Shimla, October 11
With the controversy surrounding the Bemloe housing project in the midst of a thick deodar forest in the Kanlog area of the town refusing to die down, an RTI activist, Om Prakash, today sought the intervention of the Union Environment Ministry to check the “violations” at the construction site and sought action against the officials who prepared a “fraudulent” record to help the builders.

Seeking a thorough inquiry, which could expose the connivance between politicians, bureaucrats, police and forest officials, Om Prakash has placed on record old pictures of the site where the high-end housing project is coming up. “The old pictures clearly show that the construction site was covered with a thick forest; so it is surprising how a clear patch of land could become available without the felling of even a single tree,” he quipped.

He accused officials of being hand in glove with the builders as the project, whose saleable cost would be over Rs 100 crore, was not directed to seek approval of the Pollution Control Board. “As per the norms of the Union Environment Ministry, holding of a public hearing too is mandatory which in this case was given the go-by for obvious reasons,” he alleged.

Equipped with information collected from the Municipal Corporation (MC), the Town and Country Planning and the Forest departments under the RTI Act, he said the number of trees indicated on the patch of land purchased by the builder varied from one record to another. “While the Chief Minister stated the number of trees on the site as 37, the Commissioner, MC, in one of his letters has put it at 24 and in yet another revenue document this number has been put at merely five deodar trees,” he quipped.

He also accused forest officials of getting a jeep-able road constructed to provide a link to the housing site within a record one month’s time. “Interestingly, the record shows that the jeep-able road was diverted from its original position only to provide connectivity to the mega housing project, notwithstanding the fact that villagers did not even get relief despite huge government expenditure being incurred on it,” he alleged.

He demanded that the Union Environment Ministry must order an inquiry into the matter and take action against the builders and the erring officials who bent the rules at the cost of causing irreparable damage to the environment and a pristine deodar forest in the area.

He has also sent copies of the complaint to the Additional Chief Secretary (Forest), the Secretary (Environment) and the Member Secretary, Pollution Control Board.

Bilaspur, October 11
If some national highways are not in a proper shape today, it is due to the apathy of the Centre towards upkeep and maintenance of these highways as these belong to the Central Government and it must supply the requisite funds for the purpose within time, which never happens.

This was stated by Himachal PWD and Revenue Minister Gulab Singh Thakur after inspecting the progress of the Ghaghas bridge over the Ali khud on National Highway No. 21, near here, today.

He said slashing the Rs 10-crore proposed budget to Rs 7 crore for the maintenance of NH No. 21 (Chandigarh-Manali) and unprecedented heavy rains, helped by heavy truckloads of three cement factories, were the reasons for the present condition of this road.

Thakur said the construction work on this road was continuing and the contractor was duty bound to maintain it for three years.

He said after receiving complaints, the government had ordered an inquiry into the construction of this NH and, consequently, four PWD officers had been suspended for carelessness, and further action would be taken after full technical study of the report.

Thakur said the state government was committed to ensure the maintenance level even at its own cost, and if the weather cooperated, all roads would be as good as ever within the next few weeks. The government had made sufficient funds available and given strict orders to the PWD to ensure that all public complaints in this regard were settled at the earliest.

Thakur said the Rs 4.22-crore Ghaghas bridge would be completed by March 2012 by the contractor.

The PWD Minister lamented that despite the Centre having agreed to construct five more national highways in the state, this notification was still awaited. He added that the stoppage of the construction work at the Rs 32-crore Baghchhal bridge over the Gobind Sagar, near here, was due to some technical reasons and the issue would be sorted out at the earliest.

Dharamsala, October 11
Farmers and residents living on the banks of rivulets on which bridges are being constructed on the Mehatpur-Amb road have raised objections to the design of the bridges.

Sham Sharma of Tiuri village alleged that the pillars of the bridges were being brought up on platforms. The platforms on which the bridges were being raised had been increased in height by about 3 to 4 ft from the earlier level.

This had led to an increase in the height of the bridges. The increased height of the platforms of the bridges would slowly lead to deposition of sand and ultimately an increase in the bed level of the rivulets. This could lead to flooding of fields near the rivulets, he said.

This year during the monsoon many areas of Una district, especially those near the bridges on the rivulets, witnessed floods. People blamed the faulty design of the road for damage to their property. They have also sent written representations in this regard to the district administration.

Meanwhile, a Chinese company, Longjian, is set to take back the construction work of the bridges on the Mehatpur-Amb road. Sources said the decision had been taken allegedly due to the “poor and delayed construction” by the sub-contractor who was outsourced the work of the construction of the bridges.

The state government got this work outsourced on the plea that it would help expedite the the project. However, the consultants of the project were not satisfied with the quality of the construction of a bridge over the Garni rivulet near Chruru on the Una-Amb stretch of the road. They were also not satisfied with the slow pace of the construction of the bridges by the sub-contractor and so it was decided that the Chinese company should take the job back into its own hands.

The Executive Engineer of the PWD handling the liaison work of the project, Kutlehria, said there was some problem in the connecting joints of the bridge constructed over the Garni rivulet. He also admitted that the Chinese company had decided to take over the construction of the bridges due to a delay in the work on the part of sub-contractor. About 34 small and big bridges were to be constructed on the road. However, till date only five bridges had been completed.

The over Rs 100-crore project of widening and construction of the nearly 50-km Mehatpur-Amb road was bagged by the Chinese company, Longjian. The road was to be completed within two years. However, the Indian Government initially cancelled the business visa granted to officials of Longjian on the plea that they were violating its rules by working in India. This delayed the project by about six months. However, the way the construction work of the road is proceeding, it seems it is likely to be completed only by the end of next year.

Kullu, October 11
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will lay the foundation stone of a Rs 10-crore multipurpose Dasehra Sadan in this tourist town tomorrow. The sadan will be built from funds generated by the Dasehra committee and from local area development funds allocated by power companies.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-vice-president of the Dasehra committee BM Nanta said, “Dasehra Sadan will have four storeys. All Dasehra-related meetings will be held in this sadan, which is likely to be ready in two years’ time.”

“Dasehra Sadan will have a multipurpose auditorium that will have a capacity to accommodate 1,000 people. It will be designed with all acoustic features for conducting cultural events as the open-air Lal Chand Prarthi Kala Kendra faces problems whenever it rains,” Nanta said.

“The main attraction of the sadan will be that it will be based on Pahari architecture,” he added.

Nanta said it would also house a “club house”, which would cater to the needs of the elderly. It would offer facilities for indoor sports and would also have a pantry where they could interact and spend their time, he added. One storey would house the PWD rest house.

The Deputy Commissioner said the drawings and the plan were ready and the Chief Minister would lay the foundation stone during the concluding ceremony of Dasehra tomorrow. The Chief Minister would also inaugurate the SP office building and the DRDA building, he added.

Solan, October 11
Even as the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial area houses a workforce of nearly 1.5 lakh, the absence of a blood bank is forcing medical practitioners to refer serious patients to Chandigarh.

Though as per the mandate of the National Rural Health Mission, a First Referral Unit (FRU) is supposed to be equipped with a blood bank that can ensure that the number of institutional deliveries are increased and the cases referred to higher institutes reduced, this purpose appears to be defeated.

Nalagarh BMO Harmohinder Singh said 30 to 35 cases were referred to Chandigarh and other nearby places and at least five to seven required blood transfusion every month. The FRU catered to the accident-prone industrial area where 20 to 25 accidents were reported every month. This had necessitated the need for a blood bank at the FRU.

He said a proposal had been sent to higher officials to open a blood bank, but nothing substantial had been done till now.

Even another proposal to open a blood storage unit in the FRU over a year ago had failed to yield any result. This was despite the purchase of equipment which was now being used at the Regional Hospital, Solan.

Doctors opined that paucity of staff was also acting as a deterrent to open a blood storage unit. A trained technician and a doctor would be required to operate a blood bank and this appeared to be an arduous task.

Even the ESIC hospital, which was inaugurated a few months ago, was yet to have a blood bank and the staff had to refer serious cases to Chandigarh. Since the hospital was yet to be completed, its inauguration without putting in place all facilities had reduced its utility.

Despite being the home district of state Health Minister Rajiv Bindal, lack of the bare minimum blood bank spoke volumes about the concern for the common man in the industrial hub of the BBN.

Manali, October 11
After getting a lukewarm response from pollution-wearied local residents, hoteliers and eco-friendly adventure sports promoters, the high-profiled 13th Raid-de- Himalaya motor rally today hit a major green tax roadblock as organisers of the event had not paid the green tax imposed by the high court on vehicles carrying non-Himachal numbers entering this tourist town.

The non-payment of green tax in advance by the organisers has exposed the casual way this motor event is organised even after kicking off its 13th editions, rued sports enthusiasts.

The Manali Nagar Panchayat and the District Tourism Officer expressed ignorance about the event even as Chief Minster PK Dhumal kicked off the rally officially yesterday from Shimla.

Secretary-general, National Winter Games Federation, and president, Paragliding Association, Manali, Roshan Thakur said they only promoted eco-friendly non-powered adventure sports. Checking pollution was a task of the government and organisers, he added.

President, Manali Nagar Panchayat, Rup Singh Negi said the organisers had not taken an NOC from the panchayat.

“Some hoteliers do benefit as their rooms are booked for the rally”, added Gajendra Thakur, president, Manali Hoteliers Association.

Most of the vehicles entered this town on the left bank of the Beas on the Kullu-Naggar road rather than through the main green tax barrier on NH-21 near Manali. “There was nobody to charge the green tax on the left bank entry point there,” sources revealed.

In fact, there are over 250 odd vehicles participating in the rally and most of them are non-Himachal vehicles coming from Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Delhi, Bangalore, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

District Tourism Officer-cum-SDM, Manali, Balbir Thakur said he was not aware about the rally as he was busy on Dasehra duty in Kullu.

DC, Kullu, BM Nanta said rally participants or organisers would have to deposit the green tax as it was imposed by the high court on non-Himachali number vehicles.

Vice-president, Himalayan Motors Association, which is organising the event, Manjiv Bhalla did not respond to calls on his mobile to get organisers’ views.

Shimla, October 11
The state government is learnt to have filed an affidavit before the high court denying allegations levelled by the Himachal Pradesh Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Association against the Director, Ayurveda. The petition had accused the directorate of purchasing medicines at higher prices from suppliers outside the state and denying the purchase orders to units based within the state. A rejoinder from the association is expected to be filed before further hearing.

Lawyers engaged by the Director, Ayurveda, meanwhile, have sent identical notices to newspapers, contesting reports of a ‘purchase scam’. The newspaper reports had followed a press conference held by the manufacturers’ association at Nurpur in August.

While the Director claimed that the Central Government guidelines were followed in letter and spirit while purchasing the medicines, and allegations of a purchase scandal were baseless, the manufacturers alleged that those very guidelines were flouted by the directorate.

According to copies of communication made available by both the Director and the association, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of Ayush) seems to have held, consistently since 2007, that while it is the prerogative of the state government to purchase medicines, procurements should follow the CGHS rate contract and should be purchased from Indian Medicine Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited, a Central public sector undertaking, or from other PSUs, pharmacies under the state government and cooperatives, which are GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) compliant.

The issue has been taken to the high court for adjudication by the aggrieved association.

Sundernagar, October 11
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has said the government has given 3 per cent reservation to sportspersons in government jobs and as a result of this 300 sportspersons were given jobs in various departments during his tenure.

He was speaking on the closing ceremony of the 17th Forests Games and Sports Meet here today.

The Chief Minister said: “Sports is an essential part of our life and it gives all-round development to all. Besides, it develops team spirit. The government has also been giving promotion to outstanding sportspersons, who have won medals at the national level. Sanjo Devi of the Forest Department, who won a bronze medal in the National Games, has been promoted to the post of deputy range officer from forest guard.”

Dhumal said the Forest Department was working well and was committed for the development of forest and clean environment in the state and it was one of the reasons that the state was given the first position at the international level in the project of prestigious Carbon credit project.

He said for the development of infrastructure, the government had decided to construct 30 guard huts and 10 beat forest officer huts worth Rs 1 crore this year.

The Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 10 lakh for the construction of forest guard huts at Karnodi and Roopri in Sundernagar forest division.

He said Rs 35 lakh would be spent for the development of various facilities at the Karnodiand Forest Training Centre, so that it could be converted into a range officers’ training college.

Dhumal also inaugurated a building of the forest rest house, the cost of which was Rs 35 lakh. Prior to it, he laid a foundation stone of a tourist information centre, along with a parking lot, costing Rs 95 lakh, at Sukhdev Vatika in Sundernagar.

He also distributed prizes among the winners. The Nahan forest circle was declared first in the games.

Roop Singh Thakur, MLA, Sundernagar, and RK Gupta, Principal Chief Conservator, Forests, also spoke.

Jai Ram Thakur, Panchayati Raj Minister, Mohinder Singh, Transport Minister, Dile Ram, Chairman, Finance Commission and Hira Lal, MLA, Karsog, were among those present.

Shimla, October 11
The implementation of the Rs 4,667-crore Intra-State Transmission Master Plan for evacuation of power will finally get under way with Asian Development Bank (ADB) granting approval for the release of the first tranche of $148.8 million to the State Power Transmission Corporation.

The bank has sanctioned a $350 million loan for the implementation of the $438 million first phase of the master plan last month. A mission of the bank will visit the state in the first week of November to discuss the modalities for the release of Tranche-I. The flow of funds is expected to start before the end of the year. The state will have to contribute $88 million for the purpose.

Tranche-I will help provide transmission infrastructure for the projects nearing completion in the Sutlej and Pabbar basins. The main works to be executed include a 66/220 kV substation at Bhoktu with one circuit of 220 kV from Kashnag to Bhabha and a 466/220/400 kV pooling station at Wangtu which will be the nodal point for evacuation of power from upstream projects in the Sutlej basin.

A substation will also be built at Hatkoti, the nodal point, for evacuation of power from projects coming up in the Pabbar basin. A 220 kV D/C (Twin MOOSE) line from Hatkoti will be connected to the 220/400 kV substation to come up at Pragati Nagar, where the power will be injected into the main 400 kV transmission line of the Power Grid Corporation from Jhakri-Abdullapur for wheeling of power from projects in the Sutlej basin.

However, to implement the second phase of the master plan, the corporation will require another $250 million and the ADB is keen to give more funds to the state for the purpose. However, the government seems to be disinterested and keen on allotting the projects to the private sector.

The independent power producers (IPPs), who are executing hydropower projects in the state, want the state power utility to implement the entire master plan as ADB funds are very cheap and help in keeping the transmission charges at the minimum.

As such even if the government has to contribute 20 per cent, raising a loan for the second phase will be in the interests of the state. Execution of transmission projects by private companies will not only increase the cost of power evacuation but also make IPPs vulnerable to exploitation. 

Kullu, October 11
Baldev Singh, District and Session Judge, here sentenced Puran Chand of Chaouk village in this district to one-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a case of charas smuggling under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Puran was apprehended by a police party at Bajaura while he was travelling to Delhi by a private bus on June 15, 2009, with 422 gm of charas in his possession.

The accused was also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 and in the event of non-payment of fine the accused would further undergo three-month simple imprisonment.

NS Verma, District Attorney, examined nine witnesses and on the basis of evidences advanced, the court has convicted the accused. — OC

Bilaspur, October 11
Vinod Chandel (19) of Badgaaon village, near Barthin, became the seventh victim of the stray cattle menace in the district in the past two years, when he was suddenly struck by a stray bull near Barthin bazar and was injured seriously a couple of days ago.

Reports said people rushed Vinod first to the local Community Health Centre, then to the Regional Hospital here and then to the IGMC, Shimla. He fought the battle for survival for two days, but then died due to grievous injuries as the bull had pierced his kidney irreparably with its horns.

This death has caused great resentment in the area against the government, as villagers said despite repeated complaints, the government had not done anything to control this stray cattle menace in the Barthin area. These cattle have already killed six persons during the past couple of years and injured scores of villagers till now, apart from destroying crops worth crores.

In another incident, a leopard suddenly pounced upon ex-serviceman Gado Ram (75) of Buraal village under Chadole gram panchayat near the Baba Balak Nath Temple here today.

Reports said Gado Ram fought with the leopard and it was only his grit which helped him escape from the clutches of this leopard which had taken his skull in its mouth. People of the area rushed to save him after hearing his screams for help. Gado Ram was admitted to the Regional Hospital here and is under treatment. 

Dharamsala, October 11
Infighting among students of Sai University, a private university that has come up in the Palampur area, has brought the varsity management and the police at loggerheads. The Palampur police has booked five students Rocky, Gourav, Abhishek, Shanti Bhushan and Anchal Thakur of the university on charges of ragging.

In a press note here today, the police said the accused had booked on the complaint of Arun Katoch, another student of the university.

However, the management of the university maintained that the complainant in the case was a police official’s son. He was allegedly beaten up by some students in Palampur. However, they got a case of ragging registered. It said since the incident did not occur in the campus, it could not be termed as ragging.

SHO, Palampur, Ram Singh Rana said the complainant was sitting in the university canteen with his friends. The accused were annoyed with him for allegedly not showing respect to them. They called him out of the canteen and took him out of the campus. They allegedly beat him up 400 yard from the campus. — TNS