Jammu, March 1
A sum of Rs 1.26 crore has been earmarked by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests under the current annual plan for “project snow leopard” in the state.

The project not restricted to the protected areas (national parks and wildlife sanctuaries) will extend all over the landscape to be implemented with the active involvement of local communities.

Snow leopard is a globally endangered species as well as the most important flagship species of the mountainous regions of J&K, Himachal, Uttarankhand, Sikkim and Arunanchal Pradesh.

Poached for their attractive fur, organs and bones there are roughly just 4,500 to 7,000 snow leopards left in the world. India is home to approximately 400 to 600 snow leopards of which 60 per cent are found in Ladakh alone. These are nearly 26 protected areas in the Himalayan landscape where snow leopard is reported.

The works to be taken up during the project include habit improvement through pasture developments, construction of nature interpretation centre, purchase of patrolling vehicles, camera troops, binoculars, high-resolution digital cameras, survey and census equipment, construction of coral pens, equipment for handling human-wild animal conflicts etc.

Udhampur, March 1
Even as the Congress and the BJP have not finalised names of their candidates for the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, other political groups, with some congress rebels’ support, have been mulling over the idea of fielding an independent candidate to give tough fight to both parties.

Dissident Congress leaders, who were denied party mandate in the just concluded Assembly elections, have taken the initiative of fielding a consensus candidate for this prestigious Lok Sabha seat which was wrested by the Congress from the BJP in 2004 general elections. “We are holding discussions with the PDP and the BSP to put a consensus candidate on this seat”, Congress rebel RS Pathanai told The Tribune and claimed that their proposal had so far received encouraging response from other groups.

Being the coalition partners the Congress, the NC would jointly fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections so the Congress rebels have been working overtime to rope in the PDP to form Third Front for contesting this Lok Sabha seat. On the one hand the Congress rebels have been holding discussions with the PDP, while on the other hand they are in touch with the BSP leaders to seek support for consensus candidate.

Although the BJP and the Congress leaders claimed that there was no scope of Third Front, on going efforts to field a consensus candidate have given sleepless nights to state leadership of both parties.

The Congress rebels, along with the BSP and the PDP, can give a tough challenge to both BJP and Congress in the Lok Sabha elections.

The BSP already has a strong vote bank in some pockets of Udhampur and Kathua districts, while as the PDP has strengthened its base in Kishtwar and Ramban districts.

Sources disclosed that the Congress rebels were in touch with leadership of the PDP and the BSP and two rounds of discussions were already held to give final shape to the proposal.

Jammu, March 1
The PDP said today the party would continue to reflect the urges and aspirations of all regions and sub-regions of the state as mandated by the people.

A resolution adopted at a day long meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee here today resolved that as the PDP would create new standards of honest, constructive and fearless Opposition.

During the meeting the party leaders said they were satisfied with the greater acceptability of the PDP agenda by the state. “The party values this sentiment while keeping its doors open to all like-minded, forward looking, sincere and honest individuals, parties and groups,” the resolution states.

It further adding, “As reflected in the outcome of recent elections to the state Assembly the endorsement of self-rule proposal strengthens the party’s resolve to work for its implementation to address all dimensions of problems facing the state and its people.”

The meeting reiterated the party’s resolve to rededicate itself to the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir problem through civilised and internationally acknowledged democratic means to realise the ultimate goal of a dignified, secure and prosperous life for the citizens of the state.

The meeting called upon the leadership of the country and Pakistan to take note of the sentiment of peace emanating from Jammu and Kashmir, accord it the respect it deserves and address the issues concerning the state with a sense of urgency, sincerity and seriousness. It called for isolation of hawks on either side and resumption of the stalled dialogue and peace process to redeem the progress made so far.

Demanding immediate implementation of the recommendations of the working groups constituted by the Prime Minister, the meeting observed that any delay in doing so could generate further frustrations on political and economic fronts within the state.

“The complete restoration of rights of the state over its water resources should begin with the return of central power projects to the state as recommended by the working group on economic matters and also by the Prime Minister’s Task Force on economic development of Jammu and Kashmir headed by former RBI Governor Rangarajan,” the meeting observed.

The meeting demanded that the strength of troops on internal security duties should be brought down to pre-militancy levels, lands and buildings under unauthorised use of the security forces be vacated and Disturbed Areas Act and Armed Forces Special Powers Act scrapped immediately.

Udhampur, March 1
In yet another effort to contribute to the welfare of ex-servicemen of the state who have rendered yeoman service to the nation, an ex-servicemen interaction was organised under the aegis of Air Defence Brigade today.

The function was inaugurated by Brigadier Yashwant Singh, Commandant 3 Advance Base Workshop. The comprehensive event included a number of lectures by various officials from the Soldier Board, Resettlement Directorate, Army Welfare Education Society, Ex-Servicemen Health Services, Khadi Village Industries Commission and Army Recruitment Office.

To assist the ex-servicemen in financial planning and loan acquisition, bank officials from ICICI and Religare were also present. A medical camp was also organised wherein eye, medical and surgical specialists were present and provided on the spot treatment and medicine to the affected people. The interaction was followed up with lunch and an opportunity to the ex-servicemen to avail the benefits of CSD and non-CSD stores opened specially at the site.

Brigadier AK Jha, Commander Air Defence Brigade, lauded the efforts put in by all agencies to make the interaction a grand success. 

Srinagar, March 1
The Railways is working to extend its network in Kashmir to the hitherto unconnected areas as the people, weary of expensive road transport, have switched over to trains, which costs less than one third and consumes less time than a road journey, in a big way.

A senior official of IRCON, the public sector agency responsible for execution of the railway project here, told The Tribune that the route to connect Kupwara, the northernmost district, by rail has been surveyed and the state government is pushing for connecting more areas.

During the inauguration by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi of a track last month that connected Baramulla town with train, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah requested Railway Minister Lalu Yadav to extent rail to the tourist town of Pahalgam and Bandipore, another northern Kashmir district, he said.

The IRCON official said rail transport had the potential of becoming an “integrated transport system” for the valley, connecting areas like Gund, Ganderbal towards east, Kupwara, Bandipore and Baramulla. The rail currently runs a distance of 105 km between Anantnag and Baramulla while work is on to take the tracks up to Qazigund for which IRCON is constructing the tallest railway bridge inside the valley. In its present state, the rails zigzag almost through the middle of the valley, leaving the outlying towns.

The favourable response of people to trains has come as a major boost to the Railways as not long ago propagandists had a field day in the valley, claiming that people would reject them as they would be used to “ferry soldiers” around.

In fact, Omar Abdullah, now pursuing the Railways for a wider network, is himself a cynic-turned-admirer as he had once criticised it for causing heavy damages to the valley’s environment and consuming hundreds of acres of its fertile land for construction. And he admitted as much during the inauguration as he recalled his earlier suspicion and lauded the Railways for its economical and quick service.

“When we started our attitude was let’s see how things unfold. Not it’s all about keeping up the good work and connecting more and more areas, if possible,” an official said of the project which has cost Rs 1700 cr to the exchequer.

However, he admitted that the ambitious plan to connect Kashmir with the rest of India remains a Herculean task as the ongoing work keeps running into problems while trying to blast through the Pir Panjal hills, which divide Kashmir and Jammu divisions.

Srinagar, March 1
Following HC directions to install septic tanks in their houseboats, the houseboat owners lament at apathy shown by the state government in providing them time-bound assistance.

“We want Dal Lake to be preserved and are ready to cooperate. However, the government is not cooperating with us. We contacted the vice-chairman, Lakes and Waterways Development Authority , in order to get some temporary assistance for installing septic tanks, but he out-rightly rejected our request saying that we should manage the same on our own,” says Mohammad Azim Tuman, chairman Houseboat Owners Association (HBOA).

Tuman says that it costs Rs 40,000 for installing septic tanks on emergency basis and 80 per cent of houseboat owners come under C, B and D categories. These people are not in a position to install septic tanks on their own, he added.

“Ironically, we are being blamed for pollution in the lake while as fact of matter is that houseboats contribute 3 per cent towards pollution in the lake with peripheries contributing 97 per cent. Closure of water sources to the lake and blockage of outlets lead to decaying of fish and disappearance of kingfisher, snail and dragonflies. Water of the lake has been polluted deliberately,” says chairman, HBOA.

Tuman said filling up of Nallahmar and Nallah Amir Khan and placing iron shutter as lock gate at Dalgate, along with closure of gates at Maisuma and Zero Bridge, had made matters worse.

“The number of houseboats in Dal Lake and Nigeen lake has drastically come down from 3,500 to 1,200 and the number is declining. Houseboat is the unique selling proposition when it comes to tourism in Kashmir and tourists relish staying in them as they taste oriental way of life in houseboats,” says chairman, HBOA.

Jammu, March 1
A Division Bench comprising Justice YP Nargotra and Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has dismissed a batch of letters patent appeals arising out of various judgements passed on petitions of government employees, who on account of the turmoil had migrated from the valley, by virtue of which they had been held entitled to HRA and city compensatory allowance (CCA).

In 1989 and 1990, militancy forced members of a particular community, including government employees, to migrate from the valley. The migration of government employees resulted in their absence from duty, not on their own accord but due to changed circumstances in the valley.

In the ordinary course, absence from duty would have invited disciplinary action leading to their dismissal from service. However, the government came out with rehabilitation policies. While it treated the period of migration as earned leave and the remaining period of absence as in-service for being counted for the purpose of pension, it deprived the migrant employees of the benefits of special pay and local allowances, including HRA and CCA.

The single Bench held that the petitioners were entitled to all benefits, including HRA and CCA, when a number of writ petitions were filed drawing analogy with certain government employees, who were being paid the allowances.

The government challenged the judgement of the single Judge on the ground that the petitioners had not claimed the benefits of HRA and CCA in their individual rights on merit.

The Division Bench, while dismissing the appeal of the state on Thursday, observed that “their entitlement to HRA and CCA is being disputed only on the ground of they not performing any duty. Therefore, if the government did not choose some of them for the performance of duties at any place or post, it was not their fault and they could not be penalised for not performing duties. In terms of para (e) of the government order No. 605-GAD of 1991, all migrant employees were bound to report for duty at any place within or outside the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Therefore, the government would not be justified in paying HRA and CCA only to those employees who were performing duties and not paying the same to those who were left out for the purpose of performance of duty. Therefore, the exclusion clause incorporated in para (e) of the government order No. 605-GAD is bad in law being arbitrary and discriminatory in character. And being violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India it cannot be legally sustained. We, therefore, quash the same and hold the writ petitioners entitled to the benefits of HRA and CCA.”