|
|
|
|
|
assembly in session
Uproar in House over Indian prisoner’s torture in Pak
Govt fails to give ration to over 3 lakh families
|
|
|
|
Restrictions on Mirwaiz lifted
Shutdown hits normal life in Valley
Family leaves for Delhi to meet Liyaqat
98 top officials transferred prematurely in 3 years
Cricket body accepts Bedi’s resignation as chief coach
Mendhar Rural Olympics gets underway
|
|||||||||||||||
|
assembly in session
Four sitting ministers, including Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Taj Mohiuddin, Abdul Majid Wani and Manohar Lal Sharma, are involved in corruption-related cases registered with the J-K State Accountability Commission (SAC). While regular inquiry against Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed is pending, the inquiry against the other three ministers has been stayed by the High Court, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a written reply to a question of CPM legislator Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami in the Assembly here. Omar said former ministers Suman Lata Bhagat, Gulchain Singh Charak, A G Sofi, Mangat Ram Sharma and Surjit Singh Slathia and sitting legislator Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen were also facing graft charges by the accountability commission. “There are 168 cases of corruption registered with the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) while the number of such cases registered with the state crime branch is 69. Nine corruption cases against politicians are registered with the SAC,” the Chief Minister said. According to the 82-page document, the sanction for the prosecution was accorded in a time-bound manner in 52 cases in 2011, and 44 cases from January 2012 till date. “Four cases were referred to the Government of India for seeking sanction against one IAS and three IFS officers,” the document revealed. Some of the senior government officers facing corruption charges include former Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, P K Pole; and Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, G A Khawaja. Several Block Development Officers, Chief Education Officers, senior transport officers and revenue officials are also facing corruption charges and have been accused of misusing their official position. The Chief Minister, however, claimed that his government had initiated various measures to stamp out corruption and dispose of graft cases. “Two additional courts of anti-corruption, one each at Jammu and Srinagar, have been created for faster disposal of cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Besides, the State Vigilance Commission, which has powers to supervise the pace of investigation of corruption cases registered by the SVO, has been made functional with the appointment of a Chief Vigilance Commissioner and a Vigilance Commissioner,” Omar said. Accused of corruption
Steps for speedy disposal
Two additional courts of anti-corruption, one each at Jammu and Srinagar, have been created for faster disposal of cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act — Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister |
|
Uproar in House over Indian prisoner’s torture in Pak
Jammu, March 28 Raising the issue of Singh’s torture, Panthers Party member Balwant Singh Mankotia urged Speaker Mubarak Gul to unanimously adopt and pass a resolution condemning Singh’s death and torture and also ask the Centre to take it up with Pakistan. Mankotia was supported by other party members, Harsh Dev Singh and Yashpal Kundal, besides Ashwani Kumar Sharma of the Jammu State Morcha. The Speaker turned down the demand for the resolution, saying the Centre had already taken up the issue. Condemning Singh’s death, the Speaker said an adjournment motion in this regard had been earlier brought in the House. Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs Abdul Rahim Rather today informed the House that the government would fill up about 80,000 vacant posts through fast-track recruitment in the coming two years, adding that in this regard a special consultant had been engaged to assist the Service Selection Recruitment Board (SSRB) in the recruitment process. Replying to supplementaries raised by some members, the Finance Minister said the fundamental objective of the new recruitment policy was to reduce exponential growth of non-plan expenditure which was effective for the posts advertised after November 1, 2011. The Finance Minister said the SSRB was proceeding in a speedy manner by advertising posts, notifying, conducting written exams and holding interviews in a time-bound manner. He said as regards the promotion quota vacancies, instructions had been given to all departments to hold departmental promotion committees in a time-bound manner. Rather said pursuant to a Cabinet decision, a Standing Committee had been constituted to examine the modalities for the proposed future recruitments against Class IV, III and other non-gazetted posts in a fixed salary mode in order to reduce the exponential growth of salaries and connected non-plan expenditure. |
|
Govt fails to give ration to over 3 lakh families
Jammu, March 28 However, as per the Census 2011, the total population of the state is 125.48 lakh which includes 22.73 lakh families. There is a shortage of ration for approximately 3.02 lakh families,” Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan said in a written reply to a question of Leader of Opposition Mehbooba Mufti in the Legislative Assembly here. The Consumer Affairs Minister said the state government had taken up the matter with the Centre for providing additional ration for covering the left out families. “As and when the Centre adopts the figures of the 2011 Census and subsequently releases the additional food grains, the left out families will be covered accordingly,” said Ramzan. Official sources said the state was reeling under a shortage of 16,500 metric tonnes of ration each month. “The state is getting only 63,067 metric tonnes of ration against the total requirement of 79,567 metric tonnes per month on a scale of 35 kg per family from the Centre. Thus there is a shortfall of 16,500 metric tonnes every month,” a source said. Sources also said the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) had been involved in identifying and recommending deletion of bogus, fake or ineligible Below Poverty Line and Antyodaya Anna Yojana ration cards with the assistance of the CAPD employees concerned in their respective panchayats so that only deserving people get ration from ration depots. “The PRIs have also been involved in receipt of food grains, supervision and monitoring of public distribution system and other essential commodities in their jurisdiction. Besides, end to end computerisation of the public distribution system is under progress,” the source said. |
|
Restrictions on Mirwaiz lifted
Confirming that restrictions on Mirwaiz’s movement had been lifted, a Hurriyat spokesman here said the authorities had done this after facing criticism from different quarters and the petition before the High Court. “After criticism from different quarters and the petition before the High Court, the siege around the residence of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at Nigeen locality of Srinagar has been lifted by the authorities today”, a Hurriyat spokesman said. The petition is scheduled to come up for hearing tomorrow. Mirwaiz is expected to address people at Jama Mosque in Srinagar on Friday. |
|
PDP-Cong govt most successful experiment in J-K history: Mufti
Jammu, March 28 “A new chapter was scripted in the history of Jammu and Kashmir after the formation of the PDP-Congress government in the state as the process of peace and reconciliation was consolidated and all regions and sub-regions were empowered,” Mufti said while making his concluding remarks in the one-day general council meeting of the party. “During the tenure of the PDP-Congress, a number of revolutionary and historical steps were taken to restore lasting peace in the region,” the PDP patron said and added what the National Conference with a two-third majority in its command had failed to do, the PDP-Congress regime had successfully initiated such steps. Recalling the 1987 “infamous rigged elections” and the 2010 summer unrest in the Kashmir valley, Mufti said the National Conference-Congress alliance had always proved ominous for Jammu and Kashmir. Although his party members did not mince words to attack the Congress, Mufti seized the opportunity to highlight the unflinching support provided to his government by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in taking some historic confidence-building measures such as the opening of the cross-LoC routes for trade and travel, initiation of a dialogue process between the Centre and separatists and providing good governance. The PDP, which was a part of the coalition government headed by Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, had withdrawn support of the government during the Amarnath land controversy in 2008. After the Assembly elections, the Congress entered into an alliance with the National Conference and formed the coalition government in 2009. Instead of mentioning the three-year tenure, when the PDP was heading the coalition government, Mufti had made it a point to repeatedly mention the six-year tenure of the PDP-Congress government to highlight the achievements of the previous government. He, however, said the present regime had derailed the whole process of peace and development. “It is indeed a matter of record and concern that during the last four years no progress was made on this front and no new initiatives were taken. Lip service is done to the Kashmir issue on occasions when the government finds itself overwhelmed by the fallout of its incompetence and anti-people actions which by now have become a familiar pattern in perpetuating the unpopular NC rule and the miseries of the people,” he said. Mufti again defended his party’s decision to boycott the ongoing Budget session. “The present regime has degraded the highest democratic institution like the Assembly so there is no reason to become a part of the government to undermine such institution,” he said. |
|
|
Governor wants Vaishno Devi university to be world-class centre of learning
Jammu, March 28 The Governor, who is the Chancellor of the SMVDU, was addressing students, faculty and staff members of the university at Kakriyal near here today. He called upon them to join hands to make the varsity not only well known for its highest standards of teaching and research but also for the promotion of ethical and moral values. He said the SMVDU was a residential varsity located in a spacious campus in the backdrop of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in a beautiful environment. He asked the students to make the best of the enabling scenario, put in hard work and attain excellence in their chosen fields of learning and research. He observed that, “We shall be able to make up all gaps, wherever these exist,” and added that recreation and reading rooms should be set up, playgrounds developed and accommodation facilities for the faculty and staff augmented and more hostels and other facilities ensured for enrolling a large number of students. He said the main purpose of his visit to the varsity was to have consultations with the Vice-Chancellor and take on the spot decisions for the resolution of various issues and put in place required infrastructure to meet the emerging requirements of the varsity. He released a book titled “Studies in Myth, Orality and Folklore in the World Literature” edited by Dr Vandhana Sharma, Director in charge, School of Languages and Literature, SMVDU. The book is a compendium of research papers presented in an international seminar on “Myth, Orality and Folklore in the World Literature with special reference to Rabindranath Tagore” held at the university in March 2012. The Governor, who has written the foreword of the volume, asked Dr Sharma to focus on the folklore traditions of the state. Prof Sudhir K Jain, Vice-Chancellor of the SMVDU, gave a detailed presentation about the functioning of the varsity, teaching and research facilities and the courses being taught and those in the pipeline. He thanked the Governor for taking a keen interest and his guidance on taking the varsity to greater heights. SS Bloeria, member of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Jammu; Dr HL Maini, member of the Board and Technical Consultant; Navin K Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor and Chief Executive Office of the Shrine Board; Dr Mandeep K Bhandari, Additional CEO; Deans, Directors, students, faculty and the staff members were present on the occasion. The Governor also reviewed various aspects of the functioning of the university at a meeting. The issues discussed at the meeting included development of infrastructure and manpower. |
|
|
Asia’s largest tulip garden opens its doors to visitors
Srinagar, March 28 Enticing locals and tourists with around 24 new tulip varieties, a huge rush of visitors was seen at the garden. “Around 3,000 visitors came to the garden yesterday and today around 4,000 people paid a visit. If the situation remains fine, we expect around three lakh people to visit the garden this year,” said in charge of Tulip Garden Javed Ahmad Shah. While Shah said the garden was expected to remain open till April-end subject to the weather conditions, more than 1.4 lakh visitors had thronged the garden last year. Even though tulips can be seen in full bloom for around a month only, the garden has been attracting visitors in large numbers from outside the Valley in advance as the prime tourist season usually starts by April-end. The garden was formally opened yesterday by Minister for Floriculture Peerzada Mohammad Syed along with Minister of State for Floriculture Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi. Stating that it was in “everybody’s interest” that tourism flourished in the state as it opened more economic options for people, Peerzada said it was “everybody’s responsibility to ensure that tourists come to the state and get the taste of the best possible hospitality”. While several tourist bookings had been cancelled earlier in the aftermath of the execution of Parliament attack Afzal Guru and a fidayeen attack at Bemina here, tourists have started trickling into the Valley yet again. in Bloom
|
|
|
Shutdown hits normal life in Valley
Srinagar, March 28 The shutdown call, as part of the weekly protest calendar, was given by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Mushawarat, a coordination committee of the separatist organisations, which include both factions of the Hurriyat Conference and others. This was constituted in the wake of the execution of Afzal Guru on February 9 this year. All shops and business establishments in the main markets of the city were closed and passenger transport was adversely affected in response to the bandh call. Government offices, educational institutions, schools and banks functioned normally in various areas. Most of the private schools remained closed to avoid any inconvenience to students and staff while commuting. Attendance in different government offices was also affected as many employees from distant areas could not reach their offices due to lack of public transport. Passenger vehicles were plying in some areas of the capital city and neighbouring towns. However, private vehicles were plying normally in different areas of the Valley. The police and CRPF personnel were deployed in a large number in major towns of Sopore and Baramulla in north Kashmir to prevent any untoward incidents. These areas had witnessed a series of demonstrations and clashes following the execution of Afzal Guru, whose family lives at Doabgah village near
Sopore. |
|
|
Family leaves for Delhi to meet Liyaqat
Srinagar, March 28 “Liyaqat was allowed by the Delhi police to talk to us. During our brief conversation, he told us to come and meet him. Accordingly, some family members left for Delhi,” said Liyaqat’s brother, Mubarak Ali. While the Delhi Police has been maintaining that Liyaqat was allegedly hatching a conspiracy to carry out attacks in Delhi, the J&K Police claims that the former militant was on his way to Kashmir to surrender under the state’s rehabilitation policy. Now, the claims and counterclaims of the Delhi and the J&K Police would be probed by the National Investigation Agency. Liyaqat’s first wife, Amina, met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Jammu on Tuesday and urged him to ensure her husband’s release. Amina was accompanied by some of her family members. “The Chief Minister heard us and assured us that Liyaqat will be released soon as he was returning home under the rehabilitation policy announced by the state government for the return of former militants,” said Amina. Another former militant, Mohammad Ashraf, a resident of north Kashmir’s Bandipore district, who had left Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) with Liyaqat reached the Valley on March 23 and surrendered before the J&K Police. Liyaqat and Ashraf along with their families had left PoK for Nepal on March 17. |
|
|
98 top officials transferred prematurely in 3 years
Jammu, March 28 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in 2010, had conceived a comprehensive Transfer Policy to ensure effective and transparent governance, fixing a minimum tenure of two years at a particular post and maximum of three years. It was decided that postings of government officers and officials would be made on a rotational basis to “sensitive and non-sensitive” postings which would be identified by the department. In the interest of the public or particular project, the official’s tenure could be extended up to five years. “A total of 98 senior bureaucrats (IAS cadre) and 437 Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) officers have been transferred before the completion of the minimum prescribed tenure during the past three years,” the Chief Minister said in a reply to a cut motion moved by Panthers Party legislator Yashpaul Kundal in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. On careful study of the document, it came to fore that some senior officers were even transferred from a particular post within days after holding the position. Besides, a majority of officers were transferred from the period ranging from one to three months Although the state government didn’t cite any specific reason for the premature transfer of bureaucrats and KAS officers, to make it appear fair the government had kept the provisions of “public interest” or in the “interest of administration”. The Chief Minister, however, claimed that the transfer policy, besides specifying the minimum and maximum tenures of government employees at a particular post also lays down some general principles for the guidance of all government departments for ensuring their effective implementation. Omar said it had been provided that a government employee holding a post may be transferred even before the completion of the minimum tenure, if “it is not in the public interest or in the interest of administration” to allow the employee to continue on a post for a full
tenure. |
|
|
Cricket body accepts Bedi’s resignation as chief coach
Jammu, March 28 However, the latest development brought a premature end to the three-year contract which Bedi had inked with the JKCA in 2011 to impart coaching to cricketers of the state. “It was Bishan Singh Bedi’s decision to quit from the post and the state cricket body has nothing to do with it. We really respect his stature and contribution to J&K cricket,” said Wazir. The JKCA treasurer said it was Bedi who didn’t want to continue. “We haven’t sacked him. Infact, he had written to the JKCA chief that he did not want to continue with the job. We had no option but to accept his resignation,” Wazir said. Reliable sources in the state cricket body said after the J&K team’s mixed performance in the Ranji Trophy season, which included just two victories and three draws out of eight games, Bedi didn’t turn up for limited over fixtures which the JKCA took seriously. The sources added that after the J&K’s last game against Tripura on December 29, 2012, played at GGM Science College Hostel Ground in Jammu, Bedi had met the JKCA chief and registered his dissatisfaction over the poor state of affairs in the state cricket. Sources further claimed that during Bedi’s absence, various attempts were made by the state cricket body to contact him but could not achieve any success. They said after being appointed as the chief coach of the JKCA, Bedi was entrusted with the task of uplifting the standard of cricket in the state but the veteran cricketer was not happy with the fitness level of the cricketers.
— TNS |
|
|
Mendhar Rural Olympics gets underway
Poonch, March 28
Mohammad Shukat, president Sarpanch Association, Mendhar, inaugurated the event.
Army jawans and students also presented a colourful cultural programme on the occasion. The event aims to provide youth from Poonch and Rajouri districts a platform to display their sporting talent. During the event, volleyball, kabaddi, tug-of-war and rural sports like Bukhdar (stone lifting) and pagri tying completions will also be held.
— OC |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Jammu, March 28
Srinagar, March 28