (Rohru) and their families. “The girls, as well as their families, have clarified that they were not subjected to any kind of exploitation and the official was rather taking care of their education,” said Sharma.

The presence of five girls, including four minors, at the official residence of the SDM took the Vigilance team by surprise. It was the Vigilance Bureau which had requested the district police to get to the truth.

Kamal, who was the Rohru SDM, has been booked by the Vigilance Bureau for alleged corruption as Rs 2 lakh was recovered from his house. It is alleged that he had been given money by a hydro-power company for favouring them by initiating compulsory land acquisition proceedings.

The official had been sent in judicial remand till May 12.

Shimla, May 5
Taking strong exception to the closure of a large number of schools in Shimla district, the Congress alleged that the Dhumal government was indulging in regional discrimination on political grounds in almost every sphere of development.

Addressing a press conference here today, secretary of Pradesh Congress Committee Rohit Thakur said the raw deal being meted out to the district could be judged from the fact that out of 147 schools closed under the rationalisation exercise as many as 78 were in Shimla. More importantly, not even a primary school had been closed in Hamirpur, home district of the Chief Minister. Similarly, not a single penny had been given to the third largest district of the state from the Rs 125.3 crore sanctioned under the central road fund over the past two years.

In contrast, work had virtually come to a standstill on the major ongoing projects like the Rs 238 crore Theog-Hatkoti road upgrade project which was to be completed by December, 2010. While there was some delay due to denial of visa to workers of the Chinese companies, the Public Works Department (PWD) was also responsible for it. Out of the 14 bridges and 340 culverts, not even a single had been built and the Public Works Minister had shifted the deadline to 2013 but it was not likely to be completed over the next six to seven years.

In case of the Paonta-Rohru National Highway, the government had failed to acquire land despite repeated reminders of the National Highway Authority of India. With more than 50 per cent of the 2,515 villages in the district yet to be provided the road facility, the target of connecting all villages with population of more than 250 by 2012 seemed to be a far cry, he said.

While Rs 3 crore were released for holding IPL matches, the government had not bothered to pay the arrears of growers on account of fruit procured under the market intervention scheme in 2008. Further, the public sector apple carton factory was being virtually sold for a song. The health services were in bad shape with more than 70 per cent posts of doctor and other staff lying vacant even at main hospitals at Rohru and Jubbal, he added.

Shimla, May 5
Nature captured in varied moods and hues is how one can describe the captivating art works of Punam Gupta, which are on display at her first ever solo oil painting exhibition in the town.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Chief Minister PK Dhumal at the the Gaiety Theatre here today. Most of the exhibits bring out the richness of natural beauty and are created from the impressions captured in her mind through her travels.

Be it the impression of rain-washed hillside, moon over the mountains or dawn at its best, each work leaves a lasting impression.

The varied hues of blue in her paintings “Beach Blues”, “Aqua” and “Storm at Sea” are a treat for art aficionados.

The Chief Minister was all praise for Punam and her artistic expressions. “The paintings are a treat for nature lovers as they exhibit high professional skill which is something unique and striking,” he remarked.

“Rather than creating a painting from a photograph, I prefer to create one from the mind which, at times, turns out to be amazingly different and fascinating,” Punam said, while accepting accolades at the exhibition. She had earlier held a solo exhibition at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

Having an illustrious painter Santosh Manchanda for a mother, Punam has art in her genes though she did study painting at the Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi. Being married in Shimla, her artistic instincts got a further impetus with “picture perfect” scenery all around her. She continued to paint oil and water colours, steadily honing and refining her skills and techniques.

The exhibition will be on till May 9.

Solan, May 5
Reacting to the news item regarding industry to face power cuts appearing in these columns, Chief Minister PK Dhumal today reviewed the power supply position in the state, particularly in the industrial belts of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area, and directed the HPSEB to make concerted efforts for making necessary arrangements to mitigate the prevalent shortage.

As suggested in the news item, the government has agreed to utilise its entitlements of 12 per cent free power in Chamera-I and Bairsiul projects by the HPSEB for easing out the power supply position in the state.

The shortages were occurring due to low water discharge leading to less hydel generation in the region. The state was facing power shortage for the past couple of days and the situation became grim in view of the new CERC regulations in force whereby the draw from the grid had been stringently discouraged by imposing huge penalties for its safety and security. This had forced the HPSEB to enforce weekly off on industrial units from May 1 to June 15 for a proposed relief of 100 MW per day.

Suneel Grover, director, power regulation, said weekly power cuts had been necessitated due to unexpected shortfall in water discharge at various power houses and unfavourable grid conditions. However, fortunately, in the past two days, the water discharge in various river basins had also started increasing and, accordingly, the HPSEB had decided to lift off the weekly off/power restrictions imposed on industrial units with immediate effect.

Grover added that the board always endeavoured to facilitate the industry by providing uninterrupted power supply to the consumers. Efforts were already on to make adequate power supply arrangements intact for winter months by contra-banking arrangements through which surplus power available in the month of July and August will be available in return during the winter months of December and January, giving adequate power for uninterrupted supply.

Meanwhile, investors heaved a sigh of relief after the direction today.

Rakesh Bansal, convener, power reforms, CII panel, and general secretary, Parwanoo Industries’ Association, said this step had reaffirmed the faith of investors in the government’s resolve to provide uninterrupted power to the industry which was already facing troubled times after withdrawal of the central industrial package.

Shimla, May 5
In an effort to provide proper physical infrastructure in educational institutions the state government has earmarked 17 per cent of the budget for construction of buildings in the current year.

Stating this after laying foundation stone of the Rs 2.69 crore new complex of the directorate of elementary education here today, Chief Minister PK Dhumal said the state would spend Rs 2,567 crore on education during the current financial year to create best of academic atmosphere in educational institutions in the state. It was Rs 436 crore more than last year.

He underlined the need for revival of the school inspection system to bring about quality in education and asserted that senior officers of the department must carry out surprise inspections of institutions to maintain high academic standards. The nine-point ‘Environment Protection Code’ for schools would help inculcate clean habits among children.

Dhumal said the government was upgrading infra-structural facilities to provide its employees congenial working environment so that they were able to deliver best of the services to the people. The cases relating to the personnel and service-related grievances of subordinate officials should be accorded priority to ensure that their efficiency was not affected.

The architects had been directed to design solar passive structures and ensure maximum utilisation of natural light in buildings. He directed the concerned authorities to complete construction works in a time bound manner and said the elementary education directorate building be completed within 18 months.

Education Minister Ishwar Dass Dhiman said the dropout rate had come down to 1 per cent and the state was also providing home-based education to about 500 differently abled children who could not attend school. The middle standard examination of the board of school education had been abolished from the current academic session. The student teacher ratio in the state was 15:1 as against the norm of 40:1.

Kangra, May 5
The Kangra valley was thrown out of gear following high-velocity winds, rain and hail in different localities on Wednesday, giving a respite from the heat. Some trees were uprooted and power supply was disrupted.

Reports of rain were received from hill town of Dharamsala, Gaggal, Icchi Gurkhari and Chetru, Mallan and Thakudwara. However, there was no loss of life or property reported from any part of the valley.

KULLU: The cyclonic rain and heavy hailstone caused great worries to farmers in this district as the lower region of Kullu experienced heavy rain.

Reports from the Lug valley said the hailstones had damaged the fruit and vegetable crops badly.

Ved Ram Thakur, a farmer from Bhutti village, said the heavy “frozen water balls” locally called “sharu” that poured continuously damaged apple, pear, plum and the vegetable plants. He lamented that Lug valley farmers were totally dependant on vegetable crops and the farmers were badly affected due to the prolonged dry weather conditions earlier and now, the untimely heavy rain with hailstones. The weather conditions suddenly changed in the evening.

Traffic jams due to water flooded roads during the peak office hours were an addition to the woes of the people. Police sources confirmed that they did not receive news about any untoward incident till the filing of this story.

Meanwhile, the visibility was quite poor since morning, which caused cancellation of all flights to Kullu. The weather report at the airport reported only 2 km visibility in the morning.

CHAMBA: The district was lashed by hurricane blowing off tin roof of some private buildings in different parts of the district.

The gale was followed by heavy widespread rain with thunderstorm and lightning on Wednesday.

Mandi, May 5
Even as the Conservator (Wildlife), Shamshi, has suspended two forest guards and a deputy ranger in connection with illicit felling of 52 deodar trees in Shikari Devi Wildlife Sanctuary, the special investigating unit (SIU) of the Mandi police and the Wildlife and Forest Department have yet to get to the bottom of the racket being run by the van mafias.

The SIU and forest teams had detected the illicit felling of deodar trees in the Dhawara belt of the sanctuary falling under Gohar subdivision. This proves that the Wildlife and forest departments have failed to check the van mafias whose writs run large even in the eco-sensitive region making mockery of the Forest Act and the Wild Life Protection Act that forbids any human interference in the sanctuary.

After getting direction from Chief Minister PK Dhumal during his recent visit to Mandi, the SIU was dispatched to Dhawara, Piplu Panihar and Dev Pral areas of the sanctuary where 40 deodar trees were illegally cut down.

On the other hand, the wildlife and forest officials claimed that forest guards were suspended and 75 scants (one cubic meters) of timber were seized since April. But surprisingly no FIR was lodged in the case. This in turns indicates that some members of the field staff either tried to hush up the case or were hand in glove with the van mafias, sources told The Tribune.

Mandi SP Sonal Agnihotri said today that a case under Sections 33 of the Indian Forest Act and Section 379 of the IPC has been registered at Gohar police station.

Conservator of Forests BD Suyal said departmental inquiry into the illicit felling was on and the forest guards had been suspended in the case and action would be taken against the officials too if found guilty.

Conservator of Wildlife Ajay Srivsatva stated that the investigating team was combing the entire sanctuary to detect illicit felling and report is yet to be submitted. Apart from the suspension of two forest guards and deputy ranger Mahant Ram, suspension of range officer Dalip Singh has been recommended as well, he added.

Dharamsala, May 5
She is fondly called the “garbage girl” of Bhagsunag. Jodie Underhill, a resident of England, had come to Dharamsala as a tourist. However, today she is actively involved in saving the higher reaches of Himalayas from solid waste spread by trekkers that as earned her the name of ‘garbage girl’ of Bhasunag.

Every week she can be seen on the rocky 7-km-trek that runs from the grassy summit of Triund through the hills of the Dhauladhar range, with a group of volunteers and donkeys bringing back 35 sacks of trash.

The bags, displaying messages for proper disposal of solid waste, can be seen at every tea shop enroute Triund and near the resting places of tourists.

While talking to The Tribune, she said, “I am surprised how such huge quantity of broken glass reach the virgin heights of mountains. It seems that trekkers carry beer and whisky bottles and are dumping there.”

She has managed to raise a group of volunteers from among the local youth and visiting tourists who have been named as “Mountain Cleaners”.

The cleanup is a weekly event organised by them.

Along with local volunteers, the Mountain Cleaners brigade has cleaned up the waterfall area near Bhagsunag.

Jodie said she returned to India this year with a sense of mission. “I spent some time to learn about waste management by visiting environmental projects and organisations, learning about waste management systems, composting, rainwater harvesting and biogas. I met volunteers of the India Climate Solutions and numerous ragpickers’ association to gain a greater understanding of how waste could be managed,” she said.

On returning to Bhagsunag, Jodie immediately started recruiting volunteers to continue with the waste collection programme at Triund.

Every Monday a group of volunteers, headed by her, go up the mountain to sort the waste from tea shops en route and at Triund.

The group stays overnight and then tackles the mountain side the following day. The bags are then brought down the mountain on donkeys.

Each donkey costs Rs 200 and about eight donkeys are used each week. The entire cost of the project is covered by Jodie who is now in the process of registering the group as an NGO. 

Solan, May 5
A delegation of elected representatives, including panchayat pradhans, BDC and zila parishad members led by Sanjay Awasthi, PCC secretary, and Maheshwar Sharma, president of the Golden Land Losers Society, today submitted a memorandum to the DC through the Arki SDM to direct Ambuja Cements to stop work at the disputed site as the matter was already sub judice.

The delegation pleaded that since tempering had been established in the revenue records, it was apparent that the land losers had suffered monetary losses due to lesser rate of compensation in lieu of land acquired in the past.

This had caused monetary loss to hundreds of land losers of Sanghoi panchayat and, hence, villagers were objecting to the execution of work on this land till they were granted enhanced compensation. The villagers asserted that they would not allow the cement unit to execute any work as it directly affected their cause.

The villagers alleged that the unit management was using coercive tactics like use of police force to execute work on the disputed site. A copy of the MoU had also been given to the Solan SP.

Shimla, May 5
The State Planning Commission of Sikkim, headed by its deputy chairman Sanchaman Limboo, met Chief Minister PK Dhumal and discussed various development schemes being implemented in the state.

The commission appreciated initiatives taken in the field of agriculture and horticulture and evinced keen interest in the Deen Dayal Upadhaya Kisan Bagwan Smridhi Yojna. It requested the Chief Minister to send experts and progressive farmers of the state to Sikkim under an exchange programme to learn from the success of each other.

It also appreciated the Doodh Ganga Yojna and the Apple Rejuvenation Project launched in the state and expressed willingness to introduce similar schemes in Sikkim to increase the income of rural farmers.

The members observed that the geo-graphical and agro-climatic conditions of both the states were similar and mutual exchange of programmes could benefit both the states.

They also visited the field and interacted with progressive farmers at Khalog and Patina villages in the Jubberhatti area and inspected poly houses, water storage tanks and vegetable cultivation.

Shimla, May 5
The female western tragopan, which died at the Sarhan pheasantry while laying eggs two days ago, was infected with E-coli bacteria which had spread to all parts of its body. Alarmed over the presence of bacteria in the pheasantry, wildlife authorities have decided to put all birds on medication as a preventive measure. They are being kept under strict watch as there is a strong possibility of some other birds catching the infection.

Detailed veterinary investigations, conducted after drawing samples from various parts of the body, established presence of E-coli infection which led to the death of the bird. Pheasants are normally resistant to E-coli bacterial infection. However, they become vulnerable during the breeding season

Samples of water and food were also being drawn to track down the source of infection and emergency medicine had also been procured from Chandigarh.

As not much information is available regarding biological processes of the highly endangered rare pheasant, the least studied bird, the authorities are in touch with internationally renowned pheasant breeding expert John Corder and the World Pheasants’ Association to be sure about the line of treatment to be pursued.

Chief Conservator of Forests , Faunal Diversity and Protected Areas, Sanjiva Pandey said a team of wildlife veterinary experts, headed by Sandeep Rattan, had been sent to Sarhan from here along with diagnostic equipment to carry out investigations on spot to ascertain if some other pheasants have also been infected.

Investigations also revealed that the male western tragopan died of haemorrhage caused by an internal injury to the muscle in the leg which was not visible from outside.

The birds usually become aggressive during the breeding season and run around at a fast pace. The pheasant must have suffered the injury hitting some boulder or other hard substance during such a phase.

Besides western tragopan, a number of other species, including koklass, monal, kalij and cheer, were also being bred in the pheasantry. It was put on the world pheasant breeding map when the rare western tragopan was bred in captivity for the first time in the world in 2005.