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SC observation on SPOs not applicable to state: Omar
Revenue Dept officials in Vigilance net
Heavy rain in Jammu
Not conspiring to dislodge Omar government, says Mufti
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New hydroelectric project policy okayed
Action against Nagrota cops sought
Amarnath yatra suspended for 6 hrs
Shopkeepers fined Rs 66,500 for overpricing
Reintroduce old VAT return forms: Jammu industry
Rally against hike in admission fee
Dalit leader joins PDP
Bridge inaugurated on Tandawali khad
Hold students’ union poll,says NSF
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SC observation on SPOs not applicable to state: Omar
Srinagar, July 7 “The SPOs in the Naxal-affected areas cannot be compared to the SPOs in Jammu and Kashmir as they are part of the police force and do regular duties,” he siad. The Chief Minister was replying to questions after inaugurating the North Zone Table Tennis Championship at the Sher-e-Kashmir Indoor Stadium here. He said the situation in the Valley had improved vastly and it was safe for all tourists, domestic as well as international, to visit. Responding to a question about negative travel advisories by some countries, the Chief Minister said Kashmir had come a long way from the situation which warranted such advisories to their citizens. “The state government is focused on ensuring that the peace prevails in the Valley and the tourism season is not disrupted,” Omar said. Meanwhile, addressing a public gathering after laying the foundation stone of a degree college complex at Sumbal, the Chief Minister said issues of development could not be made subservient to the solution of political problems of the state. He regretted that the state had suffered a serious setback in its progress due to the unrest during the summer last year. “The resolution of political issues of Jammu and Kashmir is a human duty to be rendered to seek permanent peace and prosperity in the subcontinent,” he said. The Chief Minister said he had repeatedly said that the elections, whether of Parliament, state legislature or panchayats, were not an answer to the resolution of the political issues of the state. “We do not want to keep anyone under the misconception that by conducting elections, we have solved the political issues of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said “I cannot ask my boys and girls not to attend classes, not to play football, not to take part in socio-economic activities. I cannot tell patients to wait for treatment in good hospitals, neither can I tell the people to sit idle on the process of development till the political issues are addressed,” he said. The Chief Minister said the Valley received a severe setback on the development front owing to the unrest during the summer last year. “We could not utilise the funds earmarked for creating educational and health sector infrastructure, construction of good roads, macadamisation etc. I regularly appeal to the people to give me a peaceful season to show you positive results on the development front,” he said, and emphasised that peace was must for development. “More than 30,000 educated youth have been provided allowances under the Voluntary Service Allowance scheme,” he said The Chief Minister said in order to achieve the goal of Naya Kashmir, as envisioned by Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, holistic and equitable development in all sectors across the state had to be pursued.
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Revenue Dept officials in Vigilance net
Jammu, July 7 An FIR was registered against Kunal Sharma, Reasi tehsildar; Rattan Singh, Katra naib tehsildar; Hukum Chand, Katra circle girdawar; Om Prakash, Halqa Kundorian patwari; and some private beneficiaries, including Swarn Singh Salaria of Chohana village in Pathankot and Harbans Singh of Bishnah in Jammu. The revenue officials reportedly abused their official position and fraudulently prepared and issued misleading revenue extract in respect of land measuring 52 kanals and 18 marlas under khasra number 11 situated at Kundorian village in the Katra area in Reasi district in favour of some private beneficiaries. During verification, the SVO claimed to have found that the accused knowingly omitted mentioning that Hotel White was constructed on the land that existed on the said piece while preparing and issuing revenue extracts, thus, facilitating private beneficiaries, Salaria and Harbans Singh, to depreciate the value of the property from its actual cost and allowed evasion of stamp duty. “Verifications further revealed that Salaria had obtained a loan of Rs 1,500 lakh from the IDBI Bank, Mumbai, in June 2010 against the aforesaid property. While assessing the property of Salaria in the form of land and Hotel White, the surveyor assessed the value of the property to the tune of Rs 1,942,524,478. This assessment had been agreed upon by the beneficiary and the IDBI Bank while mortgaging the aforesaid property against the loan of Rs 1,500 lakh,” an official spokesperson said. He said, “The land in question falls under the Katra Development Authority. As per the notification of the Jammu Divisional Commissioner which was effective at the time of the sale of the land, the value was fixed at Rs 25 lakh per kanal for the purpose of stamp duty. The actual stamp duty supposed to be paid for the land was Rs 9,522,000 and the stamp duty supposed to be paid on the structure was Rs 8.64 crore. A total loss of Rs 9.55 crore to the government exchequer was caused on the account of evasion of the stamp duty.”
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Heavy rain in Jammu
Jammu, July 7 The poor drainage system also exposed the preparedness of the Jammu Municipal Corporation(JMC). Dogra Chowk, Gujjar Nagar, KC Crossing, Krishna Nagar, Bikram Chowk, Kabir Colony, Satwari, Talab Tillo, Gole Market Gandhi Nagar, Nanak Nagar, Sanjay Nagar and Shastri Nagar were under knee-deep water. In Dogra Chowk,men, residents had to wade through waist-deep water and vehicles could not ply. The temperature fell considerably due to the heavy rain,which also led to the flooding of localities like Talab Tillo, Kabir Colony and Shiv Nagar. Though the water level increased in the Tawi river and its tributaries,it was well below the danger mark. Reports of heavy rain also came in from different parts of the region. Sewer lines were found choked in some areas which created problems for the residents. “Before the onset of the monsoon, we had repeatedly asked the municipal authorities to clear the garbage from a nullah flowing through Sector 6 in Nanak Nagar, but in vain,” said Harnam Singh, a local resident. “Every monsoon, waterlogged houses and streets create problems for us. The JMC should put its act together before people lose their patience,” he added. The Tribune team found people draining water out of their houses in Krishna Nagar, Digiana, Preet Nagar and Gangyal.
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Not conspiring to dislodge Omar government, says Mufti
Rajouri, July 7 “It is not difficult to dislodge this regime, which has lost the faith of the people, but I am not in favour of this,” the former Chief Minister said while addressing a public meeting here. “I will adopt democratic means to help the people rid of this corrupt regime, which has failed to bring transparency and accountability to the administration,” he said, and added that since its formation, the coalition regime had reversed the development process initiated by the previous PDP-Congress government. “Not even a single development project was started by this regime in two-and-a- half years,” he said, and regretted that instead of learning from its mistakes, the state government was repeating the blunders committed by the previous National Conference regime. Talking about the recently concluded panchayat elections, he said that 70 per cent of the elected sarpanches and panches belonged to the PDP. “To undermine the credibility of the Panchayati Raj institution, the National Conference is trying to lure the newly elected PDP panchayat members,” he alleged. Reiterating the resolve of his party to open all traditional routes between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the world, he said the self-rule document of his party was aimed at negating the negative effects of Partition. “ The opening of all traditional routes through Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh would help the state harness its inherent potential as a business centre as it was before 1947,” the Mufti argued. He demanded that the facility of visiting both sides of the LoC should be extended to the common masses.
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New hydroelectric project policy okayed
Srinagar, July 7 Talking to reporters after a meeting of the state Cabinet here, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the new policy would open vistas for the launch of various hydroelectric projects in the state under the independent power producers(IPP) mode. The new policy to be applicable to projects of estimated installed capacity between 2 MW and 100 MW envisaged preference to the state subjects for the projects up to 10 MW, Omar said. The J&K State Power Development Corporation (J&KSPDC) would be the nodal agency under the policy while projects up to 2 MW would be handled by the Science and Technology Department. “Under the new policy, no IPP will be awarded more than three projects or projects aggregating over 200 MW, whichever is higher,”he said. The projects shall be offered for a concessional period of 35 years after which these shall be transferred to the J&KSPDC on the payment of terminal value without any encumbrance,”he added. Omar said the need for a new hydroelectric policy was necessitated due to shortcomings identified by the IPPs in the Jammu and Kashmir State Hydel Policy 2003 when they declined to sign the agreements. Meanwhile, the Cabinet also approved the construction of a four-lane pre-stressed bridge (4th Tawi bridge) downstream the existing bridge over the Tawi in Jammu at an estimated cost of Rs 147 crore. It also okayed the enhancement of lifelong pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per month to electric shock victims, Ravi Kumar and Rinku Jee Bhat, an official spokesman said. It was desired that any pending cases of electric shock victims be brought to the Cabinet for consideration by the Revenue Department. The Cabinet also approved the creation of a special court for trial and disposal of the cases investigated by the CBI in the state and the creation of 13 posts of different categories. It also sanctioned the re-employment of Soba Ram, former Joint Director, Hospitality and Protocol Department, on contract for six months from July 1.
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Action against Nagrota cops sought
Jammu, July 7 In a statement here, the delegation alleged that the police officials at Nagrota, including a DSP and an SHO, were responsible for traffic snarls and the harassment of Amarnath pilgrims. It said the police officials were indulging in corrupt practices, and thus bringing a bad name to the department. “Besides the IG, Jammu, Dilbag Singh, the DIG, Jammu, Farooq Khan and the SSP, Jammu, Anand Jain listened to our grievances and assured us of necessary action,” said president of the Hotels and Restaurant Association, Katra, Shyam Lal Kesar. |
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Amarnath yatra suspended for 6 hrs
Srinagar, July 7 Giving this information, Chief Executive Officer of the shrine board RK Goyal said as the movement of the yatris and the weather conditions were being monitored on a continuing basis, the yatris were advised against proceeding from Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panjtarni around noon and those in transit were advised to reach the nearest camps at Sheshnag, Panjtarni and Baltal. Meanwhile, the yatris who had already arrived at the cave shrine were safely returning to Baltal and Panjtarni, till reports last came in, the CEO said. He stated that about 20,000 yatris had paid obeisance at the shrine by this evening. As per the weather forecast for the next five days, the sky is likely to remain cloudy in Kashmir division from July 8 to 12.
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Shopkeepers fined Rs 66,500 for overpricing
Udhampur, July 7 The checking was conducted as part of a drive launched by the CAPD to check prices during the ongoing Amarnath yatra in the interest of pilgrims in particular and people of the area in general. Led by Assistant Director
CAPD, Udhampur, Rajinder Singh, the checking team included Assistant Controller (Metrology) Anita Sharma, Chenani Naib Tehsildar Rafiq Ahmed, Chenani Tehsil Supply Officer Kuldeep Singh under the supervision of Deputy Director,
CAPD, Udhampur-Reasi, Ashok Kumar Pandita. The team conducted an extensive checking of various commercial establishments, including hotels,
dhabas, karyana shops and vendors on the National Highway from Udhampur to
Patnitop. The officials said about 50 establishments were checked out of which 20 were challaned and fined Rs 66,500. The same was realised from the defaulters on the spot. Hotel and dhaba owners were warned to desist from using domestic cylinders at their commercial establishments whereas other shopkeepers were strictly asked to display the rate lists of all the commodities. They were also directed not to overcharge from pilgrims otherwise they would be liable for action under the Essential Commodities Act.
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Reintroduce old VAT return forms: Jammu industry
Jammu, July 7 The JCCI has urged the state government to retain the old forms till the trade and industry accepted the modified version. “From the first day, the JCCI has been impressing upon the government to defer the implementation of the new return forms, as the traders and the industrialists find it difficult to fill these,” said JCCI secretary-general Satish Gupta in a press note issued “The JCCI has been cautioning the state government about the growing discontent in the trade and industry about the new return forms and other annexures, but it is unfortunate that despite assurances from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, nothing has been done to redress our grievance,” he said. The Chief Minister had assured us that the introduction of the new VAT forms would be deferred and promised to constitute a high-level committee comprising representatives of the trade and industry from the Kashmir and Jammu regions, besides high-ranking government officials to consider the apprehensions and However, the state government was yet to issue the necessary orders for deferring the implementation of the new return forms although the first quarter return was to be submitted in July, said Gupta. Since the first meeting could not transact any business for obvious reasons, the state government, without further delay, should issue the Gupta urged the state government to engage the trade and industry in a serious and purposeful dialogue to resolve the issue.
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Rally against hike in admission fee
Jammu, July 7 “The admission fee last year was Rs 16,755, but now it has been enhanced to Rs 30,871,” the “As per a University Council Resolution, the university is authorised to enhance the admission fee not beyond 10 per cent in a year,” they said. The students urged the Vice-Chancellor to look into the matter.
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Dalit leader joins PDP
Jammu, July 7 Som Nath is a relative of former Haryana Governor Babu Paramanand and has been active in politics and social activities for the past two decades. The Mufti welcomed Som Nath and hoped that his joining the PDP would strengthen the party in the state, particularly in the Jammu province. He said it was a clear indication that the PDP had emerged as the premier political force in the state. Som Nath expressed faith in the leadership of the Mufti and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti. Tarlok Singh Bajwa, Balbir Singh, Daman Bhasin, Jagjit Singh Jagga, Suram Singh and other senior leaders of the party were also present on the occasion.
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Bridge inaugurated on Tandawali khad
Jammu, July 7 The bridge was inaugurated today by Maj-Gen Rakesh Sharma, GOC, Crossed Swords Division in the presence of various senior Army and civil officers, including Brig SK Tiwari, Chief Engineer of Project Sampark. The construction of the bridge is another landmark achievement of the BRO, which is engaged in the development of road network and bridges in Jammu and Kashmir. The bridge has been constructed departmentally by the In the past two years, Project Sampark has completed bridges over the Troti, Dubey, Jhulla, Laukhi khad, Bardal and Ranbir canals. The BRO has constructed two permanent bridges across the Manawar Tawi river at Beripattan and Battal. In addition,a 592 metre cable-stayed bridge over the Ravi at Basohli, whose foundation stone was laid on May 23 by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, is under construction.
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Hold students’ union poll,says NSF
Jammu, July 7 NSF president Vikas Sharma said, “Students of the university are facing a lot of problems but there is no platform to highlight their grievances. The university authorities are deliberately delaying the elections of the students’ union even though they have been approved by the university council.” Vikas claimed that even the Chancellor of the university, Governor NN Vohra, had directed the Vice-Chancellor of the varsity to hold the elections at the earliest. Meanwhile, protesting against the delay in the start of the academic session of Central University Jammu (CUJ), the NSF burnt an effigy of Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal in front of the Fountain Plaza of the university here. The forum also demanded that the state and Central governments should immediately start the academic session of the CUJ and hold an audit into the alleged financial bunglings in the university. NSF state president Vikas Sharma said the session had already been delayed by two years.He urged the Centre to appoint the Vice-Chancellor of the university as soon as possible. |
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Srinagar, July 7
