Shimla, August 30
The Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1977, was amended in the Assembly today to ensure that 25 per cent plots and houses being sold by government or private colonisers were reserved for bona fide Himachalis and economically weaker sections of society.

Members across party lines welcomed the amendment along with the decision of the government to scrap the Himachal Pradesh Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 2005.

The HP Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2013, was passed, paving the way for at least 25 per cent plots and houses being built either by the HP Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) or private colonisers for bona fide Himachalis and weaker sections.

Replying to the debate on the amendment, Town and Country Planning Minister Sudhir Sharma informed the House that the government had decided to repeal the Apartment Act as per the recommendation of the select committee of the Vidhan Sabha a year and a half ago.

“The provisions relating to registration of promoters, estate agents and development of apartments and colonies will be incorporated into the TCP Act by making suitable amendments,” said Sharma.

The minister also said that the issue of bringing about a retention policy to regularise unauthorised construction was under the active consideration of the government.

Following the amendment, Chapters II and III of the Apartment Act dealing with colonisers would be incorporated in the TCP Act and it was decided to enhance the penalty in case of contravention of provisions of the Act as a deterrence.

Participating in the debate, Suresh Bhardwaj, who headed the select committee of the Vidhan Sabha which recommended the repealing of the Apartment Act, said it was a welcome step, but asked why essentiality certificates had been issued to 17 new builders when the Act was to be scrapped.

Bhardwaj said more than 70 per cent of the apartments were being bought by outsiders, which was putting a strain on resources of locals. He sought a one-time settlement of all houses which were yet to be regularised as those were built in violation of norms.

Himachal Lokhit Party legislator Maheshwar Singh pointed out certain shortcomings in the TCP Act. “In some places, the TCP Act, which was brought in haste, created more problems for locals, especially those owning small plots of four biswas,” he said. He sought some more amendments to make it convenient for the public.

Anirudh Singh of the Congress also welcomed the amendment and sought a retention policy as thousands of house owners, especially in his constituency Kasumpti, were waiting for regularisation of their structures.

Shimla, August 30
The state government has told the promoters of the Himalayan ski village to confirm their willingness to set up the project in Kullu-Manali, considered to be one of the biggest foreign direct investment projects.

This information was given by the Chief Minister in a written reply to a question raised by Satpal Satti of the BJP in the Assembly today.

Satti enquired about the government stance on the project and its willingness to give land to private promoters for the purpose. The government, through a letter written to the promoters of the Himalayan ski village on August 8, asked it if it was still willing to proceed withthe project.

The project was shelved after locals and BJP leaders opposed it on the grounds that it would vitiate religious and cultural ethos of the Kullu-Manali area, knows as Valley of Gods.

In the reply, it was also revealed that as per the detailed project report submitted by the company in 2007, 116 hectares would be required. Of this, 68.2 hectares was private land from locals and 47.8 hectares was government land.

The government stated that land transfer tothe company would be subject to obtaining of mandatory clearances.

Shimla, August 30
The state government is all set to acquire the land bought by private parties around the Annandale ground, following the submission of the inquiry report on the alleged benami land deals around the ground that is under the army.

Shimla Deputy Commissioner Dinesh Malhotra has completed the inquiry and submitted an exhaustive report to the government, which can direct the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register a case, as it was one of the major highlights in the Congress charge sheet.

“The report has been submitted, but I have sought some additional information after which a necessary action will be taken,” confirmed Kaul Singh Thakur, Revenue minister. The government could acquire about 10 bighas of land around the ground, which was allegedly acquired through benami land deals.

The report mentions that a part of the ground which is in the army possession and used for the parking of the state government’s helicopter for the Chief Minister, has also been sold to private individuals. The CPM had also leveled allegations of land around Annandale having been sold to private individuals.

The findings of the report also indicate that the land sold by Gymkhana to some private individuals long time ago was illegal, as the land with it could not have been sold. The findings about the illegal selling of land by the Gymkhana have been arrived at after sifting through its various pre- and post-Independence records.

The Gymkhana was started in the 1830’s and remained a centre of entertainment activities, fancy dress, fetes, races and polo matches during the British time. It has been pointed out that the land which formed the ground could have been alienated or sold only to clubs or organisations with similar objectives.

Some startling facts in the report seem to be giving credence to allegations both by the Congress and the CPM that land around the ground had been purchased by private individuals. The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) had launched a campaign for handing over the ground from the army to the government so that it could be put to use for making a cricket stadium and undertaking other sports activities.

The land was given on lease to the army way back in April 8, 1955. However, after 1982 there was no renewal of the lease. The state government and the army, till last year were entangled in a legal fight over the land before Divisional Commissioner, Shimla who had been made the Arbitrator in case of dispute.

Shimla, August 30
The Assembly was today adjourned sine die after passing the Bill seeking a major hike in salaries and allowances of the Chief Minister, the Speaker, ministers and legislators. The 10-day monsoon session of the Assembly had a total of seven sittings. Twelve Bills were passed and there was one private members' day. The Bill seeking a major hike in salaries was passed unanimously.

The emoluments of legislators would be raised from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1,15,000 per month with a hike in salary from Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per month, telephone allowance from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000, constituency allowance from Rs 35,000 to Rs 60,000 and office allowance from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per month.

The monthly salary of the Chief Minister would be raised to Rs 65,000 from Rs 39,000 while a Cabinet Minister would draw Rs 50,000 as salary against Rs 36,000 at present.

The salary of Minister of State would be enhanced from Rs 33,000 to Rs 48,000, of Deputy Minister from Rs 32,000 to Rs 45,000, of Chief Parliamentary Secretary from Rs 23,000 to Rs 40,000 and of Parliamentary Secretary from Rs 22,000 to Rs 35,000.

The minimum pension of former legislators would be increased from Rs 18,000 to Rs 22,000 per month and the hike would put a burden of Rs 4.45 crore per annum on the state exchequer.

Shimla, August 30
The BJP Legislative Group today submitted a memorandum to Governor Urmila Singh against the alleged policy of vendetta and harassment of political opponents being pursued by the Congress government.

The memorandum submitted under the leadership of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal alleged that the government had ordered large-scale vindictive transfers of employees and all those related to BJP leaders or known to be their sympathisers had been shifted.

It alleged that even petty shopkeepers and contractors were being harassed for being supporters of the BJP. It said elected panchayati raj functionaries were also being targeted on political considerations and many of them had been implicated in false cases.

It alleged that development activities had come to a standstill as the government was busy wreaking political vendetta on opponents. It added that development schemes started by the BJP government like Atal Swasthya Sewa and Atal Uniform Yojna had been renamed for political reasons and some had been discontinued.

It said the subsidised ration scheme was on the verge of collapse and the people had not been provided levy sugar for the last four months. It claimed that the government had failed to provide adequate relief to those affected by the recent floods in Kinnaur and other parts of the state.

It said the law and order situation had worsened and the government had failed to check the activities of the mining mafia as evident from the large-scale supply of sand and gravel to Punjab.

It claimed that the ruling party had initiated a vigilance probe into phone tapping, cricket stadium at Dharamsala, allotment of plots by HIMUDA and other old cases to divert attention from its failures. The party threatened to start a stir if the government continued its vindictive policies.

Shimla, August 30
The discontinuation of levy sugar being given by the Centre to states will put an additional burden of almost Rs 25 crore on the state government, which has now placed an order of 1.35 lakh tonnes of sugar quota for three months to end the shortage consumers face.

This was stated by Food and Civil Supplies Minister GS Bali while replying to a query raised by Suresh Bhardwaj of the BJP during Question Hour in the Assembly today.

"With the Centre stopping the supply of levy sugar to states, procuring it through the open market will put a burden of almost Rs 25 crore on us," said Bali. He said while the supply of 22,000 quintals had been received during the last four days, supply of 35,000 quintals was in transit and was likely to reach shortly.

He denied that consumers had not received supply for the last six months as the sugar quota from the Centre was received till June. "I have already apologised to consumers for the two-month delay due to the single tender, but that has now been sorted out," he said.

Also the Transport Minister, Bali said vehicle building workshop of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) at Jasur in Nurpur will be closed due to poor quality work. He announced this while replying to a query by Vikram Singh and Mahender Singh of the BJP and Ajay Mahajan of the Congress.

"Considering the substandard work done by this workshop in building bodies of buses, we have decided to close it within a month," he said. He said the quality of work was so poor that buses built at these workshops leaked when it rained.

Replying to a query by Asha Kumari of the Congress regarding reorganisation of panchayats which had been split between two Assembly constituencies, Rural and Panchayati Raj Minister Anil Sharma said all such cases would be taken up shortly before the next panchayat elections in 2015.

"As a result of the delimitation of Assembly constituencies based on revenue units, the area falling in one panchayat was now in two constituencies, resulting in problem in undertaking development work," Asha Kumari said. Jai Ram Thakur of the BJP demanded that the government should reorganise such panchayats, keeping in view public interest.

Anil Sharma said as per provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act, the government would take a decision based on the report of the Deputy Commissioner concerned, to whom the panchayats affected would send a resolution seeking reorganisation.

Shimla, August 30
While the emergence of markets within the state have reduced the dependence of apple growers on the highly speculative and volatile Delhi market, they are also causing unending traffic jams, creating quite a few problems for both the growers and the common man.

The state is harvesting a bumper crop and markets in Dhalli, Solan, Rohru, Parwanoo and other places are finding it hard to handle the heavy arrivals of fruit during the peak season. The apple-laden trucks have to wait for up to two days to get an entry in the busy Dhalli market and the entire stretch of road from Kufri to Maliana is choked with vehicles. The situation is not better in markets at Solan and Rohru where trucks are lined up along the road as there is hardly any space in the market yard. In fact, more trading is being carried on the roadsides than the market yards, depriving state market board of the much-needed revenue. The Solan bypass and the 3-km stretch of road from Mehndali to Rohru remain choked with trucks.

The police is having a hard time regulating traffic, particularly at the Bhatta Kufer market (Dhalli), as fruit is being transported in bigger trucks ( having 10 to 12 tyres) with a capacity of 850 to 1,000 boxes as against 450 to 500 boxes carried by normal trucks. These vehicles are too huge for narrow hill roads. The problem has been compounded with Uttarakhand imposing a ban on big trucks. As such a large quantity of produce from the Rohru area, normally sent through Uttarakhand, is being routed through the Kharapathar-Theog- Shimla highway.

Out of the 1.60 crore standard boxes of apple sent out from the state so far, as many as 70 lakh boxes (44 per cent), have been auctioned in local markets, which indicates a huge shift from previous years. Until a few years ago, over 70 per cent of the produce was disposed of at Asia’s biggest Azadpur market in Delhi.

Over 25 lakh boxes have been sold at the Solan and Parwanoo markets till date as against 14 lakh boxes in the entire season last year. Similarly, more than 27 lakh boxes had been auctioned in Dhalli, Rohru, Narkanda and Theog market yards and about 20 lakh boxes had been sold through various markets in Kullu and other districts.

The government will have to shift the markets out of the towns and create adequate infrastructure for handling such huge quantities of fruit. Further, it will have to improve the Sainj-Solan road and the Rohru-Tiuni road to provide alternative routes for transporting apple to spare Theog-Shimla-Solan highway from traffic congestion.

Shimla, August 30
The State Haj Committee will organise a training camp for Haj pilgrims at Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Public Senior Secondary School, Dinak, in Mandi on September 2.

A spokesman of the committee said pilgrims from Mandi, Bilaspur and Kullu districts would be trained by Haji Maulana Muhamad Mussa and Maulana Nur Ahamad at the camp.

For the pilgrims of Solan district, a camp would be held at Idara Islamia School, Nalagarh, on September 6 by local Moulbi Subhan Khan of Idara Islamia School.

Training camp for pilgrims of Chamba would be organised at the PWD Circuit House, Chamba on September 2 and for those of Sirmaur and Shimla, at Madrassa Kadria Missarwala, Majra (Paonta Sahib) on September 5.

He said the vaccination of pilgrims would also be carried out during these camps. He urged all the intending pilgrims to attend the camps.

Nalagarh, August 30
As a novel step towards saving the girl child and instilling a sense of conserving environment in people, Nalagarh Sub-divisional Magistrate Yunus Khan gave fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) of Rs 1,100 each to 27 parents of the girl child and planted saplings in their name here today.

Explaining the concept behind the idea, Khan said since the sex ratio in this bordering district was quite low, it had become imperative to make parents aware about the girl child. He added that equally appalling was the state of the forest cover, which appeared to be less than the prescribed limit.

A sapling was planted at a government park in the name of a girl child. Each panchayat or the municipal committee will take care of the plants.

The administration has also identified some parks which have been named as “Kanya Chhaya” so as to honour the girl child.

Besides, a society, “Kanya Chhaya-Sabki Bhagidari” will also be registered to carry forward the task. Locals will be made members of the society to ensure that if a girl belongs to an economically weaker section, they fund her education until she gets a job.

Voluntary donations from the industries and other educational institutes will help provide funds for this endeavour.

“A request will be made to the government to initiate similar initiatives in all districts of the state. The society will give benefit to all irrespective of the domicile, but awareness among people is required for the success of such a scheme,” the SDM said.

The Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industries Association, Nalagarh Truck Operator Union and Taxi Union, Jain Sudhar Sabha, a local nursing college and the Senior Citizens' Forum have agreed to cooperate for this noble cause. The SDM urged these organisations to conserve the environment too.

Madan Chowdhary, President, Baddi Municipal Committee, Rajeshwar Goyal deputy, CEO, Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Development Authority and Daisy Thakur, President Parwanoo Municipal Committee, were also present on the occasion. 

Bilaspur, August 30
A police team led by Head Constable Bodh Raj arrested a proclaimed offender (PO) Dharam Pal from Sananaghat in Sirmaur district yesterday.

Superintendent of Police Kapil Sharma said here today that Dharam Pal, a resident of Baijnath, was an accused in a case registered against him on May 5, 2011, under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC at Bharadi police station, but he was absconding and was declared PO.

He was living at Sananaghat under a fictitious name to hide his identity to evade arrest.

Mandi, August 30
The leopard-human encounters are on the rise in the district as leopards’ territories have been invaded by humans.

Also, there has been a drastic depletion of the “wild prey base” over the last 25 years, resulting in change in the food habits of leopards and more attack on domestic cattle and pets. Wildlife researchers have found that now 50 per cent of leopards live near villages in five forest divisions.

Significantly, while leopard attacks on human and livestock are increasing in territorial divisions, no such attacks have occurred in “no man’s land of the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) across the Tirthan river, the border of Kullu and Mandi.

As many as 20 leopards roam the park areas, but no case of human-leopard conflict has been reported for the last 10 years here, as there is a wild prey base available here, said Ajay Srivastav, director, GHNP.

In contrast, Mandi district has seen a rise in leopard attack on humans and domestic cattle. More than 55 cases of leopard attack on humans have been reported since 2008 to date in the district, as compared to 162 incidents of attack on humans and killing of 8,905 domestic livestock between 1987 and 2007.

The leopards have killed four persons, including three in Thunag tehsil, in last five years. From 1987 to 2007, leopards had killed 13 persons and injured 149, observed a study done by Devinder Singh, a research scholar from Saurashtra University, for the Wildlife Institute, Dehradun, in Mandi district.

The study found that the leopard attacks on humans were 38.9% in the winter, 30.2% in the monsoon and 30.9% in the summer.

Leopard killed the highest eight persons and injured 26 others in Jogindernagar.

The most attacks on females, 71 cases, were reported in Sundernagar division, followed by Mandi (37), Jogindernagar (34), and Karsog and Nachan 10 each during 1987-2007.

The forest department data has also shown an increase in leopard attack on humans and domestic cattle from 2008 to 2013.

Significantly, one killing was reported from Nachan division between 1987 and 2007. However, three persons were killed and three others injured in Nachan in July and August this year.

Leopard’s food habits have also changed as it finds livestock an easy prey around villages. Now, 59 per cent of its diet comprises domesticated animals, observed the study. The highest livestock killings, 3710, were in Sundarnagar, 2545 in Jogindernagar, 1,236 Mandi, 224 in Karsog and 250 in Karsog division during the period.

It were not leopards that had invaded human territory, but humans. They have fragmented their habitats by making roads, paths and projects, said Harshvardhan Kathuria, conservator of forests, Mandi.

Solan, August 30
The Shitake mushroom, an integral ingredient of medicines used for treating cancer and valued for its long shelf life, has been successfully grown on wood of clones of willow wood by a private entrepreneur in Solan after seeking technical know-how from Dr NB Singh, Director, Extension Education, and former head of the Department of Tree Improvement and Genetic Resources, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni.

Unlike other mushroom, Shitake does not grow on compost and it is raised on a wood or sawdust where oaks, Ulmus and Salix (willow) are most commonly used.

Directorate of Mushroom Research, Chambaghat, Solan, and American industrialists Sandra William and Douglas William encouraged Vikas Benal, a progressive mushroom grower, to take up Shitake cultivation.

Giving details of the successful endeavour, NB Singh said the spawn was procured from the Directorate of Mushroom Research, Chambaghat, Solan, Belgium and America. Mushrooms were raised on logs or sawdust. The wood of the clones of salix tested by the university were supplied to Vikas Mushroom Farm in the form 3-5 diameter logs. Holes were made in the logs and spawn (in the form of bullets) was put in the holes sealed with wax. These logs were kept in the open under shade. The crop from logs was raised after a year in this trial which required little investment.

The sawdust of salix was mixed with wheat bran and lime was used to grow Shitake under controlled conditions.

The technique, besides being cost effective, also consumes less time. As many as 700-1,200 gm mushroom could be harvested from 1,000 gm of sawdust. Fresh Shitake is sold for Rs 200-500 per kg, whereas dried Shitake mushroom up to Rs 2,000 per kg. Unlike the button mushroom, Shitake can be dried and kept for a long time. Mushroom grown on 1,000 kg sawdust will give generate an income of Rs 2 lakh and the crop takes barely 90 days to grow.

“Apart from fetching rich dividends to the mushroom grower, the results have indicated that some of the salix clones provided by the industry are highly suitable for the Shitake mushroom cultivation and this has come as an encouragement for salix wood growers who can undertake its commercial plantations for raising mushrooms,” he added.

Palampur, August 30
With the arrest of two more persons from the town yesterday, the total number of arrests in the sex racket has gone up to three.

Talking to mediapersons, a senior police officer said a special team was investigating the case and more arrests were likely.

He said the woman and two youths arrested in this case had disclosed the name of other persons. The police was ascertaining the truth. If their involvement was established the police would not hesitate to arrest them.

The police was also enquiring about the other missing girls from Palampur in the past two years. He said since the case was under investigation and it would be premature to disclose all facts to media at this stage.

It may be recalled that a local woman had kidnapped two minor girls from the town in the month of July. First they were taken to Chandigarh, Delhi and later shifted to Rajkot in Gujarat.

It is learnt that one of the girls approached her parents from Rajkot on phone and requested them to get her free from this woman.

The matter was reported to the Palampur police which immediately swung into action and located the accused with the help of mobile phone locations. Two days ago the police brought the girls to the town along with the accused.

The accused, who is now in police custody, narrated the whole story about the racket which was going for the past few months.

She had also named some youths of the town. However, the police had arrested two persons while the others were evading arrest or had gone underground.

Meanwhile, the police had charged all the accused under Section 363, 366 and 376 of the IPC and under provisions of immoral trafficking.