The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Holistic development of Katra top priority: CM Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reviewed the progress on various development schemes under execution in Katra, at the second meeting of the Katra Development Authority (KDA) here today. Stressing on the timely completion of schemes, the Chief Minister said the government was keen on ensuring a balanced and comprehensive development of Katra as a modern pilgrim town. He asked the departments concerned and the KDA to put in coordinated efforts to carry forward the development projects smoothly. The meeting discussed issues pertaining to the construction of a modern bus stand at Katra, on the PPP mode for which a PowerPoint presentation was made in the meeting. Matters pertaining to the revision of the Katra Master Plan, organisational and office infrastructure for the KDA, enforcement wing for the Authority and provision of seed money were also discussed in the meeting. It was stated that Rs 13.65 crore water supply scheme to lift water from the Pai Nullah to Bhawan was under progress and was likely to be completed by April 2012. The tendering process for the Dhansar water supply scheme for Katra town estimated to cost Rs 47.42 crore has been started. The meeting was told the Ban-Ganga protection works estimated to cost Rs 11.39 crore had been taken up for execution and were likely to be completed by March this year. The second phase of renovation of the Bhim Ghar Fort has been formulated and approved by the Tourism Department. It was stated that the upgradation work on the Katra-Ban Ganga road was on and till date Rs 3.40 crore had been spent on it. The project is estimated to cost Rs 4.67 crore. Omar also received a brief about the construction of a link road connecting the railway station to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, the Tikri-Katra road, Sarpatian to Devi Pendian road, construction of 164 metre span bridge over the Jajjar and other development works under execution in the town.
	Shiv Khori Festival Minister for massive publicity to attract more people Jammu, January 31 Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora has said the Shiv Khori festival this year would be celebrated with renewed grandeur to attract the pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi and other shrines in Jammu. The minister was reviewing the arrangements being made for the celebration of the festival scheduled on February 20. He also sanctioned Rs 4 lakh for meeting the arrangement expenses and asked the Divisional Commissioner Jammu, who is also the chairman of the Shiv khori Shrine Board, to personally monitor the arrangements to avoid inconvenience to the pilgrims. The minister said the Cultural Academy would be asked to organise cultural programmes on the occasion, apart from the programmes presented by the local artistes of the area. He asked the officials concerned to launch a massive publicity campaign through print and electronic media to attract maximum participation of the people in the festival. The meeting was informed that adequate arrangements had been made to make the event a success. He said the festival would witness handicraft exhibition and sale, drama events and cultural programmes by the local residents. — TNS
	Omar flags off students on ‘Wattan Ko Jano’ tour Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah this afternoon flagged off a group of students from the MAM Stadium here to ‘Wattan Ko Jano’ tour, an exposure visit to the country organised by the J&K State Rehabilitation Council, in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council. Speaking at the function, the Chief Minister asked the students to act as the ambassadors of Jammu and Kashmir and present the state’s specialities to their counterparts during their visit to various parts of the country. “The tour has provided you an opportunity to study the cultural diversity, development aspects, life styles, educational excellence and other features of the socio-economic progress in various parts of India,” he told the students, asking them to also give details about the rich heritage, culture, amity, development, environment, hospitality of the people and natural beauty of Jammu and Kashmir to the people and students to whom they will meet and interact during the visit. Omar told them that the tour would also enable them to expand their knowledge about so many aspects prevailing in other states and also learn more on historical and educational fronts. He asked them to take best advantage of the opportunity and utilise it for enriching their knowledge and experience. The Chief Minister also interacted with the students and members and staff of the two Councils. Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare RS Chib and Minister of State for Fisheries Ajaz Ahmad Khan were also present on the occasion.
	CM nod to loan scheme for youth Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today gave a nod to yet another initiative of ‘Youth Start-up Loan Scheme (YSLS)’ under the Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth (SKEWPY) to expand its orbit of offering opportunities to educated youth for venturing into independent livelihood earning ventures. Reviewing the progress of the programme at the 5th meeting of the SKEWPY here, Omar said the YSLS initiative, on the pattern of the term-loan schemes of National Minorities Development and Financial Corporation (NMDFC) will make SKEWPY more inclusive and support entrepreneurs in an off-bank mode to get soft loans for launching their self-employment ventures. “The initiative could be implemented with target cases of 100 each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions, within a time frame of two months,” Omar said, adding that the initiative will provide opportunities to budding entrepreneurs to get hassle-free and simple loans on lesser interest rates. A proposal regarding the launch of the initiative was discussed in the meeting threadbare. It was stated in the meeting that the SKEWPY was emerging as a dynamic programme, gathering momentum with experience and success of beneficiaries. It was also stated that a formal mechanism for coordinating the role of the Employment Department was being devised along with its reorganisation. Omar emphasised the need for collective approach by all concerned and working with a missionary zeal in making the SKEWPY initiative more comprehensive, smooth and easy for the youth to take to self-employment ventures. He stressed the need for the early completion of District Employment Counselling Centres and making them functional. The meeting was informed that 33,000 youth had been engaged as VSAs under the scheme so far and the process was on. The meeting was also told that more than 2,808 cases for the establishment of entrepreneurship units had been sanctioned during this year. Of the total 2,808 cases, 2,411 had received about Rs 70 crore as financial assistance for launching the business.
	Pollution board may come under PSGA Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 The government is contemplating bringing the State Pollution Control Board within the ambit of the Public Service Guarantee Act to facilitate the stakeholders. This was stated by Minister for Forests and Environment Mian Altaf Ahmad, while chairing a meeting of officials of the pollution control board here today. The minister said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was keen on extending the PSGA to the pollution control board in a bid to make its services time-bound. He said the move of the government was aimed at facilitating the stakeholders who needed clearances from the board for opening industrial and other units. He said it would help enforce transparency and accountability in the working of the board. Reviewing the functioning of the board, he asked the authorities to intensify checking and ensure that the hospitals and industrial units properly disposed of hazardous waste.
	‘AFSPA revocation a ploy of Kashmir-centric parties’ Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 While the GOC-in-C of the Northern Command, Lt Gen KT Parnaik, had recently advised all the stakeholders, including the state government to have patience vis-à-vis revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), civil society here feels that it has been a ploy of the Kashmir centric parties like the NC and the PDP. Lt Gen Parnaik, on January 15 had advised the stakeholders to have patience till the Ministry of Home Affairs in tandem with Ministry of Defence comes out with “useful” solutions. “No one in the Valley is bothered about the revocation of the AFSPA. People in the state want peace and stability,” said Varinder Sharma, a lawyer. However, there are certain Kashmir-centric parties like the NC and the PDP, which want to keep the pot boiling, added Sharma. An Army officer, who wished anonymity, said that it took 20 years for the security forces to give some semblance of normalcy to the militancy-plagued state. Now, the gains made over the years cannot be squandered away by revoking the AFSPA just because certain political parties, including the ruling NC want it to go, he said. A panel constituted by the Centre comprising state DGP Kuldeep Khoda, Home Secretary BR Sharma and Lt Gen Parnaik to look into the issue had a meeting at the end of 2011, he added. The officer said the panel agreed upon taking the discussions to the Centre along with representatives of the two ministries (Defence and Home Affairs). Echoing similar views Vaibhav Gupta, a student of the University of Jammu said the Act was a necessary for the armed forces to fight the Pak-sponsored militancy in the state. Those who talk about repealing the Act, should first surrender their own security cover, he said, adding that the situation was not ripe to even think of repealing the Act. In this context he recalled how Law Minister Ali Mohammed Sagar escaped a militant attack on December 11 last year near his ancestral house in downtown Srinagar. The pro-Jammu parties like the BJP, the Jammu State Morcha and the Panthers Party are stiffly opposed to the revocation of the Act. Home Minister P Chidambaram had backed the views of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on the review of the AFSPA, saying it was the outcome of an eight-point programme approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on September 25, 2010, for restoring peace in the state. Omar Abdullah had recently expressed surprise over “more resistance” from the Army for the removal of the AFSPA from certain areas of the state despite assurances that its interests would be protected.
	Shiv Sena Hindustan alleges discrimination with Jammu Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Activists of the Shiv Sena Hindustan (SSH) today held a protest against the government for its alleged discrimination with the Jammu region. Speaking on the occasion, state president of the SSH Rajesh Kesari alleged that the Omar-led coalition government was continuously discriminating with the Jammu region and the latest instance of discrimination was the state tableau in the Republic Day celebrations. “The tableau only depicted the culture of Kashmir and the Jammu and Ladakh regions were ignored,” he added. Kesari also castigated the approach of MLAs of the Jammu region, who had failed to raise their voice on the issue.
	Special cell in Home Dept for ex-servicemen Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today approved the creation of a special cell in the State Home Department to address the concerns pertaining to the ex-servicemen in a comprehensive and time-bound manner. The Chief Minister was discussing a memorandum presented to him earlier by the Ex-servicemen League at a meeting here. He said the measure would help bring focus on issues pertaining to the welfare of the ex-servicemen in a time-bound manner. Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Revenue Raman Bhalla, Minister of Cooperatives Manohar Lal, Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani, Principal Secretary, Finance, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister BB Vyas, Principal Secretary, Home, BR Sharma, Commissioner Secretary, GAD, Mohammad Syed, Commissioner Secretary, Revenue, Isfandyar Khan, Commissioner Secretary, Cooperatives, Abdul Hamid and other senior officers were present at the meeting. The meeting discussed issues pertaining to the ex-servicemen housing colony, VAT examination, reservation in employment, revival of Sainik Vanaspati Cooperative and other matters relating to the welfare of the ex-servicemen.
	Admn braces for more snow Traffic restrictions likely on national highway Our Correspondent Srinagar, January 31 Even as “chillai kalaan”, harshest 40-day period of winter ended yesterday in the Kashmir valley, the weatherman has forecast yet another spell of snowfall from February 3. “Due to western disturbance, snowfall is expected from February 3 to 7 at many places in the Kashmir division. Main activity (snowfall) is expected on February 4 and 5. Moderate to heavy rain/snowfall is expected to occur at most places along the Banihal axis and Pirpanjal ranges of the state. Moderate snowfall is also likely in the Ladakh region,” an official of the Disaster Management Cell said today. The Valley has already received three spells of moderate to heavy snowfall this winter season due to which the Jammu-Srinagar national highway has either remained closed or open to one-way traffic during the past one month. In view of the expected snowfall, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon has directed the field officers to take all possible measures to ensure minimum disruption of services and keep their men and machinery, including joint snow control rooms, ready in case of any eventuality. Samoon has also asked the Traffic Police to monitor the weather situation. “In case of adverse weather, the movement of traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway should be restricted on February 4 and 5 so that no vehicles get stranded,” he said. The Director, CAPD, Kashmir, has been directed to ensure that there is no shortage of essential commodities, especially the LPG. Meanwhile, the Valley continued to witness sub-zero minimum temperatures. However, the night temperatures rose by a few degrees. According to an official of the meteorological department, Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of -1.5 °C, as compared to -5.0 °C yesterday. The tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded a low of -9.0 °C, as compared to -14.2 °C yesterday. The minimum temperatures at the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir and Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, were -10.0 and -6.0 °C, respectively. Kargil in the Ladakh region remained the coldest place of the state, recording a minimum temperature of -23.0 °C.
	‘Unfair’ means for son’s exam CM asks Crime Branch to conduct probe Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has asked his Cabinet Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed to explain his position vis-à-vis the alleged use of unfair means to help his son pass the secondary school examination in 2009. The Chief Minister has also handed over the case to the Crime Branch, directing it to complete the inquiry within seven days. “The Chief Minister has taken cognisance of a news report published in a local daily alleging the use of unfair means to benefit the School Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed’s son and the alleged involvement of BOSE officials in a cover-up operation,” an official handout said. It further said the Chief Minister has asked the Minister for School Education, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, to explain the facts in this regard. “The file submitted to the Chief Minister by the School Education Minister has been sent to the Crime Branch of the J&K Police, which has been asked to complete the inquiry within seven working days. Any further action will be determined by the findings of the Crime Branch probe,” it maintained. A local newspaper carried the facsimile of an answer-sheet in two handwritings - alleging that part of it had been written by an education official to help his son pass the secondary school examination in 2009. The newspaper carried the facsimile of the answer-sheet with roll No. 228211. The news report alleged that an official of the Education Department posted on examination duty had written part of the student's Urdu examination in order to help him pass the examination. Earlier, Omar Abdullah had sacked Minister for Roads and Buildings GM Saroori from his Council of Ministers following his alleged involvement in an impersonation case relating to his daughter in a private medical college entrance exam on August 26, 2010.
	Langate MLA seeks Peerzada’s resignation Our Correspondent Srinagar, January 31 MLA, Langate, Engineer Rasheed and his supporters staged a protest demanding the resignation of Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, here today. The protest was held two days after local media reports had alleged that the minister, with the help of some state Board of School Education (BOSE) officials, had used unfair means to benefit his (Peerzada’s) son in the matriculation examination. Carrying placards that read “J&K has turned into a scandalous state”, the MLA along with his supporters gathered in the Press Enclave area here and raised slogans against Peerzada. Talking to reporters, Rasheed sought an immediate resignation of the minister on moral grounds, as he had “misused” his powers. He said he should be allowed to rejoin the Cabinet only after his name was cleared of the allegations levelled against him. He appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to come forward and get rid of the “corrupt” Cabinet ministers. The Chief Minister had yesterday summoned the Education Minister and directed the crime branch to complete inquiries in this regard within seven working days. While Peerzada welcomed the Chief Minister’s decision to refer the case to the Crime Branch of the police for probe, he denied the allegations levelled against him. Meanwhile, a group of local students also staged a demonstration at the Press Enclave, demanding strict action against the Education Minister.
	Cong smells politics in opening of new colleges Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Jammu, January 31 Even as the state Cabinet, at its meet on January 24, approved the creation of posts for newly sanctioned degree colleges, the Congress, which is a coalition partner in the government, is not happy with the irrational distribution of colleges in the state. Congress leaders allege that instead of sanctioning colleges at deserving places, the state government has opened degree colleges under political considerations. During their recent meeting with Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Saifuddin Soz, Congress leaders from Udhampur and Nagrota raised objections to sanctioning of degree colleges by ignoring deserving places. Sources in the Congress say MLA, Chenani, Krishan Chand Bhagat is unhappy with the government for constantly ignoring his demand for a degree college in his area. He regrets the opening of two degree colleges within a 15-km radius between Mahore and Darmari, as the Higher Education Minister Abdul Gani Malik belongs to this belt. Congress leaders have a reason to question the intentions of the government in opening degree colleges, as two degree colleges have been sanctioned within a 15-km radius, whereas people of Chenani, Jandrah and Majalata have been agitating in support their demand for opening of degree colleges in their areas. While the government had opened a degree college in the Darmari area in 2008, another was sanctioned in 2011 in the belt. According to an official document, the total strength of students in Darmari college is just 31 and despite such a low strength, the government had sanctioned another college near Higher Education Minister Abdul Gani Malik’s native village.
	CM okays appointment of 347 JEs Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today approved the appointment of 347 junior engineers in the Roads & Buildings Department to speed up the construction and upgrade of road communication in backward and remote villages of the state. The selection of engineers was made by the State Service Selection Recruitment Board sometime back but the process of appointment had been pending, owing to litigation.
	Conversion Row Geelani backs Christian priests, opposes ‘fatwa’ Srinagar, January 31 Senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani today locked horns with the local Sharia board over a “fatwa” seeking the expulsion of four Christian priests from the Kashmir valley. In a statement from New Delhi, the Hurriyat leader said: “Muslims should protect their religion themselves. Expelling somebody from Kashmir is no solution.” “Kashmiris cannot ignore the contributions of Christian missionary schools towards the educational system in the Valley. “Unfortunately, the Muslims have not been able to build an educational institution like those by the Christian missionary schools despite all available resources,” he added. On January 19, the local Sharia court had issued a decree seeking the expulsion of four priests from the state for their alleged involvement in converting some local youth to Christianity through financial allurement. — IANS
	Chattisinghpora Massacre Kashmiri Sikhs seek fresh probe Ehsan Fazili Tribune News Service Srinagar, January 31 Welcoming the Supreme Court directive condemning the Pathribal incident, the All-Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) has sought a fresh probe into the killing of 36 Sikhs at the hands of unidentified gunmen at Chattisinghpora village of Anantnag district in March, 2000. Reacting to the recent directive by the Supreme Court, APSCC chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina urged Justices BS Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar to order a fresh probe into both incidents to unravel the truth and bring the culprits to book. At least 36 Sikhs were killed by unidentified gunmen on the night of March 20, 2000 at Chattisinghpora village of Anantnag district, sparking widespread protests. The incident had taken place on the occasion of the then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to India. Five days later, the security forces killed five “militants”, involved in the Sikh carnage, at Pathribal. This, however, led to more trouble as residents of nearby villages filed a report about the disappearance of five persons, suspecting that those killed were innocent. Also, at least 10 protesters lost their lives when the police opened fire to quell demonstrations at Brakpora, as protesters marched towards Anantnag town following the incident. Raina demanded “national victim” status for the families of the 36 Sikhs killed at Chattisinghpora, as they, despite all odds, had not only stayed back in the Valley but also strengthened communal harmony. The APSCC chairman said they had waited for 12 long years for justice for the victims of the Chattisinghpora massacre. He urged the government to arrest the culprits of the Chattisinghpora massacre. Referring to the incident, Raina said according to police authorities, nearly 20 gunmen had carried out the massacre at Chattisinghpora but only five persons had so far been accounted for. However, the Justice Pandan Commission in its inquiry had subsequently stated that the five persons killed as alleged gunmen of the Chattisinghpora massacre were in fact innocent residents of Brakpora village. Also, the alleged militants’ bodies were burnt and hastily buried at a nearby village. Meanwhile, the APSCC has said the head of various Sikh organisations, including Ajit Singh Mastana, Daleep Singh Deepak, Sant Singh, Niranjan Singh, Joginder Singh Shan, JS Bali, Harjit Singh, Devinder Singh and others, have sought a time-bound inquiry into the killing of the Sikhs at Chattisinghpora.
	Five-day young painters’ camp starts Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 A five-day young painters’ camp commenced at the Kala Kendra in Jammu today. Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora said he was glad to inaugurate the painters’ camp, which was aimed at boosting the morale of budding artists by way of affording them opportunities to showcase their collective talent. Echoing similar sentiments, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Nasir Aslam Wani said camps of this kind were the need of the hour, as they helped young artists in honing their skills. The camp, which would culminate on February 4, has sixteen participants from both the regions of the state. The participants include Asif Iqbal Khan, Tassadaq Hussain, Mudasir Gul, Arshad Hussain, Adil Ahmad Zargar, Mohammad Ashraf Munshi, Saqib Gulzar, Manoj Chopra, Insha Manzoor, Sahil Sharma, Rajinder Paul Singh, Sunil Dutt, Rigzin Paljore, Hriday Kant, Narinder Kumar Bhagat, and Lovesh Sharma.
	Alleged fake appointments Protesters block national highway Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Protesting unemployed youth of Poonch district blocked the Jammu-Poonch national highway for about two and a half hours yesterday morning to register their protest against the alleged fake appointments carried out by some officials of the Education Department in Balakot. Reports said the protesters were pacified only after the intervention of Chief Education Officer, Poonch, who reached the spot and ordered a five member inquiry committee to look into the matter. The official also directed that no further appointment orders be issued.
	High Court reprieve for rebel six MLAs BJP core group meets to devise strategy Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Jammu, January 31 With the state High Court giving a relief to six MLAs expelled from the BJP on charges of cross-voting yesterday, the core group of the party today convened a closed-door meeting to devise a strategy to ensure disqualification of these legislators. The core group also discussed the strategy to deal with the rebels who had recently intensified their activities. The High Court, in an interim order, has directed the BJP as well as the state government to maintain status quo on the disqualification of the MLAs. The six BJP legislators expelled from the party had challenged the authority of Legislature Party leader Jugal Kishore in recommending their disqualification from the Assembly. Sources said the High Court directive had dealt a severe blow to the BJP, as the party leaders had been working overtime to ensure the disqualification of these expelled legislators, who owed their allegiance to former Union Minister and veteran party leader Chaman Lal Gupta. Gupta has already been expelled from the party but the party has not recommended his disqualification. Sources further said some party workers had started pointing a finger at those “loyalists” who had been given clean chit by the party in the cross-voting controversy. The workers alleged that the failure of the leadership in proving the charges against the expelled MLAs indicated that the party had taken a hasty decision without taking all aspects into consideration. “The Sangh Parivar is also not happy with the way the BJP leadership has dealt with the situation emerging out of the cross-voting controversy. It is widely observed in the Parivar that instead of protecting the party, the leadership has served interests of some particular leaders who had vested interest to ensure the exist of these MLAs from the party,” sources said.
	Police to procure bulletproof helmets, vests Jammu, January 31 In an attempt to provide better protection to its personnel during combat, the Jammu and Kashmir Police will procure light-weight bulletproof jackets and ballistic helmets for use in counter-insurgency operations in the state. The state police has floated a tender for the supply of 2,000 bulletproof jackets and the same number of bulletproof helmets to the police department. The tender issued by the Additional Director General police (ADGP) on January 27 has invited manufacturers or their authorised dealers to quote against the tender for the supply of bulletproof jackets and helmets. As per the ADGP, the bulletproof jacket should provide complete cover and side protection, and must conform to the NIJ standards for the personal body armour during ballistic trials. The jacket must protect the individual from all weapons — sten machine carbine, .12 gun, SLR and AK-rifle. The weight of the two types of BP jackets has been specified at 6.31 kg (standard size) and 6.62 kg (large size) and must be armed with trauma pad and ultraviolet resistant covering. The police will arm its personnel with the protective gear during counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir to bring down the level of casualties during anti-militancy operations in the state. — PTI
	Nod to 8 new consumer courts in state Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 In a major initiative to protect the consumers’ rights and to expedite the process of delivering justice to the common man, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has given nod to set up eight new consumer courts in the state. So far, there are only two consumer forums (commonly known as consumer courts) - one each in capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar - for taking up complaints from 22 districts in the state. “The government has given its nod to set up eight new consumer courts in the state. These courts are being made functional and it will expedite the process of redressing common man’s grievances,” Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) Department, Qamar Ali Akhoon told The Tribune. The minister said the people had been facing hardships in their day-to-day life as there were only two consumer forums in the state. “People had to travel either to Jammu or Srinagar for registering their complaints and their complaints generally remained pending for months together. With the setting up of eight new courts in the first phase, the process of redressing common man’s grievances will definitely get expedited,” Akhoon said. He disclosed that each district would get one consumer court in a phased manner and the government’s first priority was to make the newly sanctioned consumer forums functional at the earliest.
	Omar okays appointment of 347 JEs Tribune News Service Jammu, January 31 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today approved the appointment of 347 junior engineers in the Roads & Buildings Department to speed up the construction and upgrade of road communication in backward and remote villages of the state. The selection of engineers was made by the State Service Selection Recruitment Board sometime back but the process of appointment had been pending, owing to litigation. Omar also approved the launch of 535 road schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the state at a cost of over Rs 1,216 crore. He also gave directions towards putting these schemes to tenders at the earliest to avoid any delay in starting the works.