Jammu, March 31
The Property Tax Board Bill that proposed to impose tax on property in the urban areas was passed by a voice vote in the Legislative Assembly here today even as the Opposition vehemently opposed it in its present form. As its demand for deferring the Bill was rejected, the entire Opposition staged a walkout from the House, charging the government with adopting a dictatorial attitude.

The debate on the Bill, which was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand yesterday, started in the House this afternoon. Not only opposition members, but also some legislators from the treasury benches opposed the Bill and suggested to the government to bring some amendments to it to give relief to poor people. PDP legislator Abdul Rehman Veeri, while initiating the debate, termed the Bill as draconian and anti-people. He said the government had moved the Bill in the Assembly without going into its details. He recalled that being a member of the Select Committee he had expressed reservation over the Bill.

Veeri said the common man would be the worst sufferer, as the government proposed to bring all sections of people under the purview of the Bill. BJP legislator Chaman Lal Gupta regretted that instead of empowering people at the grass-roots level the government had made a provision for nominations and discretionary powers in the Bill and also opposed it.

Panthers Party legislator Harsh Dev Singh, PDP legislators Nizam-ud-Din Bhat and Choudhary Zulfikar, besides Vakar Rasool of the Congress and Mir Saifullah of the National Conference (NC) also opposed the Bill.

As the government pressed for a voice vote on the Bill, the entire Opposition resorted to shouting slogans and staged a walkout from the House. Amid slogan shouting by legislators belonging to the opposition parties, the Bill was passed by a voice vote.

Later talking to mediapersons outside the Assembly, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said the Bill was not in the interest of the common people. Terming it as anti-people, she regretted that with one stroke the government had brought all people, including the poor, under the purview of the Bill. “Before the Bill was passed, the government should have clarified on whom the property tax would be imposed?” she said and regretted that even the poor would have to pay the tax.

“We are not against the imposition of property tax on those who have huge wealth, but poor people living in towns should be exempt from it,” she demanded. She pointed out that more than one family were living in some houses and as per the Bill they would have to pay property tax.

However, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, who holds the Housing and Urban Development portfolio, defended the Bill. He said the quantum of tax to be imposed on property would be decided by the Municipal Corporations and Municipal Councils of the respective towns.

Jammu, March 31
Legislators cutting across the party lines in the Legislative Council today urged the state government to pay attention to Urdu, which is the official language of the state.

NC legislator Javaid Ahmad Rana raised the issue during Question Hour in the House. He asked the government whether Urdu was the official language of the state. What was its status in the official work and correspondences in courts.

Thereafter, eight more legislators spoke in the support of Javaid and grilled Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Nasir Aslam Wani over the issue. Javaid said, “We can’t see the system collapsing. The official work in all police stations is done in Urdu, but hardly any SHO knows the language. The same is the condition with tehsildars. No private school has Urdu as subject in its curriculum. Even there is no Urdu Academy in our state”.

Wani said, “As per the Section 145 of the Constitution of the state, the official language of the state shall be Urdu, and English, unless the Legislature by a law otherwise provides, continue to be used for all official purposes”.

He added, “Various government institutions, including the judiciary, are maintaining the official records partly in Urdu and partly in English. The state government is also trying to appoint Urdu teachers in the state, particularly in the Jammu region”.

Dissatisfied with the minister’s reply, the legislators urged the acting chairman of the House, Arvinder Singh Micky, to allow them a debate over the issue. Rana said, “Is there a plan for special recruitment of Urdu teachers?”

Meanwhile, Aga Syed Ahmad Rizvi of the NC said, “We don’t even get the reply to our questions in Urdu in the House”. Mohammad Rafiq Shah of the Panthers party also asked a supplementary question saying, “This issue is related to our identity and the government should pay attention towards it”. “Has the stat government any plan to make a law in this regard,” Mohammad Rashid Qureshi of the NC said. Murtaza Ahmad Khan of the PDP also asked the same question.

Replying to the members’ questions, the minister said the government was making all efforts in this regard. He added that, “First, we should use Urdu, as it was our base. Whenever we speak two sentences, we use one or two words of English. Our children are also learning Hindi in schools. So first we should use Urdu to set an example for others to follow”.

On Urdu Academy, the minister said, “So far there is no proposal in this regard”.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar said, “Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has already written to the state government to use Urdu in official work and we are making efforts in this regard. But this can be done only when we prepare ourselves for it”.

Jammu, March 31
Despite the fact that the state government is suffering huge losses in the power sector, most of the government departments have not paid electricity bills for a long time. Various government departments in the state owe a whopping Rs 605 crore for unpaid electricity bills to the Power Development Department (PDD).

In a written reply to a question in the Legislative Council today, Minister of State for Power Shabir Ahmad Khan said, “The unpaid power bills as on January 2011 stood at Rs 1,024.02 crore and out of these the government departments have to pay Rs 605.06 crore”.

He added that the industry sector was to pay Rs 55.01 crore, while domestic sector Rs 216.14 crore and the agriculture sector owed Rs 147.81 crore for electricity consumed.

The minister also mentioned in the reply that the state suffered 63.04 per cent transmission and distribution losses during 2009-10, which was around 30 per cent at the national level.

Providing more details, he said in 2009-10 the state had purchased 8,274.31 MW from other states and the Centre, while 3,448.36 MW was produced in the state during the period.

During discussion on another question during Question Hour, the minister said, “The government has fixed power revenue targets of Rs 1,422.61 crore for year 2010-11”.

Replying to a question by Congress legislator Naresh Gupta, he said, “The government is committed to providing 100 per cent electricity to the metered areas in the state. If anywhere some work needs to be done, steps will be taken in this regard”.

The minister said the power consumption in the state was too high and hence the department was imposing power cuts for 8-9 hours in the un-metered or partially metered areas.

Jammu, March 31
Two books on Dogri poetry were released at a function organised by the Dogri Sanstha, Jammu, today.

The books, “Cheten Da Pataaru” and “Beeba Painchhi” written by Pradyuman Singh Jindrahia and Khajoor Singh, respectively, were released.

Both poets, who were accomplished folk singers, recited their poetry, which was appreciated by the audience.

Chaman Lal Gupta, MLA, Jammu West, was the chief guest while Shabir Mujahid, Director, Doordarshan Kendra, Jammu, presided over the function. A large number of writers, intellectuals and prominent citizens participated in the function.

“After the inclusion of the Dogri in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, it is imperative for the people of the region to preserve and promote the language,” Gupta said and appreciated the role of the sanstha. Shabir Mujahid, in his presidential address, said the Doordarshan Kendra, Jammu, was contemplating new programmes for the promotion of the Dogri language and its literature.

Prof Lalit Magotra, president of the Dogri Sanstha, in his welcome address, expressed satisfaction over the pace of publication of Dogri books in the recent times.

He said people should be encouraged to use internet and other information technology tools in the Dogri language for which softwares were available. He also urged the people to contribute to the project of the Dogri Bhavan complex, being constructed by the Dogri Sanstha at Karan Nagar.

The vote of thanks was proposed by Prof Veena Gupta, general secretary of the sanstha.

Jammu, March 31
Legislators belonging to the border areas of the state created a ruckus in the Legislative Assembly today over the issue of the selection of model villages under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP).

The question was asked by Jammu State Morcha (JSM) MLA Ashwani Kumar, and BJP legislator Sham Lal Choudhary. They alleged that a pick-and-choose policy was being adopted in selecting border villages as model villages. Legislators cutting across the party lines also joined the issue.

Replying to the questions of the members, Minister for Finance AR Rather said the state government had requested the Union Home Ministry to coordinate with the BSF for ascertaining the actual border length in the state. He added the criteria for allotting funds to the border blocks under the BADP would be revisited in the state level screening committee.

He assured the legislators that the MLAs concerned would be taken into confidence while formulating the new criteria. Earlier, in reply to a main question by Ashwani Sharma, the Minister of State for Planning and Development, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma, informed the House that the BADP funds were released to the border blocks based on parameters, which included the length of the international border, Line of Control (LoC) of border block, population and area of the block.

The minister said Rs 12.86 crore had been released to the six border blocks of Jammu district during the last financial year while Rs 11.71 crore with additional Rs 8.50 crore were released during the current fiscal year to these border blocks under the BADP.

Jammu, March 31
Congratulating the Indian cricket team for defeating Pakistan in the semifinal of the Cricket World Cup at Mohali, the Legislative Assembly today wished it good luck for the coming final match with Sri Lanka.

During Zero Hour, Panthers Party legislator Balwant Singh Mankotia, raised the issue and urged the Speaker to pass a resolution in the Assembly to congratulate the Indian team for defeating Pakistan in a high profile match on Wednesday.

“Yesterday the House was adjourned half an hour before the scheduled time because all the members wanted to watch the cricket match. Our country has won the match so the House must pass a resolution to congratulate the team,” he said.

Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone said he was not interested in cricket, but the Indian cricket team made the country proud by winning the semifinal. “Our team has saved the honour and dignity of the country during the yesterday’s match,” he said and wished good luck to the team on behalf of the entire House for the coming final match against Sri Lanka.

The PDP member Nizam-ud-Din Bhat said this match had also restarted the stalled dialogue process between India and Pakistan. He hoped the process would be continued in future also.

Srinagar, March 31
After a day of charged emotions when India took on the arch rival Pakistan at Mohali in Punjab in the semifinal match of the Cricket World Cup yesterday, the life was normal as usual in the Kashmir valley today.

Disappointment was writ large on the faces of the Pakistan supporters in the Valley, who had prayed for the victory of the ‘men in green’. “It is a game and we support the Pakistan team. But we are disappointed over their defeat,” said Shabir Ahmed, a staunch supporter of the Pakistan team.

Various schools across the Valley had declared a half-day holiday yesterday and the business establishments also took a half-day off to watch the match.

Soon after India won the match, the fans of the Indian cricket team started bursting crackers and celebrated the victory. “I have been supporting the Team India in this world cup and I am happy that they won,” said Touseef Ahmed, a cricket fan.

Even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah could not keep away from the excitement of the match, as like a professional commentator, he was giving a ball-by-ball commentary of the match on the social networking site, Twitter.

He also expressed happiness over the Team India’s victory over Pakistan in the semifinal and prayed for team’s victory in the final match to be played against Sri Lanka on April 2.

However, the cricket fans in Kashmir were a bit disappointed after the authorities imposed Section 144 on various parts of the Valley, prohibiting the gathering of more than four persons at a place.

“We were planning to place a big screen outside our shop so that people could watch the match. But after we were informed that the authorities have imposed Section 144, we dropped the plan. It would have been great fun,” said Farooq Ahmed, a shopkeeper in Lal Chowk.

Jammu, March 31
Since the eruption of militancy in the state in 1990, as many as 18,578 persons, including 698 politicians and 5,363 security personnel, have been killed up to February 25, 2011. Those killed also included 12,517 civilians. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the Home portfolio, stated this in a written reply to a question in the Legislative Council here today.

However, there was a drastic decrease in violence after 2001. Omar said, “In 2001, 1,532 persons comprising 76 politicians, 843 civilians and 613 security personnel were killed. This number decreased to 106 in 2010, as only four politicians, 33 civilians and 69 security personnel were killed last year”.

The Chief Minister added that deaths in militancy-related incidents started coming down in 2002, as 1,461 persons were killed; this number fell to 1,109 in 2003; 988 in 2004; 746 in 2005; 540 in 2006; 268 in 2007; 166 in 2008; 142 in 2009; 106 deaths in 2010; while up to February 25, 2011, one politician, four civilians and two security personnel were killed by terrorists.

In the first year (1990) of militancy in the state, about 616 persons comprising 15 politicians, 446 civilians and 155 security personnel were killed. The perusal of official documents revealed that the maximum numbers of politicians, 101, were killed in 2002, while the maximum number of 1,275 civilians were killed by militants in 1996.

The maximum number of security personnel lost their lives while combating terrorism in 2001, when 613 of them attained martyrdom.

While replying to a question by NC legislator Javaid Ahmad Rana, the Chief Minister said keeping in view these figures, the state government was trying to withdraw the AFSPA from 20 out of 22 districts of the state.

Jammu, March 31
Keeping in view the Opposition’s demand for extending the 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution in the existing Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act to decentralise power to the grass-roots level, the state government today introduced a Bill in the Legislative Assembly to bring some amendments to the existing Act.

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ali Mohammad Sagar said the main objective of the Bill was to constitute a State Election Commission so that the elections to the panchayati raj institutions could be held in a time-bound manner under its supervision, direction and control. He added that the state government had enacted the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act in 1989, under which the Chief Electoral Officer of the state was the election authority.

The minister, however, said the Central government had carried out the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution to set up an independent State Election Commission for holding elections to the panchayati raj institutions and circulated the Model Act to the states for bringing necessary changes in the respective Panchayati Raj Acts.

“Our department has examined the suggestions and accordingly proposed to set up a State Election Commission, which will manage the elections to the panchayati raj institutions in the state though the 73rd Amendment of Indian Constitution is not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir,” he minister added.

The government introduced another Bill to prohibit the conversion of agriculture land for non-agriculture purposes. Minister of State for Revenue Nasir Aslam Wani introduced the Bill.

While introducing the Bill, the minister said a manifold increase in development activities coupled with industrialisation, population growth and urbanisation over a period of time had adversely affected agriculture land, which had shrunk.

“The unabated use of agriculture land for non-agricultural purposes like the construction of colonies, factories, brick-kilns, shopping complexes and other commercial establishments has posed a serious threat to the agriculture sector. If this practice is not checked, it will lead to the extinction of the farm sector in the near future,” the minister argued, while tabling the Bill.

“A need was felt for a comprehensive review of the existing laws on land use and for making a strict law that made the implementing agencies accountable and also provided for an appropriate land use policy for the conservation of land,” he said.

According to the Bill, if any person uses the agriculture land for non-agricultural purposes without obtaining prior permission of the authorities concerned, he/she shall be punished with imprisonment up to one year along with a fine that shall not be less than 10 per cent of the market value of the land.

However, to make the officials accountable, it is mentioned in the Bill that if any revenue official makes a wrong entry in the revenue records or issues a false, fabricated or incorrect report or certificate in respect of the nature or kind of land, he/she shall be liable to a punishment of imprisonment up to two years or with a fine, which may extend to Rs 50,000 or with both.