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	UP landslides victims face severe winter (September 28, 1998) Uttaranchal Bill leaves people of hill region unhappy (September 26, 1998) Doon gears up for various annual events (September 25, 1998) Kalyan Singh justifies exclusion of Hardwar (September 25, 1998) Warm welcome for Jaspal and Jitender (September 24, 1998) BJP MLAs differ over Haridwar (September 24, 1998) Govt urged to resolve problems facing Rajaji Park (September 24, 1998) UP clears deck for Uttaranchal (September 24, 1998) BJP ignores Akali threat (September 23, 1998) UP seeks to retain Hardwar, but not Udham Singh Nagar (September 23, 1998) Strategy to 'complicate' Uttaranchal issue (September 22, 1998) Move to exclude Hardwar from Uttaranchal irks BJP MLAs (September 22, 1998) BJP divided over Hardwar's exclusion from hill state (September 21, 1998) UP Cabinet reaches consensus on Hardwar (September 21, 1998) Herculean task ahead for Uttaranchal (September 19, 1998) Exclude Hardwar from draft Bill: BJP leaders (September 18, 1998) Uttaranchal not on top of BJP agenda (September 10, 1998) NGO to hold workshop on Uttarakhand region (September 9, 1998) Village-level plan to conserve forests in UP hills (September 8, 1998) Malpa porters -- forgotten victims of landslide tragedy (September 4, 1998)		UP landslides victims face severe winter SHRINAGAR (Garhwal), Sept. 28 (UNI) The victims of landslides and floods in Ukhimath and Malpa regions of Uttar Pradesh face yet another problem from nature- the approaching winter, that is expected to be the worst this year. The landslides, which killed hundreds of people including Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrims and the floods had destroyed the homes of the local residents. Expressing concern over the situation, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Gautam Kaul said rehabilitation efforts were hampered because the district administration lacked resources to provide adequate logistic support. Talking to reporters here yesterday, Mr Kaul said the ITBP was seriously considering evolving a fool-proof system to identify genuine victims and transport relief to remote areas. The local administration should efficiently and quickly identify the victims and fix parameters for relief and rehabilitation, he added. Mr Kaul said the ITBP will build a 66 KW microhydel plant at Kalapani near Dharchulla in Pithoragarh district to supply electricity to its camps as well as nearby villages. Kalapani is an important halt for Kailash-mansarovar pilgrims. The plant, which is expected to be operational within two years, will be located one km upstream from Kalapani. The plant will be designed to increase power generation up to 120 KW he said. Uttaranchal Bill leaves people of hill region unhappy By Arvind Singh Bisht The Times of India News Service - (September 26, 1998) LUCKNOW: The UP reorganisation Bill to create a separate Uttaranchal state - which was passed by the state legislature on Thursday - may become a millstone around the neck of the ruling BJP. The party, both at the Centre and in the state, finds that it stands to lose whatever the outcome. The ball is now in the Centre's court, but the issue which had aroused so much passion, seems to have lost much of its euphoric appeal for both the hill people as well as the BJP. Surviving on the ``crutches'' of its allies, the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in UP, have been compelled to play safe. The hill people see the amendments to the draft Bill as a ``retreat'' by the BJP. The party had secured 17 of the 19 seats in the UP hills during the 1996 assembly elections. The BJP sweep had come as a surprise, since the region is considered to be a Congress stronghold. The success had been attributed to the BJP's ability to hijack the Uttaranchal issue from the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD). The predicament of the BJP is amply reflected by its move to keep Hardwar out of the new hill state, under pressure from its major allies - the Loktantrik Congress Party (LCP) and the Janatantrik Bahujan Samaj Party (JBSP). The two parties together account for 41 members in the House and the BJP could ill afford to ignore their protests. The pressure was not against the inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar, since the demands of the Akali Dal have little impact on state politics. Chief minister Kalyan Singh, however, explains that Udham Singh Nagar could not be excluded, as it had been included in all the three resolutions for a separate hill state adopted by different state governments since 1991. The same holds true for excluding Hardwar, he said, as it did not figure in these resolutions. But political observers here feel that Mr Kalyan Singh's decision was prompted by political compulsions. The chief minister, in fact, has chosen to concede to his allies rather than to his party legislators from the hill region, who still want Hardwar to be included. Much on the lines of the UP government, the Centre is also expected to exclude Udham Singh Nagar under pressure from the Akali Dal. As such, the possibility of the hill state becoming a reality is doubtful. The focus has shifted to the central leadership of the BJP which would have to concentrate on retaining power rather than creating a separate Uttaranchal state. The BJP MLAs from the hill region are also opposed to various other amendments to the Bill that give the new state no autonomy over its rivers and power projects. Besides, the power-sharing formula on the basis of 20 per cent for the hill state and 80 per cent for the rest of UP is also resented by these MLAs. UKD leader Kanshi Singh Aeri feels the hill people have been ``taken for a ride''. Doon gears up for various annual events UNI - Friday, September 25 1998 DEHRA DUN: Come October and this famous valley of the Garhwal region begins preparing for the several annual events of cultural and academic significance besides the Dussehra and Deepawali festivities. Before the severe winter months set in, people of Doon make the most of the beautiful autumn days when there is at last some respite from the heavy rainfall for which this valley is renowned. Tourists also begin visiting the valley as well as Mussoorie in September and October after a comparatively small tourist inflow in the rainy months of July and August. The Doon school, Welham Girls High School and Welham boys school, the three prestigious residential educational institutions in the valley, are abuzz with activity as their staff and students make hectic preparations for their annual founder's day functions in October. Rehearsals for plays to be performed, sports practice and the several other events scheduled for the celebrations keep the students busy. Parents of these students come to Doon from all parts of the country and abroad to attend the founder's celebrations and this gives good business to the hotels in the valley as they stay for almost a week. Kalyan Singh justifies exclusion of Hardwar Date: 25-09-1998 :: Pg: 09 :: Col: a By Our Special Correspondent LUCKNOW, Sept 24. The 26 amendments inserted by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly yesterday in the Centre's draft Bill on formation of a separate hill State demonstrate a lack of communication on the part of the Centre and the State Government. While the two resolutions adopted by the U.P. Assembly in 1991 when BJP was in power and in 1997 when it was sharing power with the BSP had named proposed promotion of Uttaranchal, the BJP- ruled Centre opted for Uttarakhand, a name chosen by its rival, Samajwadi Party during its tenure in 1994. Similarly, inclusion of Hardwar district which never was a part of Garhwal division in the Centre's draft Bill, oblivious of the strong reservations among all sections in the plains, including the BJP and the Congress (I), was another instance of a short- sighted approach, resulting in a virtual rejection by the U.P. legislature. Mr. Kalyan Singh justified the exclusion of Hardwar on the ground that the district had not been included in any of the three resolutions passed by the U.P. legislature in the past. There is no denying the fact that senior U.P. State BJP leaders, instigated some lightweight Ministers belonging to its allies to vociferously oppose the inclusion of Hardwar in Uttaranchal. It is true that people of Uttaranchal at no stage in the past demanded inclusion of Hardwar district. They were content with the districts included in the two divisions of the hills-Kumaon and Garhwal. Of course, a demand for incorporation of the Kumbh area of Hardwar gained currency only of late. The saints of Hardwar, like the Sikhs in Uddhamsingh Nagar, feared that the new State may enact land ceiling laws which would deprive them of huge tracts attached to ashrams, brought pressure on the BJP, but later toned down their opposition following certain `assurances' from the party. The BJP MLAs from Uttaranchal strongly pleaded for inclusion of Hardwar, particularly the Kumbh area, bereft of which Uttaranchal would lose some of its religious and cultural shin. On Tuesday all BJP Legislators and MPs from Uttaranchal submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr. Kalyan Singh, and wanted to keep in tact most provisions of the draft bill of the Centre. During the marathon meeting on September 19, the Cabinet rejected the pleas of the Hill Development Minister, Mr. Romesh Pokhriyal, over Hardwar and several other issues like ownership of the major hydel and irrigation projects falling under Uttaranchal. However, they ratified the amendments in the House yesterday hoping that the Centre would heed their plea. The hill MLAs also wanted a separate High Court with a bench in Dehra Dun. They sought Rs.100 crores from Uttar Pradesh as against Rs. 50 crores provided for in the Centre's draft Bill for construction of the new Capital for Uttaranchal. The amendments have suggested that the Centre should underwrite the expenditure of Rs. 50 crores for construction of a Capital, for which the site would be finalised only after the fruition of the new State. Till then Dehra Dun and Nainital alternatively would function as the State headquarter. Uttaranchal will have a 60-member Assembly, while Uttar Pradesh will be left with a House strength of 403. Uttaranchal shall have five Lok Sabha constituencies and U.P. will be left with 80. Twenty-eight hill members of the two Houses of U.P. legislature will become members of the Provisional Legislative Assembly once the Centre notifies constitution of the Uttaranchal State. Warm welcome for Jaspal and Jitender NEW DELHI, Sept 23 (HT Correspondent) If Jaspal Rana is returning to town, can the conches and drums be far behind? Minutes after touchdown this evening at the IGI Airport, Jaspal was whisked away. No, not for any scrutiny by the Customs, but to send the waiting crowd into a frenzy. First, it was the emotional reunion with his wife Reena and other members of the family --just what the photographers had wanted. Flash-bulbs popped repeatedly, and each one tried to get as close as possible to the Midas of Indian sport. The moment Jaspal came out and waved to his fans, the drum-beats increased to such a decibel that it was impossible to hear anything, even if Jaspal had wanted to thank them. The scenes of joy were repeated yet again, this time for boxer Jitender Kumar. The elated Delhi pugilist, who returned with silver, was greeted by 'bhangra' and sweets and he left promising us with a better medal. "Gold at the Asian Games. I am glad to be back, and I will give it my best shot in Bangkok," he said. Even though the weightlifters, who won a bagful of medals, also returned by the same flight, all attention centred around Jaspal. He was the darling of the crowd. "I did this for the country and promise you more in future," he said. What next? "Asian Games and then I will go with my coach (Tibor Gonczol) to Australia" There was momentary silence before one asked whether he was going there for good as has been rumoured. The answer came in a flash. "No." One did not need to probe him further. Praising Jaspal's efforts, veteran Ashok Pandit said there was still room for improvement. "The camp we had prior to the Malaysia trip was too long." BJP MLAs differ over Hardwar LUCKNOW, Sept. 23 (HT Correspondent) Differences within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party over the contentious issue of inclusion of Hardwar in the proposed hill state of Uttaranchal surfaced in the Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday with its legislators from the hills strongly advocating in its favour. The MLA's who had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, on Tuesday night to air their reservations over the amendments suggested by the state government in the UP Reorganisation Bill, 1998, put up a spirited and united defence in favour of their demand. They also urged the State Government to reconsider the amendments moved by it with respect to the division of assets between the two states. "let not the big brother deprive the smaller brother of its due share." Bharat Singh Rawat, Kedar Singh Phonia, Lakhi Ram Joshi, Gyan Chand (all BJP) said Hardwar should remain a part of Uttaranchal. Centre has included Hardwar in the proposed hill state after giving due consideration to all aspects. He said the opposition to the inclusion of Hardwar and Udham Singh nagar in the proposed state came from a handful of people. He also spoke against the resolution moved by the State Government on the division of the assets and demanded High Court bench at Dehradun. Lakhi Ram Joshi held Mulayam Singh Yadav responsible for creating hurdles in the creation of the hill state by provoking the people of U.S. Nagar. They are playing cheap politics only to create tension between the people of Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh. Gyan Chand described Hardwar as the gate of Uttaranchal. He said Uttaranchal state should retain the title on water resource projects in the hills. Kedar Singh Phonia said the regional emotional and geographical boundaries of Uttaranchal as described in the Khand Puran is spread out from Hardwar to Kailash. The Samajwadi Party legislator from hills, Mr Munna Singh Chauhan, also took dissenting stand from that of his party. "Do not give us a crippled state', he pleased while issuing a veiled threat of an indefinite agitation. "We know how to take our rights". Mr Chauhan said during the day long debate on the UP Reorganisation Bill, 1998. Contrary to the apprehensions the debate started in a peaceful atmosphere with several members evincing keen interest in it. Resolutions seeking amendments in the draft Bill were moved by several SP legislators, Subhash Chandra Srivastava of Janata Dal and Communist leader, Ram Jug. Munna Singh Chauhan moved a separate resolution. Starting the debate, Samajwadi Party MLA from Hardwar, Ambrish Kumar, said they would not allow inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed hill state at any cost." How can there be two standards for two different areas in a democracy. Govt urged to resolve problems facing Rajaji Park UNI - September 24, 1998 DEHRA DUN: The Rajaji National Park in the Shivaliks should be formally declared as a protected area by the State Government after resolving the issues which have so far hindered this declaration, the Friends of the Doon (FOD) Society says. The ruined hills and forests of the Shivaliks in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are standing examples of human interference and the Shivaliks in Uttar Pradesh must be saved, the FOD an NGO based in this Valley, observes. In to a study published by them recently, the FOD says that the tremendous biotic pressure imposed by the Gujjars on the already fragile Shivalik ecosystem must be removed as the need for saving these forests paramount. The only way to save these Gujjars as well as the forests of the Rajaji National Park is to help them in all possible ways to move out of the forests and resettle on land to be provided by the State together with other facilities, the study says. The UP Government has sent a proposal to the Centre seeking its clearance for providing two acres of land to each Gujjar family. The proposal said that land would be acquired by clearing degraded forest land. The FOD Society, in conjunction with the Park Directorate and the Wildlife Protection Society of India, is planning a comprehensive socio-economic programme to help the Gujjar community to join the mainstream of rural life in the region, of which a major component would be upgradation of their cattle and animal husbandry practices. Only recently, says the FOD Society, officials of the Central and State Governments have begun taking effective steps to manage the park with a firm hand and resolve the problems, including resettlement of the Gujjars, in a rational manner. ``We believe it is wrong to instigate the Gujjars to take over the forests and continue to live as they are doing now, without education, health care and deprived of some of their basic rights, such as right to vote,'' the FOD Society says. ``Most Gujjars have stopped their annual migration to the higher mountain ranges and now stay in the park throughout the year. This has increased the pressure on the forests moreover, the Gujjars are not tribals in the sense in which some communities of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa are. They are thus not self- sufficient inside the forests and depend on the sale of milk for their survival,'' says the FOD. The government's priority should therefore be to restore this wildlife habitat by checking overgrazing and exploitation of the Shivalik forests by these pastoral nomads as well as people of the neighbouring villages, the FOD Society has stressed. UP clears deck for Uttaranchal PTI - Thursday, September 24 1998 LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday passed the ``Uttar Pradesh reorganisation draft Bill, 1998'' and cleared the deck for creation of proposed hill state of Uttaranchal. The House adopted a resolution seeking 26 amendments on various issues relating to the proposed hill state, including exclusion of Haridwar district, from the original draft Bill by a division vote of 215 in its favour and 74 against. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies and the Congress Party voted in favour of the draft Bill while the main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and Left parties voted against the resolution moved by state Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. The BSP legislators, however, boycotted the special session of the state assembly convened to discuss the Uttaranchal statehood Bill protesting against the inclusion of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts in the proposed hill state. The Bharatiya Kissan Kamgar Party (BKKP) and the Janata Dal did not participate in the voting as the two parties staged a walkout earlier in the day demanding creation of separate states for eastern and western districts of Uttar Pradesh. The resolution, with 26 amendments passed in the House through a division voting by `raising of hands', had sought exclusion of Haridwar district but decided to retain the controversial Udham Singh Nagar district in the proposed state. The original Bill sent by the Centre for consideration of the state legislature had included both Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts in 13 districts for the proposed state. The Chief Minister in his resolution on Tuesday had sought major amendment in the Constitution of `a board' for deciding share of water resources and its management in the proposed hill state. Expressing his disagreement with the Centre, the Chief Minister pleaded the board should comprise members from Uttar Pradesh and proposed Uttaranchal state rather than representation of six states, including Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh as mentioned in the original draft Bill. BJP ignores Akali threat ENS & AGENCIES - September 23, 1998 LUCKNOW, SEPT 22: The Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill (1988) envisaging the creation of a separate hill state of Uttarakhand referred by the President of India was today tabled in the state Assembly for consideration. The bill was tabled by the secretary of the Vidhan Sabha. Later, Chief Minister Kalyan Singh moved a resolution seeking 26 amendments in the bill including exclusion of Hardwar district from the proposed hill state. The three-day special session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature was convened for the passage of the resolution on creation of Uttarakhand. The original bill as sent by the President of India for seeking the opinion of the state Legislature in connection with the creation of a separate hill state. The debate on the proposed amendments will take place in the House tomorrow which would resolve to send it to the central government for follow-up action. In spite of the threat of withdrawal of support by the Akali Dal, a party supporting the BJP-led coalition at the Centre,the state government has chosen to remain quiet on the issue of inclusion of Udhamsingh Nagar in the proposed state. The amendment says till the time a high court is not constituted in the proposed hill state, the Allahabad high court will decide the cases. Uttar Pradesh and the proposed state can both start such water resources projects in their respective states as are not harmful to the interests of the other. According to the amendment, the Central government will provide Rs 50 crore for the setting up of a capital for the new state although the bill mentioned that this was the responsibility of the state government. The original bill had proposed Uttarakhand comprising 13 districts inclusive of Hardwar and Udhamsingh Nagar. The state government sought to change the composition of the hill state to 12 districts, excluding Hardwar. The chief minister, moving his resolution of amendments, proposed to change the name of the hill state from Uttarakhand to Uttaranchal. The original draft had mentioned Uttarakhand as the name of the proposed hill state. The proposed state is to comprise Pauri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Nainital, Almora, Pithoragarh, Udhamsingh Nagar, Bageshwar, Champawat and Rudraprayag districts. According to the amendment, Uttarakhand will get 20 per cent of the hydel power generated by the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board. The former would have to pay the cost of production for this. The Uttar Pradesh government has retained all the rights relating to power generation. According to the amendment, the rights and responsibilities related to the present irrigation and hydel projects or even those under construction in Uttarakhand will vest with the Uttar Pradesh government. According to the amendment, the members of the state Vidhan Parishad who are bonafide residents of Uttarakhand, would now be members of the interim Vidhan Sabha of the proposed state. Copyright (c) 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. UP seeks to retain Hardwar, but not Udham Singh Nagar UNI - September 22, 1998 The Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 1988, envisaging the creation of a separate hill state of Uttarakhand, was tabled in the state assembly for consideration today. Later, Chief Minister Kalyan Singh moved a resolution seeking 26 amendments in the bill, including the exclusion of Hardwar district from the proposed state. The three-day special session of the Uttar Pradesh legislature has been convened to adopt a resolution on the creation of Uttarakhand. The bill was sent by the President of India to seek the opinion of the state legislature on the creation of the new state. The debate on the proposed amendments will take place tomorrow after which the House will resolve to send the bill back to the central government for follow-up action. The original bill had proposed an Uttarakhand comprising 13 districts, including Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar. The state government is seeking to change the composition to 12 districts, excluding Hardwar. The chief minister, moving his resolution of amendments, also proposed to change the name of the new state from Uttarakhand to Uttaranchal. The original draft had mentioned Uttarakhand as the name. According to the chief minister's amendment, the new state will comprise Pauri, Tehri, Garhwal, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Nainital, Almora, Pithoragarh, Udham Singh Nagar, Bageshwar, Champawat and Rudraprayag districts. According to another amendment, Uttarakhand will get 20 per cent of the hydroelectric power generated by the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board and will have to pay the cost of production. The Uttar Pradesh government has retained all the rights relating to power generation. According to an amendment, the rights and responsibilities relating to the present irrigation and hydroelectric projects or even those under construction in Uttarakhand will vest with Lucknow. Kalyan Singh has also suggested that members of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad (the Upper House of the state legislature) who are bona fide residents of Uttarakhand, should be made members of the interim Vidhan Sabha (Lower House) of the new state. But in spite of the threat of withdrawal of support by the Shiromani Akali Dal to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition at the Centre, the state government has chosen to remain quiet on the issue of excluding Udham Singh Nagar from the proposed state. Another amendment moved by the chief minister says that till a high court is constituted in the new state, the Allahabad high court's jurisdiction will continue to extend over its territory. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand can both start such water resource projects in their respective states as are not harmful to the interests of the other. Also, according to one amendment, the Centre will provide Rs 500 million to build a capital for the new state. The original bill had put the onus for this on the Uttar Pradesh government. According to the amendment on distribution of stores, both states will together solve any disputes. If problems persist, the Centre's intervention will be sought. For any road bridge constructed by the Uttar Pradesh government in the territory of Uttarakhand, the right to collect road tax will not vest with the new state. The assembly will discuss the bill tomorrow. It has to be returned to the President by September 28. Strategy to 'complicate' Uttaranchal issue Date: 22-09-1998 :: Pg: 09 :: Col: a By Our Staff Correspondent NAINITAL, Sept. 21. The renewed threat by the Punjab Chief Minister and Akali Dal leader Mr. Parkash Singh Badal, to withdraw support to the Vajpayee Government if Udham Singh Nagar is included in the proposed Uttaranchal State is being seen as part of the saffron brigade's strategy to complicate the issue and delay formation of the hill State and to draw political mileage during future elections. Residents of the region feel that had the BJP been serious about forming the hill State it would not have included Hardwar in the draft Bill ratified by the Union Cabinet as there had been no mention of Hardwar in the Uttarakhand/ Uttaranchal context so far. Immediately, the ruling alliance partner the Lok Tantrik Congress, Ministers, led by Mr Naresh Aggarwal, threatened to resign from the Kalyan Singh Government. The Loktantrik Congress has no base in or around Hardwar region. Now the State BJP leadership, the Chief Minister downwards, is saying that Hardwar would be dropped from the Bill and the issue of Udham Singh Nagar's inclusion would be left to the Centre. It may be mentioned that Udham Singh Nagar was carved out by Ms. Mayawati out of Nainital district a few years ago. Attempts by Ms. Mayawati to club the new district to Bareilly division was scuttled through a massive outcry by Uttarakhandis then. Any move to keep this district out of the hill State will lead to a massive agitation by the hill folks and also adversely affect the cordial relationship between the hill and non-hill population - mostly Sikhs who own vast farm lands, says Dr.M.S. Rawat, a keen political observer. People in Garhwal division seem to be silently watching the manouveres of the BJP. ``We have lost all hopes of an early formation of Uttarakhand and the BJP, which had promised to create the new State within 90 days of coming to power, has ditched us'' charge Mrs. Urmila Dabral and Dr.S.S. Negi at Srinagar. The general feeling in Tehri, Uttarkashi, Chamoli or Dehra Dun districts is that the MLAs, most of whom belong to the BJP, are finding it difficult to face the people who are asking about the delays in formation of the hill State. The 17 BJP MLAs from the hills are reported to have threatened to resign enmasse if the Bill was not passed in the special session of the State Assembly over the next two days. It seems that the Chief Minister, Mr. Kalyan Singh, would try to get the Bill passed with recommendations to the Centre to take a final decision on Udham Singh Nagar and leave Hardwar with Uttar Pradesh. Move to exclude Hardwar from Uttaranchal irks BJP MLAs By R P Nailwal The Times of India News Service DEHRA DUN: Simmering discontent among the 17 BJP MLAs and MPs from the 12 hill districts is coming to the fore over the move to exclude Hardwar from the proposed state of Uttaranchal. According to them, Hardwar is part and parcel of the hlll region since times immemorial. These leaders have also urged the Centre not to bow to the Akali pressure to keep Udham Singh Nagar out of the proposed hill state. There are 19 MLAs from the hills in the state assembly. The UP assembly is scheduled to discuss the Bill on Uttaranchal on Tuesday and Wednesday. The state leadership is now said to be reversing its earlier stand on Hardwar and willing to retain it in the state presumably under pressure from the Loktantrik Congress, an important partner of the government. However, on Udham Singh Nagar, the state leadership continues to be firm that it cannot be kept out of the proposed hill state. Seventeen MLAs under the leadership of minister for hill development Ramesh Chandra Pokhriyal have been consistently maintaining that there can be no compromise on the inclusion of two districts. ``We can not allow this unjustified demand to be met under pressure. There are historical factors and how can we afford to overlook these?'' asked Mr Pokhriyal. BJP Rajya Sabha member Manoharkant Dhyani and four Lok Sabha members from the hill districts, Maj Gen (retd) B C Khanduri, Manvendra Shah, Ila Pant and Bachhi Singh Rawat, have also voiced their concern over the issue at various public and private meetings. Meanwhile, the only Samajwadi Party MLA from Chakrata constituency in Uttaranchal, Munna Singh Chauhan, and national general secretary of party Vinod Barthwal, have already raised a banner revolt against party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's stand over the inclusion of the two districts in the new hill state. The Samajwadi Party had organised anti-merger rallies both at Udham Singh Nagar and Hardwar and also decided to vote against the Uttaranchal Bill if the two districts are included in the new state. Samajwadi Party leaders in the hills have now taken a line altogether different from that of their party and even challenged the party leadership on the sensitive issue. ``How can Mr Yadav act against the interests of the hills while in the past he had been talking about the welfare of the poor and backwards in the hills? Was he shedding crocodile tears?'' asks one leader wishing to remain unidentified. This time, however, the BJP MLAs, MPs, party office-bearers and workers in the hill districts have also decided to question the party's reported move to keep Hardwar out of Uttaranchal while remaining silent on the fate of Udham Singh Nagar. These two districts have become a bone of contention between pro and anti-merger political parties and groups. BJP divided over Hardwar's exclusion from hill state The Times of India News Service LUCKNOW: Despite the unanimous decision of the state cabinet to exclude Hardwar from the proposed Uttaranchal state, the BJP is divided over the issue. The BJP MPs from the hills of UP alleged that chief minister Kalyan Singh was playing into the hands of his ministerial colleagues who had no political interest in the hills. Even the Uttaranchal minister Ramesh Pokhrial had expressed his reservation on the issue, according to sources. It took almost 10 hours for Kalyan Singh and his cabinet colleagues to reach a decision on Saturday. A highly-placed source told The Times Of India News Service on Sunday that at one point of time the Uttaranchal minister almost walked out of the meeting. He tried to remind Mr Kalyan Singh about the promise the BJP had made to the people about creation of Uttaranchal. There were frayed tempers as LCP leader Naresh Agarwal tried to argue why Hardwar should remain with UP. The source said that the chief minister remained a mute spectator as two cabinet ministers exchanged harsh words. Party MPs from the hills are sore over the decision of the state government. ``What could be more shameful than the fact that the state government will amend the proposal which has been passed by its own party in the Centre,'' said Maj Gen (retd) Bhuwan Chand Khanduri, party MP from Garhwal. Another BJP MP from Tehri Manwendra Shah said the state government's decision tantamounts to disrespecting the sentiments of the Central government. ``The decision of the Kalyan Singh government is `unjustified'. It is unacceptable to us,'' he said. UP Cabinet reaches consensus on Hardwar PRESS TRUST OF INDIA - September 21, 1998 LUCKNOW, SEPT 20: The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet is understood to have reached a consensus to exclude Hardwar district from the proposed Uttaranchal state. The draft legislation for Uttaranchal will be tabled at the two-day special session of the state legislature on Tuesday. Though there was no official word on what transpired during the two rounds of marathon cabinet meeting yesterday, senior Cabinet ministers said on condition of anonymity that ``majority of the ministers were in favour of keeping the Hardwar district out of the proposed Uttaranchal state''. The cabinet had last night authorised Chief Minister Kalyan Singh to take a final decision on including Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts in the proposed state and move the resolution in this regard in the assembly. The ministers said it was emphasised at the meeting that the three successive governments in Uttar Pradesh, in their respective resolutions, had not included Hardwar in the proposed hill state. Sources inform that the cabinet alsodecided to set up a two-member panel to look into details of power and water sharing between Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. The sub-committee on Uttaranchal is scheduled to meet here tomorrow for discussions. The two day special session of Cabinet was convened here on September 18 but the House was adjourned till September 22 after condoling the death of Food and Civil Supplies Minister Aizaz Rizvi. While Chief Minister Digvijay Singh will move the resolution on Uttaranchal on Tuesday, the House would take it up for discussions the next day and put it to vote, if necessary. Copyright (c) 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. Herculean task ahead for Uttaranchal LUCKNOW, Sept. 18 (From Umesh Raghuvanshi) Carving out the new Uttaranchal state is proving to be a herculean task. The foremost task of the new State would be the new set of officers and toning up of the official machinery. A new administrative set up would be required and the officers would have to acquaint themselves with the new political masters. While a large number of officers working in the region may be reverted to Uttar Pradesh, vacancies at various levels will have to be filled. Interestingly, the officers who hail from the hill region may also prefer to stay and work in Uttar Pradesh instead of opting for the new State. According to sources only nine officers had opted for the hill region when options were invited by the State Government for posting in the secretariats set up in the hill region. The officers include Mr Ajay Vikram Singh, Mr V. M. Vohra, Mr R. S. Tolia, Ms Neena Ranjan, Mr Radhey Shyam Kaushik, Mr Subhash Kumar, Mr Amrendra Singh, Mr P. K. Sarangi and Mr Jagan Mathews. The strength of the IAS cadre would be fixed only after the new state is formed. There are indications that the Centre will have to invite options from other States to fill the vacancies in the elite cadre of the new State. Most of the departments functioning in the region have their headquarters in the State capital. The departments have their zonal headquarters either in Garhwal or the Kumaon division. A separate hill cadre has also been formed in 35 departments. The cadre, however, has been only implemented in respect to class three and class four posts. Majority of the departments still have to have a separate hill cadre for the class one posts. Even the warning issued by Chief Secretary Yogendra Narain recently to identify the class one posts of hill cadre has failed to bring desired results. Consequently, a large number of posts remain vacant at various levels. Earlier two secretariat had been set up at Dehradun and Nainital during the President rule. The offices of the Uttaranchal Development Department were shifted to the hill region on the directives of Mr Vora. The two secretariats were, however, closed in the successive years owing to non-availability of the staff. The two secretariats were shifted to Lucknow again soon after Mr Vora was shifted. The Kalyan Singh Government has now revived the two secretariats which have been made functional and senior officers have been posted there again. While Dr Raja Ram has been posted as secretary in the Nainital secretariat, Director Tourism (Hills) P. C. Sharma and Director Small-Scale Industry (Hills) Brijendra Pal have been given additional charge as secretary of Uttaranchal Development Department at the Dehradun secretariat. A senior PCS officer has been posted at Dehradun as officer on special duty to co-ordinate the functioning. The new State will have to launch a recruitment drive to fill the vacancies at the two secretariats and other offices. The process for recruitment at over 11,000 posts Iying vacant in various State Government offices and educational institutions has been already initiated. Exclude Hardwar from draft Bill: BJP leaders Date: 18-09-1998 :: Pg: 09 :: Col: a By P.K.Roy LUCKNOW, Sept 17. Senior BJP leaders, including Ministers hailing from U.P. plains, vociferously opposed the inclusion of Hardwar district in the proposed Uttaranchal state, and would request the Centre to exclude Hardwar district from the final Bill introduced in the Parliament, through a separate resolution. The U.P. Assembly, which begins its special session tomorrow for the purpose, has to pass the Centre's Bill by September 28 and those favouring inclusion of Hardwar district in the proposed state belong to hill districts and are therefore in a hopeless minority. Hardwar district was not included in the three resolutions passed by U.P. Assembly in 1992, 1994 and 1997, recommending to Centre for a separate hill state. Mr. Kalyan Singh, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ms. Mayawati were Chief Ministers when the House unanimously passed the resolutions. But, not for once Hardwar was mentioned. Even the cabinet sub- committee constituted by Mr. Kalyan Singh which went into various aspects of the creation of Uttaranchal, did not mention Hardwar. The protagonists of the hill state, however, had raised the issue of Kumbh Mela area to form part of the new state, which meant the entire holy town. The Centre's move to include Hardwar district in its entirety in the new state as shown in its Bill therefore came as a major surprise. However, the Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee's assurance in Lucknow that views of the U.P. Assembly over Hardwar would be taken into consideration by the Centre demonstrated that options on this issue are still open. There is unanimity among political parties as far as creation of a separate hill state is concerned. But, Samajwadi Party has of late developed some reservation along with BSP, mainly over inclusion of Udhamsingh Nagar, which was part of Nainital district earlier and is still part of Kumaon division. Interestingly, when Assembly passed resolutions with Mr. Mulayam Singh and Ms. Mayawati respectively in power, areas of plains now part of Udhamsingh Nagar were not excluded from the proposed state. The BSP has decided to boycott the special session and made BJP's task easier in the House. The Congress is committed to toeing BJP line, as it is the only other party besides BJP which matters in the hill and any opposition to inclusion of Udhamsingh Nagar will wipe of whatever influence it is now left with. The Shiromani Akali Dal's strong opposition has wilted and leaders of the hill state movement have been able to allay several misgivings of the rich Sikh farmers of Udhamsingh Nagar, who are apprehensive that their vast excess land would be brought under ceiling act in new state. Provision is made in the Bill itself to maintain status quo. The new industries had come up in the Udhamsingh Nagar part of Uttarakhand, with an investment of nearly Rs. 5000 crores, in contrast to neighbouring districts in the plains. These benefits will only be multiplied, the Minister of Uttaranchal Development, Mr. Romesh Pokhriyal, has explained. He also helped to tame down earlier opposition of the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Prakash Singh Badal to the Centre's move. Akalis, who had threatened to withdraw support to the Vajpayee Government, has virtually fallen in line. The earlier spate of agitation in Udhamsingh Nagar against inclusion in new hill has subsided substantially. But, Hardwar is proving a hard nut to crack. The idea was to include some portion of the plains so that Uttaranchal would have a composite population. Here also the saints were strongly opposed to opt for new state, like rich Sikhs, fearing that their vast landed properties would be lost owing to enforcement of Ceiling Act. An assurance has been given to them, to bring them to fall in line. Residents there do not favour exclusion of Kumbh area from Hardwar district. The entire district should either go Uttaranchal or remain in U.P. Many now see merit in opting for the new state, as otherwise, much of the business interests would shift to neighbouring Rishikesh which would be the entry point for yatras to Himalayan shrines, which largely sustains the economy of Hardwar. However, many senior BJP Ministers are not reconciled to parting with the important religious centre Hardwar where Kumbh Mela is held at regular interval. In fact one senior BJP Minister had even expressed his strong opposition to inclusion of Hardwar and most of these luminaries do not even belong to western U.P. what to say of Hardwar. The U.P. Assembly's special session beginning from tomorrow may have to be extended. The bill is likely to be tabled on September 23 and passed next day. Meanwhile, last minute efforts are underway to arrive at a concensus. The sailing would be smooth, with support of the Congress and boycott of the BSP. But, knowledgeable sources point out that a separate request would be appended seeking to delete Hardwar district from the purview of final Central Bill. The Legislators from Uttaranchal, 17 out of 19 belonging to BJP, are left with little hope over Hardwar as the ground reality is pitted against them. Uttaranchal not on top of BJP agenda Date: 10-09-1998 :: Pg: 09 :: Col: a By Our Staff Correspondent DEHRA DUN, Sept. 9. The BJP, which swept the hill region on the separate hill State issue in the last elections, is in no hurry for Uttaranchal as that would make survival of the Kalyan Singh Ministry in Uttar Pradesh difficult, if not impossible. The BJP, which holds 17 out of 19 MLAs, from the hills would be the biggest loser in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly number game if these legislators are discounted after the creation of Uttaranchal. Meanwhile, the State Assembly will have a three-day special session beginning September 18 to discuss the Uttaranchal Bill which had been referred to the Assembly by the President. That the Akali Dal has already gone on record that it would quit the Union Cabinet if Udham Singh Nagar was included in the new State has complicated the situation further. As if troubles were not enough, the Centre's arbitrary inclusion of Hardwar in the proposed State is being opposed by the crucial alliance partner in the State - the Lok Tantrik Congress - besides several MPs and MLAs from BJP itself. Hardwar had never been mentioned in the three resolutions passed in favour of the hill State by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly over the past few years. It was also not mentioned by the Kaushik Committee which had gone into the details of creating the new State. Hardwar's first mention as part of Uttaranchal has come only in the resolution of the BJP- led coalition government at the Centre. The BJP MP from Pauri, Maj. Gen. (retd) B. C. Khanduri, who is being projected as the first Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, is said to be sore over the delay in the creation of the new State. Most of the MLAs from Garhwal division are with him and would form a separate group if need be, sources said. The hill people are dissatisfied with the BJP leadership for having included Hardwar in the proposed State. ``We have never demanded Hardwar and its arbitrary inclusion by the Centre seems to be the result of a conspiracy to delay the hill State's formation,'' say several Uttarakhand Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti (USSS) activists. Swami Sachidanand Sakshi, BJP MP from Farukhabad, has strongly opposed the move to include Hardwar in the hill State. At a press conference in Hardwar, he said he had expressed his views before the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Kalyan Singh, the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and other leaders from the hill region and hoped that the district would not be included in the new State. ``The inclusion of Hardwar would create a Kashmir like-situation with people of the plains living like second-grade citizen in the `pahadi' dominated State,'' he said. Swami Chinmayanand, BJP MP from Machli Shahr, in a separate press conference, strongly supported the inclusion of Hardwar in Uttaranchal. The district's inclusion would ensure rapid development of the area like Ghaziabad or NOIDA and boost trade and commerce, he reasoned. He accused those opposing the inclusion of Hardwar in Uttaranchal of conspiring to keep the district backward for vested reasons. NGO to hold workshop on Uttarakhand region UNI - September 9, 1998 DEHRA DUN: A workshop will be held in the Doon Valley next month to facilitate communication among all parties concerned with good governance and economic development of the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand. Senior bureaucrats, political thinkers, academicians, entrepreneurs, development experts and social workers from all over the country will participate in the two-day workshop organised by ``Research, Advocacy and Communication in Himalayan Areas'' (RACHNA), an initiative of Shri Bhuvaneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA) which is a non-governmental, grassroot organisation working in the hill districts of UP and Himachal Pradesh. More than a hundred delegates would attend the workshop titled ``governance and economic transformation of Uttaranchal Uttarakhand'', said Mr Manoj Bhatt, executive coordinator of RACHNA. RACHNA is designed to meet the information, technical, professional and service needs of change-agents in the Himalayas, and to establish networks with organisations in other mountain systems. The workshop will generate ideas on how Uttarakhand could be transformed into an economic powerhouse while meeting the basic needs and popular aspirations of the local people. The scope for people-centred development would also be discussed at length by the participants, Mr Bhatt said. Development which gives priority to poverty alleviation, advancement of women and children, sustains and environment and creates opportunities for employment would be the desirable for this backward Himalayan region. An approach which was sensitive to the area's cultural traditions would be very helpful in this direction, he said. The objectives of the workshop, to be held on October 27 and 28, are exchanging information on the formation process of Uttarakhand state, proposing and soliciting views on good governance in the context of development of the hill districts and suggesting approaches for a rapid economic transformation of the hill areas. The workshop will be sponsored by Shri Bhuvaneshwari Mahila Ashram, Tehri Garhwal and Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) Dehra Dun. Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal, Minister for Hill Development, Uttar Pradesh Government will be chief guest at the opening ceremony of the workshop, Mr Bhatt said. Village-level plan to conserve forests in UP hills By R.P. NAILWAL The Times of India News Service (September 8, 1998) DEHRA DUN: Village-level plans are to be implemented for the first time in the 12 hill districts of western Uttar Pradesh under the joint forest management (JFM) project launched by the Uttar Pradesh government with the financial support of the World Bank. Senior forest officials of the Uttarakhand region met at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) recently for two days and discussed ways and means to ensure the success of the new project. The officials were also addressed by the principal forest secretary to the state government besides the principal chief conservator of the hill region. ``The main aim is to ensure people's participation in the management of forests through village forest committees or the existing van panchayats,'' M .M. Harbola, chief conservator of Garhwal division told the Times Of India News Service. The plans will spell out the rights and obligations of both the rural hill folk and the forest department. According to salient features of the the project, the local community would receive 50 per cent of the benefits by managing the forest area and 50 per cent of this revenue would be reinvested by them in forest management. The local community would also contribute 20 per cent of development costs to ensure sustainability of ownership. Further, people opting for contributing in terms of labour for developmental purposes would receive cash payment which would be deposited in the village development fund under the village forest committee. This latest effort by the state government to ensure forest protection with the help of people is being viewed with various degrees of skepticism. In fact, at one time S.L. Dabral, former deputy-director general of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) criticised the JFM concept as being not feasible under the given circumstances. ``Our van panchayat experiment has not yielded the desired results,'' said one forest official. Van panchayats have been in operation in the UP hills since 1931. Today, 4,600 van panchayats control about 2.36 lakh hectares of forests which, according to many environmentalists, are in a sorry state. In fact, as per a Himalayan Action Research Centre report, the forest cover in the Uttrakhand region is only 4.4 per cent of the total area. Many environmentalists, including Magasaysay award winner Chandi Prasad Bhatt, point to the ever-degrading ecosystem of the central Himalayas where the frequency of landslips is increasing due to huge loss of green cover. Malpa porters -- forgotten victims of landslide tragedy PTI - September 4, 1998 DHARCHULA, Sept 3: Even as the truth of what actually happened on that fateful night of August 17-18 lies buried under thousands of cubic metres of debris at Malpa and may never be known to the outside world, the devastating landslides have brought to light the grim reality of the porters' life. Had it not been for acute unemployment and poverty, these young people accompanying the pilgrims as porters would never have taken up the hazardous job, say family members and activists, noting that it would always be very difficult for them to escape the vicious cycle unless drastic measures are taken to improve their lot. ``Poverty drives these young people to take up the hazardous job. Although many families have been engaged in this during the annual yatra to Mansarovar for many years now, to call it a family profession and to say that people take to it on their free will would be a gross misrepresentation of the ground realities,'' says Dev Krishan Phakliyat, president of the `Sanjiwani Swayam SeviSangha' -- a voluntary organisation here. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed a few days back as the bloated and badly decomposed body of Subhas (18), who accompanied the ill-fated 12th batch as a porter and lost his life in the landslides, was brought to the upgraded primary health centre at Dharchula -- 58 km from the mishap site at Malpa and 620 km from Delhi. Subhas -- the eldest son of Ten Singh -- was a high school student and had taken the trip as a porter to earn his tuition fees. Not very far away from the nauseating scenes of the hospital, in the far corner of their small house sits Prema, the young sister of Gokaram Singh Garbiyal (17), who also perished in the landslide with the pilgrims. Several attempts to talk to Prema fail to elicit a response as she sits on the floor cradling her little baby in the lap -- numbed by the devastating loss of a dear one. ``When we tried to draw media attention to the plight of the porters as all the focus was concentrated on the pilgrims after the Malpatragedy, the callous response seemed to be that the porters had volunteered to go on the yatra and that nobody forced them to take up the arduous task,'' says Phakliyat. Copyright (c) 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.