Shimla, November 8
The cold wave further intensified in the state as snow and rain continued to lash the region for the third consecutive day today. The snowfall extended to lower ranges with Narkanda in Shimla and Solang nullah in Manalli experiencing the first snow of the season.

Shimla and its surroding areas were lashed by sleet accompanied with icy winds, lightning and thunder, which brought down the mercury sharply. Narkanda had 5 cm of snow and Hatu peak nearby wore a white mantle.

The high altitude tribal areas, Churdhar, Dhauldhar, Rohtang , Kunzum and other high reaches, experienced intermittent snow throughout the day.

The minimum temperature dipped to 4.2 degree Celsius in Shimla, 4 degrees below normal, while Dalhousie and Manali recorded a low of 2.3 degree Celsius and 3.2 degree Celsius, respectively, followed by Palampur at 5.5 degree Celsius, Solan at 7 degree Celsius and Nahan at 8.5 degree Celsius. The maximum temperatures dropped a few notches and stayed below normal. Chamba recorded a maximum temperature of 19.6 degree Celsius and Dalhousie 7 degree Celsius, which was 12 degrees below normal.

The tribal valleys of Lahaul, Udaipur and Pangi were cut off due to closure of the Rohtang pass, which received 50 cm of snow, and traffic on the Manali-Leh national highway was suspended.

Natural sources of water like springs and streams in Lahaul and Spiti were frozen as mercury dipped below the freezing point. The discharge in major rivers like the Chandrabhaga declined sharply as a result.

The lower areas had widespread rain, with Arki receiving 70 mm, Dalhousie 42 mm, Baijnath 40 mm, Dharamsala 32 mm, Kheri and Palampur 26 mm each, Jogindernagar 25 mm, Jhandutta, Chamba and Manali 23 mm each, Tissa, Ghamroor and Gaggal 20 mm each, Mandi and Sujanpur Tira 19 mm each, Annu 18 mm and Saloni and Gohar 17 mm each. The local meteorological office said snow, rain and thundershowers would continue at isolated places over the next 24 hours.

Manali: The upper Manali region experinced a fresh spell of snow on Friday morning. After a fresh spell of snow, the sun appeared in the afternoon, bringing relief from the cold conditions.

The ski slopes of the Solang valley received the first snow this season. Tourists rushed to the Solang valley, Kothi and Gulaba to see the snow.

People associated with the tourism industry were happy as they expected a rise in the number of tourists. A number of kiosks selling woollen garments, snow shoes and caps came up on the Manali-Rohtang road.

Chamba: The higher reaches of Chamba district received the first heavy snow this season since Thursday evening. The Garolla hills in Bharmour continued receiving heavy snow.

The road from Chamba to Killar was closed to vehicular traffic. The Pir Panjal ranges received heavy snow while there was widespread rain in low-lying areas.

Shimla, November 8
The government today shuffled the departments of 11 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and three State Administrative Services officers.

Ali Raza Rizvi, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare and Transport, will now hold the charge of Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare and Ayurveda, while Sanjay Gupta, Principal Secretary, Ayurveda, takes over as Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, relieving Upma Chawdhry of the additional charge.

RD Dhiman, Principal Secretary, Education, Technical Education and Industries, has been posted as Principal Secretary, Industries and Labour Employment, and he will also hold the additional charge of the post of Education.

K Sanjay Murthy, Principal Secretary, Urban Development, Town and Country Planning and Food Civil Supplies, has been posted as Principal Secretary, Transport, Technical Education and Food, Civil Supplies.

Mohan Chauhan, Director, Industries, takes over as Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and he will also hold the additional charge of the post of Managing Director, State Tourism Development Corporation vice Subhasish Panda, who will now hold the charge of Secretary, SAD, GAD, Sainik Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs along with the additional charge of Urban Development , Town and Country Planning and Housing.

Rajender Singh, Director, Information and Public Relations, has been posted as Director, Industries, and he will continue to hold the additional charge of Managing Director, State Industrial Development Corporation.

Kanshi Ram Bharti, Special Secretary, Finance, has been posted as Managing Director, State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation and Mahila Vikas Nigam, Solan.

Sandeep Bhatnagar, Secretary, State Public Service Commission, has been posted as Director, Ayurveda, while Sharabh Chhopal Negi, Director, SC, OBC and Minorities Affairs, takes over as Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, in place of Ashish Singhmar, who has been posted as Special Secretary, Finance. He will also hold the additional charge of Director, Treasuries, Lotteries and Accounts.

Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Special Secretary to the Chief Minister, has been posted as Special Secretary , Information and Public Relations, and he will also hold the charge of the post of Director, Information and Public Relations, besides Special Secretary to the Chief Minister.

Balbir Chand Badalia, Director, Ayurveda, goes as Secretary, HP Public Service Commission, while SS Guleria, Secretary, State Information Commission takes over as Director, Youth Service and Sports. 

Palampur, November 8
The state government will spend Rs 1.8 crore on the installation of 4,500 units of vermi compost in Kangra district during the current financial year.

This was stated by Brij Behari Lal Butail, Speaker of the state Assembly, while inaugurating a farmer training camp at Dadh, 10 km from here, yesterday. Speaking on the occasion, Butail told agriculture scientists and experts that new technologies developed in the farming sector must reach the farmers so that they could be benefited by it.

Brij Behari Lal Butail said in the current financial year, the government had fixed a target to collect 15,150 soil samples from the district with an intention to boost agriculture production and help farmers. He said the state government had declared to provide 50 per cent subsidy to farmers on purchased seeds and other agriculture inputs.

It was also proposed to distribute over 17,000 quintals of seed to farmers on subsidised rates in the district during the current financial year.

He said there would be no shortage of funds as the state government had already allocated adequate budget to the agriculture sector. He urged the farmers to switch over to organic farming as organic products had high demand in market.

Besides, they should also adopt cash crops like off-season vegetables.

Earlier, Butail inaugurated an exhibition set up by the Agriculture Department highlighting their achievements.

VK Soni, Deputy Director, Agriculture, also spoke on the occasion and assured the speakers that the Agriculture Department was committed to serve the farmers and would extend all possible help to apprise them with new inventions and technologies developed by experts in the last few years. 

Shimla, November 8
The Department of Environment will undertake the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study of 17 green belts of the city to evaluate the impact of the proposed relaxation in construction in these areas, where no new building has been allowed to come up since the ban was imposed in 2000.

The department is likely to complete the task of preparing the EIA report by December-end this year. It is based on the outcome of this study that the government will take a final decision on giving partial relaxation in the ban on construction in these areas.

It was in 2000 that the government had notified 17 green belts spread over 414 hectares in and around the state capital and imposed a blanket ban on new constructions.

Experts from the department will assess the pressure that the new constructions could put on the existing resources and infrastructure in the 17 green belts. Since the ban on construction in the overcrowded green areas was imposed to save trees, the EIA will see if the relaxation in ban will cause any harm to the trees.

The unregulated construction activity has taken a toll on the forest cover and several century-old Deodar trees too are drying up, a fact confirmed by a study undertaken by the Himalayan Forest Research Institute (HFRI). It had also been suggested that the government must increase the number of green areas and bring more areas under the no-construction zone.

The quality of soil and degeneration that could have taken place due to haphazard urban growth will also be assessed. “If there is relaxation in the ban, it will only be for those plot owners who had bought land here before the greenbelts were notified in 2000 and that too strictly need-based construction and no commercial buildings,” said an official.

Over 200 land owners, who have formed a Green Area Plot Owners Association have been seeking relaxation in two-storey constructions as they had bought the land before the ban came into force.

Despite the best efforts of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department to invite bids from consultants to undertake an EIA study of the 17 designated green areas, no suitable experts came forward to undertake this task. The first time the bids were invited, no consultant came forward to undertake the EIA. When fresh bids were invited the second time, only two firms applied out of which one did not qualify.

Having been left with only a single bid, the TCP sought the directions of the government which finally decided on assigning the task to the Department of Environment.

Shimla, November 8
The Union Ministry of Urban Development has approved a Rs 45.97-crore proposal for capacity building submitted by the State Directorate of Urban Development.

Stating this here today, Sudhir Sharma, Urban Development Minister, said the Comprehensive Capacity Building Plan would enhance the skills and capacity of urban local bodies of the state to ensure speedy development of infrastructure.

He said the duration of the project would be four years and 72 experts from various fields, including urban planning, municipal finance, procurement, capacity building, urban infrastructure, social development, environment and public-privat partnership, would be recruited under the project.

Sharma said 10 centres would be established under the project at Mandi, Dharamsala, Nahan, Hamirpur, Kullu, Rampur, Solan, Una, Chamba and Bilaspur. Integrated city plans would be prepared for each town and appurtenant semi-urban areas.

The minister said other main components approved under the project included preparation of business and financial plan for projects, establishment of a cell at the Directorate of Urban Development, preparation of State Capacity Building Plan, strengthening of the Administrative Training Institute by establishing Urban Management Cell at the Himachal Institute of Public Administration and organisation of 300 residential and 200 non-residential training programmes.

He said 16 state-level workshops would held with the support from external resource persons. Besides undertaking exposure visits, 40 research studies for documentation of best practices and developing information, education and communication material would be conducted.

He said the Ministry had approved the release of Rs 11.49 crore as the first instalment, which was 25 per cent of the approved budget.

Shimla, November 8
Himachal Pradesh yesterday became the first state in Asia to provide cash benefits to project-affected families when money was transferred into the accounts of 13 persons who had been affected by the construction of the 231-MW Chamera-III hydroelectricity project on the Ravi in Chamba.

As per the policy framed by the Government of India, 1 per cent of the free power available to the state as royalty has to be distributed among families in project-affected area. In all, 5,500 families affected by the project will get the benefit as annuity for the entire life of the project.

The policy is being implemented for the first time in Asia to ensure regular income to those affected by power projects. The process has been started by handing over cheques for Rs 1,000 each as the first instalment for the period from July 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013, to Hukum Chand, Kirpa, Manak Ram and Pushottam.

The amount was transferred into the accounts of nine others, Anirudh, Desh Raj, Lachhiya Ram, Daleep Singh, Surjeet, Bhagat Ram, Gyan Chand and Kalu Ram, through the real time gross settlement system.

The total amount payable for a year will be worked out on the basis of the sale rate of power. It works out to about Rs 3 crore from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013, at average sale rate of Rs 3 per unit.

The government started the process of disbursement as per the deadline set by the World Bank, which wanted the policy to be implemented at the earliest while releasing the second instalment of Rs 1,000 crore development policy loan.

As per the policy, 50 per cent of the amount will be divided among panchayats on the basis of population and 50 per cent on the basis of land acquired for the project.

While 85 per cent of the amount will be distributed equally among project-affected families, the remaining 15 per cent will be divided among below poverty line (BPL) families. There is a rider that BPL families will get a maximum 1.5 times the maximum amount payable to above poverty line (APL) families.

The 2,936 BPL families will get a maximum of about Rs 16,000 and 2,564 APL families about Rs 12,000 for the year. The 1 per cent power is in addition to the 12 per cent free power the state has to be provided as royalty by power developers.

Fourteen panchayats, nine in the Mehla block and five in the Bharmour block, have been declared as affected partially or entirely, These are Lothal, Radi, Sunara, Gehra, Kilod, Brehi, Khudel, Chhatrari, Lech (Mehla), Aura, Ullansa, Khanni, Poolanpalan and Garola (Bharmour).

Kangra, November 8
MK Guliani (68), former Engineer-in-Chief of the IPH Department, who died this morning at Dr Rajindra Prasad Government Medical College (DRPGMC), Tanda, had pledged to donate his eyes, but his last wish remained unaccomplished due to official apathy.

According to MK Guliani’s family members, they had approached the Department of Ophthalmology, DRPGMC, for enucleation this morning so that his eyes could be donated to a needy person. They alleged that they were told that it was not legally possible for them to enucleate the eyes. They said not only did the last wish of the deceased remain unaccomplished, but also two patients were deprived of getting back their eyesight.

Dr Munish Saroch, spokesman of the hospital, said he was informed by the HoD, Ophthalmology, that the hospital eye bank was not registered and they were not legally supposed to enucleate the eyes or preserve them.

Principal Dr Anil Chauhan said the government had already sanctioned an eye bank for this college a few months ago and Rs 15 lakh were meant for this purpose. He said he had told the Ophthalmology Department to set up an eye bank at the present available space and submit the list of doctors who want to go for further training in this connection.

Guliani’s family said when the government had sanctioned the eye bank and funds for the project, why was it not made operational till date. The HoD, Ophthalmology, said for want of space and staff the eye bank could not be functional.

Local residents demanded that the sentiments of the donors who had wished to donate their eyes should be honoured. The Secretary, Health, was not available for comment. 

Shimla, November 8
Confronted with the problem of monkey menace, Himachal Pradesh has sought the help of experts from the Primate Research Centre, University of California, who have effectively tackled the problem of simians in some Asian countries.

A sterilisation programme has been launched to control the monkey population in the state, but with the result likely to become visible only after a decade, the wildlife wing of the Forest Department has sought the help of international experts.

The latest monkey census undertaken in June has put the number of monkeys in the state around 2.26 lakh. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has got in touch with the primate Research Centre, University of California, to seek their assistance and guidance in tackling the problem.

“On our request, the CZA has written to the Primate Research Centre, University of California, to extend their expertise so that the growing monkey population can be stabilised and brought under control in Himachal Pradesh,” said Lalit Mohan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator, Wildlife.

He said experts and veterinarians from California would visit Himachal Pradesh in case of a positive response. They would look into issues concerning habitat, food and other behaviour pattern of monkeys in the state and suggest long-term and short-term remedies to provide relief to people, especially farmers and fruit growers.

A survey undertaken in 2004 put the number of monkeys in the state at 3.19 lakh and langurs at over 50,000. Though there has been a decline of almost 93,000 monkeys between the first survey and the latest, the problems persists. Under the sterilisation programme, 70,400 monkeys have been sterilised at various centres in Shimla, Gopalpur near Palampur, Una and Sastar in Hamirpur so far.

Three more centres will come up at Paonta Sahib, Sundernagar and Chamba. Two new sites have been identified near Una and Bilaspur. The experiment to set up a private protection park near Tara Devi in Shimla had failed and it was later shelved.

The Wildlife Department also proposes to set up monkey sites which will be spread over about 10 hectares and the emphasis will be on habitat improvement. Plantation drives will be undertaken to help meet-the-food requirement of simians. These sites are being identified by the Wildlife Department in places where there is no human interference and there is ample amount of food.

The monkey menace resulting in damage to crops and fruits and had become a major political issue in the state. All major political parties, including the Congress, the BJP, had included the issue in the election manifesto.

Shimla, November 8
The BJP today warned officials in the state to desist from becoming tools in the hands of the Congress regime to “register false cases against BJP leaders and workers”.

In a statement issued here today, state BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt told the officials not to go overboard and show activism to “please their political bosses”. “I warn the officers not to overstep their administrative jurisdiction and strictly adhere to the democratic norms or else they will have to pay a heavy price when the BJP comes back to power,” he said.

He also told the official machinery to take action in the “illegalities involved” in the construction of the Congress office here on the Cart Road. “Let the officers now show swiftness in taking action against the Congress rather than framing BJP leaders in false cases,” he said.

Dutt said even after 10 months of rule, the Congress regime was still clueless about its priorities. “Rather than undertaking development works and giving relief to the common man from price hike, the Congress was busy unleashing political vendetta against its political opponents,” he said.

He said the common man was finding it difficult to eke out an existence with the sky-rocketing prices of onions, tomatoes and potatoes. Rather than taking steps to give relief to the people, the Virbhadra government was vigorously pursuing politics of vendetta, he alleged. He also criticised the Congress regime for providing the much-hyped skill development allowance to barely 41 youth since it came to power. 

Sundernagar, November 8
Sohan Lal Thakur, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) and Sundernagar MLA, on Wednesday visited the historical temple of Mahadev, near here, and took stock of construction work being undertaken by the Shiv Mandir Committee at Mahadev village.

The committee also shared the future plans for further development. He was apprised that the premises were being given for social functions on a no-profit-no-loss basis. Sohan Lal praised the committee and said such a huge and quality construction could not be raised without the dedication of its members. He also praised the families of priests who had donated land for further expansion of the temple premises.

He assured the committee that he would talk to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) so that Rs 5 lakh, as agreed by them, could be given to the committee as it had already raised the construction and submitted a compliance report to the NTPC. He would also take up the matter with the district administration so that funds could be given to the committee as it was doing a great service to mankind.

The committee president presented a shawl and a cap to Sohan Lal on the occasion. The committee also honoured former BJP minister Dile Ram by presenting him a shawl and a cap and lauded his efforts in the development of the premises. Sohan Lal Thakur donated Rs 5,000 from his pocket to the mandir committee. 

Shimla, November 8
The economic slowdown has started impacting the hill state with tax collections falling significantly short of the projections in the first half of the year.

The maximum impact has been on the Value Added Tax (VAT) which has recorded a growth of about 5 per cent as against the projected growth of 17 per cent. The normal anticipated growth is 15 to 20 per cent for the state. With little hope of a turnaround in the country’s economy over the next four months, the VAT collections are likely to fall short by about Rs 300 crore. There is no buoyancy in cement, power, tourism and other important sectors.

The other major source of the state’s revenue has been power, but income from the sale of surplus power has been on the decline due to continuing downswing in the market. The revenue has come down from Rs 1,255 crore to Rs 700 crore over the past four years and it will be at best a zero growth year, official sources point out. A redeeming feature was that the growth of excise revenue has been maintained at 17 per cent and as such the overall tax revenue will touch Rs 5,000 crore as against the projected figure of Rs 5400 crore.

Further, the mining sector is likely to register a negative growth due to the restrictions imposed by the national green tribunal but it contributes only Rs 110 crore to the exchequer and such the impact will be minimal.

The shortfall in tax revenue will add to the woes of the fund-starved government which is already facing problems due to mounting wage bill due to increase in dearness allowance and pay revision. The state needed an increase in tax collections to cope with the decrease of Rs 570 crore in the revenue deficit grant recommended by the 13th Finance Commission for the current year as compared to the last year.

The state’s own sources add up to just around Rs 7,000 crore and the rest of the resources to fund the Rs 21,767 crore budget come from the Centre devolutions and loans. This year fresh loans to the tune of Rs 2,467 crore will be raised and the outstanding debt will cross Rs 31,500 crore.

The state’s expenditure on committed liabilities such as salary, pension and interest is nearly 157 per cent of its own tax and non-tax revenue. While 82 per cent of the revenue accrues through tax and non-tax receipts, 18 per cent gap is met through loans. 

Bilaspur, November 8
The Kamdhenu Krishak Avam Upbhokta Hitkari Manch, a cooperative organisation working for the welfare of milch cattle owners and milk consumers, has taken a unique initiative to start a project for supplying good quality fresh fodder at reasonable rates to farmers of this area. NABARD will provide all help to this organisation, which has been successfully working here, benefiting 1,800 milk producing farmers of Bilaspur and Solan districts in 150 villages.

This was said by NABARD Chief General Manager, HP region, Padma Raghunathan, while laying the foundation stone of the Rs 1.07-crore cattle feed plant at Namhole, 25 km from here, last afternoon.

She said the plant would be able to meet the needs of all adjoining areas of farmers for helping keep their animals healthy and for producing better quality milk. The plant would be operational by March next year and start production by April. She said specialists would be appointed here for ensuring good quality cattle feed.

Manch president Nanak Chand Thakur said the manch was started by seven to eight farmers’ families at Namhole in 2001, which had developed into a big organisation today serving 1,800 farmers’ families which were daily producing 9,000 litres of milk for supply to consumers in Bilaspur town and other parts of the district.

Manch general secretary Jeet Ram Kaundal said the plant would produce 8 metric tonnes of cattle feed daily and apart from its 1,800 member families, other farmers would also be benefited by this plant.

Deputy Director, Agriculture, Dr GC Lakhanpal, Deputy Director, Horticulture, Dr Shashi Sharma, ATMA Project Director Dr LR Dhiman, and Assistant Director, HP Animal Welfare Department, Dr SK Kapil, also addressed a large number of farmers.

Those present included former District Marketing Committee Chairman Babu Ram Thakur, NABARD Deputy General Manager KS Raghupati and DDM Vijay Negi.

Bilaspur, November 8
Sita Devi (70), wife of Krishan Dev of Barthin, was killed after she was hit by a scooter at Barthin bazaar, about 42 km from here, today.

She was hit by a scooter driven by a school lecturer, Sudesh Kumar, while he was returning from school.

Reports said Sudesh also received injuries in the accident. However, Sita was declared brought dead by doctors when she was rushed to the Community Health Centre, Barthin.

A case has been registered and further investigations are on, the police said.