Uttarakhand govt should be sacked: Congress

Alleging that the life of Swami Nigamanand could not be saved due to negligence of the Uttarakhand government, Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Harak Singh Rawat on Saturday demanded the state government should be sacked.

"Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' should resign on moral grounds or else his government should be sacked," Rawat said here.

Pokhriyal tried his best to persuade Baba Ramdev to call off his fast but never tried to contact and talk with Swami Nigamananda, seer of Matri Sadan ashram in Haridwar, who was on fast since February 19, he alleged.

"The state government will have to answer the people of the state about the death of Swami Nigamanand," he said.

"Our party will meet Governor Margaret Alva to handover a memorandum demanding sacking of the state government," Rawat said.

A day-long fast will be observed by Congressmen at Gandhi Park here on Sunday and a protest will be held at Triveni Ghat in Rishikesh on June 22. A rally has also been scheduled for June 22 in Roorkie, he said.

Centre May transfer UP's share in Tehri, says CM

The centre is mulling a proposal to transfer 25 per cent equity share of Uttar Pradesh in the multi-purpose Tehri project to Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has said.

A proposal to this effect has been sent to the home ministry by the union power ministry, he said. "We are hoping that the home ministry will take a positive decision," said Nishank after taking up the matter with Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi.

Under the proposal, Nishank said the hill state would get 250 Mw of power from the project with immediate effect and also a profit of Rs 72 crore will be earned.

Faced with an acute shortage of power, the Uttarakhand government has been intensively campaigning for the transfer of the aforementioned equity share of the state in the Tehri project, the first phase of which is generating 1000 Mw of power.

During his last meeting with union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in New Delhi in June, the Chief Minister had strongly made the demand of the equity transfer under the provision of the Uttar Pradesh Reorganization Act 2000. There is a clause under the section 47(3) of the Act, under which investments made prior to the the creation of Uttarakhand should go to the state where the project is located. Uttar Pradesh is a 25 per cent shareholder in the Tehri project, while the centre’s share is 75 per cent.

Uttarakhand currently gets 12-13 per cent of free power from Tehri dam which has been built with an investment of Rs 9000 crore.

The Tehri project provides 1000 Mw peaking power to 9 beneficiaries — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. Apart from an annual generation of 2797 Mw power, the project also provides irrigation benefits to 8.74 lacs hectare area in Uttar Pradesh and drinking water facilities to Delhi (300 cusecs) and Uttar Pradesh (200 cusecs).

The power demand in Uttarakhand is growing by 10 per cent to 15 per cent every year which has now touched to 27-28 million units this year. After failing to make headway in the hydropower sector despite its tremendous potential, the government is exploring various new options to increase power in the state.

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Centre now tries to save Valley of Flowers

After the Bhagirathi valley, the Centre has now turned its focus on the enigmatic Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand to save it from a power project.

In a letter, Union Minster of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh asked the state government to stop the 24.3-Mw Bhyundar Ganga power project in order to save the famous Valley of Flowers situated in Chamoli district of the Garhwal region.

"I am sure you will not agree to any project that will destroy the serenity, splendour and richness of the Valley of Flowers," said Ramesh in his letter to CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Ramesh also cited concerns expressed by famous environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhat against the project and reminded the state government that similar concerns had also been expressed in the past by late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Significantly, the Centre’s latest move came after it scrapped a series of hydel projects in the Bhagirathi valley this year in view of mounting environmental concerns and religious sentiments. A section of people in the hill state, however, condemn the Centre’s decision to stop these hydel projects.

When contacted, additional power secretary M C Upreti said he would look into the issue.

The Valley of Flowers, an irresistible Himalayan treat in the hill state for tourists and naturalists, had been bestowed with the status of the world heritage site by UNESCO in 2005.

Situated at a dizzying height of 3352-3962 metres, Valley of Flowers, which was discovered by Frank Smythe, a British mountaineer and explorer in 1931, is the second area to get such an honour after the famous Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR) in the state.

The world famous 89 sq km valley, known for its immense biodiversity that include rare snow leopard is situated in upper expansion of Bhyundar Ganga in the far interior of Garhwal Himalayas.

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Uttarakhand yet to take a final call on GST

Despite its opposition, the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand is yet to take a final call on the controversial Goods and Service Tax (GST) which is expected to come into force next year.

A government official told Business Standard that the state government is taking an expert opinion in order to take a final decision on the GST, a bone of contention between the BJP ruled states and the centre.

The official, however, remained tightlipped whether Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who is vehemently opposing the GST mainly on the plank of state’s financial autonomy, would change his opinion in case the experts favour the GST. "See Uttarakhand is basically a consumers state not an industrial one. A preliminary assessment shows that the GST will not harm the interests of the state as it is being projected. Secondly, let the expert opinion comes, we will taka a final call," said the official.

Uttarakhand is opposing the GST saying the state was not in agreement with the proposed amendments in the present form as there is hardly any provision for safeguarding the financial autonomy of the states particularly for newly states like Uttarakhand. In a letter to the central empowered committee on GST, the hill state wants to hold talks with stake holders on the issue. Under the new GST regime, the state also seeking to retain its hold for imposing tax on at least 10 items.

The Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank is of the view that the state should be empowered in such a way that it can financially support itself in case of an emergency.

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U'khand to develop bus-stands

After setting up the first ISBT at Dehra Dun, the Uttarakhand government has decided to modernise roadways bus stations in 11 cities and develop four of them under PPP mode in the first phase.

The bus-stands at Kashipur, Ramnagar, Rudrapur and Srinagar towns would be developed on PPP mode where an investment of Rs 29 crore is proposed. A decision to this effect was taken by a meeting of the state cabinet which was presided over by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank yesterday. Later, seven other bus stations would also be developed.

After the meeting, Additional Secretary, Transport, Vinod Sharma said all the four bus stands would be given to a private developer with a 25 years lease on build, operate and transfer basis. All the new bus-stands will have facilities like hotels, office space, parking and dormitories. The government will get a lease rent of Rs 49 crore from developers

U'khand to set up NIT for Rs 400-500 crore

Focusing on the education sector, the Uttarakhand government has announced setting up of a National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Pauri district at a cost of Rs 400-Rs 500 crore.

Stating this, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank told reporters that the government was looking for land in the district for the proposed NIT, which would be the first in the hill state.

Uttarakhand has the privilege of having an IIT at Roorkee. Besides the NIT, a couple of new medical colleges have also been proposed in the state. The government has decided to build two medical colleges at an investment of Rs 200 crore each. Dehra Dun will soon get its first government medical college for which a proposal has already been submitted to the Medical Council of India (MCI). For this purpose, the government is looking for 10-acre land in the city. Already, some possible sites have been identified in this regard. Another government medical college would be built at the hill resort of Almora in Kumaon region for which Nishank recently held “bhoomi pujan.”

Nishank also said his government was contemplating a move to take over the forest trust hospital at Haldwani. With this, the total strength of government medical colleges in the state would go up to four.

The government last year set up its first medical college at Srinagar in Garhwal region, which has already started operation.

Already, two private medical colleges – Shri Mahant Indresh Medical College and Jollygrant Medical College — are functioning in Dehra Dun district.

BS