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| Tuesday, March 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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No fresh taxes in J&K Budget "Fidayeen" kills
3 SOG men Hurriyat member gets passport LAHDC to launch pashmina project |
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| Need for rapport between public, govt Srinagar, March 12 A Jammu and Kashmir minister, Mr Ali Mohammad Sagar, has emphasised the importance of close rapport between the public and the administration which provide an opportunity for the government to know the grievances of the public. He said it was necessary to go to the masses and convince them that the government was alive to their difficulties. 
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No fresh taxes in J&K Budget Jammu, March 12 The import duty on the IMFL has been raised from Rs 5 to Rs 10 per LPL in order to allow the local distilleries to come out of the red by increasing the sale of their products. Ignoring graceful occasional interruptions from the Opposition members, Mr Rather left a Rs 620-crore deficit in the plan outlay of Rs 2,000 crore uncovered. He explained later that expected increase in internal resources and some assistance from the Centre in the shape of Budgetary support, the government would be
able to reduce the level of deficit. In support of this contention he cited the instance of the current year’s Budget allocations and said that at one stage a heavy deficit had been estimated in the beginning of the current financial year which, however, was reduced to Rs 124
crore. In the trade and industry-friendly Budget proposals the Finance Minister again laid emphasis on tax revenue collection and realisation of arrears instead of levying additional taxes. He said that tough measures taken in hand during the current financial year had allowed the government to witness an increase of Rs 100 crore in the sales tax only. These measures had helped the government to surpass the targets fixed for collection of tax revenue. He said that so far tax revenue to the tune of over Rs 746 crore had been achieved against the target of over Rs 693 crore. Even while admitting that Jammu and Kashmir would never be able to become a financially viable state unless all its water potential was harnessed, Mr Rather provided relief to the traders, government employees and pensioners. He announced reduction in sales tax on jewellery and ornaments from 4 per cent to 1 per cent to allow local traders to increase their export potential. In case of tyres, tubes and motor spare parts the sales tax has been reduced from 12 per cent to 8 per cent. He has proposed exemption on payment of tax on contract services by small scale industrial units. He said these units had already been exempted from paying sales tax on their finished goods and now onwards such units may not have to pay tax on service contracts. The Finance Minister also proposed to abolish export fee on the IMFL and beer to help the local manufacturers to successfully compete in markets in the neighbouring states. He said that the Defence canteen service had been asked to buy 25 per cent quota of rum from the local manufacturers for which they had been given duty-free licence. He has proposed to extend the stipulation to 100 per cent during the next financial year. Under the scheme for self-assessment for sales and other taxes scheme has been extended to traders and industrialists whose annual taxable turnover was Rs 25 lakh a year. Earlier, the concession had been given to those whose annual turnover was up to Rs 10 lakh. Employees were delighted when Mr Rather announced on the floor of the house that the third and final instalment of the pay revision arrears would be paid before the end of the current financial year. This would entail an expenditure of Rs 170 crore. Though the amount was to be credited to the GP fund of the employees, no restriction was imposed on withdrawing the amount whenever the employees desired. He also pleased the pensioners when he announced that all arrears due to them on account of revision in the pensions and family pensions would be paid to them in cash during the next financial year. This exercise is to involve an expenditure of Rs 34 crore. Mr Rather announced that the 3 per cent DA to employees and pensioners which had become due from January 2,000 would be paid in cash in the next financial year. "Fidayeen" kills 3 SOG men Baramula, March 12 Official sources said a lone Fidayeen entered a SOG camp at Baba-teang near Pattan this afternoon around 3.15 pm under the fire cover by two other militants from outside and fired on the security men posted there. The exchange that went on for quite some time left three policemen, Inspector Kamaljit Singh, Sub-Inspector Mohammad Amin and Assistant Sub-Inspector Mohammad Sultan, dead. The attacker was also killed. One civilian died in the exchange, too. The militants who provided cover to the Fidayeen, however, managed to escape. This was the fourth major Fidayeen attack on security force camps in the recent past. More than 50 security personnel have
lost their lives in Fidayeen attacks in the Kashmir valley since November
1999 when in the first attack of the kind on the Headquarters of 15
Corps eight army personnel, including Major P Purshotum, defence PRO,
were killed. UNI
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Hurriyat member gets passport Srinagar, March 12 He said
Aziz, one of the five Hurriyat leaders named to travel to Pakistan, informed the Hurriyat Executive Council about the receipt of the passport and his plans to visit Pakistan at today’s meeting and was given a “green signal” by the conglomerate. The spokesman told PTI that the Peoples League chairman would leave for Delhi tomorrow for onward journey to Pakistan for the marriage of Sheikh Yaqoob in Islamabad. When contacted, Hurriyat chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said the Hurriyat had no objection to Mr Aziz’s visit to Pakistan to attend the marriage, “a social event.” Yaqoob, younger brother of Aziz and active member of Peoples League, had gone to Pakistan several years ago, the spokesman said, adding he was getting married to a Kashmiri girl belonging to a family hailing from the Hawal locality of Srinagar. The family is settled in occupied Kashmir. PTI |
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LAHDC to launch pashmina project Jammu, March 12 The LADHC has already conveyed its approval to meet 50 per cent cost of the project to the state government for further transmission to the Central Government. The project will give a tremendous boost to pashmina goat-rearers of Changthang. This was stated by the executive councillor of the LADHC, Mr Tsultim Phuntsog, at the breeders conference held at Nyoma on March 10. The conference was organised by the Sheed Husbandry Department, Leh, in collaboration with the Central Wool Development Board. More than 100 breeders from
Nyoma, Mudh, Nidder and nearby villages attended the conference. |
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Need for rapport between public, govt Srinagar, March 12 Mr Sagar, who also holds Home portfolio, was addressing a meeting of senior officers of the twin districts of Baramula and Kupwara in North Kashmir on Saturday. The visit was as part of his public contact programme in different districts to know the problems and grievances of the people there. He had meetings with the representatives of people there. The Director-General of State Police, Mr A.K. Suri, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Deputy Commissioners concerned senior officers of police, Army, BSF and CRPF were also present. The meeting in Baramula yesterday followed a similar meeting of the officers of the twin districts of Anantnag and Pulwama. Referring to allegations of excesses by the security forces, the minister said some complaints had been received and the government had made it clear that it did not approve of any inconvenience to the innocent and peaceful citizens. He said his visit to different district headquarters, along with the chiefs of police and divisional administration, were aimed at assuring people that the government would not spare anybody found guilty of excesses on innocent people. |
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