Shimla, September 19
Notwithstanding the court directives of maintaining a list of officers with doubtful integrity (ODI), it is only 15 government departments, boards and corporations of the total 59 in Himachal that have so far furnished the list of its officers and employees not enjoying too clean an image.

It’s a different matter that every now and then the Vigilance Bureau is nabbing government officials taking bribes, but when it comes to giving details of ODI not even a single department has named any official having doubtful integrity. It is only the offices of Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, and Sirmaur of the total 15 departments, boards and corporations that have listed the names of six officials who, they think, do not enjoy a clean image.

Every department is supposed to maintain its ODI list and then send it to the Vigilance Bureau and the Personnel Department for compilation as it is taken into consideration at the time of promotions and while giving other service benefits. Surprisingly, the most notorious departments in terms of corruption like Police, Forest, Revenue, Public Works and Irrigation and Public Health have not even bothered to get into the nitty-gritty of identifying such tainted officials.

The departments which have so far sent in the list of ODI include Town and Country Planning, Industries, Prosecution, Information and Public Relations, Environment, Fisheries, General Administration and Tourism. Besides, the deputy commissioners of Shimla, Sirmaur and Kinnaur and the office of the Advocate-General have sent in the ODI lists.

Even though 1,400 government employees in various departments were chargesheeted, 599 suspended and 24 dismissed from service during the past three years, but when it comes to naming people with doubtful integrity, the heads of department avoid naming anyone even if they are facing a serious Vigilance probe.

Besides, 3,820 employees working in boards and corporations were chargesheeted, 250 suspended and 24 dismissed from service during the tenure of the BJP regime.

As far as the departments are concerned, the police tops the list with 369 having being chargesheeted, 227 suspended and 20 dismissed. The second in the list of departments is Public Works which chargesheeted 369 employees, suspended 227 and terminated the services of 20. Other such departments with high number of cases against employees include Higher Education, Forest Corporation and Irrigation and Public Health. 

Shimla, September 19
The Hyderabad-based Centre for Innovations in Public Systems (CIPS) has selected Palampur and Mandi townships for ensuring round-the-clock supply through improved management and it will also provide technical support for setting up the proposed solid waste management plant in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt.

A team of the CIPS, which studied the water supply systems of the two towns, found that enough water was available for providing 24x7 supply to the residents by improving management and recovering reasonable charges for the service to help meet the operation and maintenance costs. After assessing the ground realties, the team identified the gaps in management and other shortcomings in the schemes which could be tackled easily.

There was under-recovery of revenue as supply was not being metered fully. A large number of consumers had not installed meters and in Mandi town in particular a number of residents were using water from natural sources like springs and bowlies, leading to a high percentage of non-revenue water, making the scheme unviable.

The team was of the view that given the quantum of gravity water available in the two towns, round-the-clock supply could be provided by ensuring cent per cent metering and recovering the service charges to meet the operation and maintenance costs.

The team also scrutinised the sold waste management project for Mandi town and observed that adequate provision had not been made for meeting the operation and maintenance costs. As such the project will not be viable unless revenue is generated to meet the operational cost.

In case of the solid waste management to be set up at Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh, it found that apart from the urban area under the BBNDA, a large number of villages were also to be covered.

Team Optimistic

l A team of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Innovations in Public Systems, which studied the water supply systems of the two towns, says enough water is available for providing 24x7 supply 

l It says there is need for improving management and recovering reasonable charges for the service to help meet the operation and maintenance costs

l The team says there is under-recovery of revenue as supply is not being metered fully

Sainj/Gushaini (Kullu), September 19
Despite figuring among the world’s 34 biodiversity hot spots, the legal sanctity of the 41,660-hectare buffer zone of the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) remains a bone of contention between the territorial and wildlife wings of the Forest Department.

The herbal and forest mafia have been eyeing its prized biodiversity ever since it was declared a national park in 1984, especially because of “ambiguous legal sanctity of the buffer zone of the national park”.

The irony is that 75,440 hectare area of the GHNP, now renamed Jawaharlal Nehru GHNP, is hotly tipped to be a UNESCO heritage site, but the legal status of its buffer zone remains ambiguous.

The territorial wing of the department says that its control rests with it and not the wildlife wing. The buffer zone is controlled and regulated by the wildlife wing of the Forest Department.

“No human activity is allowed inside the GHNP under the Wildlife Protection Act, but this Act cannot be enforced in the buffer zone,” say experts.

The GHNP is home to more than 375 species of fauna, including 31 mammals, 181 birds, three reptiles, nine amphibians and 127 insects.

The developers, the project authorities and the forest and herbal mafia have been eyeing not only the GHNP’s perennial glacier-fed and spring water-fed water resources, but also its rich rare biodiversity to make a fast buck.

They have been taking advantage of the buffer zone whose legal status remains undefined so far, say ecologists and NGOs striving hard to protect the depleting resources.

The government has banned projects on the Tirthan river to protect its rare fresh water trout, but the Jiwa and Sainj valleys have become “free for all”, they say.

The Forest Department has allegedly bowed to political pressure allowing the forest mafia to extract timber through “salvage felling” in the buffer zone. Now, there is a move to allow another lot for “salvage marking” in the Mashiar jungle which is close to the GHNP’s core area.

Raju Bharti, convener of Biodiversity and Fish Life Conservation, an NGO in Tirthan, says the Forest Department should attach some legal sanctity to the buffer zone.

Director, GHNP, Ajay Srivastav says they cannot impose restrictions on human activities in the buffer zone as its legal status is not clear.

Forest Conservator, Kullu, PK Sharma says, “The control of the buffer zone lies with the wildlife wing, not with the territorial wing.”

Chief Wildlife Warden AK Gulati says the buffer zone is just an administrative unit and has no legal sanctity.

Shimla, September 19
The government proposes to spend Rs 10 lakh each annually on model villages to be developed under the Mukhya Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojna and two Scheduled Caste-dominated villages will be selected in each of the 68 Assembly seats for the purpose.

Stating this while presiding over a state-level meeting of the Vigilance and Monitoring Committee set up under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act here today, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the funds would be utilised to provide basic amenities and to create other required infrastructure for the members of the community. He said a sum of Rs 13.60 crore would be spent each year under the scheme. All departments concerned would work in close coordination to implement the scheme within the stipulated period.

He said additionally a sum of Rs 816 crore had been earmarked under the Scheduled Caste sub-plan by increasing the budget from 11 to 25 per cent during the current financial year.

Dhumal said the government had also launched the Mata Shabri Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojna under which 75 Scheduled Caste women in each Assembly segment would get 50 per cent subsidy on the purchase of cooking gas connection and in all 5,100 families would be covered during the current financial year.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Sarveen Chaudhary said 56 castes had been listed under the Scheduled Caste community which accounted for 24.72 per cent of the total population of the state.

Solan, September 19
A clash between two rival groups comprising supporters of the candidates of SGPC polls, which concluded yesterday, left five injured with reports of firing in the air at Dhabota village in Nalagarh subdivision around 10 pm last night.

SP, Baddi, Gurdev Chand Sharma said cross cases of rioting, causing hurt, criminal intimidation under the Arms Act had been registered in this case as both the parties claimed to have been attacked by supporters of rival groups.

Police officials said Amarinder Singh, who is Daljeet Singh Bhinder’s brother, told the police that they, along with their supporters, were attacked at Dhabota by some goons who not only beat them with rods and stones, but also damaged five of their vehicles when they were returning from Una. Binder was declared victorious in the SGPC polls held yesterday.

In a cross case, Gurpreet Singh, who was a supporter of another SGPC candidate, alleged that he was attacked by Bhinder’s supporters when he was returning from the fields after taking care of their maize crops around 10 pm. The incident took place when Gurpreet confronted Bhinder’s supporters who were celebrating his victory at Dhabota. This led to a clash after Bhinder’s supporters teased him as his candidate had lost the polls. 

Manali, September 19
A two-day first Himachal Everesters meet concluded at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS), Manali, today. Twentyfive Everesters from different parts of Himachal Pradesh attended the meet.

Expressing his views at the meet, Col Prem Chand (retd), ex-Director, ABVIMAS, Manali, Everester and hero of Kanchanjunga, said now the time had come when mountaineers should pay back to the Himalayas.

He said mountaineers, particularly Everesters, had not only brought glory to the country in general and Himachal Pradesh in particular by scaling Mount Everest, they had also received acclaims from adventure lovers across the country for their unique achievement. He further said it was a high time when mountaineers should perform a role to save the ecology and environment in the Himalayan region.

He also stressed a need to go for the mountain climbing in a new technology and style through new routes. Capt (retd) Randhir Salhuria, Director, ABVIMAS, was also present
at the meet.

Dicky Dolma, youngest woman Everester, thanked Col Prem Chand, Salhuria and all Everesters of the state gathered at the meet. 

Shimla, September 19
Refuting Congress allegations of being unconcerned about the plight of people residing in villages falling within protected areas, the BJP today said it was due to the efforts made by the Dhumal regime that 1.14 lakh persons residing in these areas had benefited.

In a statement issued here today, state BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said the statement made by former Congress minister Ram Lal Thakur was totally misleading and far from the facts.

“It was on the basis of the detailed proposal submitted by the present regime about rationalisation of the protected areas to the National Wildlife Board that the move to take out 775 villages of the total 793 was given the nod,” he said.

He said in its order passed on August 5, 2011, the Supreme Court also agreed to the recommendation of the National Wildlife Board. The exclusion of these villages would directly benefit a huge population can can henceforth exercise its rights without any restrictions. 

Sundernagar, September 19
Acting on a letter written by Jai Singh of Nihari sub tehsil of Sundernagar subdivision to Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court, Kurian Joseph regarding the non-supply of a copy of the order of an Anganwari case which was decided on February 25, 2011, by the Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Mandi, the Registrar General of the court has asked the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Mandi, to file the report immediately.

Jai Singh’s daughter-in-law had filed an Anganwari appeal before Vinod Kumar, Additional District Magistrate, Mandi, which was decided on February 25, 2011, and on the same day an application for supplying a certified copy was moved, but it had not been supplied to her till date.

The applicant had also applied for a copy of order under the Right to Information Act, but the Public Information Officer had replied that the information was not ready. It was stated that the officer concerned Additional District Magistrate, Mandi, had been transferred as Secretary, HP Subordinate Selection Board, Hamirpur, and taken many case files with him. At last the applicant had written a letter to Chief Justice Kurian Joseph in the last week of August.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, has written a letter to Vinod Kumar (former Additional District Magistrate, Mandi), Secretary, HP Subordinate Service Selection Board, Hamirpur, in this connection.

Shimla, September 19
The government has directed the departments concerned to furnish revised details of the backlog in the promotion quota of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories.

The Cabinet sub-committee constituted under the chairmanship of Revenue Minister Gulab Singh to consider the implementation of the 85th Amendment to the Constitution Act and assignment of seniority to government servants belonging to the two categories on promotion discussed the issue here today. The minister said necessary steps would be taken to ensure proper representation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in government services.

Gulab Singh said all departments had been directed to furnish revised details of the backlog in the promotion quota of these categories. “Efficiency in administration in terms of Article 335 of the Constitution” would also be taking into consideration along with all other aspects before final recommendations were placed before the Cabinet.