At A glance

HP allocates 96.02 bigha

The Himachal Pradesh government has given 96.02 bigha of land on a 99-year lease in Solan district to yoga guru Swami Ramdev, state Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said. In reply to a question by BJP's Bipin Parmar in the state Assembly, Bindal said the land in Kalhog in Kandaghat tehsil has been leased at a cost of Rs.16 lakh. The yoga guru, who had visited the site of the proposed branch of Patanjali yogapeeth, the first outside its Haridwar headquarters, during his visit to Shimla last week, had said that the centre could start functioning by the end of this year. Bindal added that the centre was also purchasing herbs from the state for preparing medicines.

'Yajna' in memory martyrs

A one-month long 'Vishnu Mahayajna' was being performed in memory of Kargil martyrs on the banks of river Ganga here from March 14. Families of nearly 100 soldiers, who died in the war, reached here from various parts of the country to take part in the Yajna organised by Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee. They also took a holy dip in river Ganga. Spokesperson of the temple committee Madhu Bhatt said more families of Kargil martyrs are expected to reach here to take part in the 'Mahayajna'.

Empowering women

For empowering women, Uttarakhand government has increased the gender budget by nearly Rs.200 crore for 2010-11. Concerned over the skewed sex ratio in the state, the state government has earmarked Rs.1417.75 crore for gender budget, meant for women empowerment through various schemes. The allocated amount for 2010-11 is nearly 17.65 percent more than the previous fiscal when it was Rs 1205.04 crore. For the first time, Rs one crore has been allocated for providing free gas connections to rural women while an equal amount has been provided for employment-oriented plantation of herbs like Harr, Bahera and Trifla. The state government has also earmarked Rs.50 lakh for protecting women against domestic violence, while Rs.5 lakh each has been provided for constructing homes for mentally challenged women and promoting widow marriage.

Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank while presenting the budget last evening had expressed the government's commitment to take women forward. For this purpose, he said Rs 296.49 crore has been proposed for the women empowerment and child development departments. There are only 906 girls against 1000 boys as per the 2001 census, he said.

No headway in power sector

From generation to distribution, the Uttarakhand government is finding it tough to make headway in power sector for driving growth. With widespread opposition on various fronts, the government is facing an uphill task to improve the power scenario especially in the wake of the latest hydel project scandal which has put a question mark on new power policy for micro, mini and small hydel projects. Main opposition Congress is already seeking a CBI probe into the issue alleging wide-spread irregularity in the allotment of 56 hydel projects to some liquor and new companies. Two years ago, the government was forced to suspend its two major hydel projects - 480 Mw Pala Maneri and 381 Mw Bhaironghait on environmental and religious grounds following which the Centre too put on hold NTPC's 600 Mw Loharinagpala project.