Shimla, September 17
Emerging as an eyesore on the Jakhu Hill, the crown of the state capital, the two additional floors raised by promoters of the Jakhu aerial ropeway in the 13-storeyed structure in violation of the norms are likely to be regularised with the Forest and Tourism authorities giving their consent.

The Jakhu aerial ropeway project, vehemently opposed by environmentalists and locals, today stands as the tallest structure in the town which will become the take off point for the ropeway. Notwithstanding the fact that the project was allowed to come up in a no construction green area, which also falls in the core area, the two additional floors were constructed by the promoters, though the approval was granted only for 11 floors.

The proposal for regularising the two additional floors is likely to be placed before the Cabinet, which will be the final authority on the issue.

Reliable sources said a decision on whether to allow habitable use of these two floors or just allow its use for attaining elevation was still being deliberated.

The Core Area Committee, which grants permission for all construction activity in the core area, had sought the opinion of the Forest and Tourism Department on whether the two additional floors should be regularised. However, the promoters, Jagson International Limited, was likely to be imposed a very heavy penalty running into crores, for constructing two floors without approval.

The Forest Department in its favourable report claimed that up to 60 trees would be saved from the inevitable lopping if the height of the structure allowed to be raised by two floors. Similarly, the only concern of the Tourism Department was to see the project becoming operational at the earliest.

The project has been in the eye of a storm right from the beginning as it was started without environmental clearance, which is mandatory under the rules for aerial ropeways. The digging and construction activity later posed a threat to the houses in its vicinity following which work was stopped and promoters directed to take necessary precaution.

The manner in which the government has been regularising major violations by big builders and people with influence in the state capital has led to a question mark over its commitment towards saving the “Queen of Hills” from further degradation and haphazard construction activity, which has already achieved a saturation point. The question bothering the common man on the other hand is that are the rules and regulations only for the commoners to follow as those with influence get away with anything and paying a penalty is rather the easiest way out for the moneyed and powerful.

Shimla, September 17
Public sector Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), which operates the country’s largest 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydroelectric Project, has declared a record dividend of Rs 328.2 crore for 2009-2010.

The dividend payout was ratified by shareholders during the Annual General Meeting of the company here yesterday at which dividend of Rs 0.80 per share was approved. The company had declared a dividend of Rs 320 crore for 2008-09. The company reported a profit after tax of Rs 972.74 crore for the year and the dividend declared was 33.75 per cent of the overall profit, which was the highest ever. The dividend included Rs 80 crore that the SJVN had paid as interim dividend. The company had been making profit ever since it began generation in 2004-05 and paying dividends.

Chairman-cum-Managing Director HK Sharma said 10 projects with aggregate capacity of over 6,500 MW, including one in Nepal and two in Bhutan, the SJVN was well on its way to become a major player in the hydropower sector. Besides, it would also make a foray into the solar and wind power in view of the increasing focus on renewable energy. Apart from generation the company would also explore the possibility of taking projects for construction of transmission lines.

He admitted that 412-MW Rampur project had fallen behind schedule by about a year and it would be commissioned only by March 2013. He said bad geology had affected the boring of the headrace tunnel, delaying the project. Other projects namely Luhri (775MW) and Dhaulasidh (66MW), both in Himachal Pradesh; Devsari (252MW), Naitwar Mori (60MW) and Jakhol Sankri (51MW), all in Uttarakhand; Arun III (900MW) in Nepal and two projects in Bhutan were in different stages.

He said high silt level affected generation in Nathpa Jhakri project in July and August and 22 days were lost, resulting in a shortfall of about 500 million units but the net loss, after taking into account the good performance of the first quarter, came to 300 million units.

Dharamsala, September 17
Speaking after about a fortnight since the examination scam had been unearthed, chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) CL Gupta, while addressing mediapersons, termed it a fraud.

Gupta claimed that the fraud was being committed with the examination system of the education board since 2006. Kingpin in the scam Ashwani Dogra, who was running Divya Jyoti Academy, was a former teacher and well-acquainted with the examination system. He had been taking advantage of the loopholes in the system since his suspension from service. About active involvement of board employees in the scam, Gupta seemed in a defensive mode. He said there was dereliction in duty and negligence on the part of board employees.

For this, 12 employees were being issued show-cause notice. Further inquiry would also be conducted and if any employee found involved directly with the main accused, he would be handed over to the police. However, till then the board would conduct the internal inquiry and recommend major and minor penalties as per their offence, Gupta said. He said the number of students who had got certificates of board classes, including VIII, X, XI and XII had gone up to about 183. The certificates of 63 students who were detected in the first phase had been cancelled. Notices had been issued to other 120 students who were otherwise found absent in examination centres but were declared passed in the board examinations. No reply had been received from them, he added. After notice period lapses, even these certificates would be cancelled.

Gupta, instead of passing the direct blame on his staff, pointed figure towards the postal staff. He said we had sent the roll numbers and certificates of students who benefitted through the scam through registered post. Now, the police has found out that the addresses on which the postage was sent were fake. How the postal officials delivered the registered post on wrong addresses? It indicates towards the direct involvement of some postal employees in the scam.

When asked as to how the accused came to know about secret codes of evaluation centres, Gupta once again passed the buck to the postal employees. He said many employees knew the code and addresses of the evaluation centres. They might have passed the information to the accused.

Gupta, taking a dig at the politicians demanding his resignation, said that it was he who brought the scam to the fore. He said he had passed on the inquiry to the police and would not interfere in it. He said a committee had also been formed to suggest measures for removing loopholes that had led to the scam.

Meanwhile, ABVP activists today carried out a protest in front of the board office and demanded the resignation of chairman CL Gupta and secretary Prabhat Sharma. Gupta, whose term is ending on October 14, has, however, ruled out the resignation claiming that it was he who had unearthed the scam.

He said shortage of staff in the board was one of the reasons for supervision lapse. About 203 vacancies had been lying vacant as the previous government did not fill any post.

Shimla, September 17
To promote heritage and pilgrim tourism in and around the erstwhile summer capital of the British, the Tourism Department will shortly launch a conducted tour of the city so that tourists get to see the places of historical importance.

With most parts of Shimla city falling in the sealed and restricted areas, where entry of non-permit holder vehicles is not allowed, tourists often find it difficult to cover all places of interest. The department in association with the Shimla Hoteliers’ Association is working out the modalities and the facility is likely to be launched on World Tourism Day on September 27.

With Shimla having remained the summer capital of the British till 1947, several important places and monuments hold great significance in the developments preceding Independence. The conducted tour will cover places like Viceregal Lodge, Gorton Castle, museum, churches and other important places.

Considering the varied interest that a visitor might have, the tourism authorities will also introduce a pilgrim circuit which will cover various temples in the town, including Jakhu, Sankat Mochan, Kali Bari and Tara Devi. Many tourists, especially those from West Bengal and Gujarat, visit the town in large numbers during the holidays around Dusehra and like to pay obeisance at these shrines.

“At present the valuable heritage trove of Shimla town remains unexplored as the tourists are only taken to places like Naldehra and Mashobra, with the real British-time legacy being unknown to many,” said Arun Sharma, director, Tourism and Civil Aviation. He said a mini 20-seater luxury coach or even a smaller vehicle would be engaged so that the tourists could easily see all places of interest.

Solan, September 17
The scientists at the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli, have given a clean chit to the measles vaccine that was injected to infants in Lucknow during a routine immunisation programme in August but had led to the death of four infants (below nine months) within minutes of being injected.

The vaccine, which was referred to CRI for testing was found ok, sources said, adding that nothing wrong was found in the tested vaccine that could be detected as the cause of their death. The 15-day tests conducted here led to this vital conclusion. The scientists said there could be some problem relating to handling the vaccine but nothing more could be said about the cause of the death.

The report has been sent to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that had earlier sent the vaccine for testing here. This report had now ruled out the initial assumptions of the vaccine failing in quality.