Shimla, March 26
The state judiciary has achieved a milestone by achieving maximum disposal of cases in the country. Governor Urmila Singh said this during the valedictory function of the ruby jubilee celebrations and on High Court Day today.

Speaking at the HPU auditorium, she congratulated the High Court and the lawyers for their contribution in the speedy administration of justice.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who presided over the function, said the ruby jubilee celebrations had brought a new life in the High Court atmosphere.

Chief Justice Kurian Joseph said the ruby jubilee celebrations infused a new life to the institution. He said the court was generally seen as a place for punishment and it was a wrong perception.

“It is an institution where grievances are redressed as per the procedure prescribed in statutes and a place where the constitutional rights of the citizens are protected,” he added.

“The ruby jubilee year has seen highest disposal of cases. Average disposal of cases per judge is 3,923. We have set up a Green Bench, a Bench for dealing with cases under the Juvenile Justice Act, a Bench for dealing with cases under the Mental Health Act, etc. We have also set up a special Bench for dealing with corruption cases and our idea is to dispose of all such cases within a year of institution,” he added.

Judges of the High Court, senior officers of the state government and legal fraternity of different courts were present on the occasion.

Nahan, March 26
The National Commission for SC/ST has directed the state government to award a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh each, respectively, to the next of kin of those killed and injured in the recent violent incident at Paonta Sahib, besides bringing the guilty to the book in 15 days.

While taking the state government to task for its failure to control the situation from becoming so violent, the commission has directed the IG and the Chief Secretary to submit a report on action taken on its directions. They also took exception to the fact that no minister from the state government had come to visit the area despite such a gruesome act of bloodshed.

Two separate teams from - the National SC/ST Commission led by vice-chairman Dr Rajkumar Verka and the National Safaikaramchari Commission led by its member Hari Ram Sood - today visited Nahan and assessed the situation after meeting representatives from the two affected communities.

The teams held separate talks with the two communities and later a joint meeting with the administration where IG Ashok Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Meera Mohanty and SP Puneeta Bhardwaj were present.

The commissions have denied that it was neither a caste-based strife nor a community-based strife.

While directing both communities to bury the hatchet, the commissions, which later addressed mediapersons here today, said they should return back to their dwelling places so that normalcy could be restored.

The commissions have also directed the state government to grant a government job to one person from the families of those killed and injured, besides bearing their cost of treatment.

Meanwhile, last evening the police has arrested three youths — Nitish Kumar, Sumeet Bhardwaj and Parveen Kumar — who were involved in the incident.

A separate case under the SC/ST Atrocities Act was also registered against a mob that had burnt down eight shanties on Thursday.

Shimla, March 26
To ensure reliability and effectiveness of night patrolling by police vehicles, the Police Department has decided to install global positioning system (GPS) in police station vehicles so that there can be a check on the rising crime, especially in the border areas, adjoining Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand.

The GPS will be installed in the vehicles of police stations, station house officers (SHO) and DSP-rank officers in all districts to monitor patrolling. It is from March 28 that the GPS will start functioning, enabling close monitoring of night patrolling in various parts of the state.

As an additional check, it has also been decided to have voice service in the GPS so that there can be interaction with the control room. “Having voice service will ensure that the concerned official too is out on night patrol and the control room can speak with him as and when required,” a senior official said.

The district police chiefs will submit a report of the daily night patrol to the headquarters daily by 10 am. The daily report will be monitored by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, who in turn will keep the Director General of Police (DGP) updated on this front.

ADGP (Law and Order) S.R. Mardi said, “Having intensive night patrolling will help curb crime. It will be more intensified in the border areas of the state, which are prone to crime because of anti-social elements from the neighbouring states entering into Himachal.”

Even though Himachal is a low crime state, but in the recent months there has been a spurt in the crime incidents in the border industrial belts of Poanta Sahib, Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh and Una. The death of four youths following an altercation at the Holi fair in Paonta Sahib is the latest crime incident. Similarly, there have been several incidents of looting, thefts and burglary not just in the border areas of the state but also in the state capital.

The increasing incidents of thieves breaking into homes in broad daylight and car thefts even in the state capital has left the people with a feeling of insecurity.

Even though the system of night patrolling has always been in place, its strict adherence has always been under question. Despite the higher ups directing the gazetted officer, especially in the districts, to be a part of the night patrolling exercise, it has been more of a formality and in some places not even being adhered to religiously.

Shimla, March 26
The welfare of ex-servicemen was being accorded top priority by the government as sainik boards had been set up at the Centre, state and district levels for implementing various schemes.

Governor Urmila Singh stated this while chairing the meetings of the State Sainik Board and Administrative State Management Committee for Special Fund held here today. She said frequent meetings of sainik welfare boards should be convened so that problems were resolved at the earliest.

She said that 15 per cent reservation was being provided in government jobs to ex-servicemen. She underlined the need for frequent and periodic review of all the initiatives being taken by the sainik welfare bodies.

Chief Minister PK Dhumal said a resolution would be moved during the assembly session to muster support to impress upon the Centre to decide the long pending “one rank-one pension” issue. “We have also raised the demand to relocate Dogra Regimental Centre from Faizabaid (UP) to any place in Himachal Pradesh as maximum number of Dogra soldiers were from Himachal and the state government would provide them free land for the purpose,” he said.

Meanwhile, the sainik board decided to enhance the income limit of ex-servicemen beneficiaries eligible for scholarships from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh per annum. It was also decided to enhance the scholarship for wards of ex-servicemen seeking admission in vocational courses.

Shimla, March 26
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said that efforts were being made to create good infrastructure in the rural areas and create employment and self-employment avenues for rural youths. He said youths should be motivated to revert to farming practices instead of running after petty employment opportunities.

The CM was addressing the inaugural ceremony of a two-day seminar on “Rural Development: Present Scenario and Future Challenges” organised by Youth for Sustainable Development here today.

He said rural development was not only related to agriculture but also involved animal husbandry, dairy farming and other allied activities. In this regard, he added that educated youths were now adopting diverse farming practices and finding employment avenues for themselves in the agriculture sector.

Dhumal said innovative irrigation schemes were being encouraged with drip and sprinkler irrigation schemes gaining popularity. He said that Rs 353-crore Pandit Deen Dayal Kisan Baagwan Samridhi Yojna had been launched in the state to motivate progressive farmers to adopt modern tools for controlled cultivation of cash crops and set up poly-houses.

He lauded the efforts of youth for working in the rural areas with a mission to disseminate information on environment-friendly technologies, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management and modern technologies in agriculture.

Shimla, March 26
With not much to offer in terms of animal display and scientific management, the Himalayan Nature Park at Kufri might finally get the much wanted facelift with the State Wildlife wing preparing a 20-year master plan for its expansion and development.

The master plan is to be submitted to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), which will be the main funding agency, shortly. Even though the final budgetary estimates are being fixed, the project is likely to cost over Rs 25 crore. This will enable expansion of the nature park to almost 100 hectares as compared to the present 10 hectares.

The nature park which has been accorded the status of a mini zoo by the CZA has not much to offer and most tourists and schoolchildren go back disappointed when they see empty enclosures. The master plan will not only layout a blueprint for the next 20-year expansion but also pave the way for creation of bigger and modern animal enclosures and management of the zoo along the scientific lines.

A Bhutan grey peacock will be the new attraction at Kufri after the arrival of the beautiful animal from Darjeeling. In exchange, two pairs of chir pheasants will be given for display at the Darjeeling zoo.

The only major attractions at the zoo include seven-year-old snow leopard, which was brought as a pair from Darjeeling. Eversince the death of the female leopard, Rosy, the authorities have not succeeded in getting a companion for the animal despite the CZA guidelines laying down that no animal should be in isolation. Officials said efforts were on to get a female snow leopard from abroad with the help of the CZA.

In case the master plan for the zoo gets approval from the CZA there will be no dearth of funds and moreover the place will develop along the scientific lines. The authorities intend to make an information centre which will help create awareness about wildlife protection, especially among schoolchildren. A cafeteria will also be set up to cater to the needs of tourists who visit the place in large numbers, but find it lacking in facilities and infrastructure. The wildlife wing of the Forest Department had a lion safari at Renuka in Sirmaur district but owing to the problem of inbreeding resulting in infant mortality, it is on the verge of closure. Some lions have been shifted to other places.

Shimla, March 26
To cater to the increased demand for parking space in the “Queen of Hills” the government will develop five more parking slots for which detailed plan are being prepared.

Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal said this here today while addressing the legal fraternity of the Himachal Pradesh High Court after laying the foundation stone of the Advocates’ Chamber building. “Since the parking requirement of the state capital is huge, especially during the tourist season, we have initiated the process for creating five more parking slots in various parts of the state,” he stated.

He said in order to develop the High Court into a self-contained complex, all possible help was being extended by the state government so that the legal fraternity could perform their duties conveniently.

Chief Justice Kurian Joseph said the proposed Advocates’ Chamber building would facilitate the legal fraternity perform their duties effectively. He urged the legal fraternity to think positive and appreciate the steps being taken by the government.

Bilaspur, March 26
The Excise and Taxation Department has imposed tax and penalty worth Rs 2.08 crore on Steel Rolling Mills for evading the payment of entry tax at Gwalthai barrier near Naina Devi for the past few years.

Som Dutt Sharma, excise and taxation officer in charge of the Suharghat-Naina Devi-Gwalthai barrier complex, said here that during an inspection of the Gwalthai barrier, it was detected that Steel Rolling Mills of the Gwalthai industrial area imported iron and steel goods worth Rs 40 crore into this industrial area. It also supplied high quality iron rods and dispatched these to the Steel Authority of India, Chandigarh, without paying any entry tax or without any statutory forms as provided under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

Shimla, March 26
The Forest Department has formulated a 10-year action plan for conservation of endangered medicinal plant species and chilgoza pine.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said this while presiding over a meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Medicinal Plants Society, here on Wednesday. He said threat status of 57 medicinal plant taxa was assessed and action plan for species-specific conservation worked out. Field surveys to locate viable population of species assessed as ‘threatened’ had been initiated and wild population of gentiana kurroo was recorded from Sangrah in Sirmaur and the adjoining areas, while a small population of lilium polyphyllum was recorded in the Jeoni valley in Mandi. Additionally, chilgoza development was also being taken up by the society for its expansion under the action plan.

He said the society had taken steps to strengthen the medicinal plant resource base in Chamba and Sirmaur where it had approved medicinal plant plantation model involving per hectare plantation of 1,100 trees, 4,400 shrubs and 13,200 herbs under the project. A sum of Rs 5.4 crore was likely to be spent on the project under which the society would raise a nursery of 17.5 lakh medicinal plants in different zones.

Dhumal said the state had most suitable varied temperate zones for commercial cultivation of the medicinal plants and cluster-wise development of the areas could be carried to facilitate marketing at one place. He said the health conscious society was fast reverting to the old herbal medicinal system, making their cultivation an attractive proportion economically.

Dharamsala, March 26
The founder of the Art of Living Sri Sri Ravishankar visited the Jwalaji Temple here today and expressed his wish to open a Sanskrit school in the state and an ashram near Chamunda in Kangra district.

The spiritual leader was on a weeklong tour in the state. He said that Himachal Pradesh was endowed with natural treasure and asked people to value it.

Talking to the media, Ravishankar said,“Sanskrit is the mother of all languages and there’s a huge craze for it abroad. We shall promote our language and the best way is to educate youngsters so that they can take it forward.”

He also advised the media not to write negative and one-sided news stories. He also told the media that he had no intention to enter into active politics. About 20,000 people attended the mahasatsang, open for all, at the police ground here yesterday.