Shimla, December 29
It has been a year of mixed fortunes for farmers with the state recording an all-time high rabi and kharif production and the lowest apple output since 1999. The government took a major initiative to promote sustainable and environment-friendly agriculture and horticulture in the ecologically fragile hill state by framing an organic farming policy and implemented a crop diversification project with Japanese assistance.

With just 23 per cent area under assured irrigation, the farmers are entirely dependent on rain for a good crop. The weather god obliged the state with a normal monsoon and as a result the kharif production is set to cross 9 lakh tonnes (provisional). The maize production is likely to be around 7.65 lakh tonnes as against 6.05 lakh tonnes and rice over 1.40 lakh tonnes. Earlier, the state had a record rabi production of 7.27 lakh tonnes.

In fact, the hill state completed a hat-trick of bumper crops with a record kharif crop this year. Last year, the state produced an all-time high 14.68 lakh tonnes of foodgrains, 28,000 tonnes more than the previous high of 14.40 lakh tonnes achieved in 2007-08, after a series of crop failures. The kharif crop accounted for 7.41 lakh tonnes.

Apple is the mainstay of the state’s economy, but apple growers had a bad year. Lack of adequate snow in the upper Shimla area, which accounts for 80 per cent of the total apple production, and frequent hailstorms, caused much damage to the crop. The production plummeted from last year’s record output of 8.92 lakh tonnes to a meagre 2.72 lakh tonnes. The earliest lowest production of 1.96 lakh tonnes was recorded in 1999. A bumper crop is invariably followed by a poor crop but such a huge decline has been unprecedented.

However, a persistent dry spell and lack of snow during the current winter is giving sleepless nights to both farmers and fruit growers. If the dry weather continues, the rabi crop will be affected. As snow is considered as white manure for the apple orchards, the crop will be hit for the second successive year.

The vegetable production has been increasing and crossed the 11.50-lakh-tonne mark. Apart from favourable weather, the poly house scheme has also helped in stabilising the production. A large number of farmers have set up green houses for which 80 to 90 per cent subsidy is being provided.

The government decided to go organic and approved a policy under which various steps like creation of an agency for the scientific validation and certification of organic produce, introduction of diploma courses in organic agriculture in the two farm universities and providing support services to farmers for the switchover will be taken. A Rs 321-crore Japan International Corporation Agency-funded crop diversification project and a Rs 85-crore apple rejuvenation project were also launched.

Solan, December 29
The notification of land use freeze on the NH-22 in lieu of the proposed four-laning of the NH from Parwanoo to Solan does not seem to have deterred builders from pursuing their projects in the Anji area of the NH.

Though the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued notices under Section 3 D of the Land Acquisition Act for acquiring land after the lapse of the notification under Section 3 A, a number of builders are still carrying on with their construction activities on the proposed area to be acquired.

Taking a stringent view of this violation, the SDM, Solan, has served notices to at least 20 such builders to immediately stop the construction activity along the national highway.

It is learnt that since the area falls in the rural category, the tehsildar concerned has been directed not to execute any sale or purchase of land deeds as the area will be gradually acquired and the houses will have to be dismantled.

On the sly, the builders may try to sell flats to gullible outsiders who are little aware about this provision having been notified on the NH in lieu of the proposed four-laning. Since the process of acquisition will take more than a year, the builders want to earn profits by hurriedly constructing and selling flats and later leaving the buyers in the lurch as buildings along the NH will be demolished.

Since they have already invested on buying land, the builders are going ahead with their plans so that they do not suffer owing to land acquisition.

The four-laning of the NH-22 has been undertaken till Parwanoo and in the next phase, it will be done till Solan and the land acquisition process will begin once the formalities are completed.

Solan SDM Raman Sharma said he had served notices to about 20 builders who were continuing with their construction activities on the NH between Kumarhatti and Solan and the maximum cases had been reported from Anji village.

He said the builders had been asked to file their reply and appear before his court in this regard. No such construction would be allowed as the land was notified for acquisition, he added.

Shimla, December 29
In a landmark verdict, which will have far-reaching implications for the state and its employees, the HP High Court today directed the state government to take steps to set up its own independent pay commission within three months.

While passing the order, the court observed that “in quite a few cases, employees have been demanding pay scales on the Punjab pattern. It is now more than 40 years since Himachal was formed. We are informed that there has not been a pay commission as far as Himachal Pradesh is concerned”.

The court passed this order after perusal of the affidavit filed by the state in response to a bunch of petitions filed by various categories of employees seeking pay scales on the Punjab pattern. In an affidavit filed by the Secretary, Finance, on behalf of the state, the court was informed that the Himachal Government by and large followed the Punjab Government pay scales, but it was not done blindly and the state in any particular case may or may not implement a particular scale. It was further informed that the Punjab Government pay scales were not automatically applicable in Himachal. Every pay scale was examined and after careful consideration the matter was decided with the approval of the competent authority. The state further submitted before the court that Himachal Pradesh was an independent state and only its orders were applicable on its employees. No one could claim a pay scale just on the basis of an order of the Punjab Government.

Expressing its tough stand before the court, the state further submitted that the state of Himachal had its own “staffing pattern and service conditions for its employees” which were governed by the recruitment and promotional rules of the post concerned, framed or notified by the state in exercise of powers conferred by a proviso of Article 309 of the Constitution, which was fixed by the state government and could be at variance with the Central Government or the Punjab Government.

After perusing the stand of the state government, a Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice and Justice Dev Drashan Sud directed the Chief Secretary of the state to take steps to have an independent pay commission for the state so as to have pay scales in the state approximately fixed or rationalised.

The court passed this order on a bunch of petitions filed in this regard where the petitioners have demanded pay scales on the pattern of the Punjab Government.

Shimla, December 29
The “vishal samaroh” being organised by the BJP at Kullu tomorrow to celebrate four years of its government may well turn out to be the farewell function for state party chief Khimi Ram.

The exercise to replace Khimi Ram has been delayed by almost one year as party presidnet Nitin Gadkari has been keen that Chief Minister PK Dhumal and the leader of the rival camp, Shanta Kumar, arrive at a consensus on the choice of the next party chief. The issue is likely to be discussed during the rally in which Gadkari will be the chief guest. With less than a year to go for the Assembly poll, the issue has to be decided either way. Delay in resolving issues is adding to the problems of the party as evident from the emergence of the Bhrashtachar Mukti Morcha (BMM).

Gadkari had earlier asked Dhumal and Shanta Kumar to sit together to sort out the differences and come out with a candidate acceptable to all. However, there has been no unanimity on the issue and as a result he has decided to make the choice himself. According to party sources, he has zeroed in on Rural Development Minister Jai Ram Thakur on the basis of a feedback received from various quarters. He is convinced that he will be able take along the leaders of the rival camps, more so because he has already held the post. In fact, Khimi Ram became president only after Jai Ram resigned to join the Cabinet. At that time, the names of JP Nadda and Khushi Ram Balnatah were also shortlisted for the post along with Khimi Ram. Nadda was picked up by Gadkari as general secretary.

Jai Ram has not been keen on taking up the post but he will have no option but to abide by the wishes of Gadkari. However, there is a feeling among the party men that it may be too late to replace Khimi Ram as the rift between the rival camps has widened and chances of rapprochement with the dissidents, who have floated the BMM, are bleak.

Gadkari will have to take the final call and decide the fate of Khimi Ram without any further delay. In case he decides to install Jai Ram, Khimi Ram will be adjusted in his place in the Cabinet and there will be still one berth left. As such the MLA from Shimla, Suresh Bhardwaj, whose name was cleared by the high command earlier, may also be inducted. The main plea in his favour is that his induction into the ministry will benefit the party in the coming poll to the Shimla MC for which a direct election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be held for the first time. 

Shimla, December 29
Claiming that the four years of the Dhumal regime were a “golden period” for the state, the BJP has expressed confidence that the good work done by the government will enable it to win the Assembly poll, due next year, hands down.

A spokesperson for the party, Ganesh Dutt, said the “excellent performance” of the government on various fronts had placed Himachal as the leading state in the country and the 50-odd awards it had received from various organisations provided ample testimony to it. Apart from speeding up development activities, it had demolished the barriers of regionalism and casteism which had created an emotional divide in the state. It was for this reason that the party had decided to celebrate the completion of four years of its government by organising a “vishal samaroh” at Kullu tomorrow.

During its current term, the government had implemented several policies and programmes for the welfare of senior citizens, women, the youth and weaker sections, particularly the Scheduled Castes and the Backward Classes.

He lambasted the Congress for demanding a White Paper on the development carried out by the government and said the achievements spoke for it. As against 3,663 jobs provided by the previous Congress government, the present regime gave employment to over 29,000 persons, which was nine times the achievement of the Congress.

Shimla, December 29
Alleging a nexus between cement companies and the government, the state unit of the CPM today served an ultimatum that the three main manufacturing units will be brought down to a grinding halt if the price of cement, which is being sold at much higher rates than the neighbouring states, was not reduced by January 9, 2012.

It is an issue along with the closure of fair price shops and hike in electricity tariff for which the party had decided to agitate. Secretary of the state committee of the CPM Rakesh Singha said companies were availing various concessions and incentives from the state, but were selling cement at rates ranging from Rs 320 to Rs 410 per bag, which was Rs 25 to Rs 35 more than Punjab and Haryana.

The companies were earning windfall profits by obliging politicians and fleecing the people. The plea that transportation cost in the state was high did not hold as the companies were being given 75 per cent transport subsidy by the Centre and the ACC and Ambuja cement companies alone had availed a benefit of Rs 247.23 crore.

If exemption in excise duty, VAT, land for mining at throwaway prices and other incentives were taken into account, the total benefits amounted to over Rs 1,000 crore.

As per the exercise carried out by the government, the manufacturing cost of a 50 kg bag of cement based on the 2009-10 prices came to Rs 137. After taking taxes and other expenditure into account, the final cost was pegged at Rs 183 per bag.

Assuming an increase of 20 per cent cost of production since then (Rs 36.60), the current cost worked out to Rs 219.

He condemned the decision to close 108 fair price shops run by the State Civil and Food Supplies Corporation and said privatisation of the public distribution system was fraught with dangers and led to an increase in pilferage of essential commodities.

As many as 18 shops had already been closed and it was a serious matter. The brother of a BJP MLA in Kangra was arrested for smuggling PDS ration to Punjab recently.

Singha also lambasted the government for the exorbitant increase in power tariff and said revising tariff from backdate was illegal. The tariff was announced in August but the arrears were being recovered from April 2011.

He said the common man had been made weak and feeble over the past four years and might not survive in the fifth year of the Dhumal rule under which middle men and commission agents negotiating benami land deals, unscrupulous private entrepreneurs and fictitious universities flourished.

Solan, December 29
With environmental pollution becoming a cause of concern for villagers residing on the periphery of polluting units, the pollution control board has adopted a tough posture to keep pollution levels under check.

A committee constituted by the state high court is already inquiring into the unscientific disposal of muck allegedly by the Bagha-based JP cement plant where the failure of the plant to take safety measures is leading to muck flowing down and damaging houses, water sources and water mills. Local residents had filed a writ petition in the court regarding this.

In another cement plant - ACC, Barmana, the board had slapped a notice on the plant after locals complained of various pollution-related issues, including drying up of their plants and probability of various diseases becoming high due to air pollution.

Though the State Pollution Control Board had directed ACC Cement to step up its “pollution-mitigation” measures, reports of air quality in the plant’s vicinity had failed to confirm to the norms.

A fresh notice directing the plant to spruce up its pollution-mitigating systems, including regular use of water sprinklers, has been served on the unit following reports of emissions.

The board had also written to the Deputy Director, Agriculture, and the Chief Medical Officer to conduct a survey in the Baroti area and look into these aspects.

The plant director, Rakesh Sinha, however, said they were taking all measures to follow the national ambient air quality norms and pollution on the plant’s periphery should not be attributed to the plant as vehicular traffic too contributed to this pollution.

Board’s member secretary Sanjay Sood said the complaints of the villagers had been taken seriously and ACC Cement had been directed to comply with the norms and in case of failure to do so, the board might resort to stringent measures like disconnection of the electricity connection.

Manali, December 29
Hundreds of tourists are thronging this famous hill town to celebrate New Year with expectations of a snowfall. After the season’s first snowfall in the entire upper Manali region, the daytime weather is warm, while mornings and evenings are chilly.

Though the weather is dry in the Manali region and playing truant, tourists have not to be disappointed as Gulaba slopes, popularly known as the “Snow Point”, are accessible by vehicles.

A large number of private vehicles, taxis and deluxe buses can be seen going towards these spots.

Nowadays, Kothi village, 13 km from Manali on the Manali-Leh highway, has become the biggest attraction for tourists to fly in a helicopter to see the panoramic clear view of the snow-capped mountains surrounded by the Pir Panjal ranges in the northeast and Dhauladhar ranges in the west.

Himanshu Sharma, Director, Helimanali, said the joyrides were aimed at giving visitors the thrill of flying in a helicopter at an affordable price.

He further said a 5-minute joyride up to 10,000 ft height would cost Rs 2,500 per person and a 10-minute flight up to 14,000 ft height would cost Rs 5,000 per person.

However, a special flight of “Parikrama” taking tourists directly above the Rohtang pass and the surrounding high mountains would cost Rs 7,500 per person, Sharma said.

The Simm Samm Airways in collaboration with the Helimanali is organising a helicopter flight to boost winter tourism in the Manali region, he added.

Bilaspur, December 29
Himachal Congress state general secretary and former Forest Minister Ram Lal Thakur has condemned the present functioning of the Rs 560-crore World Bank funded “Mid Himalaya Watershed Development Project” in the state, which was awarded to the state in Asia due to his strenuous efforts while he was the state Forest Minister.

Talking to mediapersons at the Circuit House here recently, Thakur said the present functioning of the project had destroyed its fundamental character of “social association and participation” and the day was not far when the project, which was a continuing project of having potential of bringing around Rs 7,000 crore of the World Bank to Himachal, would be abruptly ended in the state by this financing agency due to it being turned into a “contractor-oriented” venture.

He said lakhs of rupees were spent on training of technical personnel for this project, apart from its having been associated with a large number of departments like Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Panchayati Raj.

But now the state has committed a “grave mistake” by removing all the technical personnel, who were under contract to work till the completion of this project, from service and by getting all the work done through contractors.

Chamba, December 29
Under the aegis of the Chamba Vikas Sangharsh Samiti, people of Chamba have expressed their anguish over the indifferent attitude of the government for the proposed construction of the Chamba bus stand at the district headquarters town.

Over 30,000 persons of the region have shown their resentment by marking their signatures on the petition against the government decision to construct the bus terminus at the site of the district jail on the right bank of the Ravi.

Swami Bhuvneshwar Sharma, president of the samiti, recently dispatched a registered parcel carrying the signatures of thousands of local residents being affected by the decision for the selection of the wrong site of the bus stand.

Since the issue of the proposed bus stand has created a furore among the locals, it now appears that the bus stand proposal in question has reached a contentious phase.

The foundation stone of the bus stand was laid by Chief Minister PK Dhumal last year, but nothing has been happened since then.

Sharma said the people of Chamba had been raising their voice against the proposed site of the bus terminus, but their reactions had been put aside and the present site had been declared unsafe by the government itself. Furthermore, the site falls within 200-m radius of the historical Hari Rai temple, which was a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India.

He further lamented the indifference of local politicians for their failure to honour the sentiments of the people who made them their representative.

He made it clear that that he was not against the construction, but the samiti intended to see the construction at the site of the present bus stand.

Together with his fresh petition addressed to the Chief Minister, Sharma had also attached a detailed map and blueprint so that the new bus stand could be constructed at the present site by developing the existing old bus terminus site having a total area of nine bighas.

The samiti’s blueprint of a new bus terminus building to be raised at the existing bus stand consisted of a community hall at the basement, a parking lot at the first floor, a shopping mall at the second floor and parking of buses at the third (top) floor, besides providing facilities such as a dormitory, cloak room, post office, an ATM and toilet blocks required for a bus stand.

Shimla, December 29
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal released two books, “Shimla Lanes and Trails” authored by Sumit Raj Vashisht and “Boond Se Sagar Ki Ore”, a collection of poems by Vidya Sagar Bhargava, here today.

He lauded the efforts of the two authors for the creative work which would provide an insight to readers on some interesting aspects of life. The book “Shimla Lanes and Trails” was a treat for Shimla lovers as it provided valuable information about heritage walks, nature walks, history and architecture of the historical landmarks in the town.

He said the text had been supported with excellent pictures adding to the value of the book. It would certainly help in giving a boost to tourism as it answered queries of visitors.

Dhumal also appreciated the poetry of Vidya Sagar Bhargava which reflected both depth of thought and creativity.

Kangra, December 29
Contractor Vijay Kumar and labourer Kuldeep Kumar, both of Nather village, were injured, one of them seriously, when they were removing the shutter of a cement slab of a building just after 10 days of its laying and a part of it collapsed today. The building was located near the Judicial Complex on the Dharamsala-Hoshiarpur national highway.

This was stated by SDPO, Kangra, Dinesh Sharma. The DSP said the two got trapped under the debris. Fire brigade personnel and some people managed to rescue them.

Both were rushed to the DRPGMC Hospital, Tanda. The DSP said the negligence was being investigated.

Ashwani Kumar, owner of the building, said due to the dip in the mercury the cement slab had not dried up and the contractor had allegedly removed the shuttering without informing him which resulted in the accident. 

Bilaspur, December 29
Six students were found heavily drunk and lying unconscious near the toilets of Government Senior Secondary School at Barthin, 42 km from here, earlier in the day.

Reports said one of the students was admitted to the local Primary Health Centre, while the remaining five, who gained consciousness after some time, were carried away to their homes by their parents who were earlier informed on the phone regarding the incident.

It was learnt that the student who was the most afflicted with drunkenness was absent from the school that day, while the five other students were trainees of the ITI, Barthin.

Several elders, led by school management committee president Raj Kumar Kaushal and former president of the committee Kuldip Singh Parmar, have taken a strong exception to the incident and demanded that the school administration should be strict in matters of discipline and remain on guard regarding such tendencies among students who could be easily misled by bad elements.

They also urged the parents to ensure that their wards did not fall prey to such bad habits and destroy their future.

Bilaspur, December 29
Property worth lakhs was destroyed as the printing machinery and allied machines and equipment, along with the entire paper and stationery, were destroyed in a devastating fire which is said to have suddenly spread during late last night at Prem Chand’s shop at Barthin Bazaar, 42 km from here. A loss of Rs 5 lakh is being assessed in the incident.

Reports said a large number of people were gathered on the spot, but could not do much to save the machines and other goods in the shop as the fire spread fast and got out of control. However, villagers did succeed in preventing the fire from spreading and damaging other nearby dwellings and shops.

Prem Chand said he was not aware as to what happened as he had closed the shop as usual at 8 pm and left for his home.

He said he was informed by one of his neighbours at Barthin on the phone at 1 am about the incident and immediately rushed to the spot.

Meanwhile, the police reached the spot in the morning. A case has been registered and the police is trying to identify the cause of fire. It is suspected that a short circuit was the cause of the fire.

Shimla, December 29
The local Sood Sabha today donated 100 blankets for fire victims of Chachwari village in Rohru, where a devastating fire destroyed a large number of houses. President of the sabha Praful Kuthiala, accompanied by office-bearers Ashwani Sood and Joginder Lal Sood, presented the blankets to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

The Chief Minister thanked the sabha for the gesture and said it would help the villagers who had lost all their possessions along with the houses in the devastating fire. The government had provided immediate relief to the fire victims, but such public generosity would help them immensely in overcoming the trauma of losing their homes and hearth.

The gesture of the Sood Sabha would inspire other organisations to come forward to extend assistance to the fire victims and ensure their early rehabilitation.