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14th, Feburary, 2022

The first biodiversity park of the Himachal to conserve threatened herbs.
The park, which is expected to open in a few months, was created as part of the National Mission of Himalayan Studies (NMHS) project of the HP Forest Department.

The state’s first biodiversity park, established at a cost of Rs 1 crore at Bhulah in the Janjehli valley of Mandi district, will prove to be a boon for research as well as for the conservation of endangered Himalayan herbs.

This is the first national park to focus on the conservation of endangered herbs.

It has been designed to link tourism activities and provide new opportunities to researchers to study various medicinal herbs found in the Himalayas that are on the verge of extinction, a spokesperson for the state government said here today.
Besides, a fenced park has been built on five hectares and has several basic amenities. Amphitheaters have also been built for the convenience of researchers and tourists visiting the nursery. Apart from this, two log huts, water harvesting structure, internal tank, 5 KW power generation project, bird nest, foot-bridge and sales centre have been set up.
Two tree-huts have also been prepared in the park for tourists, from where they can enjoy a picturesque view of the park. Nature trails of about two km, 25-feet-high and 160-meter-long tree-walk and seven foot bridges are the other attractions.

Biodiversity parks are unique landscapes which consist of the form of diverse communities and provide ecological, cultural & educational benefits to the urban society.

(Source: HP Tribune)

Government of Himachal Pradesh on the request of various stakeholders and Departmental officers has launched a new scheme namely Himachal Pradesh Swarn Jayanti (Legacy Cases Resolution) Scheme, 2021 for settlement of pending cases and arrears under the Acts subsumed in Goods and Services Tax.
Taxpayers are grappling with compiling documents, collecting, pending statutory forms and preparing reconciliations to complete assessments. Even after GST roll out, companies, industries, dealers are left with disputes of earlier regime.

Under the scheme, the dealers can simply deposit their due taxes along with settlement fee @ 10 percent instead of interest and penalty during the first phase of the scheme which will end on 28th April, 2022. The dealers who fail to file application during the first phase will have to pay higher settlement fee i.e. @ 150 percent as applicable during the first phase and second phase will be applicable from 29th April, 2022 to 28th June, 2022.
Under the Scheme, taxpayers can pay the outstanding tax amount due and be free from any other consequences under the law. Taxpayers will get substantial relief as they have to pay only settlement fee in lieu of interests and penalties.

(Source: HP Government)

14th, Feburary, 2022