Shimla, July 31
Industrialists will not have to chase files to obtain various clearances anymore with the State Pollution Control Board carrying out major reforms to end discretion at all levels and laying down a rigid time frame and procedural norms for taking action.

The system for granting consent to industrial units, right from establishment and operation to periodic renewal, has been decentralised to a large extent by delegating powers, currently with the member secretary of the board, to regional officers. Henceforth, all kinds of consent and renewal for stone crushers, brick-kilns, hydropower projects up to 5 MW, forest-based industries like “katha” and resin-processing units, and some other categories will be granted by superintending engineers based at Baddi and Shimla.

The cases will be dealt with on a first-come-first-served basis and a maximum period of two months has been fixed for the disposal of cases. Further, the period for renewal has been extended up to three and five years for the general categories and up to eight and 10 years for green industries. The units operating on old lines will only have to file an affidavit to this effect and no other documentation will be required.

The discretion regarding the quantum of fee to be charged from hydroelectric projects for environment monitoring has been ended by fixing it at 0.1 per cent of the cost. However, the fee, so far charged from projects exceeding 25 MW, will be imposed on all projects of 10 MW or more.

A rigid procedure has been laid down for taking samples and subsequent action like disconnection of power supply. In case the first sample fails, two more samples will be drawn and the power supply will be disconnected only if all three samples fail. If only one of the two subsequent samples fails, a fourth sample will be tested. The member secretary of the board, who has the powers to disconnect power, will not restore it. The party concerned will have to approach the appellate authority, the Chairman of the board, for the purpose.

The powers in respect of hospitals and health clinics involving bio-medical waste have been delegated to the heads of the four laboratories of the board located at Jassur, Parwanoo, Sundernagar and Paonta Sahib.

Member secretary SR Singla said there would be a quarterly review to ascertain whether or not procedural norms were being followed and clearances granted within the stipulated period.

If not, responsibility would be fixed and action taken against the errant staff to ensure that clearances were granted without hassles.

Solan, July 31
Even as the Industries Department is endeavouring to acquire land near the riverbed to develop a land bank for facilitating new industries, the proposal appears to be fraught with risk.

Constructions along the riverbed require additional protection work, but it has found that industrial units care little to invest in infrastructure and when rain causes damage to their units, they plead before the government for relief.

Such a situation was witnessed along the Chikni river in the Nalagarh industrial area and also along the Markandey river in Kala Amb where several units faced severe damage during the rainy season last year and had to remain shut for a few days as water entered their premises.

Even till date, the roads connecting these units have not been fully repaired in Kala Amb. Officials had identified another stretch of almost 500 bighas of private land at Paonta Sahib for the purpose.

Interestingly, despite norms laid down by the Town and Country Planning Department, there is little adherence to these by industrial units like keeping adequate distance from khuds, nullahs and rivers, which is 10 m, 5 m and 25 m, respectively. Investors buy land near such sites as it is cheaper as compared to the land available elsewhere.

Even the public sector Container Corporation of India, which was constructing a container freight station at Baddi, has been offered land near the riverbed by the state government. Protection work worth Rs 2.75 crore is now being undertaken to construct a side wall so that damage on account of heavy rain can be offset owing to its proximity to the Sarsa river.

Officials added that though the main structure, including warehouses, would be away from the prescribed limit, their platforms lay in the proximity of the highest flood level and hence protection work was required to ensure safety.

Director, Industries, JC Rana said since large chunks of land were only available along the riverbed, creating a land bank by acquiring large chunks of land at such places would help provide adequate land to large investors.

He added that the government would also assist in undertaking protection work to such investors and said renowned groups like JP Cement had come up with such units in Punjab and it was an existing practice.

Shimla, July 31
Launching an attack on the BJP, state Congress president Kaul Singh has alleged that the Dhumal government is in the grip of the land mafia and corruption is at its peak in the hill state.

Addressing a public meeting at Sharachali village in Jubbal-Kotkhai last evening, he said governance had hit the nadir and as a result basic services in the vital areas of communication, health and education sectors had virtually collapsed. The government was pursuing a single-point agenda - to give away the scarce land and other resources to outsiders, and the most glaring example of it was the opening of private universities on a mass scale without any requirement.

Education had been converted into a money-spinning industry and poor Himachali students were at the receiving end. These institutions had been granted permission under Section 118 of the Land Reforms and Tenancy Act to acquire huge chunks of land.

In all, over two lakh kanals of land had been given, making a mockery of Section 118. Things had come to such a pass that even the BJP’s MP from Kangra, Rajan Sushant, was levelling serious charges of corruption against the Dhumal government. This was no happening for the first time, even during Dhumal’s earlier tenure, four ministers and three legislators had levelled allegations of corruption against him.

Roads were in bas shape and last year over 800 persons died due to bad roads and apple growers faced unending problems in transporting their produce to the market.

The total loss to growers on this account came to Rs 700 crore. Schools, hospitals and health centres were without staff.

The government was totally dependent on central funds for development works. Despite this, the BJP government had been falsely accusing the UPA regime of discrimination. The fact was that all projects for which the BJP government was taking credit like the IIT, ESIC Medical College, Central University, the National Institutive of Fashion Technology and the Rohtang tunnel were funded by the Centre.

Besides, huge funds had been provided for the development of tourism and exploitation of hydropower potential to make the state economically self-reliant.

Shimla, July 31
The BJP has defended the Dhumal government giving land to the Patanjali Yogpeeth of Baba Ramdev and asserted that the Congress had no locus standi to criticise the decision as its government had obliged Christian missionaries.

Party spokesperson Ganesh Dut said the previous Congress government had given 15 bigha land at a token lease money of Re 1 per month to a local school run by Christian missionaries. The Congress was obsessed with the “videhsi” tag and it viewed the “swadeshi” organisations, which were rendering commendable services, with contempt. This was unfortunate. The manner in which the Centre crushed Baba Ramdev’s agitation against corruption and black money was unprecedented.

The Congress was claiming that the state was being run with Central funds, but the fact was that it was being denied its due by the UPA regime. The 13th Finance Commission had handed out a raw deal to the state by curtailing grants amounting to Rs 1,600 crore. Not only that, the industrial package granted by the previous NDA regime for a period of 10 years up to March 2013, was terminated prematurely in March 2010. The state’s quota of foodgrains under the public distribution system and even that of cooking gas refills had been reduced, Dut alleged.

The Congress had no real issues and it was indulging in false propaganda against the government to gain political mileage and its leaders were resorting to hit-and-run policy.

Chamba, July 31
The immersion of golden “minjars” (top blossoms of the maize plant) with coconuts on the holy banks of the Ravi by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was the chief guest on the occasion, heralded the end of the eight-day-long International Minjar Fair of Chamba in the midst of traditional and religious rituals today.

More than one lakh people hailing from different parts of the state and outside, including tourists, participated in the eight-day-long festivities of the Minjar fair, which is one of the major carnivals of the northwestern Himalayas.

Earlier, a shobha yatra was taken out which started from the famous historical edifice of Akhand Chandi Palace and passed through the main markets of the town and converged on the right bank of the Ravi for the immersion ceremony.

The town’s presiding deity, God Raghuvira, was carried in a palanquin accompanied by other local deities and the insignias of Lord Manimahesh, Lakshmi Narayan and Charpat Nath. Police and local bands and Punjabi dhol added colour to the occasion as did a variety of dance troops, adorned in colourful costumes, and those playing traditional musical instruments.

The festival symbolises the blossoms of the maize crop, which is the major crop and staple diet of this mountainous region. People pray to their gods to seek blessings for a good harvest.

Men, women and children adorn themselves with the sacred golden tassel of “minjars” on their colourful costumes in the fair and pray to the rain God for timely rain and a bumper crop.

Among the dignitaries were IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi, Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta and MLAs Rakesh Pathania and BK Chauhan.

Legend has it that the Minjar fair dates back to the 10th century. It marks the victory of King Sahil Verman over the King of Kangra. The defeated King presented blossoms of maize and paddy to King Sahil Verman.

Another legend has it that a sage in the Champavati temple on the bank of the Ravi performed a weeklong yajna that changed the course of the river. This enabled the people to visit the Hari Rai temple across the Ravi.

Chamba, July 31
Residents of the Luddu, Uteep, Baat and Balley panchayats of Chamba district will no longer face a drinking water crisis. To cope with the recurring problem, the Irrigation and Public Health Department has drawn up a potable water supply scheme with an outlay of Rs 12.80 crore.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal laid the foundation stone of the scheme today.

According to official sources, the scheme will have a total distribution length of 67.66 km, and will providing dinking water to these areas which are susceptible to drought conditions.

A nearby water source of Ghrosan nullah has been tapped for the scheme, which will provide 129.60 lakh litres of water everyday.

The main gravity pipe will feed the main water storage tank, having a capacity of 6.05 lakh litres, which will further supply water to seven distribution tanks for supply to villages in the hinterland.

Palampur, July 31
Shanta Kumar, national vice-president of the BJP and member of the Raya Sabha, today criticised the UPA government for adopting delaying tactics in bringing back the black money kept abroad, particularly in Swiss banks, by corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen.

He said the UPA government was misleading the country that the Swiss government and other countries were not extending cooperation to the Indian Government in disclosing the names and bank accounts of such persons.

In a press note issued today, Shanta Kumar alleged that the huge amount kept in Swiss banks by Indians had been termed by the Swiss government as stolen property.

Shanta Kumar said the UN convention against corruption was the only international legal instrument to recover the money from “tax-haven” countries. He said this historic convention had been signed by 140 countries and ratified by 126 countries, including Switzerland. Surprisingly, despite signing the convention in 2005, India had not yet ratified the treaty, he added.

Shimla, July 31
Governor Urmila Singh paid rich tributes to famous playback singer of yesteryear Mohammad Rafi on his death anniversary here today.

Presiding over the Rafi Nite organised by the Uday Forum, Solan, at the historic Gaiety Theatre here to mark the occasion, she said Rafi’s contribution to Indian music was unparallelled. He had rendered over 24,000 songs during his lifetime which was a great achievement in itself.

She also asked the new artistes and singers to ensure that Rafi’s songs were sung in a befitting manner and that they should learn the nuances of music from the legendary singer. She also gave away prizes to the outstanding artists on the occasion.

Justice RB Mishra, Judge of the HP High Court, was also present on the occasion.

Shimla, July 31
The state unit of the CPM has urged the government to immediately stop the opening of private universities and ensure that all the information regarding the courses offered, faculty, students, approval by the UGC and regulatory bodies by them were uploaded on the web.

Member of the state secretariat of the party Tikender Panwar said there was no rationale for having a large number of universities in a small state and this spree of opening such institutions must stop. The regulatory mechanism existed so far on paper and there was no real control to ensure the quality of education, approval of course, fee structure and faculty.

The details of the courses run by government universities were available on the web and government agencies, but the same was not true for private universities. 

Shimla, July 31
The monsoon continued to be feeble with the state receiving 45 per cent less rainfall than normal in the month of July.

All districts, except Kinnaur which had 28 per cent more precipitation than normal, have recorded deficient rain during the month, while Lahaul and Spiti (-97 per cent) was the most deficient. Bilaspur recorded only 155.6 mm as against the normal of 332.9 mm, Una 176.4 mm against 329.5 mm, Shimla 150. 5 mm against 275.8 mm and Hamirpur 226.1 mm against 395.9 mm.

The maximum 458.9 mm of rain was recorded in Sirmaur but it was still 13 per cent less than the normal precipitation of 526.6 mm. In 2010 the state received 7 per cent more rain in July, whereas in 2009 it was 32 per cent less.

The cumulative rainfall during the current season (from June 1 to July 31) is 305.1 mm, deficient by 22 per cent. Last year the state had 372.9 mm of rainfall over the same period, which was 7 per cent more than normal.

In charge of the local met office Manmohan Singh said the prevailing weak monsoon conditions were causing an increase in “seasonal rainfall deficiency for the state as whole”.

Dharamsala, July 31
Residents of Tahliwal in Una district are feeling cheated as the land acquired from them by the Himachal Pradesh Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) for the development of a housing colony in Tahliwal has been transferred to Nestle Company for bringing up an industrial project.

They are alleging that HIMUDA had acquired 516 kanal land from them in 2007 for the colony.

Harish, one of the residents whose land was acquired by HIMUDA, alleged that they were paid only Rs 1.14 lakh per kanal by the state government as compensation. However, the cost of their land, located on the road head in Tahliwal, ranged between Rs 10 and 20 lakh per kanal.

He said the residents agreed to the meagre compensation given for their land as HIMUDA officials had promised that they would be allowed to use the roads and passages that were to be created in the proposed housing colony. However, now the land has been transferred to a corporate house. The people bringing up the industry on the land have blocked their passages.

“We have tried to approach them through our counsel for getting a passage to the crematorium. However, they have not obliged,” he rued.

Rup Chand, another affected person, alleged that if the land had been given to a corporate house, they should be given compensation as per market rate. “Most of the industries that have come up in their area have bought land directly from the farmers or land owners. However, in the present case, our land was first acquired by HIMUDA for the purpose of developing a housing colony and now it has been transferred to a corporate house,” he said.

The affected residents of Tahliwal have also decided to move court demanding more compensation for their land on the plea that now it has been transferred to a multinational company.

Seema Sharma, counsel for the residents, alleged that they would file a writ petition in the state high court challenging the transfer of land, acquired for the housing project, to Nestle.

Senior officials of the Department of Industry said they allotted land to Nestle as HIMUDA transferred this land on lease to us for a period of 99 years.

Revealing the story behind the move, sources told The Tribune that the Nestle unit did not find any suitable land for setting up its Rs 500-crore unit. They were initially offered land by the Department of Industry in the Damtal region of Kangra district. However, since the area was located near the Indo-Pak border, the multinational company refused to set their unit there. They were then offered land in the Goalthai industrial area in Bilaspur district. However, land was also rejected due to BBMB barrier, manned by the Punjab police near the industrial area and is a constant irritant to the industrialists of the sate.

The company had decided to shift the industry to some other state. However, the Chief Minister intervened and got the land in question transferred to Nestle to keep the investment in the state. 

Kullu, July 31
The volunteers who have been assisting the administration to fight disasters will be issued identity (ID) cards in this district.

District Disaster Management Committee Nodal Officer and Additional District Magistrate RK Paruthi said in a meeting here yesterday that new plans had been added in the Disaster Management Charter under the instructions of the state, vide which government officials, panchayati raj representatives and NGOs would be issued ID cards to avoid commotion during search and rescue operations.

He said the police and other security agencies usually cordoned the area to restrict access, and victims at times did not get necessary timely help. The volunteers would be allowed access to such areas, he added.

He added that the district administration had chalked out a comprehensive programme to minimise the losses caused by natural calamities in the district. The constitution of the committee had proved fruitful as relief and rescue operations during natural calamities had been quick and efficient, he added.

The ADM directed the official members of the committee to make safety arrangements for residential colonies of labourers working at various hydroelectricity projects.

He stressed that the labourers’ huts should not be built on the banks of nullahs or rivers to avoid a heavy loss of life due to flash floods.

He further advised the project officers to make sure that the siren hooting was available to alert the labourers and villagers at the time of any apprehension. The project authorities should also ensure the registration of labourers and necessary records should be maintained.

Pruthi said he had advised all the sub-divisional magistrates of the district to visit schools, hotels, theatres and public places and ensure that the required fire safety measures had been adopted.

He said the villagers should be made aware of the causes of fire accidents and taught to stock firewood, fodder and grass away from buildings.

He said the arrangements for the training of yuvak mandals, mahila mandals and NGOs had been made.

He added that the district administration would also arrange air services for air-lifting victims or carrying relief material to the accident spot.