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Himalayan Ski Village project may finally take off
Shimla, June 29
PK Dhumal, CM The controversial Himalayan Ski Village may finally take off with the High Court giving its nod to the project albeit with a rider that the company will have to obtain environment clearance from the authorities concerned within a period of six months.
PK Dhumal, CM

Few takers for private engineering colleges
Dharamsala, June 29
Private technical institutes in the state offering diploma and engineering courses have started feeling the pinch of the slowdown in the Indian economy. Enquiries from various institutes in the state revealed that this year there has been a considerable “slowdown” in the admissions to engineering colleges and universities in the state.

Development of rural areas priority: CM
Arki, June 29
The state government is according top priority to development in rural areas with schemes worth Rs 1,100 crore being implemented in the state, said Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, while addressing a public meeting at Kunihar today after dedicating a renovated bus stand and Gramin Haat, constructed at a cost of Rs 15 lakh, to the people of the area.

Rs 3,800-crore Renuka Dam
Chief Secys of 3 states to meet on July 5
Shimla, June 29
The Chief Secretaries of Himachal, Delhi and Uttarakhand will hold a meeting on July 5 to push forward the Rs 3,800-crore Renuka dam, meant to meet the escalating water requirement of the national Capital as the issue of environmental and rehabilitation cost, to be borne by Delhi, is yet to be decided.




YOUR TOWN
Dharamsala
Shimla


EARLIER STORIES



Virbhadra to head Cong campaign panel
Shimla, June 29
The Congress high command today appointed former Union Minister Virbhadra Singh as the chairman of the party’s campaign committee for the coming Assembly poll in the state, providing a clear indication that he enjoyed its full backing despite framing of charges by a Shimla court against him.

Govt promoting land mafia: Cong
Mandi, June 29
With his prestige at stake for the parivartan rally being organised here tomorrow, state Congress president Kaul Singh has accused the BJP government of promoting the land mafia by amending the Land Ceiling Act.

Bali’s yatra culminates at Kangra
Kangra, June 29
“Senior Congress leader and Nagrota Bagwan MLA GS Bali was accorded a rousing reception on his arrival to this temple town today on the last leg of the third and the final phase of the Himachal Rozgar Sangharsh Yatra, organised by him to highlight the unemployment issue in the state.

Pensioners hold protest
Kangra, June 29
A large number of pensioners today held a silent protest from Gupt Ganga here to the SDM office carrying flags in support of their demands. The pensioners, wearing black badges, from 20 blocks of this district today thronged the Gupt Ganga shrine here and held a protest meeting.

Main culprit in Blackberry showroom theft held
Shimla, June 29
The Shimla police has finally managed to lay its hands on the main culprit, Rajan, hailing from the Champaran area of Bihar, who masterminded the theft in a Blackberry showroom on the Mall here along with 12 others.

 

 





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Himalayan Ski Village project may finally take off
High Court gives nod to project with a rider
Legal Correspondent

Shimla, June 29
The controversial Himalayan Ski Village may finally take off with the High Court giving its nod to the project albeit with a rider that the company will have to obtain environment clearance from the authorities concerned within a period of six months.

In a scathing observation against the government, the court stated that “it is duly established from the record that the state government had already made up its mind to cancel the project and the issuance of a notice based on the recommendations of a committee was merely a ritual. The notice issued by the state to the company on January 7, 2010, is without jurisdiction and authority of law”.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by the company challenging the show-cause notice issued by the state for cancellation of the agreement signed with the firm for the proposed Rs 1,581-crore project to be set up near Manali. The company alleged that it was a “mala fide stance” and not in accordance with the agreement signed with the company on December 9, 2005. It had submitted the letter of intent to the state on March 19, 2004, and the preliminary project report was approved by the Cabinet on November 18, 2005. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the parties on December 9, 2005.

Further, the implementation agreement (IA) was executed on June 5, 2006, and the detailed project report was approved by the Cabinet on June 5, 2007. The company also submitted the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environment Management Plan (EMP) to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The company maintained that the government had changed its stand after the BJP came to power in December 2007. Thereafter, the state issued a show-cause notice on January 7, 2010, which was challenged on the ground that the state had already signed an MoU and IA and submitted the DPR. It contended that the decision to issue a show-cause notice was unilateral, while the state asserted that the company had not obtained environmental clearance after submitting the EIA and the EMP to the authority.

While allowing the petition, Justice Rajiv Sharma observed: “Governance is a continuous process. There should be certainty and consistency in policy matters taken by the government. In the instant case, the overall cost of the project is Rs 1,581.10 crore and the project will be spread over 93.1 hectares. The state has already accepted Rs 75 lakh from the company. The decision of one government relating to governance of a state or its execution would bind the successor government when it does not involve any political philosophy and the successor government must complete the unfinished job.”

While quashing the notice issued by the state, the court directed the company to obtain the necessary clearances, including environmental clearance, from the authorities concerned within a period of six months.

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Few takers for private engineering colleges
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 29
Private technical institutes in the state offering diploma and engineering courses have started feeling the pinch of the slowdown in the Indian economy. Enquiries from various institutes in the state revealed that this year there has been a considerable “slowdown” in the admissions to engineering colleges and universities in the state.

As per data collected by The Tribune, in June not even 30 per cent of the seats in engineering colleges in the state have been filled. Failing to find students in the state, the managements are now luring students from Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar, where ample engineering colleges are not available but comparatively higher number of students intend to pursue technical education.

The managements of certain engineering colleges in the state have blamed the low admission rate in their institutes to malpractices being carried out by cash-rich engineering colleges in adjoining states. They have alleged that certain low-ranked engineering colleges in Punjab are waiving off fee of one semester to attract students from Himachal. The lesser intake of students by engineering colleges in the state is threatening their viability.

Furqan Qumar, Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, when asked to comment on the issue blamed the present state of affairs on the lack of a clear-cut and objective policy on higher education.

He said as per data available with him, the average enrolment in universities in the country, including government universities, was less than 5,000 students while the average enrolment in colleges was less than 400 students.

Furqan Qumar said to address the problems pertaining to the present state of higher education in the country, the 11th Plan had provided for an allocation of Rs 100 crore for the establishment of an inter-university cell.

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Development of rural areas priority: CM
Ambika Sharma

Arki, June 29
The state government is according top priority to development in rural areas with schemes worth Rs 1,100 crore being implemented in the state, said Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, while addressing a public meeting at Kunihar today after dedicating a renovated bus stand and Gramin Haat, constructed at a cost of Rs 15 lakh, to the people of the area. He also laid the foundation stone of a parking lot, estimated to cost Rs 50 lakh.

He said the government was implementing the Rs 353-crore Pandit Deen Dayal Kisan Bagwan Samridhi Yojana aimed at diversifying traditional farming practices and encouraging cultivation of cash crops and off-season vegetables under controlled-climatic conditions.

He said 27 villages had been connected with motorable roads in the Arki Assembly segment during the past four years. Besides, three bridges had been constructed. He said road and bridge projects worth Rs 100 crore had been executed in the segment while the detailed project reports for other such projects, valued at Rs 38.57 crore, had also been sanctioned for NABARD funding. He said a Rs 4.82-crore sewerage scheme had also been sanctioned for Kunihar town. He said an amount of Rs 3.02 crore was being spent for the development of parking slots in the Arki segment.

He also dedicated a newly constructed forest rest house at Batal village and Ambedkar Bhawan, constructed at a cost of Rs 13.5 lakh, at Arki.

MP Virender Kashyap and MLAs were among those present on the occasion.

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Rs 3,800-crore Renuka Dam
Chief Secys of 3 states to meet on July 5
Pratibha Chauhan/TNS

Shimla, June 29
The Chief Secretaries of Himachal, Delhi and Uttarakhand will hold a meeting on July 5 to push forward the Rs 3,800-crore Renuka dam, meant to meet the escalating water requirement of the national Capital as the issue of environmental and rehabilitation cost, to be borne by Delhi, is yet to be decided.

There has been no headway in the case following the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment pegging the cost for environment-protection measures, to be borne by Delhi, the beneficiary state, at Rs 1,500 crore. The Chief Secretaries of the three states will meet in Delhi on July 5 to discuss various issues causing a delay in the execution of the project.

There is a high probability that the Chief Secretaries of the three states may urge the Centre to get the environmental cost reassessed so that the viability of the project, which will also generate 40 MW, does not get adversely affected. The project is likely to displace almost 1,200 families residing in 37 panchayats in the Renuka area of Sirmaur district.

“The Ministry of Forests and Environment has assessed the cost to be borne by Delhi for undertaking compensatory afforestation, net present value (NPV) of trees and rehabilitation cost of displaced families at Rs 1,500 crore and Delhi is yet to respond to this projection,” said Chief Secretary S Roy. He clarified that the only issue that concerned Himachal was that the interests of the people likely to be displaced due to the project be protected.

Sources said the amount of Rs 1,500 crore was pretty huge, which might ultimately make the project economically unviable. “Neither has Delhi agreed nor declined to pay this amount which has been conveyed to it by the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment so far but most likely it will be reluctant to shell out such a huge sum,” said a senior official.

The project has been facing hurdles practically at every stage whether it is with regard to the height of the dam, the huge number of trees that will have to be cut and the displacement and rehabilitation issues. The project will provide about 275 million gallons of water per day to Delhi whose water requirement has been rapidly escalating over the past few years.

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Virbhadra to head Cong campaign panel
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 29
The Congress high command today appointed former Union Minister Virbhadra Singh as the chairman of the party’s campaign committee for the coming Assembly poll in the state, providing a clear indication that he enjoyed its full backing despite framing of charges by a Shimla court against him.

Secretary of the AICC Anees Ahmed and chairman of the state media department of the party Mukesh Agnihotri confirmed that Virbhadra would head the committee, the other members of which would be appointed later.

They said the general secretary and in charge of party affairs in Himachal Birender Singh had issued a notification to this effect.

The development has come as a big boost for supporters of Virbhadra who have planned a big welcome for his return to the state after resigning from the Union Cabinet.

He will enter the state at Parwanoo on July 1 and after passing through Solan, Shimla and Bilaspur reach Mandi and proceed to Kullu the following day to attend Rahul Gandhi’s programme.

Virbhadra had declared a war against Chief Minister PK Dhumal soon after submitting his resignation and with the high command lending him full support, the Congress campaign to oust the BJP from power will take off rather early on a high note.

Doubts were being raised about the approach and attitude of the high command after Virbhadra expressed his inability to attend the Parivartan rally at Mandi.

The high command seems to have adopted a pragmatic approach and made the party’s tallest leader in the state head of the campaign committee.

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Govt promoting land mafia: Cong
Tribune News Service

Mandi, June 29
With his prestige at stake for the parivartan rally being organised here tomorrow, state Congress president Kaul Singh has accused the BJP government of promoting the land mafia by amending the Land Ceiling Act.

Kaul Singh said he had contacted both Virbhadra Singh, veteran Congress leader, and Union Minister Anand Sharma, and they were expected in the rally.

He attacked the state government alleging that the BJP had pushed the state into the hands of the land mafia by amending provisions of the Land ceiling Act in the name of religious organisations. “We oppose this as the government has failed to protect the interests of the people of the state,” he said at a press conference here.

He said the government had violated Section 118 by allowing 18 private universities on farmers’ land. Some of the universities were functioning in a dubious manner and were giving PhD degrees even though these did not have proper faculty, he alleged.

He said all party leaders were united and the Congress would oust the BJP government in the coming Assembly elections.

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Bali’s yatra culminates at Kangra
Our Correspondent

Kangra, June 29
“Senior Congress leader and Nagrota Bagwan MLA GS Bali was accorded a rousing reception on his arrival to this temple town today on the last leg of the third and the final phase of the Himachal Rozgar Sangharsh Yatra, organised by him to highlight the unemployment issue in the state.

The three-week yatra, which was flagged-off by AICC general secretary Birender Singh, HPCC chief Kaul Singh and CLP leader Vidya Stokes on June 7 from Sidhbari at Dharamsala, culminated here today with Bali paying obeisance at the Brajeshwari temple.

The third phase of the yatra had started on June 27 from Kinnaur and passed through Shimla, Bilaspur, Ghumarwin, Hamirpur, Nadaun, Jwalamukhi and culminated here this afternoon.

Bali while addressing a press conference at the Tandon Club described the yatra that touched all the districts of the state except Lahaul and Spiti and people of this district joined the yatra at Shimla.

He said during the yatra Congress volunteers interacted with unemployed youth and 39,700 such youths filled forms and returned to volunteers so that an unemployment redressal policy could be formulated in the future.

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Pensioners hold protest
Our Correspondent

Kangra, June 29
A large number of pensioners today held a silent protest from Gupt Ganga here to the SDM office carrying flags in support of their demands. The pensioners, wearing black badges, from 20 blocks of this district today thronged the Gupt Ganga shrine here and held a protest meeting.

They alleged that during the previous Assembly poll, the BJP poll manifesto assured fulfillment of their demands and they then sighted a silver lining in the announcement of Chief Minister PK Dhumal on December 14, 2008, at Una that state pensioners would be granted all the benefits on the Punjab pattern.

PS Rana, district president of the Kangra Pensioners Sangh, while addressing the gathering said the pensioners had been raising demands for the past few years but to no avail.

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Main culprit in Blackberry showroom theft held
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 29
The Shimla police has finally managed to lay its hands on the main culprit, Rajan, hailing from the Champaran area of Bihar, who masterminded the theft in a Blackberry showroom on the Mall here along with 12 others.

The gang of thieves, posing as tourists stole 161 phones, valued at over Rs 21 lakh, from the showroom, barely 100 metres from the police reporting room on the Mall here in the wee hours of March 28. DSP (City) Brijesh Sood, who investigated the matter, said here today that after the theft, the accused went and sold the phones in Nepal for Rs 8 lakh. People from India bought these phones in Nepal and started using them in India.

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