Sangma hopeful of support from U’khand MPs, MLAs
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 16
Claiming to be representing the people of the hill states of the country, presidential nominee PA Sangma of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Monday said he was optimistic that the MLAs and MPs from Uttarakhand would vote for him.

“Since Independence, no individual hailing from the hill states of Uttarakhand, Jammu Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and hilly states of Northeast has ever occupied the coveted house of the President of India at Raisina Hills. As a 'Pahari' hailing from Garo Hills, I am seeking support of the 'Paharis' in Uttarakhand to make that possible. I am sure the MPs and the MLAs will rise above the party line and vote for him according to their conscience call,” said Sangma, who came calling to the state capital for seeking support for the presidential elections to be held on July 19. While speaking with mediapersons, Sangma said despite the Janata Dal United JD(U) being part of the NDA, there is no explicit reason why Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav were not supporting his candidature. “There is no justification in their decision and they are unable to explain why they were not extending support to me."

Sangma also said he would be moving the Supreme Court against the Election Commission’s decision to quash the complaint on UPA Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee’s nomination papers after the elections. “In consultation with our election camp members comprising BJP leader Ram Jethmalani and Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, we will move the Supreme Court on the EC’s Pranab ruling after the elections are over,” said Sangma.

To a question whether he would continue to remain with the UPA even after the election was over, Sangma said his future rested with the NDA.

In the same vein, he said he was hopeful of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extending support to him. “She will make her decision known tomorrow and most likely, it will be in our favour,” he said. Several senior leaders accompanied him.

Two BJP MLAs skip meeting
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 16
BJP MLA from Rishikesh Prem Chand Agarwal and Raj Kumar Thukral from Rudrapur failed to turn up at the meeting convened to garner support for NDA Presidential nominee PA Sangma, who was in Dehradun today.

While senior BJP leaders said both the MLAs were on their way, they failed to reach the venue even after Sangma and his entourage had left, giving rise to speculations of a possible boycott of the elections on July 19.

Although there had been rumours of BJP MLA Raj Kumar Thukral being in touch with Congress leaders prior to the Sitarganj elections, rumours had died down after the plans to switch sides by BJP MLA Bhim Lal Arya were thwarted by senior leaders.

The party leaders also failed to pinpoint specific reasons for BJP MLA Prem Chand Agarwal’s absence from the meeting.

However, BJP chief BS Chufal said all MLAs would be present during the Presidential elections on July 19.

State sanctioned Rs 8,200 crore under annual plan
Tribune News service

Dehradun, July 16
The Planning Commission has sanctioned Rs 8,200 crore for annual plan 2012-13 of Uttarakhand that includes Rs 700 crore as special Central assistance and Rs 800 crore as special planning assistance. The sanctioned Rs 8,200 crore for the current financial year is Rs 400 crore more than the previous plan. Of the total outlay, 56.25 per cent has been proposed under economic services and 43.81 per cent under social services with emphasis on infrastructure development.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Planning Commission held in the presence of its Vice-Chairman Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia and was attended by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at Yojna Bhawan in New Delhi today.

On an objection by the Planning Commission about non-spending of the allocated outlay in the past few years, Bahuguna said the present state government had constantly improved the spending capacity and to ensure better spending of plan funds it had recently empanelled the CPWD and four Central public sector undertakings for taking up infrastructure works in Uttarakhand.

The Chief Minister said in the 12th Five Year Plan the state would emphasise on sustaining the growth momentum of the previous two Five Year Plans, generating employment and attaining the overall objective of faster and sustainable inclusive growth as set out in the national approach paper for the Twelfth Five Year Plan. A target of 11 per cent annual growth rate has been fixed. However, Bahuguna said in view of the current economic conditions, a course correction might be required. He added though the overall plan size seemed to be good, the state felt handicapped as about 58 per cent of the outlay was resource tied.

Bahuguna, while underlining the extreme resource crunch being faced by the state, said the salary expenditure had increased due to filling of posts of doctor, paramedic and teacher and in other essential services departments. He added in case of doctors, special enhanced salaries had to be paid to motivate them to go to distant areas.

The Chief Minister said the 13th Finance Commission scrapped the non-plan revenue deficit grant. He added the expenditure on the stalled hydropower projects had gone waste and future revenue prospects had been affected. Therefore, he said, there was need to calculate the monetary value of the loss in revenue due to power capacity lost and then compensate the state.

Bahuguna rued that several identified hydropower projects had been stalled due to protests by some religious groups and environmentalists. “China has shown the political will to construct four dam projects of 40,000 MW on the Jinsha river,” he said. In a democratic system though pioneer efforts were bound to be controversial, legitimacy of such epochal decision must be people centric, he added.

The Chief Minister said due to 65 per cent of area under forests and covered by the Forest Conservation Act, many development projects got delayed and unnecessarily resulted in cost overrun and required extra funds. He asserted that a time limit had to be fixed for the grant of forest clearance.

Bahuguna pointed out that based on a scientific assessment Uttarakhand was providing eco system services worth Rs 40,000 crore to the nation without any compensation for its sacrifices and disabilities suffered on this count. “It is imperative at the national level to develop a green index,” he said, adding that the green deficit states must pay for such invaluable services.

Bahuguna revealed the difficulties exiting in border areas and said the state had 625 km international border with China and Nepal. He added owing to lack of infrastructure the people from those areas were migrating to plain areas, which had also been proved by the state Census 2011. “Intelligence inputs have also suggested strengthening of connectivity, mainly roads and communication, and social-economic development of these areas,” he said. He urged the Centre to consider taking up development of these areas under the Central scheme in view of very high cost of construction and time involved.

The Chief Minister said Uttarakhand though being a special category state, the funding under about 38 schemes were provided in a ratio less then 90:10. He added while the Centre levied direct education cess to fund education the state had no alternative sources and hence relaxation as being provided to northeast states be also extended to Uttarakhand.

Bahuguna also urged the Centre for a special package for the Nanda Devi Raj Jat yatra scheduled to take place in August and September in 2013. He also requested the Planning Commission to revisit and restore the concessional industrial package (CIP), which was prematurely curtailed in March, 2010, for the next 10 years. “During the concession period our industrial growth was 18 per cent, which reduced to below 9 per cent after its withdrawal,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, in a statement, said it was the forceful assertion by his government in the previous years that the state had got an enhanced annual plan.

He added he had been pleading for “Green Bonus” to Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand Planning Minister Dinesh Agarwal, members of the Planning Commission Soumitra Choudhury, BK Chaturvedi, Dr Sayeeda Hamid, Dr Narendra Jadhav, Dr K Kasturirangan and Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain also attended the meeting. 

Media has distorted my statement, says MLA Cheema
"Congress to blame"
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 16
Accusing the media of a conscious effort at distorting his statement in order to project him as anti- hills, Kashipur MLA Harbhajan Singh Cheema today clarified that he had only spoken about the issue of migration and how it was affecting the demography of the state with bordering hilly areas being abandoned and Terai areas getting thickly populated .

While addressing a press conference today, Cheema said the media in Dehradun had distorted his statement given by him in Kashipur. "At no point in time had I made any anti-hill statement. I had spoken about the population density increasing in Terai region of the state due to several reasons, but had not held the people of the hills responsible for the same," he said.

He said the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (P) was deliberately spreading carnage against him. "We should look into the problem of migration so that people are not forced to migrate from the hills due to lack of jobs and other reasons. We should find a solution to these problems, otherwise there is a real chance of neighbouring China taking advantage of these problems as mostly the villages adjoining our neighbour are being abandoned," said Cheema.

He also reiterated that a deliberate attempt was made to distort his statement to get political mileage. "In Kashipur, the media reported whatever I said but the media here deliberately created mischief and the protest carried against me was sponsored by the Congress," said Cheema. 

Samaj comes in support of Cheema
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 16
Members of Uttaranchal Sanyukt Sarv Samaj Sangathan has demanded action against president of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (P) Trivender Panwar for creating bedlam at the house of MLA, Kashipur, Harbhajan Singh Cheema, on July 13.

The members also castigated Panwar for asking people to leave the plains of Uttrakhand. They said the silence of the Chief Minister was only encouraging such offensive behaviour. They demanded legal action against Panwar to remove a sense of insecurity among the residents of the plains in the state. The members in their memorandum supported Cheema for his controversial statement, saying that Cheema rightly pointed out the problem of migration from the hills in search of employment in the plains. They asked state government to bring development in the hill areas to set the balance right in this regard.

FIR against MLA

Dehradun: Members of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), led by city president Bahadur Singh Rawat, filed an FIR against Kashipur MLA Harbhajan Singh Cheema for speaking against people of hills on a public forum. They handed over the complaint to Circle Officer, City, Navnit Bhullar. The members also demanded reinstatement of the police personal who were suspended for not preventing the attack by UKD activists on Cheema's house. 

163 pilgrims visit Chhota Kailash, Parvati Sarowar
BD Kasniyal

Chhota Kailash mountain.

Pithoragarh, July16
Parallel to the Kailash Mansarowar yatra, pilgrimage to Chhota Kailash is in progress in the district. About 163 pilgrims from across the country have so far visited the mount of Chhota Kailash and the sacred Parvati Sarowar as it falls in the Darma valley of Dharchula subdivision of the district. The pilgrims do not need permission from the Union Ministry of External Affairs as they have to do in case of pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarowar, which is situated in Tibet.

“The KMVN in 1998 had started tracking to Chhota Kailash involving 106 km from Sirkha, which is also the first track route to Kailash Mansarowar,” says Bacchi Ram Arya, base camp officer of the KMVN.

He says the route to Chhota Kailash diverts towards the left flank from the Gunji camp where the pilgrims have to trek 16 km towards Kuti, which is in the Darma valley. “Trekkers have to travel 11 km more from Kuti towards east to reach the peak of Jolingkong, which is known as Chhota Kailash. The KMVN has built accommodation for trekkers at Kuti,” said the officer.

“Most of the pilgrims, who have chosen Chhota Kailash to adventure in the Himalayas, are those adventure tourists who do not have enough money to visit Kailash Mansarowar. They prefer the Chhota Kailash yatra as it involved nearly one fifth of the cost of undertaking the Kailash Mansarowar yatra,” said Arya.

“The pilgrims, who want to view the famous Om Parvat where the sign of Sanskrit letters OM are naturally depicted on the snow-bound mountain, need to go towards Nabhidhang on the Kailash Mansarowar route and then return to Gunji doing extra 34 km of trekking. But if the pilgrims do not want to view this mountain and wish to view only the holy mount of Chhota Kailash, they need to travel 27 km to reach it. Chhota Kailash is considered an alternative to the mount Kailash by local people. 

Need to manage food, water: Expert
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 16
A two-day interactive workshop on "Findings of baseline study and monitoring and evaluation framework" being organised by Sustainable Land and Ecosystem Management Technical Facilitation Organisation (SLEM-TFO) started at the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun, today.

The Director-General of the ICFRE, VK Bahuguna, highlighted the importance of the SLEM project in India to combat land degradation and desertification. He also emphasised on the political will in the system of land management and integrated land management in India for the sustenance of long term GDP in the country.

VK Bahuguna further said there was need for proper management of water and food in India.

Deputy Director-General (Extension), ICFRE, Saibal Dasgupta, talked about different sessions to be held during the two-day workshop. He briefed about the genesis of the SLEM, a joint initiative of the Government of India and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

He further said the SLEM-TFO of the ICFRE had undertaken a baseline study to set up a benchmark against key parameters in the areas of land degradation, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptability and policy and institutional arrangements for the formulation of appropriate policy response for sustainable land and ecosystem management in the country.

During the course of the workshop, the findings of the baseline study would be discussed by the participants.

Dr Anupam Joshi from World Bank highlighted the issues of land degradation and ecosystem in India. He further emphasised the need of policy reform in land management in the country.

Dr Renu Singh, Project Director, SLEM, welcomed all participants and introduced the objectives of the workshop. The Sustainable Land and Ecosystem Management Country Partnership Programme (SLEM-CPP) in India is a joint initiative of the Government of India and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Devotees offer milk, water at Shiva temples in Doon, Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Offer Ganga water and milk at Daksh Mahadev Temple at Kankhal in Haridwar. Tribune photos: Rameshwar Gaur

Dehradun/ Haridwar, July 16
A large number of devotees thronged Shiva temples across Dehradun on the occasion of the first Monday of Hindu calender month of Saawan here today.

The Mondays of saawan month are considered auspicious by devotee Hindus. Many of them also observe a fast on the occasion.

Since early morning long queues of devotees were seen in front of the Shiva temples across the city. The largest congregation was seen at the historic Tapkeshwar temple in Garhi cantt. area. Thousands of devotees had reached the temple since early hours of the day to offer water and milk at the Shiva temple.

The Dehradun police has also made elaborate arrangements for the rush at these temples.

In Haridwar a large number of devotees offered milk and Ganga water at various temples.

At Kankhal, considered to be the home town of Goddess Parvati, a large number of pilgrims thronged Daksh Mahadev temple. Long serpentine queues of devotees could be seen since early morning at various temples.

Elaborate security arrangements were made to manage the rush of devotees as the Kanwar yatra is also going on. 

Mandal rewarded, made KMVN chief
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 16
The Uttarakhand government has appointed Kiran Mandal, a former BJP legislator from Sitarganj in Udham Singh Nagar district who resigned his Assembly seat to pave the way for the Chief Minister to enter the state Assembly, as the Chairman of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN).

His appointment was expected after he resigned from his Assembly seat and joined hands with the ruling Congress. SS Sandhu, Secretary,Tourism, Uttarakhand, in a press release announced his appointment as Chairman of KMVN here today.

Yuva Cong seeks affiliation of colleges to new varsity
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 16
Tehri Lok Sabha Yuva Congress (TLSYC), at it's meeting, demanded the affiliation of those colleges which were once affiliated to Garhwal University before it was upgraded to Central University to the new university in Tehri in the current session.

President, TLSYC, Jaswinder Pal Singh Gogi, said Garhwal University was not able to hold private examinations, which was affecting the future of scores of students. He demanded a change in the name of the new university which was proposed by the BJP government.