Exclude village area from development authority: Residents

Dharamsala, August 29

Hundreds of residents of Gunehar in the Bir-Billing area of Kangra district today protested against the inclusion of their village under the Special Area Development Authority (SADA). They gathered in the Billing area — the take-off point for paragliding and popular site for the sport — and raised slogans against the state government.

Anjana Devi, pradhan of Gunehar, alleged that the notification for including their village in SADA was issued without taking the local panchayat into confidence which, she termed, illegal. She said they had met the local Congress MLA and CPS Kishori Lal and the Baijnath SDM to register their protest.

“In case the government fails to withdraw the notification, we shall move the Himachal Pradesh High Court and also intensify our agitation,” she said. Duni Chand, up-pradhan of the village who was among the protesters, alleged that the government had failed to provide any facilities to areas already included in the SADA.

“Just 10 per cent of the funds being collected from locals under SADA were being used on local development. The villagers would face difficulty in raising building on their own land after the inclusion in SADA. We shall oppose the government move,” he said.

Senior officials said new areas had been included in SADA in the Bir-Billing area as unauthorised constructions were posing a threat to paragliders. The government wants to regulate constructions in Bir-Billing as it is among top 10 paragliding sites in the world and hundreds of pilots come here to enjoy the sport. Bir-Billing will host the paragliding World Cup in November.