Jammu, April 3
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has pointed out in its report that the state government has violated the budget manual and failed to surrender the budgetary grants and appropriations in the financial year 2009-10. And the non-surrender of the funds deprived the government of the opportunity to transfer these to other needy sectors, the report revealed.

In its report for the year ended March 31, 2009, which was tabled in the state Legislative Assembly recently, the CAG said that the state government has failed to surrender Rs 2,671 crore of budgetary grants and appropriations.

“At the close of the year 2008-09, there were 28 grants and five appropriations (state budget) in which saving occurred, but no part of that had been surrendered by the government departments concerned,” the report said.

The saving in these cases included Rs 2,292.35 crore in 44 cases (involving 28 grants and two appropriations) where saving involved were Rs 1 crore and above, it said.

As per the state budget manual, the departments were required to surrender grants/appropriations or saved portion, thereof, to the Finance Department as and when the savings were anticipated, it said.

Giving further breakup, the CAG report said the Education Departments failed to surrender Rs 437.55 crore as saving amount, the Planning and Development Department Rs 381.54 crore, Consumer Affairs public Distribution Department (CAPD) Rs 310.88 crore, Power Development Department Rs 247.95 crore, Finance Department Rs 242.91 crore and Home Department failed to surrender Rs 148.91 crore during 2009-10.

Indicting the government for financial indiscipline, the report said contrary to the financial code of the state, in respect of 11 major heads, expenditure exceeding Rs 10 crore and also more than 50 per cent of the expenditure of the year was incurred during the last month of the financial year 2009-10. According to the Jammu and Kashmir Financial Code, the rush of expenditure in the closing month of the financial year should be avoided and strictly monitored, it said. The report further said the coding pattern as advised by the Principal Accountant General had not been adopted by the state Finance Department and even the demand of grants of some departments did not have a code number to identify them.

These deficiencies made the entire budgeting process erroneous, making reconciliation of the department figures with those adopted by the Principal Accountant General difficult, it said. The report added that the matter was reported to the state government from time to time, but there was no response. 

Jammu, April 3
As the state government has referred the 'Private Property Tax Board Bill' to the Joint Select Committee of both the Upper and Lower House for further discussion, the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) has termed the decision as vindication of the party's stand on this "draconian" Bill.

In a statement issued here today, senior PDP leader and MLA Darhal Choudhary Zulfikar Ali said that his party had strongly opposed the Bill during the debate in the Assembly but the government was not ready to listen to the "genuine" issues raised by them. He said he had moved some amendments to remove the "anti-people" clauses from the Bill but the government had made it a prestige to get the Bill passed.

He regretted that instead of accommodating genuine suggestions of the opposition, the government was in a haste to get it passed in the Assembly.

Choudhary Zulfikar reminded that the entire Opposition had opposed the Bill due to some "anti-people" provision in it and had staged a walkout when the government had passed the Bill. He said the decision of the state government to refer it to the Joint Select Committee of the Assembly and Legislative Council was a clear indication that the stand taken by the PDP was genuine. He said the government had referred the Bill to the committee due to the pressure from different quarters of the society.

Srinagar, April 3
Fresh snowfall and rain across the Kashmir valley today brought a sharp decline in temperatures across the region. The famous tourist destination Gulmarg received a light snowfall while other high altitudes, including cave shrine Amarnath and mountain passes near the Line of Control (LoC) witnessed moderate to heavy snowfall throughout the day, the officials of the Meteorological Department (MET) said. 

They said intermittent snowfall and rain also lashed wide parts of south Kashmir, including Pahalgam hill resort and the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

However, there was no disruption of traffic on the highway, officials said, adding that the Border Roads Organisation and the Traffic Department were monitoring the situation on an hourly basis.

The icy wind from the mountains and intermittent rain hit normal life in Srinagar as most people preferred to stay indoors. Almost all the markets wore a deserted look.

Srinagar, which recorded 2.6 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, witnessed a dip in the mercury as the day temperature settled five degrees below the normal, at 12.2 degrees Celsius. The night temperature in the city also dipped and settled at 3.8 Celsius, the MET office said. — PTI

Srinagar, April 3
Security forces today gunned down a self-styled district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit in an encounter at Keller Shopian.

"On specific information, the police and the 44 unit of the Army laid a trap around Tharna Keller village of Shopian. The militant present there fired at the security forces, following which the troops also retaliated. In the ensuing firing, the militant was killed," a police spokesman said.

He said the slain militant has been identified as Tariq Hussian alias Abu Zaid, a resident of Dara Chapra in Doda.

One AK-56 assault rifle, three magazines and 88 live rounds of ammunition were also recovered from the possession of the slain militant.

A case under Section 307-RPC and 7/27 of the Indian Arms Act has been registered at Keller police station.

Handwara, April 3
The Army has expressed hope that this year will mark the end of two decades of militancy in the Kashmir valley. “This year will be the year in which militancy will be rooted out from the Valley and we are quite hopeful for that,” Lt-Gen SA Hasnain, General Officer in Command of the 15 Corps, said while interacting with mediapersons here today.

He said the focus of the Army this year would be to completely stop the cross-border infiltration for which orders had already been passed.

He added that the Army would focus on anti-infiltration operations in the coming days.

“The Army does not see the security scenario based on the statistical figures, the camps across the border are still full and many people are ready to infiltrate into Kashmir. Militancy is very much present here and the possibility of its increase is also there if the Army does not check it professionally,” he said.

“Our entire focus in the next two weeks will be on infiltration. We have intelligence inputs to make sure that there is no infiltration on the borders,” he said.

Regarding the presence of militants in the Valley, he said steps had already been taken to cut out public support to the “resident militants”.

“The militants are already feeling the alienation as they are not getting any support from the people. The people are with the Army and the administration,” Lt-Gen Hasnain said.

He said the Army was carrying out anti-militancy operations in such a way that no collateral damage should take place and at the same time the people do not suffer.

“During the anti-militancy operations, we make sure that there is a minimum side effect on the public while we carry out the operations,” he said.

Regarding the role of the Army in the Valley, he said the Central Government never sees the situation in Kashmir as one that could be resolved militarily. India had always felt that the Army’s role in Kashmir was to stabilise the turbulence and, thereafter, to find a political solution to the problem.

“We are making extra efforts to reach out to the people so that they can understand us and we can understand them. The Army is trying to bring a more humane face to the people, as we are modifying our rules of engagement and using our heart as the weapon to win the people,” Lt-Gen Hasnain said.

He refused the presence of the Taliban in the Valley, but said the ripple effect of their presence in the neighbourhood could be felt in the Valley as well.

When asked why the Army was not taking anti-Naxal operations, he said, “There is not enough Army in Kashmir, therefore, our requirement is here,” adding that the border threat was more than any internal threat.

Jammu, April 3
Maintaining that there would be no delay in the Cabinet expansion to fill the vacant ministerial berths in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress state chief Saifuddin Soz today said that the process was expected to take place after polls to Legislative Council on April 13.

“The expansion is expected to take place any time after the elections of Legislative Council on April 13," Soz told reporters at a function here. “We have two ministerial seats and one for National Conference,” the state Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president said.

Soz said that the government will be seeking approval of the J&K Election Authority for the reshuffle. He, however, said that there was no delay in the reshuffle and the Congress was always ready for it.

Ruling out any differences with its coalition partner over seat sharing in the Legislative Council polls, he said: "The coalition has no differences. We have total unanimity and have arrived at consensus to contest five seats in elections to Legislative Council.”

Rejecting media report of differences between NC and Congress, Soz said his party has withdrawn its candidates from the two seats from Kashmir. He expressed confidence that the coalition will take "five out of six seats while one seat may go to the PDP”. While the NC would contest three seats, Congress would have two in its kitty, he said. “We have given one more seat to the NC with full consensus and unanimity between the coalition partners." — PTI 

Jammu, April 3
Kargil district, having a population of 1.25 lakh and spread over an area of 14,086 sq km, is the only district in the militancy-infested state which is free from the incidents of human rights violations.

Perusal of the 402 pages annual report 2009-2010 of the J&K State Human Rights Commission (JKSHRC), revealed that the commission handled 467 cases from April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010, wherein Kargil district under the Ladakh division was the only district where not even a single complaint of human rights violations was received.

On the other side, Kupwara district in the Kashmir division attained the top position, as the commission received 93 cases in the area, which included 17 cases of disappearance, seven murder cases, two custodial death and one rape case.

Poonch district in the Jammu division claimed the second position where 84 cases appeared before the JKSHRC, which included nine mysterious deaths/compensation and three murders.

However, the twin capital cities - Jammu and Srinagar - both witnessed 68 and 61 human rights violation incidents, respectively.

In the Kashmir division, only Shopian district came in the category of single digit violations, as only five cases were reported there. However, in the Jammu division, seven out of total 10 districts came in the single digit complaint category, which included Kathua, Udhampur, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Samba and Kishtwar.

Leh district, which comes under the Ladakh division, witnessed only one human rights violation case.

Apart from it, the JKSHRC received four cases from other states, including Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi.

Out of the total 467 cases received by the JKSHRC, 70 cases were of harassment, 29 of murders, 70 of mysterious deaths/compensation, 53 of disappearance, six of custodial death and one of kidnapping.

Out of the total 467 cases, the JKSHRC disposed of 249 cases, as per the annual report, which was recently released by the state government.

Srinagar, April 3
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has ordered the release of a teenager on humanitarian grounds, who was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for his alleged involvement in stone throwing during the last year’s summer unrest.

“I’ve issued the orders on Friday, papers are being processed. So by Monday or Tuesday, he’ll be out,” Omar wrote on a social micro-blogging site Twitter. Faizan, who was arrested earlier this year, was in the news recently after his parents claimed that he was only 14- years-old and could not be booked under the PSA. The minimum age for detention under the said Act is 16 years. The Amnesty International had also criticised Faizan’s detention under the PSA and called for his immediate release. The Chief Minister ordered a medical test to ascertain the age of the boy and Faizan was found out to be at least 17-year-old. “That’s where the problem is because under law he isn’t a minor which is why it’s being considered for a humanitarian (POV) point of view,” Omar tweeted. — PTI

Katyal (RS Pura), April 3
People from Katyal, Kotli Arjun Singh, Thekarian and Tibba Kalali village have set an example by electing unopposed the panchayat members.

These villages are part of the Kotli Arjun Singh panchayat, which has a population of more than 9,000. Jagjit Singh Jagga, who was the ex-Sarpanch, has been elected unopposed. Last time Jagga had won the election in a straight contest, but this time people elected him unopposed. Other panchayat members included Pooja Bala, Daljit Singh, Ranjit Singh, Pyar Kour, Sukhdev Singh, Nishal Singh, Gurcharan Kour and Charan Dass.

Meanwhile, in the RS Pura area out of total 424 seats of panches, 145 members have been elected unopposed. 

Jammu, April 3
An accidental fire broke out in three empty bogies stationed near the Jammu railway station here on Sunday evening.

The police said that the fire broke out in S10 bogie of the Jehlum Express on central line near the railway station in which seats of the bogie were completely damaged.

While the railway staff at the station was busy extinguishing the flames along with the fire fighters from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, fire broke out in S7 and S8 bogies of the Himgiri Express.