Dehradun, July 25
While Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand Subhash Kumar (1977 batch) has inherited property in Himachal Pradesh and also bought agricultural land in Behat, Uttar Pradesh, his colleagues, Principal Secretary (Home) Rajiv Gupta and Secretary Education Manisha Panwar do not own any immovable properties.

After dilly-dallying for several days and missing the April and May deadlines for submitting details of immovable assets as instructed by the Central Government, almost all the 91 IAS officers of the Uttarakhand cadre have submitted details about their immovable assets to the Department of Personnel (Government of India) for 2010, as on January 1, 2011. Two officers, Amit Negi and Arun Arya, have not submitted the details of their properties.

The Chief Secretary possesses property in the remote district of Kaza in Lahaul and Spiti (Himachal Pradesh) valued at Rs 2 lakh. He also has inherited property in Mane village in Lahaul and Spiti from which he earns an income of Rs 1 lakh annually. According to the details submitted by him to the department concerned, he also possesses a house at Vasant Vihar-II valued at Rs 50 lakh.

He has purchased a two-bigha piece at a village in Jamanwala adjoining Dehradun for Rs 1.5 lakh. The current value of the land has not been disclosed. A 20-bigha piece in Behat of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, which was purchased for Rs 2.50 lakh.

Joint Secretary Amarender Sinha (1981 batch) not only has ancestral property inherited from his Father but also owns several properties in Noida, Champawat and Dehradun.

According to the details of the annual property return submitted by him to the department, Sinha owns a house in Noida valued at Rs 40 lakh, a house valued at Rs 80 lakh at Usha Officers’ Colony on the Sahastradhara road, a property valued at Rs 70 lakh at Lohaghat (Uttarakhand) and a property at Bhopalmani, near Dehradun, valued at Rs 5.4 lakh. He has also inherited a house located at Gulmohar Park, New Delhi, from his father.

Significantly, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Rakesh Sharma, whose monthly income is in the range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 (approx) has not been able to pay the premium for a piece of land measuring 450 sqmt in Noida since 1998, after a dispute with the society. He also possesses a piece of land measuring 1200 sqft in the Mayur Vihar area in New Delhi valued at Rs 1.85 lakh.

While the exercise is aimed at weeding out corruption, the Uttarakhand Government has so far not taken any steps to make these details public on its website.

Principal Secretary (Home) Rajiv Gupta and Secretary, Education, Manisha Panwar do not own immovable property

Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar possesses property in Himachal Pradesh, Dehradun and UP

Joint Secretary Amarender Sinha not only has property inherited from his father but also owns property in Noida, Champawat and Dehradun

Dehradun, July 25
While the ruling BJP has been involved in an exercise to chalk out strategies and plans for the forthcoming state Assembly elections, its rival, the Congress, has not even finalised its list of office-bearers to the state unit.

Despite re-electing Yashpal Arya as state president of the party last year, the Congress high command has not been able to finalise a list of the executive committee of the state unit. Interestingly, the state executive of the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has been announced recently.

According to party leaders, rivalry among various factions and leaders of the state Congress has further delayed the announcement of the state party executive. It was believed that with the appointment of Birender Singh, a senior Congress leader from Haryana, as the Uttarakhand general secretary in charge four months ago, the state executive will be announced.

Party leaders were of the view that since the state would be going to the poll in the next six months, the party high command would show urgency in announcing the new executive committee of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC).

But on the contrary, there has been further delay in the announcement due to rivalry among various factions, which want their own men in the state executive.

The hopes of state Congress leaders to oust the ruling BJP and form the next government in the state has further complicated the situation. Most of the senior leaders, who are aspirants for the post of the Chief Minister, are adamant on having their own persons on key positions in the state executive. Central Congress leaders are unable to bring in unanimity in the list of the executive committee, according to party sources.

The Central party leadership wants that the list should not have more than 31 members, but the list, as per party sources, is exhaustive. “The state executive will be announced soon. The party Central leadership will be announcing the same,” said Yashpal Arya.

He further said many leaders who could not be accommodated in the executive committee would be adjusted in other committees to be announced for the Assembly polls preparations.

According to party sources, the faction headed by Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat, could not be satisfied on the issue. Harish Rawat, who is a strong contender for the post of the Chief Minister if the Congress wins the election, also wants his control on the party organisation by having more of his own men in the committee. This is being resisted by Arya, his arch-rival.

Two other senior leaders, Satpal Maharaj, MP from Pauri Garhwal, and Vijay Bahuguna, MP from Tehri Garhwal, have joined hands with Arya, but the opposition of Harish Rawat has led to the logjam.

The monsoon season and infighting within Congress ranks has also blunted the party onslaught on the ruling BJP. The “Satyagraha Yatra” started by Arya has also halted to the rainy season. “We will start the yatra soon after the rains,” said Arya.

Dehradun, July 25
Silt deposition continues to play havoc with the hydroelectric projects in the state. According to GP Patel, Managing Director, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL), power generation was not affected as such, barring a reduction of 1 MU in overall, but it was the machinery in the powerhouses which was getting damaged.

The employees have been put on alert to deal with silt deposition. Patel said in the past two months, the Maneri Bhali I and II, Chibro, Khodri and Chilla projects had been facing the silt deposition problem and these had to be closed down from two to five hours as per the gravity of the problem. “The silt is bound to flow in with rainwater during the monsoon, posing a challenge for all the hydroelectric projects. In all there are 12 hydroelectric projects in the state. The only option is to lift the “spill-way” gates to let the deposited silt washed away. We have marked the silt-deposition levels. If silt accumulates beyond these marks, we have to lift the gates. In case, the problem persists, then the powerhouse is shut down for two or five hours. But, we do not shut down powerhouses from 6 to 11 pm during peak hours,” he said. The damage to the machinery in long term may pose a danger to their durability. Keeping this in view, Patel, who has returned from Germany after holding deliberations with his counterparts about novel techniques used in that country to better the performance of hydroelectric projects, is opting for a special kind of coating on the machinery.

He said: “The European countries like Germany too is using this coating, which is as varied as 20 types, to safeguard their machines. We are carrying out this experiment at the Maneri Bhali I project and the result will be seen by October-end, whether the coating, which we have approved, works or not. If it works, then we will use this technique at other powerhouses also”.

For the power generation, he said, the powerhouses were still able to bring in a daily generation of 19 MU, which is 1 MU less than the normal power generation. There was nothing much to worry about the present condition in that respect, he added. 

Pithoragarh, July 25
Keeping the possibility of heavy rain in mind during August, the Disaster Management Department of this highly ecologically sensitive district has started preparing to mitigate landslide-related disasters. This was stated by Pithoragarh District Magistrate MC Joshi while addressed a meeting of the officers of the departments concerned, which was called to monitor the progress of the preparations for disaster-related works.

“We have been focusing on the four main issues for the second phase, that are providing clean water to villagers, carving out alternative ways to connect villages for the supplies of essential goods, deploying special machinery at main highways connecting the district and forming a resource bank in the district,” said the District Magistrate.

For the chlorination of drinking water available in the villages, a special drive will be run in the district under which the water tanks and wells will be cleaned with the help of the volunteers drawn from different villages. “Before this chlorination drive, water will be tested by the local laboratories of the Jal Sansthan,” said the DM.

At the highly sensitive Pithoragarh-Munsiyari road, which is prone to landslides, bulldozers will be stationed at strategic points till September 30. “At present 22 internal roads of the district have been closed due to landslides affecting 40 interior villages of the district. To open these internal roads, special efforts will be made by the Public Works Department (PWD),” said the DM.

The District Disaster Management Officer has also set up a resource bank in the district having the information about skilled personnel who can carry out rescue operations efficiently.

“According to our resource bank, the PWD, Irrigation, Rural Engineering Services departments have maximum materialistic resources while the Police, Revenue and Health departments have skilled personnel, who will be divided into small teams to be used effectively at the time of disaster,” said the DM.

Two alternative tracks are also being carved out along the Kailash Mansarowar route as the main route remains affected by frequent landslides.

Dehradun, July 25
Besides increasing the strength of the teaching staff, the State College of Nursing of Uttarakhand is also planning to start postgraduate courses in nursing, after it gets approval from the state government.

The strength of the teaching staff would be increased by 10 or 12 members, taking the total number to 22.

“The request is pending with the state government. Most likely we will be able to get the approval by the next year,” said Mala Goswami, Principal of 
the college.

The college, that was started a year ago, is conducting four-year BSC (Nursing) course and post-basic course for general nurses and midwives.

The admission to the post-basic course for general nurses and midwives for which 30 seats are set aside would start in the middle of August. “This course is beneficial to nurses who want to advance their skills and are eyeing a long career in the field of nursing,” said Goswami.

The two-year MSc course in nursing is also expected to start by 2012. It will again prove beneficial to the serving nurses who want to go for higher studies. Right now the admission process is in full swing for 59 seats of BSc (Nursing) and is likely to be completed by August 6.

Uttarakhand Technical University is conducting the examinations for the nursing course. — TNS

Dehradun, July 25
The Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli today held a meeting with members of the Uttaranchal Sawachkar Karamchari Sangh.

Earlier, the employees had given him a memorandum related to contractual system under the solid waste management project.

Chamoli said he had explained the employees that none of them would be removed from the service once the solid waste management project began as he was against the same.

Chamoli also stated that the amount that was recently increased by the state government from Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 would be released as soon as they received the orders from the government.

He further mentioned that he had asked the officials to keep the matter related to the allotment of land to the safai karamcharis at a board meeting. 

Dehradun, July 25
On the eve of the Kargil martyrs’ day, the Uttarakhand government has claimed that it has done a remarkable job for the welfare of the soldiers and ex-servicemen.

A spokesperson of the state government claimed that the state government was the first state in 2008 to substantially enhance the award money for the gallantry award winners and take other measures for the welfare of the ex-servicemen.

It was during the regime of Chief Minister of Maj-Gen BC Khanduri (retd) in 2008 that the Uttarakhand government became the first state in the country to give such a hike in the award money for the gallantry award winners hailing from the state.

It was decided to increase the award money for the Param Vir Chakra and the Ashok Chakra, the highest gallantry awards for bravery during war and peace time operations, respectively, to Rs 25 lakh each. Earlier, winners of the Param Vir Chakra used to get a lump sum of Rs 1,72,500, besides an annual grant of Rs 1000 per year. The annual grant was raised to Rs 1.50 lakh. Similarly, the Ashok Chakra winners, who were earlier getting a lump sum amount of Rs 1.45 lakh and an annual grant of Rs 800 started getting Rs 25 lakh and an annual grant of Rs 1.20 lakh.

The state government had also hiked the award money for the Mahavir Chakra winners. From the earlier Rs1.15 lakh award money and Rs 400 annual grant, the winners started getting Rs 15 lakh besides an annual grant of Rs 1.14 lakh.

The Kirti Chakra winner got Rs 15 lakh and Rs 1 lakh as annual grant . Earlier, they used to get Rs 87,000 with an annual grant of Rs 350.

The winners of the Vir Chakra and the Shaurya Chakras got Rs10 lakh. Vir Chakra winners got an annual grant of Rs 66,000 while Shaurya Chakra winners started receiving Rs 50,000 annually.

The annual grant for the winners of the Sarvottam Yudh Sewa Medal has been raised from earlier Rs 600 per annum to Rs.4,000 annually.

For winners of the Uttam Yudh Sewa Medal, the grant was raised to Rs 1.27 lakh compared to Rs 75,000 earlier. The annual grant has was also enhanced from Rs 350 per annum to Rs 4,200.

The state government also hiked the monetary help being given to the widows of those killed in action from Rs.5000 to Rs.25,000.

A spokesperson of the state government claimed that the present BJP government had done a lot to help the serving soldiers as well as ex-servicemen in the state. The housing assistance grant to widows of the soldiers killed in action and the soldiers relieved from service on grounds of physical disability had also been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs1,00,000.

Pithoragarh, July 25
As the nation remembers Kargil martyrs on July 26, the state will also pay homage to its brave soldiers who made sacrifices of their lives during the Kargil war.

A total of 12 regiments of the Army having representation of jawans and officers from the state had participated in the Kargil operations, recalled Lt-Gen MC Bhandari, who was Deputy Director General, military operation, at that time.

According to Lt-Gen Bhandari, out of the 526 casualties in the Kargil war, 72 were from Uttarakhand which was nearly 14 per cent of the total casualties.

He said when the Army began its operation on May 10, the trust was laid on the jawans from hilly backgrounds as the enemy was sitting at 16,000 feet at the temperature of below 0 degree Celsius.

It was Major Rajesh Mohan Adhikari, who was sent to free the Tololing hill in the Drass sector along with his 10 jawans. “As this brave soldier reached near his target, his wireless operator got injured and to save the injured jawan, Adhikari proceeded ahead and shot by the enemy mere 8 feet from the target,” said Bhandari.

Later, his jawans of the Jammu & Kashmir regiment freed the Point 5140 from the enemy.

The second main targer was to free the Tiger hill. Here also a brave soldier from Garhwal, Rifleman Dilip Singh Negi made the country proud by going alone to the Tiger Hill to trace the enemy pickets. “Equipped with a small wireless set, rifle and a revolver, Dilip Singh Negi reached the top as he faced a volley of bullets from the enemy bunkers but despite being badly injured in the battle, this brave soldier facilitated 18 Grenadiers to occupy the peak later”, he said.

The Garhwal Rifle jawans also took part in the operation of the Point 4700 of the Juber Hill in the Batalik sector successfully and lost 11 brave jawans.

“Many stories of bravery were written in the Kargil war, one of them has been displayed by Rifleman Duble Singh of the 18 Garhwal Rifles who along with his fellow jawans was assigned the task of liberating the Tololing and Points 4700 and 5140 of the Kargil sector. He along with his fellow jawan Mangal Singh killed a large number of enemy soldiers and finally succumbed to the injuries after reaching the top,” said Lt-Gen Bhandari (retd).

The same bravery was displayed by Major Vivek Gupta of Dehradun.

This brave officer of the Rajputana Rifles along with his 16 jawans first won Tololing and Saddal hills and after winning the Point 4590, laid down his life with his 16 brave jawans in a one-to-one fight at the point, he said.

Dehradun, July 25
Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has paid tributes to the Kargil martyrs on the eve of Kargil Day (Shaurya Diwas) on behalf of the people of the state.

In his message on the occasion of Kargil Victory Day, Nishank said, “The day reminds us of the great sentinels of the national frontiers who drove out the Pakistani infiltrators without caring for their own lives, thereby protecting the borders of the nation.”

He said the country would always remember the martyrs for their bravery and the sacrifice made by them. He further said the acts of bravery during the Kargil war displayed by the Indian armed forces, had made every Indian proud.

He further said the jawans of the Army during the Kargil war showed that they could readily sacrifice their lives for the sake of national security. The Chief Minister said the government of Uttarakhand was fully committed to working for the welfare of the soldiers, ex-servicemen, and their dependants.

A state-level programme to facilitate the Kargil gallantary award winners and the families of the martyrs will be held at Dehradun on July 26.

Dehradun, July 25
Members of the Congress paid tributes to the martyrs of the Kargil war and honoured their family members in a function organised at Shahid Smark in the city today.

Former president of the Congress Committee Jitender Taneja said, “Uttrakhand is a land of brave men. Almost each family of this state has been contributing to the unity and safety of the country by doing tough duties on the borders. The sacrifices of these brave men could never be forgotten, as it is because of them that we are breathing in a free country.”

Organising secretary Devender Singh Sethi said the Congress after coming to power would constitute a martyr soldier cell to take care of the problems of the families of the martyrs.

On this occasion, other leaders such as state general secretary Shankar Chander Ramola, state secretary Vijay Singh Chauhan and Subhash Talaniya also paid tributes.