<p>Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of 'News Item titled "Deforestation ill-planned construction and unscientific - illegal mining behind Himachal Pradesh, monsoon catastrophe"
The state government will give cash rewards to encourage the eco-clubs to take up various environment-related activities. This was stated by principal secretary, science and technology, Harinder Hira, while inaugurating a three-day workshop for master trainers under the national green corps programme, which commenced here today. She said the top three eco-clubs, which excelled in various activities would be given Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000, respectively, on the basis of annual performance. She lamented that despite the degradation of environment the people were largely indifferent to the situation and not much was being done to protect it. She said master trainers should make it a point to encourage children to interact with nature so that they get sensitised. Member secretary of the state council for science, technology and environment Nagin Nanda threw light on the national green corps programme and role of their children in influencing their families and society as a whole to help develop a positive attitude towards environment protection. Involving children in the programme would have a long-term impact. National coordinator of the programme P.S. Sodhi explained the concept of ecological footprints and handprints. He emphasised the need to undertake environment auditing at individual and institutional levels. In all 48 master trainers from 11 districts of the state along with non-government organisation are participating in the workshop.
Managing trees, especially in Agroforestry, is of utmost importance, otherwise they may become too large and/or unstable. The integration of trees on the farmland creates complex biological interaction, which may not necessarily result in yield advantage. The tree architecture plays an important role in deciding the growth of understorey crops.
Among the different causes of forest fires, accidental causes result into more than 90 per cent fires followed by natural causes. Socio-economic factors, viz., land holding and social participation play an important role in the management of forest fires. This finding was further conformed by the regression analysis. However, education was found inversely related. The lack of interaction with forest department was reported as an important factor for the non participation of the respondent in the forest fire control.
Forest minister J.P. Nadda today said the government would soon review the policy for exporting Khair wood and kuth to help protect the economic interests of the farmers. Presiding over a meeting of senior officers to review the functioning of the Forest Department here he said the government would consider relaxing the restriction on export of Kuth and take effective steps for proper management and exploitation of herbal plants. It would also take a decision regarding the rights of ownership on the trees grown on uncultured land, after considering all related aspects into consideration and in consultation with the Revenue Department. He said steps would be taken to exploit the state's immense potential for eco-tourism to help generate self-employment avenues for unemployed youth. Referring to the plans to deal with the monkey menace, Nadda said the government had decided to set up two primate protection parks and a number of centres for mass sterilisation of the animals, which were not only creating nuisance in towns but also causing extensive damage to crops in villages. He said a sterilisation centre was already operational at Tutukandi in Shimla and two more would be set up at Gopalpur in Kangra district and Tal in Hamirpur district at a cost of Rs 2.6 crore. He said these centres would be made operational within six months and a target had been set up for sterilising 5,000 monkeys in two years at each centre. The forest minister said the primate protection parks would be set up on the lines of Asola wildlife sanctuary in Delhi. One such park would be started next month at Tara Devi near Shimla, whereas, the other would be set up at Jheen in Hamirpur district. He said Rs 1.51 crore would be spent on the construction of each park. Youth were being imparted training for catching monkeys so that they could earn from the government scheme. He said encouraging cultivation of herbal plants on commercial scale could strengthen economy and the effort would be that each family in the local panchayat was associated in the venture. He said the Forest Department would develop plant nurseries in every district depending upon the climatic condition and mater would be discussed with the Ayurveda Department. He said peoples' participation was an important aspect of forest management and asserted that policy decisions should be taken keeping in view the public grievances. He said regular discussions would be held with field the officers for effective implementation of projects. Additional chief secretary, forests, Avay Shukla, gave a detailed account of the activities of the department. He said the policies were framed keeping in view the public interest.
Rice is the most important Kharif crop of Punjab. With the increase in production of rice there is concomitant increase in the production of residue (rice straw), which is approximately 18.75 MT. About 80 percent of the rice residue it burnt in the fields, particularly after harvesting rice by combine harvesters.
Effect of forest fire on woody vegetation and regeneration behaviour was studied in Chir pine forest situated between 1150-1800 m in Solan Forest Division in Himachal Pradesh, India. Fire is considered to be one of the main causes of disturbance in Chir pine forests. The disturbance has become a requirement for vigorous ecosystem functioning and should be considered a normal part of an ecosystem's physical environment.
Hill bamboos, locally called 'Nirgal' form a very important vegetation component in the Sutlej catchment falling under the Rampur Forest Division and Kotgarh Forest Division of Shimla District in Himachal Pradesh.
Even as the fate of the Himalayan Ski village hangs in the balance, the new regime is yet to take a decision on a number of mega tourism projects for which bids have come in from big industrial houses. During Congress rule some prime government properties were advertised with a view to inviting investment for tourism promotion. This included setting up of a golf course at Baddi, a mini golf course at Baragaon, near Manali; a health resort at Jhatingiri in Mandi and setting up a lake resort at Bilaspur. Some big names in the hospitality industry like Raddison and Holiday Inn had sent in their bids for setting up a golf course at Baddi. Being close to the industrial estate of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh and to Chandigarh, the golf course is likely to emerge as a favourite haunt for those who love the game. The government will provide about 400 bighas of land for the golf course at Baddi. The Dhumal regime is yet to take a decision on the bids. "The fact that some very big names in the hospitality industry have sent in their bids is reason enough for us to go ahead with the bids,' admitted a senior official. However, no final decision has been taken with regard to the Himalayan ski village, a project about which the new regime has a lot of reservations along with other projects. Similarly, about 110 bighas of land is being offered at Baragaon, near Manali. The government has received about 12 bids in response to the advertisements for the setting up of a mini golf course at the picturesque locale in the Kullu-Manali valley. There is no dearth of takers even for the setting up of a health resort at Jhatingiri in Mandi. The proposed site was the erstwhile property of the rulers of Mandi and is a completely virgin area with not even the slightest traces of urbanisation. "The cool and clean environs of the place are ideally suited for a health spa for rejuvenation and relaxation,' informed an official. The Tourism Department is keen that Himachal can attract a lot of tourists through spas, the way Kerala has done. To showcase the tourism potential of Himachal, the government had organised a conclave where 15 government and 105 private properties had been offered to entrepreneurs on the theme
Himachal Pradesh would explore the possibilities of creating a Nanobiosys Technology Park in a joint venture, Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal said presiding over the 29th meeting of the state-level Single-window Clearance and Monitoring Committee held here today. The committee gave its clearance to 13 industrial-units involving an investment of Rs 973.82 crore and five expansion/revision proposals with an investment of Rs 692 crore potential for 4,414 persons. The approved units included Steel Authority of India and Ambuja Cements, besides many others. Addressing the meeting, the Chief Minister said the state would welcome investment in the latest technological advancements, which could ensure globally acceptable job guarantees to professionally qualified people of the state. He said the state had congenial environment for pollution-free industrial units and it fitted well for setting up of a Nanobiosys Technology Park. He said the state had already decided to create an IT Park in the state so that the global players were invited to open their outlets in the state.
