Majuli may miss place in Heritage List

Majuli may miss place in Heritage List
From Our Spl Correspondent NEW DELHI, July 9 – Confusion marks the fate of India’s proposal to include endangered Majuli Island in World Heritage Site List, with the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee, winding up inscription of new sites yesterday. At least 19 cultural sites and eight natural sites were added this year.The 96 km long Kalka-Shimla Railway was the only proposal from India, which was included in the list, when the Committee extended the “Mountain Railways of India.” A UNESCO release said the inscription of the single track working rail link built in the mid-19th century to provide a service to the highland town of Shimla was included in the Heritage List.India submitted only two proposals, this year including the Majuli Island and Kalka-Shimla Rail. UNESCO’s World Heritage List now numbers a total of 878 sites, 679 cultural and 174 natural sites and 25 mixed in 145 countries.Officials here were not clear about the fate of the proposal on Majuli Island, as they claimed that they were yet to hear from the officials, who have gone to Quebec in Canada. They said the meeting is scheduled to continue till July 10.However, an UNESCO release issued today said that the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee has come to an end on July 8, with inscription of 27 new cultural and natural sites.The list of 27 sites issued to the media by the UNESCO said that it was final list. This is the second time that famous Majuli Island may have failed to make it to the List. In 2006 the Majuli’s proposal was deferred Sources said that the technical Committee of the Heritage Committee had opined that the due to global warming, the Island might face submersion in the future. It had recommended that the proposal be deferred for now.Unlike in 2006, India had this time gone to Canada fully prepared armed with a new dossier. India tried to comply with all the requirements sought by the Committee. The Prime Minister himself had taken a review meeting on India’s proposal, while Assam government enacted an Act to protect the Island. source: assam tribune

Nagaland wins coveted UN Award for Public Service

Nagaland wins coveted UN Award for Public Service

UNITED NATIONS, June 24 — A government programme aimed at empowering people run by Nagaland has won the coveted United Nations Award for Public Service from Asia and the Pacific region for "fostering participation in policy making through innovative mechanism." Nagaland's Programme of Communitization of Public Institutions and Services has helped in moving the State towards fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the citation on the UN award read.

Former Nagaland chief secretary Raghaw Sharan Pandey, Chief Secretary Lalhuma and Secretary V Sakhrie accepted the award comprising a trophy and a certificate on behalf of Nagaland yesterday.

District Lokvani Society of Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh was among the finalists in the "improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness to the public service." Counsellor at the Indian UN Mission B N Reddy accepted the commendation certificate on behalf of the Lokvani Society.
Organisations from 12 countries were chosen for awards in three categories from several hundred nominations received by the United Nations from across the world.

The award is considered as the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.

Addressing the winners and diplomats, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro expressed the hope that the award would inspire governments around the world to step up their efforts to deliver vital basic services and improve the daily lives of their people. PTI
Source: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsbn.asp?id=01

Manas eyes lost lustre

A STAFF REPORTER TELEGRAPH INDIA
Guwahati, June 9: The Assam forest department is going into an overdrive to get back the coveted heritage status for Manas National Park by plugging the loopholes pointed out by the monitoring mission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Unesco.
The team, comprising experts, toured Manas in February this year to find out whether the government had been able to implement the World Heritage Centre’s recommendations that are essential to remove the park’s Heritage Site in Danger tag.

A park official said the monitoring mission in its report to the Centre had expressed concern over vacant posts, delay in release of funds, failure to check poaching and illegal felling of trees in the Panbari range of the national park.

Based on the report, the ministry of environment and forests asked the state forest department to take remedial steps and send a report without delay.

“We have taken note of the concerns raised by the team and will send our replies soon. However, we are running short of time,” the official said.

The 32nd meeting of the World Heritage Committee will be held in Quebec City, Canada, from July 2 to 10.

The World Heritage Committee will discuss the findings of the team and the recommendations of the World Heritage Centre and the IUCN before taking a decision.

The need to fill up the vacancies was earlier pointed out by the 2005 monitoring mission that also voiced concern over the delay in release of funds by the Assam government.

The Supreme Court has ordered that funds must be released by the state government within 15 days from the date of its sanction by the Centre.

“This is a problem and we are trying to sort it out. However, the situation has slightly improved after the formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council,” the official said.