Dehradun, April 5
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has asked Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh to reconsider his decision of declaring the region between Gangotri and Uttarkashi as eco-sensitive zone.

Interacting with mediapersons at the Uttarakhand Niwas in New Delhi, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said he had met the Union Minister for Environment and Forests and asked him to reconsider his decision of declaring the region between Gangotri and Uttarkashi as eco-sensitive.

The CM said he had made it clear that Uttarakhand was a small state with 67 per cent of its land covered under forests and, thus, the state government was facing problems in carrying out development activities because of stringent forest land laws.

He added that if parts of the remaining land in addition to the 67 per cent forestland were declared eco-sensitive zone, such a step would hamper the developmental activities in the state.

He said the Centre should reconsider the matter and also think in terms of the development of the state. The CM added that Uttarakhand was the only state in the country that had the responsibility of conservation of 67 per cent forest region.

He said the Centre should rather extend help by giving additional grants, but it was not doing so. On the contrary, the Centre had been imposing additional obstructions and prohibitions.

Nishank said the state government would oppose all such moves, as they would hamper the development of the state. He said the state government was also sensitive towards environment conservation and the Centre should talk to the state government before taking any such decisions.

Meanwhile, a largescale protests took place in Uttarakashi after the Centre announced the region between Gangotri and Uttarkashi as eco-sensitive zone. The locals alleged that any such move would be detrimental to their development.

Dehradun, April 5
A delegation of councillors, pradhans and senior Congress workers, led by MLA Dinesh Agarwal, met Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) JS Pandey for failing to take action against the cops responsible for Saturday night’s lathicharge on cricket fans at the Clock Tower here.

Agarwal said people, who were celebrating the World Cup win of the Indian team, were lathicharged mercilessly. “This is inhuman and democracy doesn’t allow this kind of treatment of the people,” he added.

“Till today no action has been taken against those guilty of such a step and we demand that all involved in the incident be punished by the authorities soon,” he said.

The MLA also criticised the registration of cases against 5,000 people and requested the DGP to revoke them. He termed it a ploy of the Mitar police to hit the morale of the people and hide its own mistake.

A statement issued by the party said the DGP had assured them of taking strict action in this case within two days. The party workers warned that if no action was taken soon, they would take to the streets.

Dehradun, April 5
Speaker of Uttarakhand Assembly Harbans Kapoor today inaugurated “Xpressions”, a painting exhibition put up by artists Anand Karmarkar and Rama at the Uttaranchal Gramin Bank Art Gallery.

Speaking on the occasion, Kapoor said the painters were able to put on the canvas extraordinary things that were usually ignored by the lay man.

Working as an Assistant Professor at the Graphic Era Institute, Anand said beauty was the theme of most of his paintings. “I celebrate beauty through my paintings, be it woman, nature or fish, they all figure on my canvas,” said Anand.

The exhibits comprise oil, acrylic and plaster of Paris, all painted in vivid colours.The paintings are priced at Rs 21,000 upwards. 

Dehradun, April 5
The high-profile Uttarakhand State Infrastructure Development Corporation (USIDC), which at present is in moribund state, is slated for an overhaul.The corporation floated two years ago to work on big construction projects costing up to Rs 800 crore on the pattern of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and will now adopt the model of Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN).

Managing Director, USIDC, Lalit Mohan took this decision at a meeting held with Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank recently. The USIDC will be granted a working capital of Rs 100 crore as well.

The corporation has been asked to prepare the blue print, get it formally passed in the board meeting and later approved by the state government.

Mohan said, “The CM complained of the sorry state of affairs in the USIDC, while comparing it with the UPRNN. I placed some harsh facts before him and protested about the shortage of work given to the corporation. In reality, almost all the big projects are still handed over to the UPRNN and the rest to other working agencies, including the PWD, Irrigation Department and Rural Engineering Services. Only the small budgeted and trivial projects are hurled at the USIDC”.

Besides, the other hurdle comes from the very constitution of the USIDC, which was fashioned on the pattern of the NHAI procurement rule.

He said, “Under the procurement rule, we have to depend on outsourcing at each step. The process of public notice in newspapers, tendering and consultancy in itself takes five to six months. All these stages remained missing in the working pattern of the UPRNN, which is laced with all the wherewithal, such as their own exclusive panel of experts, consultants, contractors, a big work force, machinery and equipment and other sources. They start off the work immediately without going through any rigmarole of public notices or lengthy tendering processes, which is why their performance shines”.

Mohan said his suggestion to put the USIDC on the UPRNN pattern had been well accepted by the CM. “With the working capital, we can move fast on the projects without looking at the state government for funds. Once the work begins and ends in quick succession, we can always replenish our corpus,” he said.

Mohan castigated the complicated cycle of design in which the USIDC had been enmeshed and declared dysfunctional. SK Mattoo explained, “The projects given to it are fluffy and workforce is too less in comparison. We cannot think of increasing the number of employees, unless a good number of projects come our way, as we have to negotiate their salaries as well, for which we do not have sufficient funds. Whatever projects we have, we do not get sanction easily and if the sanction is there, then the amount released is equivalent to peanuts,” he said.

The estimated cost of projects approved is Rs 330 crore, out of which Rs 22 crore has been sanctioned and only Rs 12 crore has been released till date. The project such as the Government Hospital at Almora has been stuck for months together. With the given funds “the USIDC has been able to merely raise boundary walls of the projects, be it the degree college at Thailisand, hospital at Nainital, Uttarakhand Bhawan in Mumbai”.

(To be continued)

Dehradun, April 5
Senior Uttarakhand Congress leader Dhirendra Pratap met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in New Delhi and presented him a memorandum demanding immediate action against those erring forest employees who had remained silent spectators during the burning of a leopard at Dhamdhar in Rikhnikhal Block of Pauri Garhwal recently.

He also urged the Chief Minister to take immediate steps for the release of the seven villagers who were arrested and sent to Pauri Jail on the charges of murdering this leopard.

While registering his anger over the deed of the villagers, Pratap said, "If Wildlife Department officials had intervened on time, nothing would have happened. But they remained cruelly silent and the unfortunate act was committed by the villagers in a fit of anger as three fellow villagers had been bitten by this leopard and they were already facing problems due to hundreds of monkeys and wild pigs devastating their fields".

According to Pratap, the Chief Minister heard him patiently and assured him all possible help in the support of the villagers.

Dehradun, April 5
The Navratra celebrations at Kashipur were marred by the demolition of the montage of an almost ready ‘Ma Vaishno Devi gufa’ recently.Organiser of the Ekta Vikas Pradarshni Munna Lal said a dispute between officials of the temple, where the montage was set up, and some ruling BJP members as the reason behind the demolition.

According to Lal, the property worth Rs 5.5 lakh, along with the efforts of 45 artists from Kolkata, has been destroyed in 
the demolition.

He has also alleged that the demolition of the entire montage was done in connivance with the administration, while the disruption has led to anguish among the Kashipur residents too.

Addressing mediapersons, Lal said, “For the past 13 years, my artists and me have been presenting extravagant religious montage on the Navratras at Kashipur and all over the country, but had never faced such action before. It was shameful on the part of the persons involved in the demolition of the montage, and I request Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank to order a probe into the matter”.

Lal also handed over a memorandum to the CM demanding the permission to allow him to restart his work at Kashipur. 

Pitthoragarh, April 5
A mining company was fined Rs 6 lakh by district revenue officers on the charges of violating mining laws. Mahadev Minerals was charged which crossing the limit of its leased out portion and mining from the Van Panchayat land.

“After receiving complaints from villagers of Bishar and taking cognisance of local media coverage on the alleged violation of environmental laws, the district administration had ordered an inquiry into the issue. The inquiry was headed by Pitthoragarh Tehsildar Naresh Durgapal. The inquiring officer confirmed the violation and a fine of Rs 6 lakh was imposed on the mining group,” said the District Magistrate.

He said the mining area had also been handed over to the eco task force for plantation. “The 130 TA Eco task battalion will work for three years on the land to restore it, and thereafter, the land will be returned to the villagers,” he added.

Dehradun, April 5
Members of the Uttarakhand Mahila Sadbhawna Manch today took out a rally from the Gandhi Park here and surrounded the Secretariat to press for their demands. They also handed over a memorandum to CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Asha Kera, president of the manch, said the government had failed to protect the interests of women activists, who had neither received financial assistance nor government facilities as given to the state agitators. “We demand identity cards and bus passes for free travel, reserve seats in class III jobs and extend pension facilities for the activists who were jailed for one to six days,” Asha added. —TNS