Shimla, June 19
Blaming the BJP Government for the woes of the apple growers, the Congress today alleged that ineffective anti-hail guns had been installed in the apple belt without scientific evaluation and against the norms.

Secretary of the party Rohit Thakur said as per the regulations any new technology, chemical spray or crop variety had to be evaluated scientifically before being taken to the fields. In case of horticulture, the task was assigned to the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, which conducted the trials in its own orchards for three years before recommending it. The anti-hail guns should have been installed in the orchard of the University at Mashobra or any other farm for trials.

Intriguingly, the government even claimed that the anti-hail guns were successful without any scientific evaluation, due to which the growers did not put the anti-hail nets and suffered heavy losses as the hailstorms devastated the apple crop. Not only that, the surrounding areas, which were not protected by the anti-hail guns, experienced hail at an unprecedented intensity and on one occasion lasting for about 150 minutes. It was time for a proper scientific evaluation of the technology as the growers were increasingly viewing it as a side effect of the anti-hail guns. Moreover, the technology had been discarded decades ago in Europe and the US, as its success rate was less than 50 per cent.

Thakur said the total loss to the apple crop in Shimla district had crossed Rs 500 crore, but so far no relief had been provided. The government had not even bothered to pay growers for the fruit procured under the market intervention scheme (MIS) last year. He alleged that the government was misleading people by stating that the damage by the hailstorm was not covered under the relief manual and said the previous Congress Government had amended the manual in 2007 andrrThe high-intensity hail had even damaged trees and would affect the production over the next three years. Scientists of the university and Horticulture Department were recommending different sprays for the affected plantations creating confusion and chemicals were not available.

He urged the government to provide 90 per cent subsidy to the growers on the anti-hail nets on the pattern of the poly-house scheme, raise the cash credit limit by Rs 1 lakh and waive the interest for an year, release the MIS arrears of over Rs 35 crore immediately and coverage of the hail damage under the crop insurance.

Shimla, June 19
The BJP has charged the Congress with politicising the issue of the allotment of land to Baba Ramdev and asserted that the party which had given land to Christian missionaries could not raise fingers on the government.

State BJP chief Khimi Ram ridiculed the statement of Kaul Singh that the Congress would take back the land on coming to power. He said the Congress would not come to power in the state and there would be no occasion for the cancellation of the lease deed. The Congress was magnanimous in showering favours on the missionaries and denigrating the native saints and swamis.

He also refuted the Congress’ claim that the UPA Government was providing special assistance to the state and said it was getting funds as per norms like the other states. The Centre had only hurt the interests of the state by curtailing the industrial package sanctioned by the NDA Government.

Shimla, June 19
The environment master plan (EMP), being prepared by the government to secure a $ 2 million development policy loan from the World Bank, will address issues pertaining to 18 major sectors, virtually covering the whole gamut of development activities, to lay down the road map for sustainable growth of the ecologically fragile hill state.

The State Environment Department has identified the environmentally sensitive sectors on the basis of the thrust areas of the economic growth. Apart from hydroelectric generation, industries, tourism, agriculture and horticulture, a host of other sectors and activities like roads, highways, irrigation, public health, art, culture, architecture, transport, health and rural and urban planning have been included.

The thrust of the plan will be on sustainable management of the natural resources and heritage with focus on forests, wildlife, wetlands, livestock, mining, fisheries, waste disposal and architecture and cultural heritage.

As the World Bank is insisting on an appropriate regulatory mechanism for effective monitoring, the plan will also provide an operational mechanism for issue identification and implementation of management plans, accountability and enforcement procedures. After making an inventory of the existing recourses of the listed sectors, a spatial vulnerability assessment will be carried out to identify the critical areas to devise strategies to mitigate the environmental fallout. It will also lay down sectoral guidelines to mainstream the environmental parameters and development criteria for optimisation of the resources.

“The EMP will serve as the guiding tool and providing strategic direction to development activities to ensure sustainability and monitoring the environment performance and progress,” said additional chief secretary Sudipto Roy.

“Once the plan is in place, the development agencies will be able to ascertain the environmental implications of a proposed project at a click of the mouse and they could take an informed decision after taking into consideration the positive and negative aspects. There will be no gaps as the plan is being prepared in coordination with all the departments concerned,” he added.

Nurpur, June 19
The Congress has lambasted Health Minister Rajiv Bindal for making an irresponsible statement relating to the notifications issued during the previous Congress government for upgrading a number of health institutions in the state.

State Congress General Secretary Ajay Mahajan in a press conference here on Friday night alleged that the Health Minister during his surprise inspection of the Civil Hospital here on Thursday had misled people of the area through the media that the previous Virbhadra government had issued hollow notifications to upgrade this hospital from 50 to 100 beds without seeking the Cabinet or the Finance Department’s nod.

Mahajan, who had contested the last Assembly elections from the Nurpur area, while condemning his statement, claimed that the then government had issued notifications after completing requisite official formalities and procuring approval of the state Cabinet and the Finance Department. He added that even the government had sanctioned different posts and filled some of them. He termed the minister’s averment a bundle of lies and added it had lowered the credibility of the state government.

He warned that Congress workers from the Nurpur unit would hold protest demonstrations if the government failed to restore notifications of upgradation of health institutions of the area within the next two months.

“The present Dhumal government has violated the principle of the government in continuity and revoked all notifications issued by the previous Congress regime across the state. This government had announced the sanction of a CT scan machine for the Nurpur hospital, but so far it seems to be no where. Moreover, it had failed to open a new primary health centre in the area and even shifted the TB centre from here to Gangath,” he rued. 

Bilaspur, June 19
The HP Government has issued a notification under the relevant law nominating three BJP activists as members of the Nagar Parishad of Ghumarwin town near here. Those nominated include Mahender Paul Ratwan from Bajoha Ward No. 5, Suresh Kumar Sharma from Indira Market Ward No. 2 and Jai Ram Sharma from Ward No. 6. These nominations have been made effective with immediate effect.

Baddi, June 19
With traffic management being a cause of concern in the state’s Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial hub, the police has stepped up its drive to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. A proposal has been sent to the police headquarters for granting more force to the BBN police district. 

“Since the police force is inadequate in police stations and police posts, this leaves only a few cops for traffic duty. The number of home guards in the BBN area is less. Only 90 men are available against the requirement of 112. More staff has also been sought for the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) that has only one inspector, an ASI and a head constable. Since SIU is a key unit undertaking the crucial detection work, enhancement of staff is a crucial requirement to deal with the high crime rate in the area,” said Baddi SP Gurdev Chand Sharma. “We have identified 25 spots where policemen will be deployed for manning the traffic on a regular basis,” he said. 

According to information, 25,000 vehicles pass through or come to the area each day and the police finds it difficult to handle the traffic with a skeleton staff. Major problems are faced at the inter-state barriers at Baddi and Marrawala, where the vehicles stop to pay toll tax. A long queue of vehicles can be seen on the stretch. 

Hundreds of trucks parked on the road outside the truck union office on the NH 21-A adds to the woes of commuters and the police. Though the BBN Development Authority had sought funds for setting up a transport nagar on the NH 21-A and a site was also identified at Sandholi, the project has been awaiting the Centre’s nod. Investors rued that traffic jams were a major problem in the BBN area and they were forced to face hardships, especially in the evenings when the traffic influx was huge and the narrow roads failed to accommodate the vehicle rush. 

TVS Motors GM YS Guleria said though the traffic management had improved in the past two months, the widening of NH 21-A is the need of the hour. He added that the halting of buses at the old bus stop at Baddi should be stopped and the buses should be directed to halt only at the Baddi bus stop.