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Cabinet approves hike in registration fee of vehicles
Chief Secy meets officials over Pranab's visit
Rs 1.23 crore to instal 166 hand pumps
ICFRE to set up biotech centre in Madhya Pradesh
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Kunao villagers’ protest continues
Science congress from tomorrow
Yatra to focus on drying up rivers of state
Harak Rawat’s move to shift Agriculture Directorate to Pauri stirs hornet’s nest
Satellite to monitor water sources
Dinesh Agarwal for proper use of funds
Need for SHGs to check unemployment, says Speaker
Trust sponsors poor girl’s heart surgery
Ramnagar to Chandigarh train service begins
Dharchula MLA threatens protest for development
Mother, daughter dancer duo enthrals
Climate change major challenge: ICFRE chief
Horses from Nepal attract Indian traders at Jauljibi fair
Nainital formation day celebrated
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Cabinet approves hike in registration fee of vehicles
Dehradun, November 19 Besides announcing the hike in registration fee on private vehicles, the Cabinet today approved the creation of 48 posts for the Directorate of Medical Education. The Cabinet also approved the extension of tenure of administrators in the Cooperatives. However, no decision was taken on shifting of Agriculture Directorate from Dehradun to Pauri. The Cabinet that met today after the Gairsain meeting approved the hike in registration fee for private vehicles. Now, the fee for vehicles costing Rs 10 lakh and above will be levied at Rs 5 per cent, while the on the vehicles costing up to Rs 10 lakh has been fixed at 4 per cent. Similarly, the tax rate on different vehicles too has been revised according to their weight. The rate of tax has been fixed for different types of vehicles under the Uttarakhand Motaryan Karadhan (Amendment) Ordinance 2012. The annual tax for motorcycles has been fixed at Rs 200. For the vehicles weighing up to 1000 kg, the tax will be Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000 for vehicles weighing between 1,000 kg and 5,000 kg, Rs 4,000 for vehicles weighing above 5,000 kg and Rs 200 for trailers pulled by tractor. While approving the structure for the Directorate of Medical Education, the Cabinet gave a go-ahead for the creation of 48 posts. The Directorate will be headed by the director, two additional directors, two joint directors, two deputy directors and one assistant engineer (post will be outsourced). The recommendations of the Ranganathan Committee too seem to have been pushed to the backburner as the Cabinet approved the increasing of the tenure of administrators and committees from one and a half years to two years. The tenure of dairy federations has been increased to 2 years from one and a half years. Further now, the contractual doctors appointed by the Ayush Department too will have an uninterrupted stint of three years. The Cabinet also approved the imposition of development fee on the change of land use on agricultural land that falls outside the ambit of the state land development bodies with the hope of earning a revenue totaling around Rs 70 crore - Rs 90 crore. The fee will be levied by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.
Other Decisions * 48 posts created for Directorate of Medical Education *
Development fee on change of land use on land falling outside the ambit of state development authorities *
Tenures of administrators of cooperatives raised |
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Chief Secy meets officials over Pranab's visit
Dehradun, November 19 As per the proposed schedule, the President will land at Jolly Grant Airport in helicopter from where he will be brought to Shantikunj at Haripur Kalan by road. The President will be received at Jolly Grant Airport by Governor Aziz Qureshi, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain, DGP Satyavrat Bansal and senior Army officers. The Chief Secretary obtained information from the officers concerned about the security and medical arrangements for the President's visit. He directed the officers to make proper arrangements of jammer, mine detector, bullet-proof car and other requisite items. He also instructed the district administration to maintain coordination with the Army. The meeting was attended by DGP Satyavrat Bansal, Secretary, Protocol, MH Khan, ADG, Vigilance, Anil Raturi, DIG Sanjay Gunjiyal, DM Dehradun BVR Purushottam, SSP Kewal Khurana and other senior officers.
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Rs 1.23 crore to instal 166 hand pumps
Haridwar, November 19 Besides the plan to install new hand pumps, the work to re-bore about 1,000 old hand pumps is also going on. This is being done to cater to the growing water needs of the region where water shortage is often felt in the rural areas. The state government has given Rs 1.23 crore to the Peyjal Nigam under the district scheme project for the purpose. Peyjal Nigam officials said deep boring was being done to ensure the supply of sufficient and clean water even during the summer. Defunct hand pumps are being repaired and bored again to ensure regular water supply in all 11 Assembly segments of the district. Executive Engineer, Peyjal Nigam, Mukul Sinha said they had the target to install the hand pumps by early April so that the
people did not face water shortage during the summer. |
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ICFRE to set up biotech centre in Madhya Pradesh
Dehradun, November 19
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held at the ICFRE here today. Presiding over the meeting, the ICFRE Director General, Dr VK Bahuguna, said the department of biotechnology- supported bio-tech park would be set up at Chhindwara by the ICFRE’s Tropical Forest Research Institute based at Jabalpur. Dr Bahuguna said the life sciences offer opportunities for revolutionising human welfare activities as biotechnology contributed to solving problems like food and water insecurity that impede national development. “The establishment of biotechnology parks and medicinal plant farms is indicative of biotechnology being accorded the high policy status in national development, its significance in the eradication of poverty and of its use in the empowerment of women in utilising the technology for human and social welfare,” said Dr Bahuguna. He said the department of biotechnology had given the ICFRE the proposal to set up a bio-tech park at Chhindwara. The Director of Tropical Forest Research Institute, Dr U Prakasham, and Director, FRI, Dr PP Bhojvaid, also attended the meeting.
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Kunao villagers’ protest continues
Dehradun, November 19 Senior Congress leader Vaishakh Singh Payal today reached the site of the dharna and pledged his support to the agitation undertaken by the villagers. Payal also assured to take up the matter with the Chief Minister. “The villagers have been residing in Kunao for the past many generations and it was the duty of the district administration to settle their claims under the Forest Rights Act,” Payal pointed out. He reminded that the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had specifically brought the Forest Rights Act so as to ensure the forest dwellers and other tribal people get rights over land in forest areas. Meanwhile, protesters announced to ensure forceful closure of the Rajaji park range office in Kunao tomorrow. Ashish Singh, Man Singh, Dabal Singh and Guddi Devi were prominent among the protesters.
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Science congress from tomorrow
Dehradun, November 19 According to the council Director General, Rajendra Dobhal, around 120 national eminent scientists and 594 researchers from the state would participate in the event. The council will also felicitate three life time achievement awards for innovation in science, for which it has received 8 proposals. Experts will select 66 young scientists from various science streams for the young scientist award. There will be five sessions in the convention focusing on topic 'Biotechnology for Human Kind,' 'Hydrocarbons: Sustainability and Recycling,' 'Science and Innovation,' 'Women in Science and Technology,' and lastly, 'Prospects of Applied Mathematics,' respectively. Dobhal expressed concern towards the propensity of youngsters to opt for professional courses rather than the research in science subjects. He said the council would spend fund of Rs 1.39 crore on sponsoring research and awarding those who would study science up to the Ph.D level or stick to the subjects from class VI onwards till postgraduation. He said in many western countries, 25 per cent of the total GDP was spent on research. He regretted that in inter-colleges, science laboratories were not up to the mark and lacked proper strength of science faculty. The situation was more serious in hills. He also elaborated on deficiencies on both accounts under the specific science streams, life science and earth science, which were of vital importance for the state. He encouraged children and youngsters to attend the event and watch the added attractions, Rasayana Mela focusing on a live demo on adulteration of food, and exhibition on atomic energy put up by scientists from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. |
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Yatra to focus on drying up rivers of state
Dehradun, November 19 Addressing a press conference today, Suresh Bhai of Raksha Sutra, said that the yatra would travel through Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and end on December 8. “The rivers are drying up in Uttarakhand, the agriculture land is decreasing but there seems to be no action from the government. The yatra would try to build awareness among the people,” said Suresh Bhai. The yatra would also try to revive the Sarvodyaya Movement in Uttarakhand.
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Harak Rawat’s move to shift Agriculture Directorate to Pauri stirs hornet’s nest
Dehradun, November 19 While the Uttarakhand Cabinet did not take up the matter at today's meeting, Harak Singh Rawat reiterated his party's commitment towards moving the directorate to Pauri. "We want to restore the glory of Pauri and go by the 2005 government order that was never implemented by the government. There should not be any protest against the move. Even the money utilised to build the directorate office and laboratory was part of the programme money and no budgetary allocation was made for the construction of the directorate," said Rawat. The contention of the minister is being denied by members of the Krishi Karamchari Sangh, who say the gazette notification of 2010 had for all purpose put a stop to the shifting of the directorate to Pauri. " What the minister is referring to is the 2005 government order that was issued in the aftermath of the writ petition filed by the members of Pauri Sangharsh Samiti but the High court in 2005 had ruled that it was an administrative decision and had refused to intervene. The Chief Secretary had then issued a government order for moving the directorate to Pauri but amid large-scale protest, the then Chief Minister had again said that the directorate would continue to function from Pauri," said SM Sati, secretary, Krishi Karamchari Sangh. Recognising the political gains that shifting of the directorate would bring to him and the Congress in particular, Rawat is leaving no stone unturned to move the directorate to Pauri district, where the office of the Additional Director, Agriculture, with a staff of around 60-70 employees already exists. But the employees are not buying the argument. "If the office is shifted to Pauri, it would only add to confusion and inconvenience. The Director would have to move all the time to Dehradun to discuss plans with the ministers and bureaucrats," said Sati. Vikas manch for directorate at Pauri Haridwar: In view of development of the hilly region, the Uttarakhand Vikas Manch has raised a demand that the Agriculture Directorate should be shifted to Pauri. Workers of the manch have supported Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat's announcement in Pauri last week during Sharadotsava at Ramleela Maidan that the headquarters of the Agriculture Directorate should be at Pauri. Uttarakhand Vikas Manch Sanjay Chopra said the Uttarakhand was formed to develop the neglected areas of hilly districts of the state. He added that but since its formation, migration, poverty and unemployment had touched an all-time high in hilly districts. He proposed an agriculture distribution board to be set up in Haridwar as a major segment of farmers were living in the Haridwar belt. The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal - Progressive too has announced its support to Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat on the Agriculture Directorate issue. |
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Satellite to monitor water sources
Pithoragarh, November 19 The minister said in future, all drinking water schemes in the state would be prepared on the basis of information available through the satellite map. He said he had instructed officials to come up with measures to check water crisis in summer months. "We have released money for the repair of drinking water schemes that had damaged in natural disasters recently," said the minister. — OC
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Dinesh Agarwal for proper use of funds
Dehradun, November 19 He asked the officials concerned to inform about the funds which could not be utilised, so that they could be transferred to some other department. Reviewing a meeting of the state Annual Plan-2012-13 at the Secretariat here today, Agarwal said it was a clear directive from Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to utilise the funds in infrastructure development, so that general public could benefit from them. He said stringent action would be taken against the officials found deficient in ensuring the proper utilisation of funds. He asked them to inform him about the non-utilisation of funds by November 30 so that they could be allocated to some other department. The minister also discussed the possibility of relaxing the conditions of the tender process. He asked the officials to personally contact finance or the department concerned to resolve difficulties in spending the fund. He stressed on ensuring quality and timely completion of the projects. The minister instructed the Secretaries to expedite the process of issuing approvals of the proposed budget. Agarwal also directed the officials to complete the works related to drinking water projects and road constructions on a priority basis. Reviewing Agriculture Department works, he instructed the Finance Department to release the proposed approval of Rs 13 crore for the micro-management scheme, so that the fund provided by the Centre could be fully utilised to benefit the farmers. Agarwal asked the officials to expedite the works run by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the JNNURM. He also asked them to develop tourism infrastructure in places with tourism potential and disburse maximum loans under the Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Self Employment Scheme. Against the Annual Plan-2012-13 outlay of Rs 8,212 crore, provision of Rs 7,048 crore was made and so far Rs 3,362 had been released. A sum of Rs 1,675 crore had been utilised so far. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Information Technology, Rakesh Sharma, Secretary, Planning, S Ramaswami, Principal Secretary, Peyjal, S Raju, Secretary, Tourism, Umakant Panwar, Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Omprakash, Secretary, Rural Development, Vinod Fonia and other senior officials. |
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Need for SHGs to check unemployment, says Speaker
Pithoragarh, November 19 Addressing a gathering at Bhanoli village in Almora today, the Speaker said the formation of cooperative organisations could check migration from the state. “Village youths can become self-employed by adopting cooperative methods and forming cooperative societies in remote villages,” said
Kunjwal. On the occasion, the minister also gave Rs 15 lakh to five self-help groups of Dungra village in the Bhanoli area of the district. “The Uttarakhand and Union Governments are running various schemes for unemployed poor under cooperative and self-help groups,” he said.
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Trust sponsors poor girl’s heart surgery
Mussoorie, November 19 The surgery was sponsored by Divine Light Trust, an organisation headed by eminent social and health activist Dr Sunil Sanon. Dr Sanon, elated at the success of the operation, said she had come to him a month ago after she complained of breathlessness. She was diagnosed with congenital heart disease that required surgery, he said. As Reena belonged to a BPL family, Dr Sanon, after consulting with members of Divine Light Trust, arranged the estimated amount for her surgery and sent her to National Heart Institute where a team of doctors, headed by Dr OP Yadav, operated on her. He used a unique technique by placing the patient in supine position with right side of the chest slightly elevated. Simplifying the procedure used during the surgery, Dr Sanon said the surgeons, contrary to the earlier practice of making a vertical cut on the chest adopted a unique technique by making an incision on the lower abdominal area, which is less painful. The doctor thanked the medical staff at the institute for taking Reena’s care during the operation. Dr Sanon also said Divine Light Trust would also be assisting poor students studying in the ITI institutes in Mussoorie by providing them monthly scholarships after consultation with the institute. He also said if poor patients were in need of surgery, he would help make arrangements for them at National Heart Institute free of cost. |
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Ramnagar to Chandigarh train service begins
Dehradun, November 19 The MP, however, said though the Ramnagar-Chandigarh train would initially run for a month on a trail basis, he hoped that it would subsequently run regularly. He added he had met Union Railways Minister Pawan Bansal sometime back and sought the start of the train. Maharaj said he had also requested the Railways Minister for a train connecting Ramnagar to Amritsar. Meanwhile, Tourism Minister and Ramnagar MLA Amrita Rawat thanked Bansal for starting the Ramnagar-Chandigarh train.
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Dharchula MLA threatens protest for development
Pithoragarh, November 19 Talking to mediapersons at Haldwani, the Congress MLA said due to the musk deer sanctuary, even basic infrastructure development of more than 100 villages had been hindered. “More than 23 roads in the area are yet to be constructed due to which the villagers have to travel more than 30 km to reach the motorable road,” said Dhami. The MLA said while Nepal villages, which are also situated in the remotest areas of that country, had roadlink, electricity and schools, the Indian areas on the border were still waiting for this basic infrastructure. “We are lagging behind from the border area villages of Nepal despite high claims of our leaders,” said Dhami. “The villages in the musk deer area, which form our northern borders with China, are losing their natives, due to sanctuary laws which have stopped the development activities in the villages,” said the MLA. |
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Mother, daughter dancer duo enthrals
Dehradun, November 19 Performing as part of the Spicmacay concert, the duo took centre-stage while depicting the synergy of Shiv and Parvati. An electronics engineer, Dakshina began learning Bharatnatayam dance from her mother at a very young age. "She has managed to strike a balance between her academics and dance and I think the youth could emulate her example," she said. Shedding light on the tradition of Bharatnatayam that began as a temple dance, Rama Vaidyanathan said the dance did not impose any limitations and continued to attract learners, irrespective of their caste, religion or nationality. Rama Vaidyanathan also gave a demonstration on the different bhavas used expertly by the Bharatnatayam dancers.
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Climate change major challenge: ICFRE chief
Dehradun, November 19 Inaugurating the programme, Dr Bahuguna said climate change was a major challenge for developing countries, like India, that face large climate variability and were exposed to enhanced risks from climate change. He said about 500 rivers emanates in the country and this hydrological cycle was likely to be adversely affected because of climate change. “Adaptation to climate change is essential to deal with such situation. India has reasons to be concerned about the impacts of climate change as its population depends on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry for livelihood,” Bahuguna pointed out. Saibal Dasgupta, Deputy Director General (extension), ICFRE, while welcoming the participants, said the ICFRE was proactive in forest and climate change-related issues at the national and international levels. He said the ICFRE was engaged in the capacity building programmes of the officials of the Indian Forest Service and scientists and technologists working in the government sector. Twenty scientists from different scientific organisations and universities of the country are participating in the training programme. VRS Rawat, Additional Director, ICFRE, proposed the vote of thanks. |
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Horses from Nepal attract Indian traders at Jauljibi fair
Pithoragarh, November 19 These horses were tough and strong and suitable in the hilly terrain, he added. Meanwhile, troupes from the district headquarters performed cultural items on the fifth day of the fair today. “After some drunken youths created a ruckus yesterday, we have tightened security in the meal zone,” said Dharchula SDM Parmod Kumar. Craftsmen from the tribal belt had a good business today. However, Kheem Raj, a trader from Nepal, said: “We are still awaiting that crowd that used to come to this fair till last year.”
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Nainital formation day celebrated
Pithoragarh, November 19 “The people of the town celebrate the formation day of Nainital that was discovered by British businessman Peter Barren on November 18, 1841. The tradition of celebration started in 2005 following an initiative by a youth, Deepak Bisht,” said Maruti Nandan Shah, organiser of the programme. Shah said the celebrations included distribution of warm clothes to needy people and awarding of ‘Nagar Ratna’ to 25 eminent residents of Nainital. “A havan was performed at the GGIC ground on the occasion. We had invited preachers of all religions who prayed for the prosperity of the town,” he added. On the other side, some organisations criticised the celebration of the day which is attributed to one British, who reached the town only 172 years ago. They said the lake of Nainital had been in existence for thousands of years before the British arrived here. “Before Peter Barren came to Nainital, Indians lived here and the lake which Barren fraudulently took possession of from local landlord Nar Singh belonged to the local people. The people had kept Nainital alive for thousands of years before British arrived here,” said Pankaj Kulora, founder of the Gwal Sewa Society, an organization of local people. |
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President Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to visit Uttarakhand on December 9 to participate in the convocation ceremony of Dev Sanskriti University at
Haridwar. Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain held a meeting at the Secretariat here today with senior officials regarding the preparation for the President's visit.
The Uttarakhand government has released Rs 1.23 crore under the district scheme for the installation of 166 hand pumps in 11 Assembly segments of the district. Till date, 36 hand pumps have been installed under the scheme.
The proposed move of Uttarakhand Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat to shift the Directorate of Agriculture to Pauri has stirred a hornet's nest. While the minister is taking recourse to the 2005 government order to make his case, the employees of the Directorate of Agriculture, who are opposing the move, have brought out the 2010 gazette notification, favouring Dehradun for the directorate.
