Govt. committed to balance environmental conservation and development :CM

SHIMLA-28 September, 2024-Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said here today that the present state government was making concerted efforts to fast-track the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) and Forest Rights Act (FRA) clearances to ensure the timely implementation of various ambitious development projects across the state pending since long.

He said that due to the persistent efforts of the state government, the Union government has granted 66 FCA clearances for projects of significant public interest. These projects cover vital sectors such as infrastructure, education, and water supply. In addition, the state has also secured 77 in-principle approvals from the Centre, paving the way for initiatives such as the Shongtong and Thana Plaun power projects, several educational institutions, heliports, water supply schemes and various road infrastructure projects all aimed at accelerating the state's development. Many such cases had been pending for years, but were now being accelerated due to the dedicated efforts of the state government.

The Chief Minister said that the state government has constituted district level committees under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner, Divisional Forest Officer and representatives from the concerned User Agency for monitoring the progress of FCA and FRA clearance cases, once the case was uploaded online. To ensure better coordination, proper scrutiny of cases and liaison with the Centre government, a dedicated senior IFS officer has been deputed by the state government, who was primarily tasked with expediting the cases at the Centre level.

Sh. Sukhu said, "Himachal Pradesh has around 70 percent of forest area and the need for forest land for public interest projects is unavoidable. Therefore, getting forest clearances to implement these projects is crucial for the development of the state. Yet the process gets delayed due to various procedural requirements. To tackle this, the state government has evolved a mechanism to expedite the forest clearance cases, resulting in improved clearance rate."

He said that the state government was committed to maintain balance between the environment conservation and development for the benefit of the people of the state. In line with, the present state government has launched various forestry schemes to further increase the forest cover of the state.

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SHIMLA -28 September, 2024

Government employees to get salaries on 1^st October

A Spokesperson of the state government today informed that after review of the cash flow in the state treasury by the Finance department, it has been decided that the salary to the government employees for the month of September would be disbursed on 1 October, 2024 while pensions would be paid on 9 October, 2024.

He said the salaries for the month of August were released on 5 September, 2024 and pensions on 10 September, 2024 reflecting the government's commitment to utilizing financial resources judiciously. The present State government was actively working to minimize the gap between receipts and expenditures to ensure timely borrowing, thereby reducing the interest burden on state loans.

He further said that the Chief Minister had clarified in the Assembly on 4 September, 2024 that the decision on releasing salaries for the month of September would be made on 28 or 29, September after reviewing the state's financial condition as many employees who have taken loans from the banks have EMIs scheduled for the first day of the month.

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25^th State Level Forest Sports and Duty Meet to be held at Dharamshala

SHIMLA, 28.09.24-Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (HoFF) Pawnesh Sharma informed here today that the 25^th State Level Himachal Pradesh Forest Sports and Duty Meet-2024 will be held from 29^th September to 1^st October, 2024, at Dharamshala in Kangra district. Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar will inaugurate the event.

He stated that over 800 participants from 13 teams, including the Direction Office, Wildlife Wing, all 10 Territorial Circles, and HPSFDC Ltd, will take part in the event fostering unity, sportsmanship, and well-being among forest officers, employees, and staff. The Meet will feature games such as volleyball, kabaddi, basketball and football, along with individual events like athletics.

He said that on the direction of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, two new sports events trekking and a mini-marathon would be introduced during the Meet.