Category Archives: News

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Dehradun

Uttarakhand govt planning to levy a green cess on private and commercial vehicles entering the state

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IEP DEHRADUN

Taking a leaf out of the book of its neighbour Himachal Pradesh, the Uttarakhand government is also planning to levy a green cess on private and commercial vehicles entering the state. The Uttarakhand Transport department is working on the proposal and the Transport minister Chandan Ram Das is likely to present the proposal in the next cabinet meeting.

The transport department currently imposes green cess in the State for road safety but it is only on the purchase of new vehicles. It presently collects entry tax from the commercial vehicles of other states entering Uttarakhand. Eliminating the collection of entry tax, the green cess will be levied on all vehicles except two-wheelers after the execution of the plan. The cess will be imposed on vehicles with the help of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed in almost every entry point of the State, as per the officials. These cameras will help the department to detect all vehicles entering the State and help in recovering the cess.

The whole system of paying cess will be online and the department is already working on developing software for the same. The deputy transport commissioner Sanat Kumar Singh informed that the department is preparing a proposal to present it to the government for approval. The officials will also consider some provisions for the frequent visitors to the State to pay quarterly or annual charges to the department or some exemption in certain cases.

He stated that the department is working on various factors while preparing the proposal like how much cess must be levied on the vehicles. He said that lakhs of people including pilgrims and tourists visit the State every year and the green cess collection from such visitors will increase the department’s revenue. The collected revenue will be spent to improve road safety considering accidents occurring at several vulnerable locations across the State.

Dehradun

Uttarakhand govt planning to levy a green cess on private and commercial vehicles entering the state

Leave a comment

IEP DEHRADUN

Taking a leaf out of the book of its neighbour Himachal Pradesh, the Uttarakhand government is also planning to levy a green cess on private and commercial vehicles entering the state. The Uttarakhand Transport department is working on the proposal and the Transport minister Chandan Ram Das is likely to present the proposal in the next cabinet meeting.

The transport department currently imposes green cess in the State for road safety but it is only on the purchase of new vehicles. It presently collects entry tax from the commercial vehicles of other states entering Uttarakhand. Eliminating the collection of entry tax, the green cess will be levied on all vehicles except two-wheelers after the execution of the plan. The cess will be imposed on vehicles with the help of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed in almost every entry point of the State, as per the officials. These cameras will help the department to detect all vehicles entering the State and help in recovering the cess.

The whole system of paying cess will be online and the department is already working on developing software for the same. The deputy transport commissioner Sanat Kumar Singh informed that the department is preparing a proposal to present it to the government for approval. The officials will also consider some provisions for the frequent visitors to the State to pay quarterly or annual charges to the department or some exemption in certain cases.

He stated that the department is working on various factors while preparing the proposal like how much cess must be levied on the vehicles. He said that lakhs of people including pilgrims and tourists visit the State every year and the green cess collection from such visitors will increase the department’s revenue. The collected revenue will be spent to improve road safety considering accidents occurring at several vulnerable locations across the State.

Dehradun

National project would prove to be a milestone in development of Uttarakhand, says CM

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IEP DEHRADUN

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami while presenting the case of the State in the meeting of the Kishau Dam multipurpose project on Wednesday has said that the cost of the power component of the ambitious project should either be kept unchanged in the case of increase in the total project cost in the revised DPR or the increased power component of the project should be distributed equally by all the six beneficiary states so that the consumers of the state get cheap power.

The meeting held in New Delhi was chaired by the union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The projects would provide irrigation water to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan and supply drinking water to Delhi. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh would equally divide the power generated by the project and as per the MoU Uttarakhand and HP would share the power component cost of the mega project. He said that the national project would prove to be a milestone in the development of Uttarakhand and it would provide direct and indirect employment to the people of the state and it would provide an opportunity to increase the income of the local people.

The Uttarakhand CM said that beneficial schemes would be developed from time to time with the help of local public representatives for the development of the area and public welfare. In the meeting the chief minister of HP Jairam Thakur and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar participated virtually.

The HP CM also supported the stand taken by the Uttarakhand CM on the issue. The Union minister Shekhawat said that soon a meeting would be convened to discuss the issue. It is worth mentioning here that the implementation of the project is being done by Kishau Corporation limited which is jointly owned by HP and Uttarakhand. This project was declared the ‘national project’ in the year 2008. Proposed on the Tons River in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand and Sirmaur district of HP the project when completed would be the second biggest dam project in Asia. Under the plan 236 meter high and 680 meter long dam would be constructed on the Tons River and when complete the project would maintain the water availability in the Yamuna River.

The dam would have a reservoir of 1324 MCAM capacity and help in irrigation of 97,076 hectares of land. It would generate 660 MW of the power which would be distributed equally among HP and Uttarakhand. The project is estimated to cost Rs 11,550 crore on the 2018 price out of which the water component ( Irrigation, drinking water) would cost Rs 10013.96 crore and power component Rs 1536.04 crore. At present work on preparation of the DPR is going on which is expected to increase. Since the project is the national project the water component would be distributed in the ratio of 90:10 between the union government and the beneficiary states while the power component would be borne by HP and Uttarakhand. The secretaries R Meenakshi Sundaram, H C Semwal and officers of the Jalshakti ministry were present on the occasion.

Chandigarh, Haryana

Criminal with Rs 15000 reward arrested

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IEP Chandigarh, September 22

Haryana Police has arrested a criminal carrying a reward of Rs 15,000 from Kaithal district. A country-made pistol and two cartridges were also recovered from his possession.

While stating this here today, a Haryana Police spokesperson informed that arrested accused have been identified as Rakesh alias Rinku a resident of karora. Already 7 cases are registered against the accused in district Kaithal. He was also involved in two cases of fatal attack. A cash reward of Rs 15000 was declared on his arrest.

A Crime Investigation Agency team during patrolling received on a tip-off from a reliable source about the accused. At the instance of secret informer, accused was overpowered and apprehended by the police party. Police also recovered a country-made pistol and two live cartridges from his possession.

Arrested accused was presented before the court from where he was sent to judicial custody. Further investigation of the case is underway.

Chandigarh, Haryana

Haryana is using live map technology to identify accident-prone areas in the state.

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IEP Chandigarh, September 22

Haryana Chief Secretary, Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal said that Haryana is using live map technology to identify accident-prone areas in the state. Using this technology, a grid is automatically generated for such places on the live map and the police gets information about such places immediately. He directed that the data of live map technology should be shared with all the stakeholder Departments like Police, Public Works, Health, Transport and Urban Local Bodies Departments so that special focus can be given on such accident prone areas to overcome the road accidents across the state.

While presiding over the meeting of Road Safety Fund Management Committee here today, Sh. Kaushal said that changing lane frequently by heavy vehicles is one of the major cause of accidents on highways. Therefore, sign boards should be installed on the left sides of roads for the movement of passengers and heavy vehicles and this rule should also be strictly followed. He further said that adequate lighting arrangements, sign boards and beautification work should be done on all the highways.  Apart from this, reflective tapes and sign boards should also be set up to reduce the chances of accidents at blind spots and crossings during night time.

In the meeting, a budget of about Rs 36 crore has been approved for the road safety activities and to improve infrastructure this year. The Chief Secretary said that the budget should be allocated to the District Road Safety Committees in a planned manner. He directed that the District committees should prepare a chart of the various activities to be carried out for road safety during this year and ensure the proper utilization of the funds allocated to them.

In the meeting, a budget of Rs. 30 lakh has been allocated to the District Road Safety Committees in the state. Besides this, an amount of more than Rs. 3 crore has been allocated for various development works for Driving Training and Research Institute (IDTR) to be set up at Yamunanagar, Palwal and Sonepat.

It was informed in the meeting that a road safety awareness campaign is being run by the Higher Education Department to make college students aware about road safety measures. For organizing various awareness activities and wide publicity of road safety rules, Rs 1.20 crore was allocated to the Higher Education Department for this campaign. Similarly, Rs 1.74 crore was allocated to the School Education Department for road safety awareness campaign. Apart from this, budget has also been allocated for other programmes under road safety activities.

In the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Sh. T.V.S.N Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works (Building and Roads), Sh. Ankur Gupta, Director-General of Police, Sh. P.K Agrawal, Principal Secretary, Transport, Sh. Navdeep Virk and other senior officers were present.

Chandigarh, Haryana

Air travel will soon begin from Ambala, says Anil Vij

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IEP Chandigarh, September 22

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said that air travel facility from Ambala to Srinagar will soon be available to the citizens of the state. The Union Civil and Aviation Ministry has accorded approval regarding the same.

The Home Minister was presiding over a meeting with the officers of the Civil and Aviation Department, Haryana in his office today. He directed the officers to complete all the necessary formalities. Along with this, air travel from Ambala to Lucknow will also begin soon. The Air Force has also given NOC to start air travel in Ambala. About 20 acres of land along the junction of the military has been selected for the construction of the terminal at Ambala and this land has been transferred by the army to the Air Force. The terminal will be built on this land at a cost of about Rs. 40 crore, for which funds have also been approved by the Union Ministry. He informed that till the time the terminal is not ready for operations, air travel will begin by making a temporary terminal. For this, the team has surveyed and sent the report.

Additional Chief Secretary, Civil, and Aviation Department, Ankur Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, Priyanka Soni, Chief Executive Officer of International Chandigarh Airport,  Rakesh Ranjan Sahay were present during the meeting.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Vigilance Bureau arrests Clerk for taking bribe to provide land record

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IEP Chandigarh, September 22

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau, during its campaign against corruption from the state, on Thursday arrested Manjit Singh Junior Assistant, posted in the office of Sadar Kanungo Branch, in office of Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur for accepting bribe of Rs.1,000.

            Giving information in this regard, a spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) said the above said accused Manjit Singh has been arrested in a bribery case on the basis of complaint lodged by complainant Jermanjit Singh on the anti-corruption helpline of Bureau.

            He further added that the complainant has alleged in his online complaint that the said clerk was demanding Rs. 1000 to provide land record pertaining to his land. On the basis of the evidence on record and facts obtained by the Bureau, the alleged charges were found to be true. After this, the VB registered a case under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station VB, Amritsar and the accused Manjit Singh was arrested. Further investigation in this case is under progress.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Chief Secretary directs all DCs to ensure complete ban on stubble burning in Punjab

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IEP Chandigarh, September 22

Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua has directed all the Deputy Commissioners to make proper arrangements in their respective districts to prevent stubble burning by all means.

He said that special efforts are being made by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make farmers sensitise about this menace. Financial assistance is also being provided to the farmers for purchase of happy seeder and other such tools for further reduction of stubble and for stubble management.

Presiding over a meeting with all Deputy Commissioners and senior officials of Punjab, the Chief Secretary said that the state government is taking special initiative to promote management of stubble instead of burning it to save the environment from pollution.

He asked officials to make farmers  aware that if a farmer who burns stubble, will get a red entry in his revenue record, then he may be deprived of many government schemes. He said that due to the increase in pollution levels in North India due to stubble burning, Punjab has to face embarrassment at national level in the last so farmers should be made aware of stubble management instead of burning it.

He said that although there is a law regarding non-burning of straw, but despite this, incidents of burning of straw were reported from many places. While reviewing the stubble management and distribution of machines/tools in each district, the Chief Secretary said that the district administration should make the farmers aware of environmental protection through various means and explain to them how much damage is caused by stubble and paddy burning.

The Chief Secretary said that in the villages where there have been cases of stubble burning, the administration should be more vigilant. He said that the farmers should also be made aware through the students about burning the stubble that it will give the children a ‘dirty and polluted’ future. Giving instructions to the Deputy Commissioners, the Chief Secretary said that this year the cases of stubble burning should be stopped in all circumstances and no negligence will be tolerated in this regard.

Apart from all Deputy Commissioners, senior officials of Agriculture Department, Rural Development Department, Revenue Department and Pollution Board were present in the meeting

Chandigarh, Punjab

PUNJAB RELEASES Rs 646 CRORE FOR MAJOR SCHEMES: CHEEMA

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IEP Chandigarh, September 21

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said on Wednesday that the Finance Department has released a funds amounting to Rs. 646 Crore for major schemes.

Revealing this in a statement issued here, Harpal Singh Cheema said that now there was no pendency under any Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) or its respective state’s share with the Treasury after the release of Rs. 345 crore today to this effect. He also directed the concerned departments to utilize these funds in a time bound manner rather than waiting for the end of the financial year. He said that any lapse of funds due to non-utilisation shall be viewed serious by the Department of Finance.

Giving details of the funds released for the various other schemes, Cheema said that the Finance Department has released Rs 240 crore under Major Works head. He further added that the Department has also released Rs 36 crore to Milkfed and Rs 25 crore to Health and Family Welfare Department for Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana. Reiterating the commitment of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government to ensure overall development of the State, Cheema said that the Finance department has been putting in every effort to improve the fiscal health of the state besides ensuring the judicious utilization of the available resources.

Chandigarh, Haryana

Hafed starts exploring business opportunities in other countries to expand export business

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IEP Chandigarh September 21, 2022

Haryana Government’s Apex Cooperative Federation, Hafed, has started exploring business opportunities in other countries to expand the export business.

Managing Director, Hafed Sh. A. Sreenivas, informed that HAFED has started diversifying its activities to exports. In this series, Hafed has received an order for export of 20,000 metric tonnes of rice, valued at 21.95 million USD, to Saudi Arabia. HAFED has successfully delivered its first consignment of 2,500 MT of Basmati rice on September 10, 2022, the remaining quantity is likely to be dispatched in the last week of September 2022. He informed that for the purpose of export of rice, HAFED procured over 20,000 MT different variants of Basmati Rice from the farmers of Haryana at market rate.

The Managing Director informed that HAFED has also emphasized on infrastructure augmentation and has taken up several projects. He informed that HAFED has started expansion and modernization of existing processing units and also focusing on setting up of new plants. Chairman HAFED, Sh. Kailash Bhagat, appreciated the efforts made by the officers & officials of HAFED for successful shipment of rice export to Saudi Arabia.