Save Ganga drive a publicity stunt: Raksha morcha
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, February 14
The Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha, a regional outfit, has opposed the ‘save Ganga movement’ being spearheaded by five saints and social activists at Matra Sadan.

Morcha leaders said the agitation had been launched only to garner publicity. They also opposed Prof GD Aggarwal’s demand to stop the construction of dams and hydroelectric projects on the way to the Ganga.

Former state revenue commissioner and core member of the morcha Surendra Singh Pangti cited scientific reports about the sanctity of the Ganga in the terrains of Uttarakhand and in the lower regions of other states, where the Ganga flows before merging into Ganga Sagar.

Pangti said: “From the Gangotri where the Ganga originates till Rishikesh, the sanctity of the river is high. But it slightly gets polluted when it reaches Rishikesh and Haridwar. However, still up to 25 km of the flow of the Ganga, the pollution level is not alarmingly high.”

“Beyond this area, pollution in the Ganga is high. In Prof GD Aggarwal’s home city Kanpur, the pollution level in the river is very high. He should first agitate against it and then think about Uttarakhand,” Pangti added.

He said with the construction of dams, particularly Tehri Dam, the flow of Ganga had not been affected. In fact, the flow of the Bhagirathi was now more as compared to the Alaknanda as monsoonal water stored in the dam was now being released, which was further increasing the river flow.

Brig SS Patwal (retd), former ASP Mohan Singh Rawat, party spokesperson PC Thapliyal and former PAC Commandant Alam Singh Rawat also condemned the claims of the agitation and said the Ganga was pure and clean in Uttarakhand.

Morcha leaders further said the Prime Minister-led Ganga River Basin Authority was only on papers and nothing had been done at the ground level. 

Two buildings, flats in green zone sealed
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 14
The authorities at the Lake Development Authority (LDA) have started sealing the structures that have come up illegally in the Lake City.

A group housing complex having 12 flats, two buildings and a temporary structure were sealed by the authorities today. These structures are alleged to have come up illegally in the green zone here.

However, the question being raised is whether the LDA is actually serious about controlling the spurt of illegal construction that has come up in the recent past.

It is being questioned by the citizens concerned whether the LDA will net some big fish or this time too the exercise will be a cosmetic one like the previous occasions when the buildings were sealed and later opened on account of various pushes and pulls.

At a meeting of the LDA convened last Friday to look into the state of affairs, it had been decided that immediate action was required to put a brake to the illegal activity that had been going on right under the nose of the authorities.

Secretary of the LDA VC Kaushal had later told mediapersons that no illegal construction would be allowed in the town. He said the structures that had come up in the green belt would either be sealed or demolished. He had also pointed out that there would be no compounding of these structures.

Some of the people have already received notices to vacate the houses they have constructed while power and water connections given for such constructions are being withdrawn.

The town has been witnessing an increase in illegal structures of concrete that have been springing up within no time. A large number of these structures are located either in the unsafe zone or the green belt. The construction that has taken place is also unsafe as no solid foundation has been laid for most of the structures.

Eversince the Model Code of Conduct came into being in the state, Nainital saw a boom in illegal construction activity. Monstrous concrete structures have come up all over the town with the violators of law going ahead with illegal construction with impunity without getting the maps passed or having taken other permissions required.

With the official machinery busy with poll duties, the violators saw an opportunity and went ahead with their plans. A large number of people claim that the land purchased by them in the green zone has been registered and this has led them to construct 
structures.

It needs to be pointed out that there are many influential people who have violated the norms. Many of them have carried out construction in the name of a mediaperson or a retired bureaucrat or someone holding other position of influence in society.  

Garhwal university students visit Rajaji park
Tribune News Service

Chilla (Pauri Garhwal), February 14
As part of an educational tour students of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University visited the world-famous Rajaji National Park in Haridwar today. Earlier the students visited the park range in Pauri Garhwal.

Eighteen students of microbiology final year of the university saw wildlife closely in the national park, while penning down the details as they had to furnish a detailed report later.

Led by professors Dr JP Mehta and Dr RM Pancholy the students showed keen interest in different species of wild animals, mammals and birds in the park.

Mehta told The Tribune that emphasis was being laid on making this educational trip more productive so that it could help the students in their studies also.

Soni Kandari, a student, termed the tour as fruitful and a good learning experience as it provided an opportunity to see the Ganga as well as the wildlife with all its flora and fauna.

Similarly, other students like Priyanka, Sophie, Renu Rauthan, Swati, Hem Chand and Pradeep also termed the tour as an eyeopener. Park employees too were impressed with the behaviour and keenness of the students who left for Rishikesh later in the evening. 

64 crew stations formed to tackle forest fire
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, February 14
The Divisional Forest Office, Pithoragarh, as part of the annual fire session that began today, formed 64 crew stations to tackle forest fires which break out during the summer. “The fire session will last up to June 15 and till then the crew stations will work round the clock,” said DTG Sambandhan, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Pithoragarh.

The DFO said of the total 213,963.33 hectares of forest area the district had 75,161.96 hectares of forest under the control of the department, while 87,053.70 hectares of forest were under panchayats and 51,748 hectares under the Revenue Department. “The Forest Department has responsibility to fight fire in all categories of forests in the district,”said the DFO.

He said the Forest Department was fully prepared to control sudden outbreaks of fire in the forests of Gangolihat, Kanalichina, Askot and Berinag subdivisions of the district. All crew stations had been linked with wireless sets and they had hired vehicles to reach the spot in case of a fire breakout. “Twelve places in the division have been declared sensitive from the fire point of view,” said the DFO.

The incidents of forest fires in the division were increasing every year as villagers themselves start the fire on an assumption that burnt forests got good grass after rain. “While in 2007, 14.5 hectares of forest was destroyed in fire incidents, it increased to 139.5 hectares in 2008 and 202.70 hectares last year,” he said. 

Build eco-friendly schools, says Kumaon commissioner
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 14
As a solution to the problem pertaining to schools across Kumaon awaiting construction because of certain roadblocks related to the Forest Act, Kumaon Commissioner Kunal Sharma has ordered that their buildings be built in an eco-friendly manner.

There are 29 such schools in the Kumaon division which the authorities have been unable to construct while citing the problem of their being located on the forest land. Sharma has ordered that the help of the

Forest Department be sought in the matter and the buildings that are to be constructed be built in an eco-friendly manner with the use of material like bamboo.

Sharma had convened a meeting of top officials of various districts across Kumaon to review the development projects being executed. He has asked the officials to prepare a work plan to execute the tasks given to them for the current financial year so that 100 per cent target is achieved by March 31.

Pointing towards the departments that have achieved 70 per cent execution rate, he asked the officials of these departments to complete their pending works on a war-footing. On the issue of revenue collection, he has asked the officials concerned to chalk out a strategy to ensure that there is cent per cent recovery by the year-end. Sharma asked the district magistrates to take the responsibility of collection over and above Rs 10 lakh while subdivisional magistrates (SDMs) have been asked to carry out revenue collection for the slab of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Amounts below Rs 5 lakh are to be collected by the tehsildars.

Talking about the execution of works under the state plan, district plan and centre-sponsored schemes, the Commissioner expressed his dissatisfaction at the rate of achievement. Pointing out that till January, 83 per cent of the tasks should have been completed. Sharma said that the rate of progress has been pretty slow. It was pointed that 93 per cent of the funds allocated under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) have been utilised. Udham Singh Nagar has been the worst performer under the PMGSY, utilising only 42 per cent of the funds allocated to it.

Addressing the officials of Jal Nigam, Sharma ordered that works be expedited. He said that the officials must go to the field to identify projects being selected under the Sector Wide Approach (SWAP). He further directed that the money that is to be transferred to Jal Sansthan should be given immediately so that the works that are to be done by the latter do not suffer. 

Workshop for forest officers concludes
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 14
A two-day workshop on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) plus for the Indian Forest Services officers concluded at the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education here today.

Director General of the Forest Survey of India (FSI) AK Wahal chaired the valedictory session and elaborated on the role of the FSI in developing forest inventory that would facilitate the development of REDD plus projects.

Wahal said in the scenario of climate change, foresters had a big challenges ahead. He said in the current report of the FSI forest carbon estimates had been given that could help us to project our REDD plus strategies.

Principal Chief Conservation of Forests (PCCF), Uttarakhand, Dr RBS Rawat said the REDD plus had a future for forest conservation in India. He urged the foresters that time had changed and we had to keep pace with what was happening at the international level. “We have our commitments to international agreements and need to formulate our national strategy accordingly,” he added. He stressed the need to visualise for tomorrow “as our resources are limited”.

Participants from different states also expressed their views and shared their experiences. Most of the participants felt that REDD plus was a new concept in forestry and there was a need for capacity building programmes at all levels of forest hierarchy. Twenty forest officers from different states took part in the training workshop. 

Procedures of forestland transfer to be simplified
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 14
Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar has ordered the simplification of procedures related to the transfer of forestland.

He has ordered the District Magistrates that in matters where the land mentioned in proposals pertaining to the transfer of forest land is completely under the category of civil and soyam, the District Magistrates can address the matter at their level and start executing developmental projects.

In a videoconferencing session with the top administrative authorities across the state last evening, the Chief Secretary said in cases pertaining to civil and soyam lands there was no need for the proposals to be sent to the nodal officer. Instead the District Magistrate, the forest officials concerned and the officials of the department for which the land transferred is required could sort out the matter at their level.

He said there was no need to create confusion on projects that have been approved in principle and double the civil and soyam land is to be given to the Forest Department for the land being transferred by the latter for development projects.

The civil and soyam lands account for 23.30 per cent of the forest area in Uttarakhand and are owned by the Revenue Department.

District Magistrate, Nainital, Nidhi Maani Tripathi informed that there are 88 projects awaiting the nod from the Forest Department.

She said in several matters where primary schools, ayurvedic hospital and disaster management is involved and the land in question is civil and soyam, the solutions are being found at the district level itself.

The Chief Secretary further said the proposals sent to the Central Government for clearance must be scrutinised once again and those in which civil and soyam lands are involved should be segregated. 

Dehradun team enter next round of volleyball championship
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, February 14
The Dehradun team, after defeating the Pithoragarh team, reached the next round of the volleyball competition that began in here today.

The competition organised jointly by the sports promotion committee and the district sports office, Pithoragarh, was inaugurated by Pithoragarh District Magistrate R Rajesh Kumar at DS Bisht sports stadium.

According to district sports officer Vinod Singh Waldia, the winning team will get prize money of Rs 50,000 and runners-up will take home Rs 30,000. The teams standing third and fourth will get Rs 25,000 and Rs 7,500 respectively.

According to the district sports officer, 10 teams, including the Bengal Engineers Group, ITBP, Lohan Club Roorkee, US Nagar, Uttarakhand police , besides teams from Dehradun and Almora are taking part in this competition.

“The final match of the tournament will be played on February 16,” said the sports officer. 

Helax, Graphic Era teams win
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 14
Helax and Graphic Era won their respective matches in the 60th District Cricket League here today.

In the first match, the Helax team beat Ordnance Factory, Dehradun, by 68 runs. Batting first, the Helax team scored 216 runs. Shoaib scored 106 runs in 67 balls. Punit contributed 30 runs to the team’s score.

The OFD team was all out at 148 runs. Himanshu with 30 runs was the highest scorer for the OFD team. Arun of Helax took 4 wickets.

In another match, Graphic Era beat the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) by 5 wickets. Batting first, the UPES team scored 168 runs losing 7 wickets. Vineet scored the highest runs (51) for the UPES. Graphic Era’s Vikas and Gurpreet contributed 47 and 36 runs, respectively.