Central panel subverting power projects: NTPC
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, June 17
A “so-called” experts panel of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is trying to “subvert and stop” work on the new hydroelectric power projects coming up in Uttarakhand, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has informed the Supreme Court.

Set up at the instance of the Supreme Court in the wake of the devastating flash floods and the resultant landslides in the hill state in June last year, the 17-member panel “hardly has six experts and the rest are alleged environmentalists and so-called social activists,” the NTPC said in a plea.

The state Chief Minister and professional organisations had already complained to the MoEF, pointing out the “anomalies in the constitution of the expert committee as well as in the formulation of its terms of reference,” the corporation said.

The NTPC said it had information that two of the experts, representing the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and the Central Water Commission (CWC), had stopped attending the meetings of the panel and had prepared a separate report based on scientific data.

Two more experts, including the representative of the National Institute of Rock Mechanics, did not agree with the views of non-experts and submitted another separate report.

The panel was seen to be attempting to arrive at the conclusions based on anecdotal and perception based assessment and inference without giving due credence to the views of the experts from CWC, CEA, Geological Survey of India, Indian Meteorological Departments, the state government and PSUs like National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), NTPC said.

In August 13, 2013 verdict, the Supreme Court had directed the MoEF to constitute an “Expert Body” consisting representatives from the state government, Wildlife Institute of India, CEA, CWC and other expert bodies to make a detailed study as to whether the hydropower projects “existing and under construction” had contributed to the flash floods and landslides in 2013.

The MoEF was also asked to examine as to whether the “proposed 24 projects are causing significant impact on the bio-diversity of Alaknanda and Bhagirath River basins.” Further, the court had directed the Centre and the state not to clear any hydroelectric power project in the hill state.

The NTPC has approached the Supreme Court seeking a clarification that it’s 171 MW, Rs 1,527 crore Lata Tapovan Hydro Power Project was not covered by the 2013 verdict as it had already got all the necessary clearances.

A summer vacation bench comprising Justices Vikramajit Sen and Shiva Kirti Singh issued notice to the Centre and the state government yesterday seeking their response to the NTPC plea.

Impeding development The 17-member panel of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has six experts and the rest are alleged environmentalists and so-called social activists NTPC told the Supreme Court that two of the experts representing the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Water Commission had stopped attending meetings of the panel and had prepared a separate report based on scientific data

Himalayan Tsunami — A year after
Govt okays disaster perspective plan
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
Taking lessons from the calamitous mid-June disaster of last year in which several lives and property worth crores of rupees were destroyed, the Uttarakhand government has approved a disaster perspective plan, emphasising on making institutional arrangements for compensating disaster induced losses.

Vulnerable to natural disasters and still reeling under the impact of the mid-June 2013 disaster, for the first time a thinking has dawned on the government to issue instructions to all the departments in the state for making adequate financial arrangements for this kind of exigency in their departmental budgets.

“Adequate finances can help the state take up temporary restoration work of identified infrastructure and help the state back on it’s feet. There exists a State Disaster Relief Fund for providing immediate relief to the victims and ensuring temporary restoration works but not for the loss of commercial assets. Under the Disaster Management Act of 2005, all the departments have been asked to make adequate financial arrangements in their budgets itself which should be strictly implemented,” said Indira Hridayesh, Uttarakhand Finance Minister.

Further the plan also lays stress on preparedness, prevention and mitigation for tackling disasters. It also calls for mainstreaming disaster management into development so that new development plans that are conceptualised do not create new forms of vulnerability.

Significantly, the plan envisages 461 locations on the Char Dham route that are landslide prone.

It has also earmarked 343 villages that are chronically disaster prone and termed them as affected villages. These includes 61 in Chamoli, 42 in Bageshwar, 26 in Pauri Garhwal, 129 in Pithoragarh, 33 in Tehri, eight in Uttarkashi, 16 in Rudraprayag, six in Nainital, 26 in Pauri Garhwal, two in Dehradun, one in Udham Singh Nagar and 10 in Champawat.

On the practical side, the plan calls for adhering to national building codes for both hilly and plain areas and ensuring construction of community dwellings.

About the plan It lays stress on preparedness, prevention and mitigation for tackling natural disasters. It also calls for mainstreaming disaster management into development so that new development plans that are conceptualised do not create new forms of vulnerability. Envisages 461 locations on the Char Dham route that are landslide prone. Earmarks 343 villages that are chronically disaster prone and termed them as affected villages The plan calls for adhering to national building codes for both hilly and plain areas and ensuring construction of community dwellings.

Victims’ long wait for houses
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
It is a long wait for the disaster-hit people of the state yearning for a roof over their heads. After the Uttarakhand government decided to come to the assistance of the disaster-affected people whose houses were destroyed in the mid-June floods of last year, through the resilient housing and public building project, things have far from settled for most of these affected people.

A total of 2469 opted for the government’s scheme in which Rs 5 lakh assistance is being provided for the construction of earthquake resilient houses on the land owned by the villagers.

It is a year since the disaster struck the state but none of the houses have been ready. So much so, around 152 beneficiaries without land are awaiting allocation of land in forest areas that is yet to be cleared by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Around 227 beneficiaries have suddenly undergone a change of heart, opting out to settle down in Dehradun or Haldwani instead of their own villages.

“Around 152 beneficiaries would be able to own the house only after receiving land clearance from the Ministry of Forest and Environment for which GIS mapping would be undertaken prior to the settlement. The proposal has been put before the Central Government,” said Soujanya, programme manager.

After the villagers rejected the government’s prefabricated houses, the resilient housing project was launched under which the villagers with title deeds are being offered Rs 5 lakh for the construction of resilient houses.

“Out of a total of 2469 beneficiaries, 2262 have received first instalment of Rs 1.5 lakh per beneficiary. These include in Bageshwar 98, Chamoli 584, Pithoragarh 662, Rudraprayag 863 and Uttarkashi, 262,” said Soujanya.

However, the officials have again been forced to revise their plans after around 227 beneficiaries requested to move out of their home districts , despite receiving the first instalment. “For all intent and purpose, the aim of the housing project was to settle the beneficiaries near their villages. We did not want to uproot the villagers but now we are saddled with this new issue which would require careful deliberation and land assessment would have to be carried,” said RC Panda, deputy programme manager.

Skeletons of disaster victims
Human rights panel issues notice to govt
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
The Uttarakhand Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the state government asking it to come clean on the presence of skeletons of persons who died in the natural disaster in Kedarnath last year.

The commission took suo motto notice of the reports appearing in the media and issued a notice to the state a few days ago. Justice Virender Jain (retd), Chairman of the commission, would preside over a hearing in the issue in Dehradun tomorrow.

This is the second time that the Uttarakhand Human Rights Commission has intervened in the matter. Earlier the commission had asked the state government to submit its reply to the question whether proper last rites were being performed while cremating the bodies found in the disaster-affected districts.

The state government would present its report to the commission tomorrow. 

Death certificates to kin of 405 victims from other states yet to be issued
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
Late submission of the requisite documents and discrepancies in FIRs has delayed the process of issuing death certificates to next of kin of the natural disaster victims belonging to 22 states.

After the worst-ever deluge in Uttarakhand in June last year, a total of 3,173 persons belonging to other states went missing. Since their bodies or whereabouts could not be traced even after a couple of months, they were officially declared dead.

Although the Department of Medical Health and Family Welfare has issued death certificates to next of kin of 2,768 persons, 405 certificates are yet to issued.

“We want to finish the certificate process as early as possible, so that next of kin of the missing persons do not find any difficulty in receiving ex gratia and other formalities. In some cases, FIRs have been registered at two places which makes it difficult to ascertain the state of the origin of the person,” said Om Prakash, Principal Secretary, Health.

From Uttar Pradesh, 1,150 persons went missing. The authorities have issued 948 death certificates while 202 are yet to be issued. From Uttarakhand, a total of 4,008 persons went missing. Certificates to 3,562 have been issued while 446 are still remaining.

Book on Kedarnath flash floods released
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
A book written jointly by MC Satti and Lokesh Navani - Uttarpaksh - on saving the Himalayas, was released today.

Addressing a gathering, Satti said the first edition of the book was based on the tragedy that occurred in Kedarnath last year. “Owing to global warming across the world, the Himalayas too are undergoing tremendous changes. The increasing human population coupled with the constructions is causing the deterioration of the eco-system in the Himalayas,” he added.

MLA, locals pay tribute to victims
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, June 17
Residents in a large number gathered at Sanatan Dharm Inter College in Mussoorie yesterday and paid tributes to the victims of the natural disaster that struck the state in June last year. A yajna was also organised in which people participated and prayed for the peace to the souls of the deceased.

Ganesh Joshi, MLA, Mussoorie, also paid homage and said a lot of lives were lost during the disaster. “Had the government acted in time and taken steps to relocate and rehabilitate the disaster victims, besides restoring roads to the Char Dham, the economy of the state would have been much healthier,” he added. A two-minute silence was also observed.

Special prayer for disaster victims
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
A special prayer was performed at Augustmuni in Rudraprayag district today to pay tribute to pilgrims, defence personnel, and villagers, who lost their lives in the Kedarnath catostrophe last year. It will culminate on June 26.

Suryakant Dhasmana, vice-president of the Uttarakhand Congress, inaugurated the programme. He paid tribute to the pilgrims who lost their lives in the natural disaster. He said the state government was committed to addressing the grievances of the disaster-hit people.

Shiv Prasad Mamgain along with 108 priests performed the prayer. MLA Shaila Rani Rawat, ML Jakhwal, Anil Jaggi, Ramsewak Mishra, Jyoti Ghildiyal, Madhu Bhatt, and others were present.

Illegal constructions sealed in Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Haridwar June 17
The Haridwar-Roorkee Development Authority carried out sealing of illegal constructions within the city periphery while along side the district administration carried out an anti-encroachment drive at mela zone here today.

Led by a mobile squad in charge assistant engineer Vijay Mathur of Haridwar-Roorkee Development Authority, the squad stopped construction being carried out illegally and without proper permission from the authority at various places.

Mathur said that a 15-day notice was served on the violators to self remove the constructions done or stopping it fully but as it came into light The authority had to carry out impromptu check on such violators.

Meanwhile, the district administration, police administration, civic body, irrigation department, and public works department carried out a joint anti-encroachment drive at the core mela zone stretch of upper market.

With Senior Superintendent of Haridwar Police Sadanad Date himself monitoring this anti- encroachment drive, support from all the concerned departments, trader fraternity and local people is easily visible.

The SSP has directed removal of encroachments from congested markets, railway station, bus station premises and main markets leading towards Har-ki-Pauri and the city.

Circle Officer, City, Chandra Mohan Singh Negi, said that traders have been urged to remove their encroachments in the first place otherwise police personnel will challan and forcefully remove the encroachments done on the roads.

Kotwali Station House Officer PC Mathpal and Kankhal SHO Ritesh Shah have asked local trader community,hawkers,vendors and small scale traders to ensure they do not encroach upon roads and government property. Otherwise, punitive action will be taken against the violators.

Meanwhile, the police had a tough time in negotiating with farmers who were protesting on NH-58 as they sat on the highway jamming the traffic.As serpentine queues of vehicles lined up CO City Chandra Mohan Singh Negi arrived at the spot ,where he tried to convince protesting peasants to protest elsewhere barring the highway.

Peasant leaders had verbal quarrel with the cop, but later agreed to give up the agitation after almost an hour of blockage, on the highway.

Hoteliers start stir
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 17
Local hoteliers under the aegis of the Dev Bhoomi Hotel Association started an indefinite agitation on the Municipal Corporation premises. The members opposed the red notice that was handed out to them by the Municipal Corporation regarding the annual tax levied on them by the civic body.

Kuldeep Sharma, president of the association, said last year the hotel industry suffered major losses owing to the mid-June flash floods that affected the tourism sector in the state. “The disaster occurred a year ago and still the local people, pilgrims and tourists doesn’t feel safe to proceed on the Char Dham pilgrimage, which has adversely affected our business,” he said.

“We are not in position to pay taxes levied by the civic body or the state government,” added Sharma.

The association members also alleged that Mayor Manoj Garg and some officials did not levy taxes on some hotel owners, who are close to the local parliamentarian and legislators.

Sandeep Sharma, district president of the Yuva Vyapayar Mandal, welcomed the decision of the administration to construct a divider lane from Shiv Moorti square till post office.

Traders Sanjay Trival, Hari Shankar, Jogendra Arora, Anupam Tyagi, Chandra Mohan Sharma, Mayan Sharma, Raman Kishore and Pranav Deshwal assured cooperation to the administration in this regard.

Paying guesthouse owners fleece tourists visiting Mussoorie
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, June 17
If you are planning a trip to Mussoorie, prepare to shell out a substantial amount as paying guesthouses are taking advantage of the unprecedented summer rush and fleecing the tourists.

A number of visiting tourists have complained that paying guesthouse owners, who are suppose to charge Rs 1,000 are demanding room rates to the tune of Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 for a single room.

Rajwant Chhabra, a tourist from Delhi, said the hotels were charging around Rs 5,000, so he thought of staying in a paying guesthouse near Kurli Bazaar, but was shocked to hear that he would have to pay Rs 3,000 for a single room. Irked with the attitude, Chhabra left for Dehradun and cursed the administration for failing to control such exploitation of tourists.

Contrary to these reactions, the spokesperson of the Uttarakhand Hotel Association, Sandeep Sahni, said no member of the hotel association was involved in exploiting tourists as the tariff of each hotel was mentioned on their websites. He added he could not comment about the paying guesthouses as they were not under the ambit of the hotel association.

The tourism department had given licenses to around 151 guesthouses to provide affordable services in the district out of which 57 were in Dehradun, two in Chakrata, 18 in Rishikesh and 74 in Mussoorie.

When the district tourism office was contacted, an employee said, “The licenses are given to the paying guesthouses to ease the pressure of tourists from hotels during the peak season. The department in the past terminated licenses of several paying guesthouses found indulging in fleecing of tourists and presently notices have been served to several guest houses, who were flouting the norms.”

He added the department would not allow the exploitation of the tourists at any cost and if any tourist was cheated, they should bring a receipt of the paying guest house to the department, so that the department can take disciplinary action against the defaulters.

Panchayat poll
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
The State Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for holding the three-tier panchayat elections to be held on June 18, 21 and 24 in 12 districts of the state. The elections will be held from 7 am to 5 pm.

State Election Commissioner Suberdhan said to facilitate voters the timing of voting was advanced from 8 am to 7 am. “All officials concerned have been asked to ensure that the voting takes place according to the changed timings,” he said.

Training of panchayat poll personnel ends
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
The training of presiding officers and election personnel for the 2014 three-tier panchayat elections concluded today at the Dehradun Corporation.

During the three-shift training, out of the 1408 officials, 38 officials did not report for training.

Meanwhile, for the first phase election to be held tomorrow, the polling parties from Chakrata and Vikas Nagar were given a sendoff from the Vedic Inter College, Vikas Nagar.

Today, symbols were allocated to candidates standing for posts of members of zila panchayats, kshetra panchayats, gram pradhans and members of gram panchayats.

Liquor shops to remain closed

Dehradun: The District Election Officer-cum-District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam said all liquor shops would remain closed on June 18, 21 and 24 on account of the panchayat elections in the state. The shops would also remain closed on June 27, i.e. counting day.

Guv regrets not visiting Kedarnath

Dehradun, June 17
Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi has expressed deep regret for not having been able to visit Kedarnath shrine for darshan on the occasion of the first anniversary of the rain disaster. Due to a technical snag in the state government helicopter, the governor had to stall his trip to Kedarnath twice today.

In a statement issued today, Dr Qureshi said he had wanted to be at Kedarnath today but could not make it. However, he said he prays for the peace of the souls of all those who lost their lives in the calamity last year. He also hoped that the state remains disaster-free in future.

The governor said by visiting Kedarnath he was also interested to find out whether the pilgrims this year were having any problems in the context of the yatra arrangements. — TNS

MC, DVWM play blame game
Poor civic conditions in Dehradun
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
Despite the tall claims made by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, the civic condition of the city is in dire straits, with overflowing garbage bins and strewn garbage a common sight.

Even though the officials maintain that the situation is ‘under control’, the ground reality presents a different picture. It seems that the DMC officials have learnt nothing from the unceremonious ouster of the former Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Ashok Kumar, who was transferred after failing to control the deteriorating sanitary condition of the state capital.

Later, district magistrate BVRC Purshottam was given the additional charge of MNA. In fact in his first move, Purshottam formulated a team of nine-members to personally oversee the cleaning operations being carried out in the city.

A team comprising of three Additional District Magistrates, four Sub-Divisional Magistrates, Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari and Health Officer were to supervise the cleaning operations in the city that houses 60 wards.

However, given the present circumstances, all the arrangements appear to be a thing of past. Sources in the DMC reveal that the sanitary conditions are deteriorating after Doon Valley Waste Management (DVWM) took over the 10 wards in the city.

“Even though the private company is looking after the 10 wards, it has failed to help the DMC in maintaining the sanitary conditions. Also, there is a clash within the sanitary workers of DMC and DVWM, who are now being forced to work together in the remaining 50 wards. There is no delegation of responsibility between both the parties, who indulge in blame game whenever the question of sanitation arises during the meetings,” said a source, requesting anonymity.

When Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Harshvardhan Mishra was contacted, he straightway declined that the city’s sanitary condition had deteriorated.

“We are working round the clock to ensure a clean city. It might be possible that due to the panchayat elections duties, some officials might be unable to visit the field, but that does not mean that the sanitary conditions are deteriorating,” he added.

UKD activists demand quota for women applicants from state
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
Activists of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) have urged the Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department to reserve seats for women applicants from the state, who are seeking admission to ANM (Auxiliary Nursing Midwifery) and GNM (General Nursing & Midwifery) courses.

They have threatened to launch an agitation if the state government does not accede to their demand.

A delegation of activists, led by central president of the UKD Trivendra Singh Panwar, met Director, Medical Education, Dr RP Bhatt, here today. They demanded that seats be reserved for women applicants from the state, who have the domicile of Uttarakhand and are seeking admission to ANM and GNM courses.

They complained that the department was trying to fill vacant seats through candidates belonging to other states.

The UKD activists also submitted a memorandum in this regard.

State convener Jaideep Bhatt, Manmohan Lakhera, Latafat Hussain, Rajkishore Rawat, Sufi Ahmed, Geeta Bisht and Ashok Negi were present on the occasion.

Their demands A delegation of activists, led by central president of the UKD Trivendra Singh Panwar, met Director, Medical Education, Dr RP Bhatt today They demanded that seats be reserved for women applicants from the state, who have the domicile of Uttarakhand and are seeking admission to ANM and GNM courses They complained that the department was trying to fill vacant seats through candidates belonging to other states The UKD activists also submitted a memorandum in this regard They have also threatened to launch an agitation if the state government does not accede to their demand

Congress men protest in support of their demands
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
Activists of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee staged a protest at the Cantt Board office here today in support of their demands.

They also submitted a memorandum of demands to the officials concerned. The protesters have threatened to launch an agitation if the department does not take effective steps to address their grievances.

The protesters were led by secretary of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee Anil Negi. They complained that residents of Premnagar are facing an acute shortage of potable water. The problem has worsened with the rising mercury.

They said despite a number of memorandums to the authorities highlighting their demands, the department concerned is yet to take steps to address their grievances.

The agitators said the condition of a park at Cantt was very poor and it should be renovated soon.

They also demanded to repair the damaged road in the area.

Young scientists must learn from experience of seniors: expert
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
A two-day workshop on writing scientific papers was inaugurated at Graphic Era University here today.

Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST) and Uttarakhand chapter of National Academy of Science are jointly organising this workshop.

Chief guest Vijay Kumar Dhaundiyal, director general of UCOST, said young scientists would be given opportunities in research and writing research papers.

He also stressed on preparing a road map for the overall development of the state. Managing director of National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), New Delhi, Rajendra Dobhal, told young scientists to learn from the experiences of senior scientists of the country and incorporate their experiences in their research papers.

Former union secretary Manju Sharma appreciated UCOST’s efforts to promote science in the region. She also stressed on giving adequate encouragement to young scientists.

Dr DP Uniyal, senior scientist at UCOST, disclosed that eminent scientists from across the country were taking part in the workshop. He disclosed that UCOST and the National Academy of Science have been organsing such workshops from time to time.

Professor VP Sharma, former additional managing director of Indian Medical Research Council, gave his lecture on the workshop’s theme. He taught the intricacies of writing scientific research papers to the young participants. He also gave answers to all the queries about the art of writing scientific research papers.

A large number of scientists, researchers and students are taking part in the workshop.

Priya chosen U’khand Queen
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
Priya Sharma was chosen as Queen of Uttarakhand while Uttam Mahar bagged the title of Prince of Uttarakhand during the Uttarakhand Prince and Queen competition organised jointly by D.B.C Creations and Bollywood school of Drama.

A dance and modelling competition, the show was organised at Survey auditorium. Priya Sharma also bagged the title of ‘Fresh Face’. Megha Kandwal was selected as the first runner up and winner of best figure title while Shilpa Rathore was adjudged as the second runner up and miss catwalk during the competition.

In the Prince of Uttarakhand competition, Uttam Mahar was chosen as Mr Photogenic while Abhishek Sharma was second runner up and selected for the title of Mr Hairstyle.

Those present during the function included Rahul Prasad, Rawal Vasudev, Zaid, Mohveen, Naiem, Ankit Vasudev, Waseem Raja, Utees Saigar, Zulfikaar and Ashish Sharma along with several others.

Agni Club win cricket tourney
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17
Agni Club lifted the Inter-School Cricket Tournament by defeating Surya Club in the final match played at Lucent International School here today.

After winning the toss, Surya Club elected to bat first and made 230 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Team captain Gaurav played an anchor innings and scored the highest 50 runs. Bhanu scored 31 runs while Piyush Kumar made 25 runs. In reply, Agni Club got off to a bad start and four of their top batsmen were back in the pavilion with only 12 runs on the board. However, Kundan and Aditya struck a brilliant partnership, smashed all opposition bowlers around the park and took their team close to the target. Rituraj and Ashutosh scored 18 and 27 runs, respectively, while Ashish played a good innings of 35 runs. In the 17th over, the team achieved the target with one wicket still in hand. Ravi Pawar of Agni Club was adjudged man of the match.