Jammu, March 8
The Legislative Assembly today witnessed pandemonium over shortage of ration in the outlets of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department. Legislators of all opposition parties joined the issue and took the minister concerned to task for his failure to streamline the supply of ration.

The issue of the scarcity of ration dominated today’s proceedings of the Assembly as the matter was raised by members during Question Hour as well as Zero Hour through a Calling Attention Notice. While BJP legislators staged a walkout over the issue, two Panthers Party members staged a dharna in the well of the House, demanding ration for the people living in rural areas. They also demanded proper ration supply for the migrants of the Jammu province on a par with displaced people of Kashmir. The legislators returned to their seats only after an assurance from the Speaker, Mohammad Akbar Lone that he would pursue the issue.

Trouble started during Question Hour when Minister for CAPD Qamar Ali Akhoon was replying to a query of BJP legislator Ashok Khajuria. The minister told the House that 27,011 metric tonnes of ration was being supplied in the Jammu division as per the population of year 2,000. Khajuria said as per the census, the quota of Jammu city was 39,000 metric tonnes while the supply was 28,000 metric tonnes. He added that of the quota of Jammu city, 8,000 metric tonnes of ration was supplied to migrants of the Jammu region.

He termed the information provided by the minister as incorrect and sought a reply from him regarding “discrimination” in the allotment of foodgrains. He demanded that the migrants of the Jammu region should be allotted an additional quota so that residents of Jammu city get their due share.

Khajuria was joined by Panthers Party members Balwant Mankotia and Yash Pal Kundal, PDP legislator Zulfikar Ali, Jammu State Morcha (JSM) legislator Ashwani Kumar and Congress legislator GM Saroori. They alleged that there was a grave scarcity of foodgrains as ration did not reach people due to bungling and misappropriation by officials concerned.

The minister admitted that there was a huge gap between demand and supply because the quota had been fixed as per the 2001 census. In the meantime, legislators of other parties also joined the issue. “There is a 52 per cent shortage in demand and supply and no step has been taken to rectify the situation,” shouted Zulfikar. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also supported the issue and asked the government to formulate a comprehensive policy to ensure proper ration supply. All opposition members shouted slogans against the government for its failure to ensure proper ration supply. While all BJP legislators staged a walkout, Panthers Party legislators Balwant Singh Mankotia and Yash Pal Kundal staged a dharna in the Well of the House. They lifted the dharna only after the Speaker assured them that their cause was genuine and he would himself pursue it.

Jammu, March 8
The state government said today that 14,359 hectares of forestland had been encroached upon in the state. Replying to a question by PDP legislator Basharat Ahmed Bukhari during Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly, Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology Mian Altaf said 14,359 hectares of forestland had been encroached upon in the state.

He said 4,877 hectares and 9,482 hectares of forestland had been encroached upon in the Kashmir and Jammu regions, respectively. “Whenever any incident of encroachment is reported, all possible steps are taken to retrieve forestland and cases are lodged against the culprits,” Altaf said. He added that special drives were carried out regularly to get the land encroached upon evicted.

The minister said it was due to the drive of the department concerned that 64 hectares of forestland in Jammu and 944 hectares in Kashmir had been retrieved. “As many as 65 attempts of encroachment on about 286 hectares of forestland in Jammu were foiled from 2005-06 to 2010-11. All efforts are being made to evict the encroachers from the forestland under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act,” he said.

Earlier, the members demanded the constitution of a team of experts to study the effects of mobile towers on the ecology of the state. Replying to a question of Congress legislator MS Niaz whether the large scale installation of telecommunication towers had badly affected the ecology in the state, the Forest Minister said there was no established adverse impact of the towers on the ecology.

He added that studies and research at the national level were going on in this regard.

Jammu, March 8
Former Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh today called upon all political parties of the state to take up the issue with the Punjab government regarding compensation to people whose land and property were acquired for the Ranjit Sagar Dam.

Participating in the debate on the Budget, Beigh said thousands of hectares in Kathua and Samba districts of the Jammu province had become barren due to the backtracking of the Punjab government on the agreement that it had signed with the state government on the Ranjit Sagar Dam. In an obvious reference towards BJP members, Beigh said those claiming to be the champions of the cause of Jammu people should come forward to seek justice from the Punjab government.

The Punjab government had backtracked on the agreement with the state government and the matter had been referred to the Supreme Court by the Union government, he added.

Beigh said it was high time that all political parties of the state took up the matter unitedly with the Punjab government and assured them of his support on the issue.

The Punjab and J&K governments had in 1973 entered into an agreement under which 15,000 acres were given to Punjab for the construction of the Ranjit Sagar Dam and 22 villages were vacated for the purpose. However, Punjab had then agreed to pay a Rs 65 crore compensation to the state, besides 20 per cent of power generated from the project. The project started in 1989, but Punjab did not give a single unit of power to Jammu and Kashmir.

On February 16, 2010, a high-level committee headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and comprising Law Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, PHE Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din and the Chief Secretary was set up by the Cabinet to work out the modalities for seeking Rs 8,599 crore compensation from Punjab for the power and water used by the neighbouring state.

Jammu, March 8
The PDP today looked a divided party in the Legislative Council when its legislator Nizam-ud-Din Khatana staged a walkout but the Leader of the PDP in the Upper House, Murtaza Ahmad Khan, did not support him.

Though Murtaza did not support his party colleague, the lone legislator of the Panthers Party in the House, Rafiq Ahmad Shah, supported Khatana and walked out of the House.

Both Khatana and Rafiq had earlier asked a question to Minister for Revenue Raman Bhalla for the rehabilitation of Gujjar and Bakerwal communities of the state, asking what steps had been taken by the government for the welfare of the nomadic communities.

But in the absence of Bhalla, when Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Ittoo stood to give a reply both Rafiq and Khatana showed resentment saying they had demanded a reply from the Minister for Revenue and not the Minister for Social Welfare.

Khatana said, “During the period of Sheikh Abdullah, the then government had formulated a scheme for the allotment of seven marlas to each family of Gujjars and Bakerwals to construct their houses, but nothing has been done as yet.”

In a reply, Sakina Ittoo said, “A housing colony for the settlement of migratory Gujjars was taken up by the Jammu Development Authority in 1976 under which 574 kanals were identified in Sunjwan village. In the first phase, 73 plots were allotted but due to the occupation of land by the Army the work on the second phase could not be taken up.”

But not satisfied by this, Khatana asked a supplementary question: “What is the stand of the present government to rehabilitate Gujjars and whether this government is intending to act upon the Sheikh Abdullah’s project to rehabilitate Gujjars or not?”

Over the issue, when Sakina Ittoo could not satisfy Khatana and Rafiq, they staged a walkout. While staging a walkout Khatana raised a number of questions addressed to acting chairman Arvinder Singh Micky. But Murtaza Khan neither asked any supplementary question in this regard nor staged a walkout and remained present in the House during Question Hour. However, the third legislator of the PDP, Syed Asgar Ali, was not present in the House today.

Jammu, March 8
A question over the affect of sprayed vegetables and fruits on human body resulted into a heated discussion between Minister for Health, Medical Education and Horticulture Sham Lal Sharma and National Conference (NC) legislator Mohammad Rashid Qureshi in the Upper House today.

The minister and the legislator also passed some derogatory remarks against each other during Question Hour, which were later expunged from the proceedings with directions of the acting chairman Arvinder Singh Micky.

The episode took place when Sharma was replying to a question of BR Kundal on hormone and colour sprays on vegetables and fruits.

Sharma said, “The government wants to keep a check on such issues, but the Act related to this problem was too old, which was implemented in 1968”.

However, Qureshi was not satisfied with the reply and said the minister should be aware of the facts and he should read his reply before speaking it in the House.

On this, Sharma appealed to the acting chairman to intervene and also sought appropriate action against Qureshi.

Meanwhile, other legislators also joined the war of words.

Sharma alleged that Qureshi had used some derogatory words, which were later expunged from the proceedings of the House, following the directions of Micky.

Earlier, Sharma had said the government was aware about the problem of the colour and hormone sprays on eatable products like vegetables and fruits, but so far no such study had been conducted about the effect of such chemicals on the human body.

Later, the acting chairman allowed another member to ask a question and ended the debate.

Jammu, March 8
In an administrative shake-up, the Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here today, shifted 25 senior officers. Arun Kumar has been posted as Chairman, J&K Special Tribunal while Ashok Kumar Angurana, Principal Secretary, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, has been transferred as Principal Resident Commissioner, J&K Government, New Delhi. Mehboob Iqbal has been posted as Commissioner/Secretary, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Department while GR Ghani, Secretary, Planning and Development, has been transferred as Secretary, Transport.

Other transfers comprised Farooq Ahmad Renzu, Director, Local Bodies, Kashmir as Director, Information; Guldev Raj Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar, as Secretary in the Planning and Development Department; Saurabh Bhagat, Special Secretary, Information Technology, as Director, Technical Education; Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Director, Technical Education, as Deputy Commissioner, Poonch; Saugat Biswas, Additional Secretary in the Governor’s Secretariat, as Additional Secretary, Housing and Urban Development; SA Laherwal, Director General, Youth Services and Sports, as OSD in the Transport Department; Mohammad Afzal Bhat, Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, as Director, Local Bodies, Kashmir; Shafaat Noor Barlas, Director, Employment, as Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama; Kifayat Hussain Rizvi, Vice-Chairman, Srinagar Development Authority, as Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag; Dilshad Khan, Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, as Vice-Chairperson, Srinagar Development Authority; Showkat Ahmad Mir, Special Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, as Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal; Jaipal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, as Director, Youth Services and Sports; Kuldip Lal Khajuria, Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, as Special Secretary, Hosing and Urban Development; Yasha Mudgal, SDM, Bhaderwah, as Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan; Shyam Vinod Meena, SDM, Bhawan-Katra, as SDM, Bhaderwah; Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Director, Libraries, Jammu, as Project Director, Rashtriya Madhamik Shiksha Abhiyan; Mohammad Hussain Malik, Director, Area Planning, as Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar; Abdul Rashid as Director, Employment; Farooq Ahmad Lone, Joint Director, Information, as Director, Agriculture, Kashmir; Pawan Kumar, Assistant Commissioner, Nazool, Jammu, as SDM, Bhawan-Katra; Anu Behl as Assistant Commissioner, Nazool, Jammu.

Jammu, March 8
The PDP today criticised the Budget presented by the NC-Congress coalition government on the grounds that it failed to address regional imbalances and took long-term corrective measures to bring the debt-ridden economy of the state back on rails.

Initiating a debate on the floor of the House, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh of the PDP said Finance Minster Abdul Rahim Rather seemed to have prepared the zero deficit Budget showing increased expenditure without doing adequate homework. The Rs 31,212-crore Budget, which was based on a projected Rs 6,600-crore state plan outlay, came in for a sharp criticism.

Beigh raised the issues of low Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), per capita income, a gap between receipts and disbursement and decreasing sectoral allocation, among other things.

He quoted extensively from the economic survey of the state as well as the Finance Minister’s Budget speech to drive home the point that the Budget failed to take note of the long-term requirements to bring the tottering economy of the state back on rails.

The Finance Minister should have adopted a visionary approach instead of jugglery of words and figures, Beigh said.

As compared to other northern states, the GSDP showed a continuing declining trend. Under circumstances, it should have been imperative on the part of the Finance Minister to prepare ground for achieving 8 per cent of GSDP growth. Otherwise, the adverse impact on the fiscal health would be unavoidable, Beigh said. He added that the budgetary exercise required bold initiatives to restore the fiscal health.

Terming the Finance Minister’s approach in preparing the Budget as archaic, Beigh said the Budget suffered from regional imbalances in terms of an unequal distribution of resources as shown in the economic survey and it amounted to injustice.

For instance, the GSDP of almost all districts of the Jammu region was better than Kashmir. It reflected in terms of revenue expenditure outweighing capital expenditure in financial year 2009-10. The need of the hour was to reduce the gap by pumping more capital expenditure to ensure an overall equitable growth of the GSDP, he said.

Referring to the gap between receipts and disbursement as projected in the economic survey, he wondered if there was any measure suggested to bridge it. The resultant fiscal deficit, if not addressed, would impact the allocation of funds in the light of the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.

Similarly, the payment of interest was likely to become another major handicap. If allowed to increase, a situation might come when the amount of interest could surpass the actual liability, which could lead to a serious resource crunch for the planned development schemes, Beigh added.

Jammu, March 8
The state Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here today, approved the creation of posts of physiotherapist in the Health Department in Kashmir and Jammu regions. It also decided to grant the backward area status to 11 villages in the state.

These villages are Batwina in Ganderbal district, Baripora in Budgam, Gund Tankipora in Kulgam, Laribar in Pulwama, Srail Chua in Udhampur, Dharalta in Kathua, Sangla in Poonch, Rakiban in Rajouri, Chotipora in Shopian, Panzgam in Pulwama, Kralmad, including hamlets Har Kralmad and Wavothora in Anantnag.

The Cabinet also agreed to implement the Jammu and Kashmir Energy Conservation Bill 2011. The Bill would enable the government to enforce energy auditing of designated consumers, enforce the manufacture and use of efficient energy equipment and take punitive measures against those who did not observe energy conservation. It also approved the creation of 88 posts of home guard jawans.

It also approved the design and construction of mechanically-operated gated barrage having approximately a length of 370 metres and a height of 4 metres with sluice gates across the Tawi for the creation of poundage at Belicharana, Jammu on the EPC basis.

Srinagar, March 8
After militants blew up the railway track in the Soothoo area of Nowgam last night, the train service was restored in Kashmir this morning after necessary repair work. “The train service resumed today after the repair work on the portion of the track that was blasted by militants last night,” said an official of the Railways.

He said the repair work was done at a pace to restore the rail traffic across the Valley. “The restoration work was completed in time to allow the trains to ply between Srinagar and Qazigund in Anantnag district,” said the official. The militants blew up around two metres of the railway track at Soothoo in the Nowgam area on the outskirts of Srinagar city by triggering an IED blast last night.

A senior police officer told The Tribune that, “The IED that blew the track was so powerful that it not only damaged the two-feet railway track, but also damaged some sleepers and windowpanes of nearby houses.”

Jammu, March 8
The Army handed over a Pak national to the officers of the Pakistan army from a forward post along the LoC in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district here on Tuesday. Official sources said Hira Ali of Hananabad in Gujranwala was handed over to Pakistan army officers of the 69 Baloch Regiment from Roshni Nallah post along the LoC around 11.30 am today. Ali had mistakenly entered into the Indian territory on March 1 and was detained in the Nanda forward area near Mendhar tehsil. — TNS

Jammu, March 8
Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma today informed the Upper House that the state government would soon get 50 special accidental trauma (critical) ambulances, as the purchase orders had already been placed. The minister was replying to a question asked by Subash Chander Gupta in the Legislative Council.

Sham Lal said the government also intended to set up trauma hospitals along the national highway, some of which had already been set up and commissioned to provide better medicare facilities to injured patients.

Jammu, March 8
The Jammu Yatri Bhawan Trust is organising three yoga camps of 10 days from March 14 to April 12 at the Yatri Bhawan at Haridwar in Uttarakhand. According to a press note, the first yoga camp will be held from March 14 to 23, the camp from March 22 to April 2 and the third from April 3 to 12.