Facing serious space constraint coming in the way of its expansion plans, the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) will approach the High Court to seek permission for felling of trees so that construction could be undertaken to have more accommodation.

There has been little expansion of the rail network in Himachal Pradesh since Independence and almost all projects, except the Nangal-Talwara rail link, being pursued by the state government, have not gone beyond survey work.

A high-powered team of Commerce and Industry Ministry would visit Himachal Pradesh within two weeks to hold talks with senior State Government officers to study the industrial growth potential of and make suitable recommendations for providing incentives, Union Minister Anand Sharma said on Sunday.

Swarleen Kaur

Chandigarh: In a move that would boost the economy of Himachal Pradesh, the state Cabinet has given its nod to the Rs 142-crore road-widening project. The 72-km stretch from Kumarhatti to Nahan would be widened and strengthened under the World Bank-aided project, which would link the Kalka-Shimla road to the Paonta Sahib-Nahan road.

Shimla: Taking a lenient view on allowing construction in green areas, the government is likely to allow raising of double-storied structures in the 17 designated greenbelts in the state capital. It will be a complete deviation from the policy of saving every inch of the precious dwindling greenery.

SHIMLA: A large number of tourists who had made a beeline for Shimla and other hill resorts in Himachal Pradesh to escape from the torrid heat of the plains are now beginning to leave because of a severe shortage of water. Many other tourists from Delhi, Punjab and Haryana have cancelled their bookings from various suburban points as the water is being supplied now on alternate days only.

With the interested companies seeking certain modification in the conditions for the execution of proposed aerial ropeways in the state, these projects are not likely to take off before next year.

These projects of the Tourism Department have already suffered delay due to the coming into force of the election code of conduct for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Shimla: The Rs 64-crore Giri Lift Water Supply Scheme has come under a scanner even before it could achieve its full capacity to supply 20 million litres of water per day to the state capital.

The government suspects a big scam in the implementation of the project commissioned last year in view of the constant leakage in the 43 km pipeline and the high cost of execution.

Despite there being a low prevalence of the disease in the state, Himachal has adopted a very vigorous approach to check HIV/AIDS epidemic while ensuring that there is no discrimination of infected persons in the mainstream medical services.

Shimla: With code of conduct for elections lifted,

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