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Governor for enumeration of ex-servicemen in state
‘Efforts on to get Mughal Route on world heritage map’
State education sector gets poor report card
HC restraint on anti-graft panel over notice to CM
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State can’t meet zero deficit target by 2014: Survey
Hindus in J-K denied minority benefits: BJP
Kashmiri Pandits for implementation of job package
CPM for rollback of fertiliser price hike
Dy CM inspects development works at Dal Lake area
Usha Vohra inaugurates health centre at Jagti
Governor NN Vohra’s wife Usha Vohra inaugurates a health centre at Jagti in Nagrota. A Tribune photograph
Russian tourist rescued
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Governor for enumeration of ex-servicemen in state
Jammu, March 2 The Governor and the Chief Minister were addressing the 74th meeting of the J&K Rajya Sainik Board at Raj Bhawan here today. The Governor, who was chairing the meeting, observed that such a survey would facilitate a meaningful review and prioritisation of the ongoing schemes and re-orienting them, as required, for enhancing the welfare of the ex-servicemen and their families. Emphasising the need for taking all required measures for re-orienting and upgrading the skills and capacities of ex-servicemen, the Governor said it would enhance their employability and placements in the job market. He said the state had a significant population of ex-servicemen, who possessed experience, skills and technical expertise in different fields, adding that this potential needs to be exploited for the overall benefit of society. The Governor said to secure this objective, an appropriate mechanism could be put in place for providing counselling to the ex-servicemen. While taking stock of the pace of progress on the construction of Sainik Bhawans at various places in the state, the Governor stressed their time-bound completion to avoid time and cost over-runs and for providing the facility to the ex-servicemen at the earliest. The Chief Minister said he had ordered the creation of a special cell in the state Home Department for further action on all issues relating to ex-servicemen. The Rajya Sainik Board reviewed in detail the progress made in regard to the construction of Sainik Bhawans at Srinagar, Jammu, Rajouri, Kargil and Kupwara. The acquisition of land for Sainik Welfare Housing Colonies also came up for discussion during the meeting. Later, the Governor chaired the meeting of the State Managing Committee for Funds and focused on the budgetary support being provided by the state government to the Department of Sainik Welfare. He emphasised the need for evolving appropriate strategies for enhancing the mobilisation and collection of funds at all levels and for maximising the welfare of ex-servicemen and their families. The meeting was also attended by Minister for Youth Services and Sports RS Chib; Minister for Revenue Raman Bhalla; Principal Secretary, Finance, Iqbal Khandey; Principal Secretary to the Governor Navin Kumar Choudhary; Chief of Staff, Northern Command, Lt Gen BS Pama and other officials A detailed power point presentation was made by Brig RS Langeh (Retd), Secretary, Rajya Sainik Board, on the occasion. The presentation gave a detail of the measures taken for the welfare of the ex-servicemen, financial status of the Board, construction of Sainik Bhawans and implementation of various decisions taken in the last meeting of the Board.
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‘Efforts on to get Mughal Route on world heritage map’
Jammu, March 2 Prof Poonam, who has been tracing the cultural routes of Jammu and Kashmir and on the Mughal Route for over seven years told The Tribune, “We have been successful in identifying this vital route as a cultural route. It has been identified as the cultural route by the International Scientific Committee on Cultural Routes (CIIC) and efforts are on to bring it on the world heritage map.” She said the cultural route was the latest category of heritages recognised by the UNESCO. “Talks are in progress with the CIIC subcommittee and I am seeking the help of the members for bringing the route on the world heritage map. I have also discussed the issue with Prof Victor Manuel Fernandez Salinas from Spain, who is in Jammu to attend a three-day International Conference on Global Cultural Routes: Tourism and Socio-Economic Viability,” she said. Prof Poonam said, “The route connects many different kinds of cultural and related monuments, sites, buildings and landscapes. The important heritage sites found along the routes are the lodging places, which include serais, forts and palaces etc,” she said. She said, “Although the route has cultural components, but we need to do more research for its nomination in the world heritage list.” She added that once the route was in the world heritage list, it would surely help in attracting foreign tourists to Jammu.
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State education sector gets poor report card
Jammu, March 2 The documents state that the government had decided to upgrade 330 primary schools to the level of upper primary schools (middle schools) in 2011-12, but it couldn’t upgrade even a single institution during that period. The government had achieved 100 per cent target for upgradation of primary schools under the SSA in 2002-03, when the scheme was launched in Jammu and Kashmir. Though the previous PDP-Congress coalition had successfully achieved its target of upgrading primary schools established under the SSA, the gap between the targeted and the achieved widened after the NC-led coalition government came into power. “In 2009-10, the government had fixed the target of upgrading 800 primary schools but only 730 institutions were upgraded. The gap between the targeted and the achieved grew further in 2010-11 when the government upgraded only 521 primary schools against the fixed target of 863,” the document stated. Against the fixed target of 892, the government had upgraded 886 primary schools in 2003-04, while it achieved 100 per cent target in 2004-05 when 974 such institutions were upgraded to the level of middle school. In 2005-06, the government upgraded 640 primary schools against the target of 646, while the upgradation was nearly 100 per cent in 2006-07 when 147 out of 148 such institutions were given the status of middle school. Similarly, out of the targeted 711 primary schools, 672 were given the status of middle school in 2007-09 and 1,485 out of 1,517 primary institutions were upgraded in 2008-09. A top official in the education department, who wished not to be identified, said the upgradation process needed a “simple notification” from the government. “These institutions are generally upgraded soon after the government issues a notification in this regard but this year no such notification has been issued so far,” the official said. In the recent Economic Survey, the government said that since 2002 as many as 6,651 primary schools had been upgraded to the level of middle schools, and 330 such schools were under the process of
upgradation.
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HC restraint on anti-graft panel over notice to CM
Srinagar, March 2 Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir stayed the anti-graft panel's order dated February 17, 2012, whereby a notice was issued to the Chief Minister, seeking his explanation as to why he had conferred ministerial status on political advisers and vice-chairmen of various boards of the state. Four politicians — Mushtaq Bukhari, Shamima Firdous, Bashir Ahmad Naaz and Kuldip Raj — had moved the High Court seeking quashing of the proceedings before the JKSAC. The petitioners, who head various boards and commissions and enjoy minister of state status, pleaded that the J&K State Accountability Commission Act did not provide any powers to the Commission to take suo motu cognisance of any matter. While admitting the petitions, Justice Mir issued notices to the state government and the JKSAC with the direction to file their responses within four weeks.
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State can’t meet zero deficit target by 2014: Survey
Jammu, March 2 It stated that the state has an outstanding debt of Rs 31,272 crore. Out of this debt, an advance loan from the Central government was Rs 2,032 crore and another over 11,000 crore was categorised under public accounts. The state does not seem to be in a position to return the debt. As Rs 4,285 crore still has to be given as arrears to employees, the target of reducing the deficit wouldn’t be met, the report stated. The survey report pinned hopes on the state water resources regulation and management legislation for levying tax on water used for power generation. This alone would bring a revenue of Rs 800-900 crore every year.
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Hindus in J-K denied minority benefits: BJP
Jammu, March 2 BJP member in the Assembly Ashok Khajuria raised the question about the criteria being adopted for scholarship to students under the post-matric category. Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Ittoo said Hindus of the state did not fall under the minority community criteria because the scheme was open to the national minorities, which included Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Parsis. “The students who have secured 50 per cent marks and above and belong to national minorities are eligible for such schemes provided the annual income of their family is not more than Rs 2 lakh per annum,” she said. The BJP member responded by saying that Hindus in the state were in a minority so they were entitled to benefits of all schemes which were meant for minorities. “There is no logic of denying benefits of such schemes to the Hindus in the state,” he said and demanded that the minority formula of Punjab should be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir and Hindus should be given minority status and all benefits of such schemes should be extended to them. The minister said such schemes were fully funded by the Central government so the norms fixed by the Union Government were adopted by such schemes in Jammu and Kashmir. Khajuria said the majority community was taking benefit of the minorities also so there was a need to change such norms in this state. Panthers Party member Harsh Dev Singh sought to draw the attention of the minister towards denial of scholarship to the students belonging to Gaddi communities despite the fact that the community had been enlisted as Scheduled Tribe (ST). Singh also sought a reply from the minister regarding the delay in granting ST status to the Koli community. The minister said she would find out why scholarships were being denied to Gaddi students and would look into the matter of the Koli community. She said students of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe categories and Pahari-speaking students were also eligible for such scholarships.
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Kashmiri Pandits for implementation of job package
Jammu, March 2 RK Bhat, president, YAIKS, informed mediapersons outside Press Club, “Only 1,438 posts have been filled so far. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised 6,000 jobs for the Kashmiri Pandits. Of the 6,000 jobs, 3,000 were to be filled by the state and rest by the Central government, but nothing has been done so far.” RK Bhat appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene in the matter so that the Cabinet decision approved by him was implemented.
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CPM for rollback of fertiliser price hike
Jammu, March 2 In a statement issued here today, Tarigami said the sudden and unexpected increase in the prices of fertilisers would have detrimental impact on farmers and fruit growers of the state, who he said were eking out their living from small land holdings that too under the constant threat of vagaries of the weather. He said hike in the rates of MOP from Rs 550 to Rs 1,200 per quintal and from Rs 1,260 to over Rs 1,900 per quintal for DAP had come as a bolt from the blue to farmers, who were readying themselves for sowing the rabi crops. The increase in the diesel prices had equally marred the interests of peasants, he added. Calling upon the government to take up the issue with the Central government on priority, Tarigami called for restoring subsidy on fertilisers to ease the price burden on small farmers of the state.
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Dy CM inspects development works at Dal Lake area
Srinagar, March 2 The Deputy Chief Minister also inspected the under construction Habitat Centre at Bemina. He was accompanied by the Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), GN Qasba; Director, Information, Khawaja Farooq Renzushah; Vice-Chairman of the Lakes And Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), Irfan Yaseen; Director, Local Bodies, Shamim Ahmad Leharwal; Chief Engineer, UEED, Naresh Kumar and officials concerned, an official spokesman said. While inspecting the ongoing work at the Habitat Centre at Bemina, Tara Chand directed the executing agency concerned to complete all the works and make the Centre ready
for commissioning by next month. The Commissioner of the SMC, GN Qasba, informed the Deputy Chief Minister that work on the project was going on a fast pace and the centre was ready to house the offices of the Local Bodies, Housing Board, Urban Development Agency, Architects Organisation and Town Planner, under one roof. Tara Chand was informed that Rs 10.80 crore was being spent on the project. He was also informed that the Bahrar Lepar Colony Project was in the final stage of completion. He interacted with lepers, residing in old hutments and dilapidated structures in Bahrar. Tara Chand directed the SMC Commissioner to ensure the completion of new residential units for them within two month, so that lepers are shifted to these newly-constructed units
and provided all kinds of facilities. While conducting the inspection of all the ongoing works in the Dal Lake, the Deputy Chief Minister reiterated his commitment of restoring the past glory of the Dal Lake. The Vice-Chairman of the LAWDA informed the Deputy Chief Minister that environment clearance for Rakh-i-Arth was in process, where 10,600 families living in the interiors of Dal Lake were being shifted. The Dal dwellers are being provided plots and financial assistance for construction of houses in Rakh-i-Arth. The project comprises 7,500 kanals and is coming up at a cost of Rs 416 crore. On this occasion, the Deputy Chief Minister and senior officials accompanying him were informed that 3 sq-km of land mass of Dal had been converted into a water body, which had increased the water dimension of the lake. The Deputy Chief Minister also inspected the parapet wall, footpaths and beautification process of the banks of the lake from Hotel Centaur to Nishat, Ishber, and on the Foreshore road. The Vice-Chairman of the LAWDA was directed to complete the tiling of the footpath from Hotel Centaur to Ishber and on the Foreshore road before the start of the tourist season.
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Usha Vohra inaugurates health centre at Jagti
Jammu, March 2 Director, Health Services, Jammu, Dr Madhu Khullar; Secretary, KVIB, Ravinder Singh; Principal District and Sessions Judge Jang Bahadur Singh Jamwal and several other dignitaries were also present on the occasion. Usha Vohra went around the health sub-centre and enquired about the facilities being provided to the people there. She met with students and distributed sweets at Government Middle School. On the occasion, various government departments, particularly the KVIB and Judiciary, had put up their stalls to educate the people about the functioning of the departments. Cultural items were also presented during the occasion. The Governor’s wife lauded the endeavour of the ASHI for organising a programme, which was aimed at educating the people about various welfare schemes launched by the state and Central governments in Jammu and Kashmir. She also enjoined upon the Director, Health Services, for ensuring that better services were provided at the health sub-centre. She said the Centre had launched a number of welfare schemes for the people belonging to rural and far-off areas. Usha Vohra lauded the Judiciary for showing interest in providing free of cost legal services to the rural people at their doorsteps. She appreciated the devotion of
ASHI members for their dedication to help the poor and needy. Sushma Choudhary, Vice-President, ASHI, J&K Chapter, also spoke on the occasion. The welcome address was presented by Prof Kailash Rajput, secretary, ASHI, while the vote of thanks was presented by Seema Khajooria Shekhar, Joint Secretary,
ASHI.
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Russian tourist rescued
Srinagar, March 2 The tourist, Netalia Grigorova, was reported missing yesterday as she did not return from skiing. A joint rescue team of the police assisted by the Tourism Department and Cable Car Corporation was immediately pressed into service to trace the missing tourist.
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Jammu, March 2
Official documents tabled in the state Assembly reveal that the upgradation of primary schools to the level of middle schools under the Service Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) witnessed a decline over the years. The current financial year has registered “zero performance” in upgradation of schools. 
The Economic Survey Report, 2011-12, tabled in both Houses yesterday, has made this candid projection while discussing the fiscal deficit and outstanding debt against the state. 
The survey report holds that the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission is the main reason for the extra burden on the exchequer. The fiscal deficit was Rs 2,748 crore or 7.9 per cent in 2009. It increased to 10.4 per cent in 2001 and was brought down to 4.96 per cent or Rs 2,367 crore last year. However, going by the 3 per cent deficit target by 2013-14, the current fiscal deficit should have been around 4.2 per cent.