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MLAs pay homage to first CM of state
Norms not being followed in pension schemes
Tourism in mind, royal rickshaws to ply in Nainital
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Auli in private hands
Mussoorie residents oppose one-way traffic plan for Mall Road
Study shows tigers, elephants in Khatima forests with Nepal
CM seeks Rs 273 crore relief for Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag
Anomalies in wards highlighted in House
Question Hour
Illicit liquor seized, 2 arrested
12 kg charas seized at Nepal border post
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MLAs pay homage to first CM of state
Dehradun, December 12 Former Primer Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had picked up 86-year-old Swami to head Uttarakhand after it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. The government has declared three-day mourning in
the state. Paying homage, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said Swami was one of the tallest leaders in north India and he would be remembered for his contribution to the field of education and politics. “He was a symbol of clean politics and whenever I required guidance, he was willing to listen to me and always lent a patient ear,” said Bahuguna. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hridayesh recalled her long association with Swami when she was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. The Leader of the Opposition, Ajay Bhatt, said Swami was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Subash Chander Bose and he participated in the freedom struggle. The leader of the BSP in the Assembly, Hari Das, Minister for Urban Development Pritam Singh Panwar, Minister for Panchayati Raj Pritam Singh and Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat also read obituaries and recalled their association with Swami. Congress MLA Nav Prabhat recalled efforts made by the late Chief Minister in drafting a strong excise and mining policy during the initial years of the state. Former Cabinet minister and BJP MLA Madan Kaushik said Swami was above petty politics and
had friends even in the Opposition. Minster for Sports and Planning Dinesh Aggarwal, who had defeated Swami in the Assembly elections twice, said the late Chief Minister was on good terms with the residents of his area and he never failed to turn up in their hour of grief. The House would now reconvene tomorrow and the session would extend till December 14. |
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Norms not being followed in pension schemes
Dehradun, December 12 While carrying out a performance audit, a CAG report found the absence of annual action plan as envisaged in the Central Government guidelines for the proper implementation of the pension scheme for the period 2006-2007 to 2010 to 2011. The guidelines for the scheme are clear that the beneficiaries should be selected in the open meeting of gram sabha. However, the report says that the guidelines for the selection of beneficiaries were not being adhered to as pension applications were received at different levels and camps organised by ministers and even applicants applying directly. Other violations included the government funds being deposited in the bank accounts of District Social Welfare Officers (DSWOs) when there are clear instructions that personal ledger accounts should be opened. The audit survey revealed that between 2009-10, pension amounting to Rs 1.44 crore was paid in excess to 2,397 beneficiaries for a period ranging from two to three month, even after the death of the beneficiaries. Of these, the payment of pension in 1,980 cases was continued as late as March 2011. An audit analysis of 2,010 pension cases revealed that between September 2010 and March 2010, there were double entries in respect of 990 pensioners. In Almora 108, in Dehradun 232, in Haridwar 187, in Nainital 80, in Pauri 143, in Tehri 209, in Udham Singh Nagar 31 cases were detected where double payments of around Rs 27.02 lakh were made. Further a pan-state survey disclosed that out of a total of 3,383 beneficiaries in the state for widow pension, 1,291 beneficiaries of all districts were ineligible for pension on various grounds like remarriage
of widows, being underage, etc. Interestingly on the one hand, the funds were being doled out to ineligible beneficiaries (to the tune of Rs 10.12 crore), several beneficiaries of old age pension for 2010-2011 could not be accommodated for lack of funds. An amount of Rs 24.79 crore would be required each year to
cover the waiting list of applicants. |
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Tourism in mind, royal rickshaws to ply in Nainital
Dehradun, December 12 The Tourism Department has proposed a plethora of projects to the state government, including the development of infrastructure around the existing tourist places and development of new tourist spots in
Nainital. Joint Director, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, AK Dwivedi, said, "The Tourism Department is going to introduce shahi rickshas which will be bigger, more comfortable and the beautified version of the paddle
rickshaws plied in Naintal city. It will be a big attraction for international tourists as well. Besides this, the places of recreation such as cinema halls and skating halls which had been closed down for a long time, will also be opened." He said, the department had completed the construction of Environment Awareness Park and
Van Chetna Kendra at a cost of Rs 36.47 lakh in the city. Besides this, the construction of a tourist rest house in the tourist circuit of Nainital-Ranikhet-Almora, multipurpose
hall and the sitting arrangement to the tune of Rs 40.63 lakh, development of Tipin Top and View
Point at Rs 14.78 lakh and beautiful landscaping at the sites at cost of 24.38 had recently been
completed. Parking is a big problem in and around this small but main hub of tourism. Therefore, a proposal has also been placed to provide multiplex car parking in Haldwani,
Kaladungi, Sukhtal, Barapathar, Naintal to Haldwani motorway, Hanumangarh and Tallital. The tourist spots, which pull crowd due to their historical, cultural and natural significance, will now be beautified. Naina Devi Temple, the Hanuman Gadi area, snow viewpoints and the Sukhtal lake have been listed in this category. The amenities provided around these places will include good connecting
roads, tourist rest houses, toilets and benches covered with umbrella to enjoy the sightseeing in the
surroundings. New trekking routes will also be developed for adventure lovers. Naina peak routes, the Saptshrang trek, trek route to
Raj Bhawan building, the Barren trek route, Van Vihar trek and Nainital to Khurpala trek have been proposed in this
direction. Good roads will be provided with sheds on the way for taking a rest along with toilets on the trek routes. The projects regarding the development of snow view ropeway, recycling plant along with garbage disposal unit, children park, literature regarding flora and fauna and
culture of the city on the main tourist places and trekking routes, illumination of historical buildings, development of murals and
public parks too have been proposed by the department. The department has also suggested to start a Himalyan wildflower festival and candle festival in Naintal during lean tourist season. The manpower who are associated with tourism industry will be provided training in hospitality. |
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Development work affecting
ecology, says Bhatt
Dehradun, December 12 Bhatt reminded that many key glaciers of the Himalayas had receded between 1962 and 2002, which was a dangerous sign for the perennial rivers of the state. He said women in the hills were suffering the most due to destruction of forests. Former Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Indu Kumar Pandey admitted that residents of the hill areas were not getting benefit of development while it was exactly the opposite for the inhabitants of other mountainous regions of the world. He said women in the hills kept close bondage with the environment. Environmentalist and mountaineer Harshvanti Bisht too expressed concern over the loss of glaciers in the Himalayan region. Doon Library and Research Centre director BK Joshi and adviser Rajen Brijnath also addressed the gathering. |
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Auli in private hands
Dehradun, December 12 Managing Director Pankaj Kumar Pandey said, “There are 30 employees of the GMVN who had been working for Auli ropeway for the past several years. They have become panicky about the decision of giving Auli ropeways on the PPP mode. I talked to Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat and urged that the employees should not be ousted under the new system. They will continue to be either with the GMVN, salary for which will be paid by the private partner, or the private company itself can continue taking their services. The minister has agreed to both options. The decision about the final option will be taken later.” Auli station has been the most profitable for the GMVN. The corporation otherwise has a large number of sick units. The MD said Auli had been earning Rs 30-40 lakh net profit on monthly basis. This too when the Gondola and ropeways had not been functioning for the past two years, a reason which was why the minister had decided in favour of the PPP mode. MD Pandey said once the Gondola and ropeways began functioning well, these would easily generate a revenue of Rs 1 crore a month. “Since the land and resources of Auli belong to the GMVN, it has all rights to share 50 pc profit generated by the private company. The Tourism Minister and secretary, Tourism, too nodded to this arrangement. If this happens, the GMVN will have no problem in giving Auli in private hands,” he said. The tender process for ropeways which otherwise had begun and had been put on website of the GMVN will now have to struck off in wake of changed scenario. |
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Mussoorie residents oppose one-way traffic plan for Mall Road
Mussoorie, December 12 Mussoorie Municipal Council president OP Uniyal also reached the scene and extended his support to the local residents in the matter. Senior Sub Inspector RS Kholia apprised the residents that this arrangement was being made to ease the traffic movement in the town under the direction of the SSP, Dehradun. OP Uniyal, agitated at this comment, responded by saying that Mall Road belonged to Mussoorie Municipal Council and only the MC here had the right to enforce any such rules in accordance with the municipal bylaws and not the police. He also said that according to the municipal bylaws, Mall Road was opened during winters, and no one had the right to block it under any pretext as it could lead to judicial interference. He asked the police to remove the barricades. Following this RS Kholia termed the attitude of the Municipal Council president as dictatorial and alleged that he was hindering the policemen from performing their duty. The Mussoorie traders' Association president, Rajat Aggarwal, and its general secretary, Javed Khan, arrived on the scene and extended support to the MC president and termed the blockade of Mall Road as unlawful. The residents objecting to the new plan said that it had no meaning as the number of tourists was negligible in winters and would end up in creating problems for the residents, who wanted to attend to their daily chores in the town. Later, speaking to media persons MC president said that a meeting in this regard was also held yesterday where the police was apprised about the objection being raised by the residents and were requested not to create any blockade for the vehicles entering Mall Road, but the policemen did not pay any heed to his request, resulting in such scenes today. Finally, it was decided that the new arrangements will be enforced only after the completion of the Assembly session through a joint meeting with the residents. |
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Study shows tigers, elephants in Khatima forests with Nepal
Pithoragarh, December 12 “After we installed close-circuit cameras at different places in these forest ranges in Khatima, we found a variety of animals in one month from November 8 to December 9 this year,” said Miraz Anwar, senior project officer, WWF. Anwar said besides tigers, a large number of leopards, elephants, sambhar, cheetal, neelgai, bears, barking deer and mongooses were seen in the forest. The final report on the project will be prepared in 20 day’s time from now. After that the project for protection of tigers will be finalised for the area,” he said. According to WWF sources, the Wildlife Institute of India had studied the presence of wild animals in these forests but had found no tigers in the Khatima range. But the WWF study had recorded the presence of 15 tigers in these forests. “This means that the number of tigers and their prey animals are on the rise in the Terai forests. This is a healthy sign for the forests in the state,” said TS Shahi, a forest officer. |
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CM seeks Rs 273 crore relief for Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag
Dehradun, December 12 Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, in a letter written to Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, has stated that the loss of Rs 657 crore had been estimated due to the calamities at Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag. He said Rs 272.88 crore was in tune with the norms of the Central Relief Fund (CRF) and the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF), while the remaining Rs 385.24 crore ought to be provided under the Special Central Assistance. He said the Central team too had visited the affected areas while the Prime Minister had announced Rs 500 crore. Bahuguna urged Shinde to reconsider the disaster relief standards of the CRF and the NCCF. He said special states like Uttarakhand were not in a position to spend such a big amount under its non-plan outlay. Hence, the Centre ought to provide financial assistance for compensation of loss occurred due to the calamities. |
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ANMs to gherao CM’s house today
Dehradun, December 12 “We have decided to suspend our plan after the news of the death of former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Nityanand Swami came in. We will now gherao the Chief Minister’s residence tomorrow,” said Guddi
Matuda, president of the association. Meanwhile, in a big relief to the agitating shiksha mitras who bore the brunt of police lathi charge on Monday, the government has decided to raise the honorarium by Rs 3,000. Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani said the government had decided to accept their demand of raising honorarium. |
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Anomalies in wards highlighted in House
Dehradun, December 12 He said according to the 2011 census, in 14 wards the population had decreased while in 25 wards the population had increased between 2,000-10,000. He said the government should ensure that the anomalies were removed for the 2013 corporation elections as the process of electoral rolls was already on. He said the government should also take steps to ensure that the delimitation of wards for the corporation were carried out under the 1959 Corporation Act and the population be based on blocks and the population of wards be based on blocks. |
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Question Hour
Dehradun, December 12 “The state government has issued orders raising its share of Rs 100 per month under both pension schemes,” said the minister. However, Surinder expressed the inability of the government to hike pensions to Rs 400 as were being given by the Delhi government under the two schemes.
— TNS |
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Illicit liquor seized, 2 arrested
Mussoorie, December 12 The police team arrested two persons, Sanjay Thapa and Raj Chetri, who is the owner of the dhaba, with the catch and brought them to the police station for further questioning. It was revealed during the interrogation that Sanjay Thapa used to bring the illicit liquor during night from Kuan Wala near Dehradun and sell it to the dhaba owner Raj Chetri, who, in turn used to sell it to the local consumers here. The police also questioned about other illicit dealers working in the area but did not reveal the details. The police has registered a case under Section 60 A of the Excise Act against the two persons caught, and after conducting their medical examination, has sent them to be presented in front of the court. |
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12 kg charas seized at Nepal border post
Pithoragarh, December 12 The sources said during a routine checking on the border SSB jawans noticed a Nepalese woman moving suspiciously. The patrolling team sensed something wrong and when the woman was stopped and her belongings were checked, 2.9 kg of charas tied to her chest was seized. “The woman, a resident of Lumbini district in Nepal, admitted that a conduit had paid her Rs 2,000 to carry the charas consignment to Dehradun from Nepal,” said in-charge of Banbasa barrage police post CS Kanyal. The SSB handed over the custody of the woman to the police. The police has registered a case under the NDPS Act. |
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The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly was today adjourned for the day after paying homage to former Chief Minister Nityanand Swami, who passed away this morning due to prolonged illness.
