Jammu, July 3
Rarely a day passes when accidents do not occur due to the sudden halting and wrong parking of private minibuses, sometimes in the middle of the road, to pick up passengers.

Flouting all norms, minibus drivers halt for 10-15 minutes at the turning points. Thus, such places get crowded with passengers. Due to this, motorists coming from behind fail to see the vehicles coming from the other directions, which leads to mishaps. But nothing seems to deter the drivers of these minibuses who continue to halt their buses wherever they like.

Virender Bhardwaj, a student, complains, “I had lost one of my dearest friends in such an accident who ran into a Maruti Gypsy after taking a turn from the turning point where a minibus was parked. We complained to the police also about the hazardous way of parking of the minibuses at busy intersections, but nothing moved beyond some paperwork. I don’t know how many more innocent lives would be lost due to the indifferent attitude of the administration and the traffic police”.

The drivers of these buses have their own story. A minibus driver says, “We have been halting our vehicles like this for years since other buses, too, are doing the same in a bid to pick up more passengers. There should be a stringent rule, which should be applied to all. Only then we will obey the orders”.

SSP (Traffic) Parvinder Singh said, “I am not aware of such a situation, but it is certainly risky. I would send patrolling vehicles to make sure that the buses do not park on turning points.”

Ramesh Chand Sharma, regional transport officer, too, admitted fault on the part of the minibuses, saying, “It is taught during the process of getting a driving licence that vehicles should be parked or halted at some 20-25 m away from the turning points. It is advised to halt the vehicles only at identified places”.

Assar (Ramban), July 3
Farmers in the region are in for a tough time, thanks to the unprecedented high temperature witnessed this year in the hilly areas of the Jammu region, which has led to the failure of vegetables, maize, pulses and mango crops.

Due to the delay in the monsoon , vegetable crops have been completely damaged in the Assar-Baggar belt of Ramban district, which is known for supplying vegetables to the entire Jammu region. Fear grips farmers of this belt as crops of beans, tomato and potato suffered extensive damage.

“We are totally dependent upon nature for our crops. This year, the delay in monsoon has damaged our crops,” Thakur Pavitar Singh, a resident of Baggar, said and pointed out that vegetables had been completely damaged.

“Earlier, we used to supply beans and tomato in June, but this time shopkeepers of this belt are themselves buying vegetables from Jammu markets,” rued Ravinder Singh, a farmer of Assar. The famous “Tamator Morh”, a spot on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which was usually flooded with fresh vegetables in June and July, wore a deserted look.

The crops of pulses also suffered a huge loss. Earlier, it was the aphid disease that had damaged the crop and now, it is the non-availability of irrigation water that has led to losses. “This year, pahari pulses would not be available in the market,” a senior officer of the agriculture department said and informed that 70 per cent of the crops of pulses had been damaged this year. The prices of pulses have already skyrocketed while the price of flour may see a hike in the coming days.

Another important crop that failed this year is maize. Most of the farmers have not yet sowed the crop due to the dry spell and there is a remote chance of sowing crops within the next few days. “If farmers failed to sow the maize crop within a fortnight, the crop would be a complete failure,” an officer of the agriculture department informed.

According to the official, record 76 per cent of the area in the Jammu region is rain-fed while only 24 per cent is irrigated. A majority of the crops have to depend on the weather conditions. Farmers of Udhampur district are also forced to delay the cultivation of milky mushroom due to intense heat. 

Jammu, July 3
Even though more than a year has passed since a frenzied mob during the Amarnath land row agitation damaged a number of tamper-proof electronic meters in the Jammu region, the state Power Development Department (PDD) has so far failed to replace the damaged meters due to which pilferage is going on unabated.

Ajay Gupta, chief engineer of the repair and maintenance wing of the department, said in the Jammu region, more than 16,500 such meters were damaged during the agitation last year and the department, with the help of consumers, was replacing these. However, in most of the cases, consumers were not ready to pay the replacement charges.

As per PDD sources, the department had so far replaced more than 7,500 damaged meters, whereas the process of replacing others was on.

Consumers said though they had already paid the replacement charges, the department had so far failed to replace the meters. “Due to the non-replacement of the meters, we have been getting exorbitant bills. Though we have already paid the replacement charges, the meters are yet to be replaced,” said Maninder Singh, a resident of Pucca Danga, Jammu.

The PDD has fixed the rate of a single tamper-proof electronic meter at Rs 1,050 and in order to avoid burden on the consumers, the department has asked them to pay the amount in three installments. However, officials in the department said many consumers had expressed resentment against the payment of the installments.

An official of the PDD said, “More than 16,500 meters were damaged by the mob during the agitation last year. To prevent power pilferage, a majority of the damaged meters have been replaced. However, it would take some more time before all meters would be replaced”.

He said the lack of funds was the only constraint in replacing the meters as majority of the consumers were not willing to pay the replacement charges.

The residents rued as they were not responsible for the damage of the meters and the same were damaged by the protesters, why should they pay the replacement charges to the department.

But the department said it had given clear instructions to the consumers to take care of the meters and any damage to the meter after their installation was to be borne by the consumer.

He said till all meters were replaced, the department had decided to charge a flat rate from the consumers.

Meanwhile, a majority of the consumers blamed that despite having paid the replacement charges, the department had failed to replace the meters.

“We have already paid the three installments for the replacement of our damaged meter.However, the department has so far failed to install the meter. They had promised that it would be replaced by the end of March, but so far they haven’t done so,” said Bansi Lal, a resident of the Kanak Mandi locality.

Srinagar, July 3
For the past three weeks, men and machinery of the Public Works Department (PWD) have been in action for tarring the city roads. This is unlike the previous years when the work on the construction, repair and maintenance of the roads was being taken by mid-summer.

Since the working season, particularly in this sector, remains restricted to a few summer months, most of these works used to remain incomplete leading to further damage to the roads and bridges, besides putting a burden on the state exchequer.

“This year, the government has begun its work on time,” said Mohammad Shafi Mir, chief engineer.

The work has already been started, particularly on the city roads, with focus on the tarring of roads leading to tourist spots and commercial hubs. Roads in the Kashmir valley are required to be relaid almost every year due to the damage caused by the accumulation of snow during winters and subsequent waterlogging.

Earlier, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had sought a report on the condition of the roads in the two capital cities, Jammu and Srinagar, soon after he took over in January this year, officials said. As a result, a plan was prepared to repair the roads in Srinagar at a cost of Rs 100 crore. Out of this, a plan for Rs 60 crore covering 94 roads with a length of 327 km was approved for Srinagar.

“The work on the Sirnagar roads has been taken on a priority with more focus on dilapidated roads,” said the chief engineer. “Since it is a tourist place, the roads leading to airport, National Wildlife Park, Dachigam, and commercial hubs like Lal Chowk and Batamaloo have been taken care of on a priority basis,” he added.

About 40 per cent of the work has been completed and the remaining is expected to be completed by mid-August, the chief engineer said.

The best season for carrying out the work in the Kashmir valley is between May and August when the temperatures remain constant, the official said. “We have staff members available at every working site who would ensure quality work”.

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats Ali Mohammad Sagar, who represents the Khanyary constituency of Srinagar, has been conducting extensive tours of the city to oversee the implementation of various developmental works. During his recent visit to the old city, he inspected the roads and appreciated the quality of work while asking the department to speed up work so that the roads are completed in a time-bound manner.

Srinagar, July 3
A much travelled-man, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah knows that Kashmir may boast of unsurpassed natural beauty but to attract rich tourists and make them stay for a long period, his administration has to offer them more than routine rides on shikaras and visits to Mughal gardens.

Many officials will privately tell you that one of the things they should have is a liberal excise policy. Leisure tourists often complain about the absence of bars even in Srinagar, which used to boast of a number of them prior to militancy.

Aware of the backlash that any suggestion to revive bars and open discotheques which were earlier set on fire by militants could invite from the Kashmir’s “moral police” and conservative media, Abdullah, while inaugurating a club sans bar recently, refrained from directly touching the subject but attempted to stir a debate on the very reasons which fundamentalists use to oppose modern lifestyle.

He asked the audience drawn from the tourism industry, media and civil society if Dubai and Malaysia, both tourist hotspots with a dominant Muslim population, were any less Muslim than Kashmir. “Both are Islamic countries. They have gone out of the way to attract tourists. It is time that we ponder over these issues,” he said in his earnest manner.

He said several clubs in Srinagar used to be a magnet for social gatherings prior to militancy, but the self-appointed guardians of society destroyed them. The Nigeen Club, one of the popular places attacked by militants repeatedly, was inaugurated by Omar, who said he was working out as to how other clubs could be revived and opened to the public again.

He spoke of the Amar Singh Club, another popular place of yesteryear, which is now occupied by the CRPF, and said his administration was making efforts to withdraw it from the CRPF and open it to tourists and local residents.

If Abdullah was naturally circumspect, his ministerial colleague Nawang Rigzin Jora, Tourism Minister hailing from Ladakh, was more forthcoming. He said the Nigeen Club had no bar or discotheque, which tourists would have liked, but they had tried to make up for it with other modern facilities.

Jammu, July 3
In India, as much as 35 per cent of the total cost of a product or service is in the form of direct or indirect taxes, which is the highest in the world, and the new regime of GST (goods and service tax) would bring down the level to 15-20 pc.

GST, which has already been adopted by more than 130 countries, is expected to get implemented in India from the next fiscal year, starting from April 1, 2010.

The introduction of GST is expected to completely change the tax structure in the country. Its introduction would also benefit the producers as the tax would be paid by the end consumers. “GST is a broad-based consumption tax on goods and services which is paid by the end consumer, it is a single unified tax on both goods and services. It is levied at each stage in the economic chain of supply,” said Pratik Jain, executive director of KPMG, a multinational financial consultation firm.

He said, “GST would be levied only on the value addition to goods and services at each stage. At present, 35 per cent cost of a product in India was in the form of taxes, which was highest in the world, and with the introduction of GST it would drop down between 15 and 20 per cent”.

In the Union Budget for 2006-07, the Finance Minister had proposed that India should move towards the national level of goods and service tax that should be shared between the Centre and the states, the proposed date for its implementation in the country was fixed at April 1, 2010.

BR Kundal, former chief secretary, who was also the state finance secretary, said the government would soon be issuing a white paper on GST that would clarify its impact in the state.

“The apprehensions due to the proposed introduction of GST are understandable and are similar to those felt during the introduction of VAT in the state. The introduction of GST which is being followed by most of the developed countries across the world would bring in a lot of relief to the tax payer,” Kundal said.

Sanjay Puri, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries, Jammu and Kashmir council, said the proposed tax regime was a part of the tax reforms that the Centre wanted to evolve round an efficient and harmonised consumption tax system in the country.

Jammu, July 3
Why should not affluent farmers pay income tax? With this question, The Tribune kicked off a debate to get an insight into the issue by talking to a cross-section of society.

Professor of Economics at University of Jammu, Dipankar Sengupta said: “In principle,rich farmers should be taxed. However, what is the definition of rich? It must be remembered that the income of farmers, rich or otherwise, is uncertain and has a tendency to vary from year to year depending from price and weather fluctuations”

“Secondly, the computation of net income from farming poses grave problems,particularly when done for tax purposes. I, therefore, fear the cost of collecting taxes from this section as yet may not be justified by tax returns from this sector,” he commented.

President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries Ram Sahai said: “We strongly favour the income tax rebate for the small farmers. However, the affluent farmers doing good business in farm activities must be set apart and brought under the ambit of income tax”.

However, president of the Rice Growers Association, Choudhary Dev Raj contradicted the viewpoint: “Farming is not an organised sector. It is full of uncertainties. Field fires engulf ripe produce every year, fertilisers are not made available on time and research work in the farm sector is complete failure whereas farm produce is solely dependent on the monsoon”. “The government has no moral right to impose tax on farmers unless it provides facilities to them”, he stated. However, a modest farmer from RS Pura,Dharam Chand, said: “If a farmer earns well from agriculture and allied fields like horticulture and dairy, he should not have any problem in filing tax.” Meanwhile, agricultural officers did not say anything on the issue.