Shimla, January 22
The state government will set up the Swan channelisation authority to expedite work under the Rs 922-crore Swan River Flood Management Project. The project will channel all 73 tributaries of the Swan river.

The Cabinet meeting at Dharamsala tomorrow is likely to give the nod for setting up the authority which will function as a special purpose vehicle to expedite work. This is for the first time that a special authority is being set up under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister to accord top priority to a project and ensure its early completion.

"The authority will help obtaining the necessary permissions in a time-bound manner which often get delayed as the matter has to be referred each time to the Cabinet," said an official.

He added that the Ministry of Water Resources was particular on time-bound clearances to check cost escalation that resulted in additional burden on the government exchequer.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh laid the foundation stone of the Rs 922.49-crore Swan River Flood Management Project on October 23 last year at Kangad in the Haroli Assembly segment of Una district. Under the project, 11 km-long area of the Swan from the Daulatpur bridge to Gagret is to be channelised while taming all 73 tributaries of the river.

The project, the largest in North India, will benefit over 2.35 lakh residents, living in 165 villages of the area. A total of 387.58 km area will be channelised.

The Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Minister will be its vice-chairman. The other members of its governing body will include the Chief Secretary, Secretaries of Finance and Planning, Agriculture, Horticulture, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development departments. The Engineer-in-Chief (Project) of the IPH will be its member secretary.

The authority will also have an executive committee which will be headed by the Chief Minister along with other members. The channelisation of the Swan will save the area from flooding and will help enhance productivity of foodgrains and vegetables along the river banks. 

Shimla, January 22
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the All-Himachal Commercial Vehicle Operators today called off the week-long fast and demanded the resignation of Transport Minister GS Bali.

The JAC accused him of misleading the public on the notification issued by the department, amending Sections 72-73 of the Motor Vehicles Act, and put forth 14-point charter of demand to the state government, demanding the rollback on the proposed amendment.

President Jeet Ram Sharma said at a press conference, “We do not want a minister who misleads the public and never cares to invite the protesters for talks”.

The notification, a copy of which is with The Tribune, states that the government has invited objections of stakeholders for the draft amendment to the Act within seven days.

The JAC dismissed allegations levelled by the Transport Minister against certain taxi owners and commercial transporters. The case related to the metered taxis was pending in the Supreme Court, said Jeet Ram.

If the illegal taxis were being plied in the state, the onus lay on the Transport Department to check their operation, said Jeet Ram. The government had not authorised the unions for checking these, he added.

He further said the minister's condition for uniform code for taxi drivers was not acceptable as the taxis came under the un-organised sector.

Taxi operators cared for the security and safety of women and they had received no complaint so far, Sharma claimed.

Jeet Ram said the JAC executive committee would meet on January 25 to decide the future course of action if the government did not take any action on the 14 demands. 

Chandigarh, January 22
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today dismissed the bail application of Congress MLA from Doon, Himachal Pradesh, Ram Kumar Chaudhary in the Jyoti murder case.

A 24-year-old resident of Bhunga village in Hoshiarpur district, Jyoti was found dead on a road in Sector 21, Panchkula, on November 22, 2012. According to the post-mortem report, she had died of head injury and undergone an abortion.

In his petition placed before Justice MMS Bedi, Chaudhary had earlier claimed that he was implicated in the matter due to political rivalry and the case against him was a fallout of a deep-rooted conspiracy. His counsel added the MLA had already served more than six-months in the jail. Claiming to have been framed, the MLA had also asserted that he could defend his position better from outside the prison. Victim’s father Buti Ram of Hoshiarpur had earlier moved the high court for an independent probe into the murder case, allegedly involving the MLA. He had alleged that the Panchkula police was not conducting the investigations in a fair and impartial manner as it had colluded with the prime accused, MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary.

In his petition, Buti Ram had sought directions to the state and other respondents to transfer the investigations of the Jyoti murder case from Sector 5 police station, Panchkula, to some other senior police official or independent agency.

The petitioner had stated soon after his daughter’s murder, sufficient incriminating evidence was found against Ram Kumar Chaudhary and other accused. But from the very first day, the Panchkula police had been favouring the accused.

He also alleged that Congress leaders from Punjab too had threatened him to maintain silence over the issue and not to pursue the case.

In an attempt to substantiate the allegations of the police dragging its feet in the matter, counsel for the petitioner Naresh Shekhawat argued that police had also not invoked the provision of law relating to illegal abortion. Moreover, the police had not recovered the phone through which Ram Kumar was in touch with the victim.

Shimla, January 22
While environmentalists the world over are seriously concerned over problems like climate change and global warming, the hill state of Himachal is said to have emerged as an “oasis of hope” in combating climate change by reducing Green House Gases (GHG) emission.

Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to record reduction in GHGs emission from 10.083 million tonnes (m in 2009 to 9.197 million tonnes (m) in 2013. This has been inferred from two greenhouse inventories prepared following an exhaustive survey of key sectors responsible for emission of GHGs.

The GHG emissions in 2009 and 2013 have been worked out for sectors and sub-sectors including transport, buildings, industry, waste, agriculture and forestry, energy and change in land use in respect of predominant GHGs like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

The studies carried out by the HP State Council for Science Technology and Environment, State Pollution Control Board, Electricity Board and key departments like Transport and Economics & Statistics revealed that the maximum reduction had come about in energy and allied sector and quantum of GHG emissions reduced from 6.066 million tonnes to 5.147 million tonnes.

The emissions from captive generation and consumption of energy declined from 3.59 million tonnes in 2009 to 2.44 million tonnes (m) in 2013, while the industrial sector emissions reduced from 3.21 m to 2.76 m during the corresponding period.

In industry sector which includes minerals, chemicals, metal and other industries, the quantum of GHG emissions increased marginally from 5.485 m in 2009 to 5.571 m in 2013. The major increase in this sector came from cement plants which recorded 5.17 m to 5.31 m in the same period.

There was no significant change in emissions from agriculture sector which stood at 1.639 m compared to 1.648 m in 2009.

Carbon dioxide emissions reduced from 8.97 m in 2009 to 8.725 m in 2013, while methane emission increased from 0.116 m to 0.134 m during the same period. In case of nitrous oxide, the emissions increased marginally from 0.0061 m to 0.0071 m.

The date revealed that energy consumption had stabilised in the state despite an increase in the population and the reduction in emissions from energy implies that the consumption of energy by the industry had declined, which was by and large not considered healthy for the economy's growth.

A first

* Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to record reduction in GHGs emission from 10.083 million tonnes (mt) in 2009 to 9.197 million tonnes (mt) in 2013

* This has been inferred from two greenhouse inventories prepared following an exhaustive survey of key sectors responsible for emission of GHGs

Palampur, January 22
The Taxation Bar Association, Palampur, today urged Finance Minister P Chidambaram to initiate the creation of a new office of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Administration) at Palampur in the north zone of the state, keeping in view the hardship being faced by tax payers of this region. In its meeting held here today, the Bar Association also appealed to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to intervene and persuade the Government of India in this regard.

The association also brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that restructuring of cadre was under the process in the Income Tax Department and the new office could be opened easily in the state if he intervened.

The Bar Association passed a number of resolutions in support of its demands. In one of the resolutions, it was unanimously resolved that there was complete justification for an office of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Admn) at Palampur.

The association asserted that there was adequate workload. At present, there was only one office of the IT Commissioner at Shimla looking after the entire state. If a new office was opened at Palampur, it would bring great relief to thousands of taxpayers of the north zone of the state, the association said.

The Bar Association said the north zone of the state comprising eight districts, Kangra, Chamba, Una, Hamirpur, Kulu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Lahaul-Spiti, had been completely neglected by the IT Department. For all matters, including appeal cases, tax payers and their counsel had to go either to Shimla or Solan which was inconvenient.

RC Sood and Sandeep Kakkar, president and secretary of the Bar, said Finance Minister or Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) should accept the genuine demands of tax payers of this region. 

Palampur, January 22
Bali Ram (42) of Pantehar village, who was seriously injured in a clash last week, succumbed to his injuries today. The family members of Bali Ram had lodged a complaint at the Baijnath police station on January 14, stating that the victim was attacked by some unknownpersons while returning from Baijnath.

Later, Bali Ram was shifted to the Civil Hospital, Baijnath, from where he was referred to the PGIMER, Chandigarh.

However, villagers said Bali Ram died due to lack of medical treatment. His family had no money for the treatment at Chandigarh so they brought him back to the village, they said.

Shimla, January 22
Efforts to bring about the proposed tax reforms in the corporation fell flat today. The 30-member House of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) passed a resolution rejecting the unit area method (UAM) for property tax in the city for the third time in its special session here.

The House passed the buck to the state government on the proposed tax reforms in the corporation and other urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state. The UAM was proposed after the tripartite agreement was signed among the SMC, state government and Centre, which was proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The House, instead, sought an amendment in the Municipal Corporation Act as the UAM was not acceptable to the House and the public at large. The resolution assumes significance ahead of the coming Lok Sabha polls.

As a result, the resolution has thrown the UAM survey, carried out by the private Ahmedabad company, for which SMC had to pay Rs 50 lakh, so to say, into the dustbin.

The House witnessed unruly scenes when the MC Commissioner initially tried to present a resolution seeking amendment to the UAM for implementation. He later put forth a single-line resolution in the House presented by Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan for discussion.

The House has passed a single-line resolution against the UAM for tax and it has sought an amendment in the Municipal Corporation Act to reverse the decision, said Sanjay Chauhan.

But the single-line resolution has raised uncertainty over the fate of the Rs 300-crore fund the SMC has received under JNNURM over the years. There was a condition that the corporation and LUBs would implement tax reforms and generate their own funds and the House had now rejected the UAM, said the councillors.

The Congress and BJP councillors apparently had no option other than giving their consent to the single-line resolution. The four-member committee, comprising BJP and Congress councillors, appointed during the previous BJP regime, had recommended the UAM be implemented to bring about reforms in the SMC that could be extended to the LUBs in the state, said officials.

The committee brought the UAM formula from the MC of Delhi in 2009 and discussed it in the House. The bill to implement the UAM was passed by the state Assembly in 2011, the urban development department issued a notification in February 2012 and amended the MC Act by scrapping the old system of property tax, including 100 sq m exemption in tax, said sources.

The High Court took suo motu notice on the delay in implementing the tax reforms in the SMC and LUBs to help them generate funds. The SMC, in its affidavit to the court, stated that the Shimla Mayor and Deputy Mayor were opposing the UAM.

Proposal junked

* MC Commissioner Amarjeet Singh said the House passed the single-line resolution against the UAM today and referred the matter back to the state government for further action

* The UAM for property tax was proposed after the tripartite agreement was signed among the SMC, state government and the Centre, which was proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

Shimla, January 22
The piercing cold wave further aggravated in Himachal as lower and mid hills received scattered rain while higher reaches experienced mild snowfall, accompanied with high-velocity icy winds.

The sky remained overcast and intermittent moderate rain lashed the mid and lower hills while the high-altitude tribal areas and other higher reaches had mild snowfall, causing a sharp fall in the maximum temperature.

Shimla had mild rain, while adjoining key tourist resorts of Kufri, Fagu, Wildflower Hall and Narkanda had mild snowfall.

Kalpa, Keylong, Killar and Pin valley in the tribal belt received 10 cm to 20 cm of fresh snow while Rohtang and Kunzam pass and Dhauladhar and Churdhar ranges in Kangra and Sirmaur district had intermittent heavy snowfall, thus intensifying the cold wave in the adjoining valleys.

Una received 32 mm of rain, while Dharamsala and Kangra had 12.3 mm of rain, followed by Shimla and Solan 4 mm and Manali 3 mm.

The maximum temperature dropped by a few notches and Shimla recorded 8.5°C against yesterday’s temperature of 14°C while Una and Nahan recorded a high of 14.4°C and 14.1°C, followed by Bhunter 13.5°C, Dharamsala 12.8°C, Solan 12.5°C, Sundernagar 12.4°C and Kalpa 0.4 °C.

However, the minimum temperature rose marginally as Keylong and Kalpa recorded a minimum temperature of -2.7°C and -1.8°C while Manali and Solan recorded minimum temperature at 3.5°C.

The local Met office has predicted rain and snow at isolated places in the next 24 hours.

PALAMPUR: The entire region has been experiencing heavy rain and snow since morning disrupting normal life in most parts of the region. The upper reaches of Dhauladhar ranges and Chhota Bara Bhangal had heavy snowfall while lower ranges received heavy showers.

Transport, power supply and telecommunication services were adversely hit during the whole day. The vehicular movement on various routes had come to a standstill.

According to reports from Baijnath, Billing, Multhan, Kothi Kohar, Luhardi and Baragram experienced heavy snowfall of the season. The HRTC buses have suspended its services to the upper area of Baijnath following heavy snow on the highways.

CHAMBA: The high hills of Chamba district, including Pangi and Bharmaur tribal areas, experienced fresh heavy snowfall while low-lying areas received heavy showers.

According to reports, the vehicular movement was badly affected in far-flung areas of Satrundi, Langera, Nayagran and Hadsar due to heavy snow. Dalhousie also had snowflakes, the reports said.

Meanwhile, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri has directed officials concerned to face any challenge arising out of the ongoing snowy and windy weather so that inhabitants residing in high-altitude ranges did not face any difficulty with regard to the basic amenities and availability of foodstuffs. 

Nurpur, January 22
The Wildlife Department is all set to start census of migratory birds in the Pong lake. The wetland, also known as Maharana Pratap Sagar, is sprawling over 207 sq km in Kangra district. Last year around 1.23 lakh migratory birds had arrived here. According to an estimate, around 1.05 lakh birds of 85 species have arrived here so far.

According to Subash Prashar, Divisional Forest Officer, Hamirpur, the department is scheduled to start the census of migratory birds on January 29 and 30.

"For this purpose, the department used to take the assistance of NGOs and institutes such as the Wildlife Institute of India, Geological Survey of India, Bird Wildlife Fund for Nature and Bombay National History Society of India," he said.

The participants will arrive at the lake on January 28 for making arrangements of the census.

This is the first major wetland, offering transitory place for migratory birds such as bar-headed geese, pintails, ruddy shaddock, coots, pochards, cormorants and mallards. To check poaching of these migratory birds, the department has set up a van
thana at Nagrota Surian headed by a deputy ranger. A team of field staff of the Wildlife Department is keeping a check.

Dharamsala, January 22
Ram Lal Thakur, Chairman, 20-point Programme and Planning, met mediapersons at Palampur today. He said the BJP was trying to vitiate the academic atmosphere of the Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Agriculture University.

He was here to inaugurate the two-day annual athletic meet at the agriculture university.

Ram Lal was responding to an agitation launched by the BJP against the Vice-Chancellor of the Agriculture University. He said it was strange that certain politically affiliated employees of the university were using the BJP for settling scores against the university's Vice-Chancellor.

"As per my information, the VC of the university has warned certain employees against carrying out political activities on the campus. If the employees had any grudge against the management, they should have settled it within their official framework as universities are autonomous institutions. It is strange that an administrative matter of the university is being taken to the streets by the BJP," he said.

Ram Lal claimed the present government had issued grant-in-aid worth Rs 25 crore for the agriculture university. Another grant of Rs 28 crore was in the pipeline. The grant had helped university clear the arrears of employees and retirees that were pending since 1996, he claimed.

After inaugurating the athletic meet, Ram Lal said the state government was spending Rs 26 crore on improving the infrastructure for sports in the state. This had given an impetus to various sports tournaments and activities, he added.

He said the university carried a good standing at the national level in academics, but the students should also bring laurels in sports and cultural activities. There was reservation in jobs for sportspersons, he stated.

Vice-Chancellor KK Katoch said efforts were made to provide the best of facilities to the students so that despite a busy academic schedule, they find time for sports and cultural activities.

Nurpur, January 22
The local police today registered a criminal case against a private hospital for allegedly endangering the life of a woman after Caesarean section.

As per the information, the police received the complaint from its head office in Shimla. Complainant Angrej Singh of Manota village in Chuwari tehsil of Chamba district had registered a complaint through an SMS.

The complainant said his wife Vanita Devi, who was in an advanced stage of pregnancy, had been admitted to Naman Hospital on January 1.

Doctors had decided to deliver the baby by the Caesarean section when it emerged that the child was in a breach position.

After her discharge from the hospital, Vanita started suffering severe stomach pain.

She was again brought to the hospital on January 16 where doctors prescribed her pain killers. Later, she was rushed to the DRPGMC, Tanda.

The doctors performed a surgery again and extracted a cotton sponge from her stomach which had been left negligently by a doctor of the Naman Hospital during the caesarean operation.

DSP, Nurpur, Rajiv Atre said a case under Sections 336 and 337, IPC, had been registered against the hospital and its doctor. The next action would be taken after a thorough investigation into the case. 

Shimla, January 22
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) organised a series of programmes as part of the Road Safety Week to create awareness among people of the state from here last week.

Consultants engaged by the NHAI visited various schools and educated children about the road safety signs, which they should abide by while on the road. They also distributed pamphlets, describing various aspects of road safety.

Interactive programmes were also organised. They also placed hoardings at different places along NH-21 om Kiratpur to Ner Chowk. Volunteers stopped motorists violating traffic rules and persuaded them to use seat belts and helmets and avoid more than one rider on the pillion.

Project Director, NHAI, Satish Kaul said the main endeavour was to make road users aware about traffic rules and safety norms. He added that the main theme “When on the Road Always Say Pehle Aap” highlighted the safety angle.

Kullu, January 22
Six villages of this district, each having the highest concentration of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) with a minimum of 40 per cent of the total population, will be developed to model villages by spending Rs 10 lakh under the Mukhya Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana.

Kullu DC Rakesh Kanwar stated this yesterday while presiding over a one-day workshop organised by the District Gramin Vikas Abhikaran. He said Haat, Khokhan and Jalugran villages in Kullu block, Naur village in Nirmand block, Deoli village in Ani block and Manglor village in Banjar block had been selected as beneficiaries under this scheme.

He said besides integrated development for financial and social welfare, clean drinking water, electric supply, roads and house to the homeless would be provided in these villages.

He said a district-level steering and monitoring committee had been formulated for the proper implementation of this scheme. Gram panchayat would pass the proposed development scheme and the Block Development Officer (BDO) concerned would forward it to the DC for approval.

He added that villagers could propose type of development work required, which would be ensured using existing state and Central schemes and inter-departmental convergence.

Project Officer, DRDA, Kullu and Nodal Officer for the implementation of this scheme, Dr Sanjiv Dhiman, District Welfare Officer, Pratap Negi, besides other officers were present.

Mandi, January 22
Though the Supreme Court (SC) has stayed the decision to ban products in plastic packing in the state, the supply of various products coming in the state has been affected.

The SC has stayed the ban till February 14, which was to be enforced from January 26, and will now take up the matter on February 10.

Distributors and retailers, fearing the enforcement of the plastic ban, have gone slow while placing fresh orders for the products being sold in plastic packing.

Several distributors are reportedly playing safe by not placing fresh orders and asking the retailers to exhaust the existing stocks and wait till the court decision.

Local trader Rajesh said, "The distributors are in a fix since manufactures are telling them that they will not take back products supplied in plastic packing if the ban is imposed in the state and the distributors are not placing fresh orders."

The High Court had asked the state government to enforce ban on the sale of polythene-packed food items such as potato chips, biscuits, ice-cream and 25 other items as the use of polythene was banned in the state.

After this order, distributors and retail sellers of these products had been in quandary as sale and stocking of these products entails heavy penalty and even imprisonment.

The High Court had passed this order to preserve the state's environment from pollution as the extensive use of polythene was a major cause of environmental degradation.

Traders have been arguing that almost 60 per cent of the products are packed in the polythene and manufactures have refused to supply product packing other than polythene.

They say, "The ban on products in polythene pack can't be implemented in the state alone. Either it has to be enforced throughout the country or the state should also be exempted from the ban." 

Dharamsala, January 22
The state government was committed to equal and balance development of the state. The government didn’t believe in discrimination and all areas were being given equal priority for development.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said this while addressing a public meeting at the Mela Ground at Baijnath in Kangra district today.

Virbhadra Singh said many offices were shifted to Dharamsala from Shimla which included the Himachal Pradesh School Education Board and the HP Technical Education Board. The Chief Engineer Electricity, PWD, IPH offices were also being shifted to Dharamsala.

He said he had toured all areas in Baijnath which was once deprived of roads, schools and other basic amenities. Due to the efforts of Congress governments and former minister late Sant Ram, rapid development took place in the area, he said.

The Chief Minister announced to open a sub-tehsil at Chadhiar, starting of science classes at Government Senior Secondary School, Chadhiar and Sansal, and postgraduate classes in two subjects at late Pt Sant Ram Government College, Baijnath.

He said the government could consider reopening of the carton factory at Baijnath. He announced the upgrade of Government High School, Chaleda, to senior secondary school, upgrading 50-bed Civil Hospital, Baijnath, to 60-bed and opening two police posts at Chadhiar and Multhan.

He said the government would give the Nagar Panchayat status to Baijnath and Paprola panchayats. He also announced a science block and a new block at Government Senior Secondary School, Bhulana, upgrade of Government Middle School of Jandpur, Sagoor, Ustehar and Rajot to high schools.

Earlier, Chief Minister visited Mata Chamunda Devi Temple and performed a puja.

He also inaugurated Primary Health Centre building, Sakri, constructed at a cost of Rs 74 lakh and laid the foundation stone of Primary Health Centre, Naghed, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 42.78 lakh.

MLA, Baijnath, Kishori Lal, Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, Transport Minister GS Bali and Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma were also present.

Later, the CM inaugurated Parwati Girls Hostel at CSK Agriculture University, Palampur.

VC, CSK Agriculture University, Palampur, Dr KK Katoch and the Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff of the university, presented a cheque of Rs 10,80,000 towards the CM Fund.

Bilaspur, January 22
Thieves looted gold and silver jewellery worth lakhs from two houses and a shop in the district last night.

Reports said Ashok Kumar, president, Daslehada gram panchayat, lost jewellery worth several lakhs and cash worth Rs 21,000 from the upper storey, while the family members were sleeping on the lower storey of the same house.

Dev Raj Dhiman of the same village also lost to thieves jewellery and other household items and Rs 10,000 cash his from old house, while the family was sleeping in the new house nearby. — OC