Dehradun, April 18
The Vice-Chairman of the Union Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, called on Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank here today. Nishank held discussions with him on various matters pertaining to the state and informed him about the loss suffered by the state because of a lack of cooperation on the part of the Union Government.

The Chief Minister told Ahluwalia that Uttarakhand had a peculiar geographic situation and the needs of the state were different from those of the other states. The green bonus given to the Uttarakhand Government by the Central Government for environment conservation has been inadequate, because various scientific researches conducted on various occasions proved that Uttarakhand rendered an eco-service worth about Rs 30,000 crore per year.

He alleged that the Union Government had continuously been having a discriminatory attitude towards Uttarakhand.

The industrial package that was earlier sanctioned up to 2013 was terminated by the Union Government pre-maturely in 2010, and later on, full Central assistance was also not provided to the state that was facing the rain-related disaster.

Nishank said crores of pilgrims and tourists visited Uttarakhand every year and the state government had to spend a large sum of money towards providing security and facilities to the visitors, so the Union Government should consider sanctioning a special grant for improving the infrastructure facilities on the Char Dham Yatra route, at Hemkund Sahib and Piran Kaliyar.

Informing Ahluwalia about various developmental schemes run by the state government, Nishank said Uttarakhand had got the status of “Special Status State” and so it should be given its share in the ratio 90:10 like the North-Eastern states and Sikkim in all the Centrally sponsored schemes.

He added 67 per cent land of the state was forest cover.

He demanded that the state must get a green bonus to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore every year in lieu of the better environment conservation.

He said the state was sensitive strategically and also in terms of disaster management, so it was compulsory that the airstrips in the border areas were developed as green field airports.

Earlier, Ahluwalia addressed officers at a mid-term course at Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, today.

Dehradun, April 18
Despite the debate on corruption and Jan Lokpal Bill hotting up in the country, following a peaceful agitation by noted Gandhian Anna Hazare, in Uttarakhand, a state plagued by the menace of corruption, the state government has yet to take the office of the Lok Ayukta seriously.

The fact that the state government has not placed the Action Taken Report (ATR) on the recommendations of the Lok Ayukta since 2006 in the state Assembly speaks volumes about the seriousness of the state government on the issue.

The office of the Lok Ayukta in Uttarakhand has been in place following the appointment of the first Lok Ayukta on October 24, 2002, after the first elected Congress government took over the reigns of the state. It was Justice SHA Raza (retd), a former judge of the Allahabad High Court who took over as the first Lok Ayukta as per the Uttar Pradesh Lok Ayukta and Deputy Lok Ayukta Act, 1975. Uttarakhand has yet to have its own Act and has adopted the parent states' Act.

In the past nine years, the office of the Lok Ayukta has been working as a toothless tiger in the state. As per the UP Lok Ayukta Act, 1975, the Lok Ayukta has only recommendatory powers and it cannot take action against anyone on its own. It can only recommend action against a minister or a secretary or a civil servant to the Chief Minister or Chief Secretary on a complaint, if found guilty.

Interestingly, the Chief Minister of the state, judges and judicial officials, state Assembly Speaker and employees of the Assembly, Members of the state Public Service Commission and employees, election officials, central government employees, pardhans of gram sabhas and employees of the Governors' secretariat are out of the purview of the Lok Ayukta.

The office of Lok Ayukta has received 5,574 complaints since its inception and disposed of 5,092 complaints against various acts of ommissions and commissions of civil servants. A majority of the cases related to the service matters where the Lok Ayukta was able to provide relief to the complainant.

However, so far none of the politicians or senior bureaucrats have been indicted by the Lok Ayukta. The office of the Lok Ayukta has recommended action in 13 cases in 2003, 39 cases in 2004, 46 cases in 2005, 32 cases in 2006, 46 cases in 2007, 34 cases in 2008, seven cases in 2009, 14 cases in 2010 and one case in 2011.

“We make our recommendations to the state government and finally the Action Taken Reports (ATRs) are placed on the table of the state Assembly. But, according to our knowledge, no ATR has been placed in the state Assembly since 2006,” said Hem Kandpal, Director, Public Relations of the Uttarakhand Lok Ayukta. Despite efforts, the Chief Secretary of the state could not be contacted on the issue. 

Dehradun, April 18
Governor of Uttarakhand Margaret Alva today presided over a meeting of the state branch of the Indian Red Cross Society and gave directives and instructions to the participants regarding the budget allocation for disaster management and the imparting of skills to civilians for tackling problems at the time of natural disasters.

The meeting, which was organised at the newly built Red Cross building on Sahasradhara Road here, adopted several important recommendations put forward by the Governor.

The Governor, who is also the Chairperson of the state branch of the Red Cross, said it was essential to impart training in the matter of search and rescue work, awareness generation and first aid to committed volunteers of various organisations up to the village level to make disaster management more effective. "A team of master trainers will have to be prepared to train these volunteers in every district of the state", she said.

The Governor said 15 dedicated volunteers selected by the District Magistrate in every district would be deputed for taking up training as master trainers. This week-long training would be conducted at Red Cross Bhawan. The master trainers would then train different groups in their respective districts.

It was decided that in order to impart training quickly to the master trainers at the district level, four training camps would be organised at Red Cross Bhawan.At the camps representatives of three districts would be given training together. All master trainers would be provided with basic materials for search and rescue work and awareness generation along with first aid kits.

Last year, training programmes were initiated by the Red Cross at the instance of the Governor. These have shown favourable results in the form of imparting training to 4,576 volunteers in the state.

At the meeting, which also deliberated on taking immediate relief measures in remote areas of the state in the event of a disaster, the Governor constituted a state-level core committee. The Additional Secretary to the Governor will be Raj Bhawan's representative on the committee. The other issues the meeting deliberated included the upgradation of blood banks in the state, repair and reconstruction of school buildings that were damaged in last year's disasters and the requirement of a network building in the state.

During the discussions on the allocation of the budget amount for disaster management, the Governor directed that the funds sanctioned by the government under the disaster account head be utilised by the Red Cross for conducting training programmes and that Red Cross Bhawan be used as a fully functional centre for imparting quality training on disaster management.

Nainital, April 18
The Nainital police has decided to set up dedicated control rooms for helping tourists during the coming tourist season. This was one of several important decisions taken at a meeting convened and chaired by IG (Kumaon Range) RS Meena here today.

District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli along with representatives of several organisations of hoteliers and others associatedwith tourism activities were present at the meeting.

The meeting saw participants offering suggestions on various tourism-related issues in Nainital. The emphasis was on traffic and parking management that has become a major concern for the authorities over the past few years.

Referring to the proposed control rooms, Meena suggested that besides other help, important information regarding the availability of parking space at various sites and hotel accommodation and details about water and power supply could also be made available there provided various departments and stake holders participated in the initiative.

It was decided at the meeting that tourists should be encouraged to park their vehicles at the parking lots located on the periphery of the town and make use of shuttle services to be run by taxi operators for reaching their accommodation. The parking lots located at the core of the town like the one in Flats Grounds are to be opened only when the ones at Sukhatal and near Hanuman Garhi are filled and this is certified by a team comprising the Circle Officer and a Subdivisional Magistrate. With the parking space in the Metropole Hotel area likely to be unavailable this year, the administration is laying emphasis on smooth traffic and parking management.

It was also decided that the road from the Nainital Club to Jama Masjid would be made one way during the tourist season. This arrangement had worked well last year. Similarly, it was decided that an area would be designated for the parking of tourist and private buses near Kailakhan.

It was also suggested that the toll booths on the Mall Road, Thandi Sadak and Bara Pathar be upgraded and computerised along with various parking lots. The toll booths needed to have electronically controlled barriers and these should inform tourists about parking space availability at various places. Similarly, the parking lots needed to display promptly whether they had space available or not as also the parking rates.

Emphasis was also laid on the rationalisation of charges being levied by hotels and taxi operators. The administration has failed when it comes to getting hoteliers to display their tariff cards. Similarly, there are no defined taxi charges. As a result every year there are complaints of fleecing.

Boat operators have also been told to pick up those interested in boating from the designated spots and to keep proper life jackets. In addition, they have been told to check the bags of the persons hiring the boats to prevent the carrying of bottles of liquor.

Dehradun, April 18
A proposal has been made to promote tourism in one of the areas with the highest tourism potential, the Purola-Netwar-Har-ki-Dun circuit, by setting up appropriate wayside amenities, additional accommodation and the solid waste management facilities, etc, especially with a focus on the religious and adventure-seeking tourists. The proposal is one of the topmost programmes of the state government.

Under this circuit, the selection of tourist destinations Purola, Sankri, Taluka and Osla has been made after deliberations on the basis of the number of tourism-related attractions these places have.

Situated at an altitude of 1,524 m and at a distance of 112 km from Uttarkashi, Purola is a stopover on the way to the Har-ki-Dun trek. It is surrounded by mountain ranges and the Govind Wildlife Sanctuary, which has a whole lot of endangered species, including snow leopard. Purola hosts the renowned Kamleshwar Mela on the occasion of Shivratri at an ancient temple situated at Kamleshwar at a nearby town.

The second region, Sankri, is situated near the confluence of the Oberagaad and Karmanasha streams that flow from Har-ki-Dun. Sankri is the last village one can drive up to. Regular roadways bus services to Vikasnagar (Dehradun district) and Uttarkashi are available in this area. The Swargarohini Peak (6,096m) forms its backdrop and right above it is the Kedar Kantaak. 

Dehradun, April 18
In a major success for the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Uttarakhand’s first ever photo capture of the endangered snow leopard has been accomplished.

Officials of the WII captured a snow leopard in the Malari region of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve on April 10. This is the first ever photographic record of the snow leopard in Uttarakhand.

Till date, the snow leopard was monitored through carnivore sign surveys, which are based on evidences such as tracks and pug marks, scrapes and scats in their habitats. A few sightings by forest personnel and local villagers or herders, particularly in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Gangtori National Park and Govind National Park have also been reported. However, there has been no photographic record of snow leopard from Uttarakhand.

Locally known as ‘tharuwa’, ‘him bagh’ or ‘burfani chita’, snow leopard inhabits high altitudes of the Himalaya above 3,000 metres and is the apex predator or top carnivore of the Himalayan ecosystems. This beautiful, rare and elusive large cat is threatened due to poaching for skin and bones for illegal international trade, retaliatory killings to reduce livestock loss and reduction in their natural prey due to competition with livestock.

Being a top carnivore of the ecological pyramid of the high altitude ecosystems, the snow leopard is considered as the flagship species for the high Himalayas.

Keeping this in view, the Centre has initiated the Project Snow Leopard in 2006 along the lines of Project Tiger in the five Himalayan range states of India, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The snow leopard population in India is estimated to be nearly 500.

In Uttarakhand, snow leopards are reported to be found in high altitude areas throughout the state. The typical snow leopard habitats in the state are the Trans-Himalayan regions such as Badrinath-Mana, Malari-Lapthal, Nanda Devi NP upper reaches of Valley of Flowers NP, Nelong Valley in Gangotri NP and a few more areas in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh districts.

The WII, Dehradun, and the Uttarakhand State Forest Department have been working closely for wildlife monitoring in the Nanda Devi Biosphere through research projects, field surveys, expeditions and regular departmental activities. To monitor snow leopards and estimate their population in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, the use of camera traps was proposed by the WII.

Dr S Sathyakumar, senior scientist from the WII, who provided training to researchers and field staff of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in the use of camera traps, said camera traps were deployed in many areas of the Nanda Devi Biosphere by a joint team of WII researchers and Forest Department field staff from the last winter onwards.

This activity was carried out under the WII-UNESCO Project for the World Heritage Sites that is currently being implemented in Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Park. So far, apart from one snow leopard, many wildlife species have been captured in these camera trap exercises.

Meanwhile, state chief wildife warden Srikant Chandola said the state Forest Department would continue to assist the WII in camera-trapping efforts in the Nanda Devi Biosphere for estimating the population of snow leopards in this region and later in other parts of the state.

Dehradun, April 18
In the backdrop of being terminated from jobs due to the process of upgrading junior high schools in the state, agitated members of Junior High School Shikshak Sangh held a massive rally, here today.

Thousands of teachers from all over the state gathered to mark their protest. They shouted slogans, raised banners against the administration and gheraoed the residence of Uttrakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal for seeking their absorption as regular teachers.

Jagat Singh Negi, state president of the sangh, criticised the government and said that previously the sangh had given memorandums to the Chief Minister regarding their demands but nothing has materialised as yet.

He said, “The process of upgrading the schools has landed us in trouble and made us jobless. In spite of us being more qualified and experienced, our services have been replaced by newly recruited teachers at all the junior high schools.”

“If our demands are not met, we will stage a revolution,” he asserted.

Haridwar, April 18
Though the district police has been able to control the crime graph during the past year or so, it has not been able to curb crime effectively, pointing to some loopholes in policing.

District police chief Sanjay Gunjiyal has directed the police personnel to be more vigilant and take the local people ínto confidence, too, as this provides vital clues in investigation as well as information prior to a crime taking place.

The SSP was inspecting the Ranipur police station, an annual exercise.

Checking the arms and ammunition at the police station, Gunjiyal gave tips on their proper maintenance.

A meeting was also held at the station wherein the SSP heard the complaints and grievances of the police personnel. He redressed many of these on the spot itself. Later the SSP also held a meeting with industrial and corporate heads on the crime situation in the industrial region in Roshanabad.

The SP (City), Dr Kiran Lal Shaw, suggested that verification of all employees, be they permanent or contractual, should be done by industries.

Urging the industrial sector to cooperate with the police, Assistant Superintendent of Police ASP Nivedita Kukreti said the police’s eyes and ears were the public only and without their support, the task only becomes difficult.

The Industrial Association of Uttarakhand termed the police-industry meeting as a step in the right direction, advocating more such meetings on a regular basis.” 

Dehradun, April 18
As many as 90 sub-inspectors in the Garhwal region, who were posted at a place for more than three years, have been transferred in view of the Assembly poll in Uttarakhand next year.

The order in this regard was issued late last night. The transfers have been done on the direction of the Uttarakhand Government, which had stated that all SIs and inspectors, who were posted at a place for the past three years, must be transferred immediately. As many as 12 inspectors were transferred last week. — PTI