Himachal in National River Conservation Programme
New Delhi: Central Government will include Himachal Pradesh in ‘National River Conservation Programme’ said Chief Minister Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal after meeting with Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest, Jai Ram Ramesh in Prayavaran Bhawan, New Delhi.
Chief Minister said that State Government would submit a proposal about the Yamuna River soon and added that Centre has agreed to include the State Governments proposals in National River Conservations Programmes.
Professor Prem Kumar Dhumal told that final notification of Rationalisatization of Protected Areas (Santuaries) would be made by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) by second week of the September.
The Centre has agreed to provide logistic and technical support to the State Government for checking the monkey menance in the State said the Chief Minister. He said that Centre Government would soon send an expert group from ‘Wild Life Board’ to guide the local authorities to check the monkey menance to safe guard agriculture crops in the State and added that Wild Life expert would undertake on the spot assessment to tackle the monkey menance in the State.
Chief Minister told that Union Ministry of Environment and Forest has agreed to take up matter with Planning Commission for including the Net Present Value (NPV) as component of PMGSY so as to expediate the construction work on the road projects in the State and said that the Ministry has agreed to recommnend to Planning Commission for allowing to internalisations of the various components of the PMGSY under the main scheme.
He said that Union Ministry would arrange consultants for the State Government for preprations of DPRs for various Forestery Related Projects for funding to the international agencies and added that Ministry of Environment and
Forest has agreed for posing the project on “Programmatic Climate Change and Environmental Development Policy” for World Bank funding.
He told that State Government has revised its project proposal in line with guidelines received from MoEF and the Ministry would recommend the revised proposal to department of economic affairs for the World Bank funding on priority basis. He informed that Ministry has agreed to provide support to the State Government for enhancing the capacity building and also provide liberal assistance to various forestery related institutions to undertake studies on climatic changes in the State. He told that State Government would undertake study on environment load of all the projects sanctioned in the State and would also formulate the State Action Plan for Climatic Change. He told that Centre would release a sum of Rupees 70.50 Lakhs under ‘Snow Leopard Project’ in the State during current month itself.
Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest, Jai Ram Ramesh asked the State Government to be a role model in implementations of CAMPA fund and also assured the State Government of all possible help in various forestery schemes. He assured that fund flow to the State Government would be enhanced considerably during current financial year to execute the ongoing projects.
