Una, April 13
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has passed the buck of benami properties in the state to Opposition leaders.While talking to newsmen at Una today, the CM said: “I have written official letters to Vidya Stokes, leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Vidhan Sabha, president of the HPCC Kaul Singh, and Union Minister for Small, Micro and Medium Industries Virbhadra Singh to provide the government the details of benami properties in the state”.

“The leaders have been misleading the people over the benami properties. They have been alleging in the media that the benami land deals are being executed in the state. I wrote an official letter to the leaders about a month ago asking them to provide me the details of the benami properties. However, none of the leaders have responded to my letter”, he added.

This showed that the Congress had no issue to criticise the present government. So, it was just levelling allegations to misguide the residents of the state, the CM alleged.

Kaul Singh when contacted on the phone said he had not received any letter from the Chief Minister. He said only Vidya Stokes had received a letter from him. Vidya Stokes was not available for comments over the issue.

Meanwhile, the CM, justifying the permission for private universities in the state, said they had generated avenues of employment and studies for the local youth. He said the state government had not allotted any government land for setting up private universities. Education trusts and societies that had set up private universities in the state had bought land directly from land owners.

A condition had also been laid on all private universities to recruit at least 70 per cent Himachalis. The state government intended to develop Himachal as an education hub and there was nothing wrong in it.

Dhumal further said: “Now we are trying to bring up private universities in districts like Bilaspur where there is no institute of higher learning”.

Regarding the Congress criticism of the present government on allowing apartments in the state, he said the Apartments Act was brought by the Congress government in 2005. The maximum permissions under the Act had also been given under the previous Congress regime.

About the criticism of the present government by its own leaders, the CM avoided the issue by stating that he did not wish to discuss party matter in the media. 

Shimla, April 13
The allotment of 15 power projects through international competitive bidding will fetch over Rs 260 crore as upfront premium to the state.The government has issued allotment letters to companies which bagged the projects and asked them to deposit 50 per cent of the upfront premium by May 5.

The allottees are required to pay upfront premium at the rate of Rs 20 lakh per megawatt. The first instalment will amount to Rs 130.30 crore. The rest of the amount will have to be deposited after one year.

In all, 18 projects with an aggregate capacity of 1385.25 MW were offered but the 60 MW Patam project was not allotted as there was only one bidder. Besides, two self-identified projects, 12 MW Jorbie bagged by Green Infrastructure and 10 MW Nesang (BLA Industries) could not be allotted as the parties which had identified these projects moved court against the allotment. Thus, letters have been issued for 15 projects aggregating 1303.25 MW.

The government has also made a provision for online remittance of upfront premium for the first time. The projects have been awarded on BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) basis under which the project will revert to the government after 40 years.

The allottees will be required to sign a pre-implementation agreement (PIA) after remitting the first instalment. They will be given two years for preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) and given another two years thereafter for obtaining various mandatory clearances.

Once, all clearances are obtained, the companies will be allowed 4 years for execution of the project. The projects are allotted on the basis of free power offered above the mandatory 13 per cent (up to first 12 years), 19 per cent (12 to 30 years) and 31 per cent (30 to 40 years).

Reliance Power bagged five out of the 15 projects offering a uniform 21 per cent additional free power over and above the mandatory free power. It has been allotted the 300 MW Purthi, 94 MW Teling, and 44 MW Shangling (in Lahaul and Spiti) and 130 MW Sumte Kothang and 104 MW Lara Sumta (both in Kinnaur).

The Tata-SN Power has been allotted the 236 MW Dugar project for which it offered the maximum 22.35 per cent free power.

Mandi/Kullu, April 13
After the poor almond and peach fruit-set, apple farmers have pressed the panic button for the crop failure as the scanty bloom has been marred by the chilly rainy weather conditions prevailing in the state since April 4 with the temperature hovering below 14 degree which is 4 degree below than the ideal level needed for the good fruit-set.

The inputs received from farmers and fruit scientists from the apple belt of Shimla, Kullu, Mandi and other parts of the state revealed that the lower and middle apple belts had been severely hit by the “low temperature and poor pollination”.

The farmers paint a gloomy picture for the almond, cherry and peach crops this year. “The almond fruit-set is not more than 25 per cent this time”, rued Anup Balaik, a young orchardist from Palsar, the major almond-producing belt in Shimla district.

The picture of peach and plum, the early crop, is no different in the state. “The rain dipped the temperature below 10 degree C in early April that marred the peach crop. It is not even 20 per cent here”, says Raju Bharti, a farmer in Tirthan in Kullu.

The apple bloom in the lower and middle belt was at the peak, but rain and chill had marred the chances of the good fruit-set, said Balbir Chajta, an orchardist from Jubbal.

Chairman, eco-horticultural society, Nandpur, Laxman Thakur said it was scanty bloom this time, but orchards were not getting the ideal temperature of above 18 degree C and pollination. “There is no movement of honeybees due to the cold weather that facilitate pollination for apple crop and bloom is not getting pollination in the lower and middle altitudes”, he added.

President, Upper Kullu Valley Apple Growers Association, Prem Sharma said the bad weather had hit the crop badly this time. Some pockets of the valley had an average peach crop, but the picture for apple crop looked gloomy so far, he added.

The farmers have yet to come to terms with the losses that suffered year due to heavy rain and bad roads despite the record production of over 4.75 crore boxes. It is a panic stage for apple farmers due to chilly rainy weather.

Farmers are resorting to burning grass and haystack to create smoke to protect the bloom from chill at night in several parts of the apple belt, said Maninder Jishtu from Dalash, Kullu, and Pradip Banchta from Chopal.

Associate director, fruit research station of the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Dr Vijay K Thakur said rain and low temperatures had dimmed the prospectus of the good fruit-set in the lower and middle belts where the 80 per cent bloom was damaged. “The fruit-set during bloom needs 18 degree to 26 degree temperatures for a week. But this time, the temperature is hovering below 14 degree C, which has marred the chance of a good crop in the state”, 
he observed.

Dr Thakur said the bad weather had turned to be a major reason for crop failure in the state. The flowers did not mature and pollinate as the chillimpeded the movement of honeybees, a must for apple crop and there was nothing they could do to control nature, he added.

Shimla, April 13
A hailstorm has caused extensive damage to apple orchards in the parts of Jubbal-Kotkhai as anti-hail guns installed recently failed to fire.The hailstorm around 1.30 pm today lashed the region for about 25 minutes but the three anti-hail cannons remained silent.

The maximum damage was reported from Badruni, Kufer Bagh, Chol, Jakrari Neraghati, Loshta, Reoghati and Gobindpur. While the orchards in lower elevation and sunny side, where the plants are in full bloom, suffered 75 to 80 per cent damage, those in higher elevations suffered 25 to 50 per cent.With anti-hail guns already test-fired, the growers had not been provided anti-hail nets.

Rajinder Bekta of Badruni, whose orchard was covered with a 3-inch layer of hailstones, said he had contacted the staff at Kharapathar, the controlling station of the three anti-hail guns, to know the reason for the failure of the cannons to fire. He was told that there was no signal from the weather radar due to problems in power supply. His orchard is located within 300 m of the anti-hail cannon at Bareon Ghat.

Ramesh Chauhan, a former chairman of the block development committee, said the anti-hail guns were being test-fired on clear days but when the real test came, they fell silent. The excuses like power outages could not be accepted as backup should have been provided for such an important device on which the fate of so many growers depended.

He hoped that the failure would make the authorities take all required steps to ensure that the cannons fire when required.

The anti-hail guns have been installed under a pilot project at a cost of Rs 3.29 crore. 

Shimla, April 13
The Himalaya Niti Abhiyan (HNA), an apex body of environment-related non-government organisations, has urged Union Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh to hear the viewpoint of the local people during his proposed visit to the Renuka Dam project site.

In a letter to the minister the HNA has pointed out that the government seemed reluctant to provide the schedule for the visit and the local people, particularly those to be affected by the project, apprehended that they would not be allowed to meet the minister.

It urged the minister to ensure that prior intimation was given to all stakeholders so that the people could give their viewpoint regarding the impact of the project and the status of the Giri valley. It demanded that information regarding the Renuka visit must be provided to the Renuka Bandh Jan Sangharsh Samiti and the HNA at least five days before the visit.

The HNA urged the minister to visit the area to be submerged site from Dadahu to Bhalta (left bank) and Mottu (right Bank) and recounting of standing trees should be initiated by the ministry through some credible agency and not Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL).

A complete and comprehensive study should be conducted to review the forest, biodiversity and environmental losses going to take place due to this project. The information provided that out of 1,68,000 trees, there 
were not more than 9,000 big (full grown) trees and rest of the trees were small was wrong.

Dharamsala, April 13
The single judge Bench of the HP High Court led by Justice Dev Darshan Sud has directed the Rajasthan Government and the secretary of the Union Water Resources Ministry to allot land to a Pong Dam oustee, Ashwani Sharma, in the reserved area. The reserved area refers to the area reserved for allotment to the Pong Dam oustees in Ganganagar district of Rajasthan.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court in a judgment passed earlier on May 4, 2010, had directed the Rajasthan Government to allot land to Ashwani Sharma in lieu of his land acquired for the construction of Pong Dam lake more than 40 years ago. However, Ashwani Sharma once again moved a petition before the court that in accordance with law that he should have been allotted land in the area reserved for the Pong Dam oustees. However, the Rajasthan Government was offering land to him in Jaisalmer district where there was no source of irrigation .

The judge in the order passed recently has directed Ashwani Kumar to move a petition before the authorities concerned illustrating the fact that land was available in the reserved area that could be allotted to him. In case the petitioner establishes that land was available in the reserved area, the concerned authorities have been asked to allot the land accordingly. The judge, however, declined any damages to the petitioner.

Ashwani Kumar said now he was hopeful that the land would be allotted to him in Ganganagar district . The land reserved for the oustees had been encroached upon by the locals. The land reserved for oustees cannot be transferred in anyone’s name. However, the Rajasthan Government was not willing to act against the encroachers who have occupied the land.