New Delhi, February 5
The Supreme Court has stayed verdicts of the Himachal Pradesh High Court directing the state government and its departments to ensure that their contractors have 3 per cent job quota for disabled persons.

A Bench comprising Justice DK Jain and Anil Dave passed the order on February 5 on petitions filed by the Himachal Government, the Animal Husbandry Department, the electricity board and several other departments challenging the HC verdicts.

The apex court also stayed the contempt proceedings in the HC against the state government and its departments for non-implementation of the HC verdicts.

Appearing for the state government and other petitioners, senior counsel Govind Goel and counsel Mohan Lal Sharma contended that the HC failed to appreciate that the 3 per cent quota for the disabled was meant only for regular employees recruited by the state government and its departments and not for daily wage workers hired by contractors engaged by them.

Further, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act-1995 had made it clear under Sections 32 and 33 that only persons with blindness, hearing impairment and locomotor disability or cerebral palsy were entitled for reservation and not persons with other sorts of disabilities.

The SC Bench was hearing a bunch of petitions filed the state government and its departments, assailing two verdicts passed by the HC on October 28, 2010, and March 3, 2011, while disposing of the pleas of batches of persons with disabilities.

In the 2010 verdict, the HC had directed the Animal Husbandry Department that in case there was any deficiency in the 3 per cent quota in the cadre strength of regular “beldars”, the persons recruited in these cases should be adjusted against those regular vacancies since the recruitment process was the same for daily wage “beldars” and regular “beldars”.

The HC had also directed that needful adjustments should be made within four months and consequential benefits should be disbursed within a period of another two months.

However, the government and its departments failed to implement the HC verdicts following which the aggrieved persons filed contempt petitions in the HC.

Manali, February 5
Manali and adjoining areas experienced a fresh spell of snowfall today, while lower parts of the region were lashed by rain, resulting in a considerable fall in the temperature. The snowfall in Manali town was mild.

The upper Manali region has been covered with a thick white blanket. Vehicular traffic on the Manali-Rohtang Pass road was disrupted at several points beyond Nehru Kund, about 5 km from here, due to a thick layer of fresh snowfall this morning.

After the fresh spell of snowfall in the upper Manali region, the HRTC suspended its bus services between Manali-Solang and Kothi village.

Winter sports lovers who have come to participate in the Alpine Premier League at the Solang ski slopes had a difficult time in the morning driving their vehicles to the Solang valley.

Hundreds of tourists going for sight-seeing to the Solang valley had to stop at different places between Bahang and Nehru Kund this morning. A festive environment was witnessed in different places between Bahang and Nehru Kund as tourists were seen enjoying the fresh snowfall and having photo sessions.

The famous ski slopes of theh Solang valley, which are used nowadays for different skiing courses by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, and also for the Alpine Premier League, also experienced a fresh spell of snowfall.

The 13,050-foot-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti district, received a heavy spell of snowfall. The entire higher reaches in the Kullu valley also experienced moderate to heavy snowfall. The upper Manali region is in the grip of a severe cold wave.

Una, February 5
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was on a two-day tour of Una district, was again on a spree to inaugurate various development projects in the Gagret Assembly constituency today.

The Chief Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of developmental projects worth Rs 7.30 crore in the Gagret constituency. He inaugurated a Rs 1.27-crore parking lot at the Gagret Nagar Panchayat, a Rs 1.52-crore bridge on the Pirthipur-Saloh-Joh road and the Rs 70-lakh Ganu-Mandwara drinking water supply scheme.

He also inspected the newly built bus stand at Gagret.

The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of the 3.6-km Gagret-Oyal-Ispur link road being built from Uperli Loharli to Secondary School, Khad Gujran village, Kuthera Jaswalal, and a 3.2-km road from the bus stand at Ambota village to the Nagnath temple being built at a cost of Rs 1.76 crore.

The Chief Minister said these projects would mark the beginning of a new chapter in the development of this area. He reiterated the resolve of the state government to provide drinking water to every village and household and connecting every village by road.

Dhumal inaugurated a “modern police station” at Bharwain near Chintpurni last evening.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said keeping in view the heavy rush of devotees at Mata Chintpurni Temple, the new police station would help protect the lives and property of people. Provision for hi-tech facilities at the new police station would ensure better services to the people. Residential accommodation had also been provided to police personnel in the police station complex, he said.

Director-General of Police DS Manhas and SP, Una, Sumedha Dewedi welcomed the Chief Minister and said the new police station at Bharwain was one of the modern police stations of the state.

The Chief Minister’s visit to Una and the inauguration spree indicate that the party is getting into the poll mode for the state Assembly elections due at the end of the year.

The Chief Minister, while addressing a rally in the Dhaulatpur Chowk area of Una district, announced that the state government would spend Rs 600 crore for the third phase of canalisation of 73 distributaries of the Swan river. It would help reclaim thousands of acres of agriculture land in the district.

New Delhi, February 5
The Supreme Court has restrained the Himachal Police from arresting Kunga Dechen, a 22-year-old Buddhist tribal, on the charge of exploiting a college girl from Shimla on the pretext of marriage.

A Bench comprising Justices AK Ganguly and TS Thakur passed an order to this effect last week after counsel Anil Nag contended that the girl, who was also of the same age, had actually eloped with Dechen in October 2011 to Kullu where both of them lived together for some time.

In fact, the police had traced them to Kullu on a complaint lodged by her father at Shimla, but the girl had told the police then that she had married him at her own will, Nag said.

The girl, however, had a change of heart after some time and filed a police complaint alleging rape and exploitation as Dechen’s father also refused to accept their marriage and made it clear that he would not support them financially, Nag contended.

Dechen approached the SC after the state High Court had refused to grant him an anticipatory bail. The apex court has issued notice to the state government seeking its response to Dechen’s petition.

Both Dechen and the girl, studying at RKMV College at Shimla, hail from Pooh town in Kinnaur district, bordering Tibet. On October 3, 2011, they had executed an affidavit in Kullu stating that they were getting married. The girl, however, contends that she signed the affidavit without realising what its contents were. The girl is also a tribal.

Dharamsala, February 5
Officials of the Forest Department have rescued a leopard cat that lost one of its paws allegedly due to a trap laid by poachers. The officials said the endangered leopard cat was rescued from under a culvert near the railway track on the Baijnath-Pandol road yesterday.

The officials received information from villagers who raised the alarm that a leopard cat was hiding under a culvert. The officials, led by Sohanlal, Range Officer, Baijnath, rushed to the spot and rescued the leopard cat.

ARM Reddy, Conservator, Forests, Kangra, said the leopard cat was taken to a veterinary hospital at Holta. It was found that the paw of the front left leg of the cat was amputated due to some accident.

After preliminary medical aid, the cat was shifted to Dhauladhar Nature Park at Gopalpur for rehabilitation.

A report in this regard has been filed in the police station at Baijnath. The matter was being investigated by the police, he said.

Reddy said leopard cats kept the rodent population under control, thereby protecting forest plantations and crops.

The decreasing population of leopard cats has been attributed to habitat loss and poaching. They are hunted mostly for fur that looks like that of leopard cubs.

The Conservator of Forests said the vulture population in Himachal was “growing very well”. At one spot at Pandhu Nullah in the Pandhwar beat of the Lapiana Forest Range, more than 50 vultures were sighted on a carcass by forest officials.

Van sarovars being constructed by the Forest Department under the MNREGA were aiding nesting sites and had resulted in an increased population of vultures in the district, he said.

Bilaspur, February 5
The Dawin Ghati Kisan Vikas and Mela Samiti has objected to the present constitution of state-level Nalwadi Mela Management Committee and demanded that the committee should be reconstituted. They have demanded that “true representatives” of various sections of society, including farmers, orchardists and cattle breeders, should be given representation in the committee so that balanced decisions are taken and lakhs of rupees collected by the district administration are not spent on irrelevant and undesirable events.

Led by samiti president and zila parishad member Babu Ram Thakur and former chairman of the BDC and samiti’s senior vice-president Rattan Lal Thakur and at least six kisan and bagwan leaders and cattle breeders of the area, including ex-servicemen and samiti general secretary Lachhu Ram Thakur, the samiti has resented the petty budget kept in this state-level fair for prizes to cattle breeders, fruit and vegetable growers and for Pashu Mela, which is held for first three days of this five-century-old annual seven-day fair. The samiti has said there were times when 90 per cent of the mela budget was spent on development of agriculture, horticulture and cattle-breeding events in this fair. But now, hardly a few thousand rupees are allocated for this part of the fair, resulting in the Pashu Mela going into virtual extinction.

The samiti has demanded that at least 40 per cent of the mela budget be spent on peasantry related events and Pashu Mela.

Shimla, February 5
The Himalayan Niti Abhiyan (HNA), an apex body of various environment-related non-government organisations, has drawn the attention of the Chief Minister towards the growing menace of stray cattle and urged him to take effective steps to deal with the problem.

According to the Animal Husbandry Department, there are more than 50,000 stray cattle on the roads as per the counting of 2007, but there were only 90 gau sadans (shelter homes for cows) in the state. The process to tag the cattle was being carried out at a very slow pace. Long-term steps must be taken to deal with the menace which had not attracted serious attention of the government so far.

HNA convener Guman Singh, however, said instead of tackling the stray cattle menace, the government had come out with Pandit Deendayal Kisan Bagwan Samridhi Yojana, under which 80 per cent subsidy was being given to set up poly houses, and the JICA (Japan-aided project) supported crop diversification project, promoting high input farm practices. The private companies which supplied material for poly houses gained by the scheme and not the farmers as the agro-climatic conditions in the state were not suitable for this type of protected cultivation.

He suggested that instead of promoting the cross-bred high-yielding varieties of milch cattle, the government should focus on indigenous cattle which were more beneficial as they were resistant to diseases and incurred low-input costs.

The government must make arrangements for proper functioning of the gou sadans and if required these should be entrusted to the non-government organisation. The farmers should also be allowed to leave their cattle in gau sadans, if they wanted, for whatever reason. The gau sadans could be used for generating energy and a host of products, including biogas, organic fertiliser and health formulations.

Shimla, February 5
In an initiative backed by World Bank, the Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project has tied up with the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, for the standardisation of the silt-monitoring technology to help quantify the impact of watershed treatment interventions.

World Bank is keen on developing a scientific model to evaluate the outcome of the programmes and projects being implemented for the rehabilitation of degraded watersheds. The IIT, Roorkee, which has a robust hydrology department, was specifically selected for the pilot research project to develop scientific tools which could be used to ascertain the impact of specific interventions like check dams, afforestation and other vegetative measures, crop replacement and other such steps in a particular catchment area.

The silt data is already being collected under the Rs 337-crore project for which three silt observatory posts (SOPs) have been set up in three different ecological zones to gather varied data. Project director RK Kapoor said the high-tech sophisticated electronic observatory posts had the capability to automatically record silt and discharge data with an accuracy up to four digits. Engineers of the IIT had much experience in the field of hydrology and once scientific tools were available for quantifying the impact of various corrective measures, it would be possible to develop intervention-specific models for the rehabilitation of degraded catchments.

The SOPs have been established at Loharkha village on the Nurpur-Chamba state highway, Brampukhar in Bilaspur and Rajgarh in Sirmaur. While developing scientific tools for monitoring the impact, factors like the total watershed area, wasteland, agriculture land (arable and non-arable) monitoring, slope of the area and intensity of erosion will be taken into consideration.

Solan, February 5
The Himachal Janhit Party (HJP) today slammed the state government for its decision to discontinue science and commerce streams in 300 government schools across the state. Terming it as anti-rural, the party said it would lead to unemployment.

In a press note issued here today by the party leader MN Sofat, it has sought rationale from the government behind this decision as no recommendation had been made by the School Management Committee, a constitutional body, in this regard. He also sought the details of funds incurred on these schools through the Sarv Shikhsha Abhiyan.

He said the government should also make public the plans under which these schools were upgraded.

While alleging that these schools would deprive rural youth an opportunity to obtain higher education, he said when three private universities could be opened in one panchayat, why commerce and science subjects should be discontinued in 300 schools.

The six schools where these two streams would be discontinued are Patta Mehlog, Sultanpur, Gughaghat, Jauna Jee, Gaura and Deothi.

Bilaspur: The district unit of the Himachal School Lecturers Association has criticised the Education Department’s proposal to close science and commerce classes in about 300 Government Senior Secondary Schools in the state and urged the government to reconsider this “anti-people and anti-student policy”.

They expressed shock that instead of starting these subjects in all senior secondary schools, the Education Department was trying to withdraw even the existing poor facilities in these two vital subjects.

Led by district president Satish Sharma, general secretary Subhash Kaushal, senior vice-president Amit Kaushal, patrons Tilak Shukla and Rajiv Bhardwaj, and supported by the Executive Committee, the association said this decision was totally ill-advised as it would deprive thousands of science-oriented poor students from studying these subjects which had become vital for advancement in career and bright future.

The association has decided to take up the issue with the Director of Education at Shimla on February 13.

Bilaspur, February 5
The government is taking steps for the development of “shrine tourism” in the state and plans are being implemented to develop the Shah Talai shrine town into an ideal tourist centre. The town is visited by more than one crore devotees of Baba Balak Nath every year. This was stated by the Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Rikhi Ram Kaundal while addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a modern shulabh shauchalaya at Shah Talai, 72 km from here.

He said the Temple Trust had already allocated Rs 90 lakh for the construction of more such lavatories to facilitate the devotees during the one-month-long Chaitra Fair held every year. About 50 lakh devotees pay obeisance to the deity during the fair.

The Deputy Speaker said Rs 3 crore would be spent on taming and channelising the nearby Sarhaali Khud which would prevent the erosion of land of farmers on both banks of the khud. He said the nearby Bachhrettu shrine would also be developed for tourists and Rs 24 lakh would be spent on providing facilities there. He said another Rs 5 lakh would be spent for providing tourist facilities at the famous Rukmani Kund near Auhar in Jhandutta constituency.

National Shulabh Shauchalaya Organisation chairman AK Singh and Regional Tourist Officer Dile Ram Dhiman were among those present on the occasion.

Shimla, February 5
The special subsidised ration scheme is providing the much-needed relief to the common man from spiralling prices in the state at a time when the country is reeling under abnormally high food inflation.

The government has spent Rs 130 crore in the current financial year on the scheme under which 16,31,804 ration card holders are being provided three pulses, two edible oils and salt at highly subsidised rates. They are being supplied a kilogram of “kala channa” at Rs 20 per kg per month, “dal urd” at Rs 35 per kg, “dal channa” at Rs 25 per kg, mustard oil at Rs 45 per kg, refined oil at Rs 40 per kg and iodised salt at Rs 4 per kg every month. These essential items are being supplied through a network of 4,608 fair price shops.

During the past four years, 45,826 tonnes of “kala channa” worth Rs 88 crore, 58,549 tonnes of “dal urd” (Rs 168 crore), 58,378 tonnes of “dal channa” (Rs 143 crore), 1,10,253 litres of mustard oil and refined oil (Rs 489 crore) and 46,138 tonnes of iodised salt (Rs 16.60 crore) have been provided to the consumers.

Besides, 18 kg wheat at Rs 8.50 per kg and 9 kg rice at Rs 10 per kg is being provided to 11,17,804 above poverty line (APL) consumers while 20 kg wheat at Rs 5.25 per kg and 15 kg rice at Rs 6.85 per kg is being provided to 3,16,900 below poverty line (BPL) consumers. The poorest of the poor 1,97,100 families have been covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojna under which 20 kg of wheat and 15 kg of rice per family is being provided at Rs 2 per kg and Rs 3 per kg, respectively. To ensure food security to old, destitute and indigent citizens aged above 65 years, 10 kg of ration is being provided free of cost every month.

There are 111 cooking gas agencies in the state which are catering to the needs of 7,19,594 single-barrel and 6,13,463 double-barrel connection consumers. The LPG distribution is being carried out in accordance with the route chart as displayed by all LPG agency dealers.

Supply of essential commodities in tribal areas like Pangi, Keylong, Bharmaur are stocked well before the onset of winter season and sufficient LPG stock is being maintained at Bhavanagar, Sangla, Peo, Pooh, Kaza, Keylong, Udaipur, Bharmaur, Teesa and Killar.

Palampur, February 5
The creation of new districts in the state and reorganisation of the existing ones has become an easy exercise for the BJP government in the present political scenario as leaders of both the Congress and the BJP cannot afford to oppose this move in view of the Assembly elections due by the end of this year.

It is evident from the fact that people from all sections of the society and political parties have come out openly in the support of creating new districts.

At least 12 MLAs belonging to the BJP and the Congress from Kangra have also supported the move and assured the Chief Minister that they would support the government in this regard. Even the BJP firebrand MP Dr Rajan Sushant, who was earlier opposing the creation of new districts, has also favoured smaller districts in the state.

Senior BJP leader and former CM Shanta Kumar has also favoured the move. The BJP government intends to create five new districts in the state, including Palampur, Nurpur and Dehra Gopipur.

During a recent visit of CM PK Dhumal to Dharamsala, residents from Palampur, Nurpur and Dehra Gopipur called on him and demanded the immediate creation of new districts. He assured them that decision in this regard would be taken soon as his government was committed to respect public sentiments.