The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Govt flouts transfer policy rules 45 IAS,160 KAS officers given premature transfers Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, March 17 In violation of the transfer policy that makes it mandatory for any bureaucrat or government officer to serve on a post for a minimum period of two years, the state government during 2010-11 transferred 45 IAS officers and 160 KAS cadre officers before they even completed one year in a particular post. Interestingly, some bureaucrats didn’t complete even a month in a particular place. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who holds the charge of the General Administration Department, in a written reply to a question asked by Leader of the Panthers Legislature Party Harsh Dev Singh on Thursday told the Assembly that 45 IAS officers, including his Principal Secretaries, and 160 Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) officers were shifted from on place to another during 2010-11. As per the new transfer policy notified in July 2010, the minimum tenure of a government employee on a post is two years and the maximum three years. The policy states that the maximum tenure of posting may be extended up to five years if continuation of an officer is considered necessary in respect of important projects which are required to be completed in a time-bound manner. Official documents reveal that the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma, was transferred from Leh within 20 days of his previous place of posting. Similarly, the Secretary, Higher Education Department, Tanveer Jahan, was transferred from the transport department within 30 days of his previous place of posting. The Chief Minister, however, said the premature transfers, wherever unavoidable in the interest of the administration, shall be ordered with the prior approval of the minister in charge. Asked about the details of non-cadre officers who have been placed against cadre posts in the last three years, Omar disclosed that nine IAS officers were posted against KAS cadre posts, while 25 KAS officers were posted against IAS cadre posts. “Seven non-IAS and non-KAS officers were posted against the KAS posts,” he maintained.
	Normalcy returns to Rajouri; curfew lifted Deputy Commissioner, SSP shifted Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, March 17 Normalcy returned to the border town of Rajouri today following overnight talks between a group of ministers, Muslims and Hindus that resulted in the shifting of Deputy Commissioner Ghulam Ahmed Khwaja and SSP Vijay Singh Samyal. Consequently, the curfew was also lifted from the town. “Following overnight talks that went beyond 16 hours, the curfew was lifted this morning and to restore the confidence of the minority community, the group of ministers (GoM) comprising Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Industries Minister SS Slathia, Minister of State for Power Shabir Ahmed Khan, two advisers to the CM, Mubarak Gul and Devinder Singh Rana, led a procession in the main market of Rajouri,” a senior bureaucrat told The Tribune over the phone. “The GoM has also conceded the demands of the Hindus and as a result Rajouri DC Ghulam Ahmed Khwaja and SSP Vijay Singh Samyal have been shifted,” he added. He said the government had ordered the transfer of Khwaja and posted him as Special Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department. Saugat Biswas, Additional Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri. Similarly, Mubassir Latifi has been appointed as SP Rajouri while SSP Rajouri, who has been shifted, awaits his orders of posting, said the bureaucrat. The GoM, which had arrived in the town yesterday, after holding hectic deliberations with the members of both the communities, assured strict action against the IRP officials on whose behest the cops went on a rampage in the town. Sources said following overnight parleys with the GoM, four stone throwers out of total 17, were arrested while the remaining 13 would be nabbed soon. The GoM also agreed to conduct a magisterial probe into the entire incident wherein IRP officers and cops had gone berserk beating up women and children of the minority community, they said. The probe will be conducted by a secretary-level officer under the supervision of Jammu Divisional Commissioner Pawan Kotwal and report will be submitted within 15 days.
	Jammu bandh passes off peacefully Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, March 17 The day-long bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to protest against the alleged failure of Rajouri district administration in taking action against the miscreants who had attacked the religious processions today passed off peacefully. However, the bandh evoked mixed response as mini buses and auto-rickshaws plied in some parts of the city. The police, CRPF and other paramilitary personnel were deployed at various roads, rotaries and markets in the city to avoid any untoward incident. There were no reports of any untoward incident during the bandh, a senior police officer informed The Tribune. While shops in most of the markets remained closed during the bandh and the city witnessed lesser number of vehicles on the roads, the VHP, BJP, Shri Ram Sena and other outfits took out processions against the Rajouri district administration and the police for their alleged failure in protecting the minorities in the border town. Border towns of Sunderbani and Naushera also observed bandh. All shops, business establishments were shut and thin attendance was reported in offices and educational institutions. The VHP, which had given the call for Jammu bandh, however, rolled back its call later in the day. “After the government agreed to the demands of the minority community in black and white, we rolled back the call of Jammu bandh asking the people to resume their normal life,” state VHP president Ramakant Dubey told The Tribune. Dubey said the bandh had been called off after a group of ministers, which had been camping in Rajouri, conceded the demands of the minority community. Students hit The bandh created problems for students, who had to appear in board and university examinations. Priya Bhau, a first year student at Gandhi Nagar Women College, said, “I had to appear in my History examination today and there was no public transport. I had to cover some distance on foot to reach the exam centre”.
	Focus on diversification New agriculture policy on the anvil, says minister Tribune News Service Jammu, March 17 With 70 to 80 per cent of the state’s population engaged in agriculture and its allied sectors and 100 per cent of the population dependent on agricultural produce, Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir on Thursday told the House that to make the sector more profitable a new agriculture policy was on the anvil. Replying to a discussion on demand of grants for the department under his charge, the minister said the new policy would focus on diversification of agriculture crops to motivate farmers to move towards low volume-high value crops like fruits, flowers, vegetables, medicinal plants and niche products like saffron, rajmah, cumin seeds, etc. Allied activities like dairy farming, poultry and sericulture would be given incentives. This would increase agriculture income and help generate employment in the farm sector, he added. The minister said diversification would not be at the expense of the goal of gaining self-sufficiency in food grains, for which double cropping, especially in the Kashmir valley, is being promoted in a big way. Intensive efforts have been launched to encourage double cropping in the Valley as the single cropping system is seen as a major constraint on the growth of agriculture in the Valley, he added. The department has launched a “vegetable initiative for urban clusters” in Srinagar this financial year with an outlay of Rs 6 crore. A similar initiative, with an outlay of Rs 6 crore, has also been launched in Jammu. The initiative envisages end-to-end linkage in vegetable production, marketing and processing. Regarding adequate supply of fertilisers to farmers, the minister said the fertiliser supply system in the state had been revamped. He said more companies had been roped in for supplying fertilisers in the state. The minister said an ambitious national mission for the rejuvenation of saffron cultivation, with an investment of Rs 372.18 crore, was being implemented in the state. He said in the second year of its implementation, rejuvenation and replanting of saffron had been carried out over 347 hectares in the Valley. For boosting basmati rice, grown in the RS Pura belt of Jammu and its adjoining areas, he said on the request of the state government, the Union government had relaxed the standards laid down for the export of basmati rice.
	Governor lays stress on speedy justice to litigants Tribune News Service Jammu, March 17 Governor NN Vohra has called for taking all required measures for promoting the concept of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method for providing speedy justice to litigants and bringing down the pendency of cases in various courts of the country. The Governor was addressing the inaugural session of the Regional Conference of North Zone States on “Mediation: An Effective Strategy to Responsive Justice” organised by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Mediation Monitoring Committee here today. He observed that over a period of time the number of cases before the courts had increased due to an increase in population, education and awareness among the people about their rights and several other factors. He said about 4 crore cases were pending before various courts in the country, adding that to address the problem there was a need to build adequate infrastructure and increase the number of magistrates and judges at all the levels. He said the concept of mediation and other such alternative dispute resolution methods could make a significant contribution to address the pendency of cases before the courts at all the levels. He said conciliation, mediation and similar other approaches were in vogue in our country in the centuries past and were integral to our cultural ethos. The Governor said to achieve the Constitutional goal of justice in all arenas - social, political and economic - there was an urgent need to take all possible steps to provide speedy redress to those who have been waiting for years. He said to secure these objectives the Supreme Court had taken a number of initiatives in the past few years and congratulated it for its endeavours. He said one and all must join hands to ensure that the concept of mediation is promoted in a big way and becomes successful in all parts of the country. He released an annual report of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Mediation Monitoring Committee and a docudrama on mediation titled “Raahein Aur Bhi Hein”, on the occasion. Justice Dalveer Bhandari of the Supreme Court and Chairman of the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC), in his presidential address referred to the conference and said it would immensely help the cause of the mediation process. In his keynote address, Justice Swatanter Kumar of the Supreme Court spoke about the aims and objects of constituting the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court. Justice FM Ibrahim Kalifulla, Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, in his introductory remarks thanked the Governor for inaugurating the conference. In his welcome address, Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir, Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir High Court Mediation Monitoring Committee, gave details of the regional conference. He said the conference will be spread over two technical sessions. Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar, Member, High Court Mediation Monitoring Committee, presented a vote of thanks.
	PIL against Taj’s kin Commissioner told to file status report Legal Correspondent Jammu, March 17 The Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court here, while responding to a public interest litigation filed against the alleged nexus between politicians, police officers, bureaucrats and land mafia in various part of Jammu and Samba districts, directed the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, to furnish a status report in the matter within three weeks. The petitioner, S K Bhalla, highlighted a case of land-grabbing in which the land of two brothers Tilak Raj and Hem Raj measuring 342 kanals and 4 marals was allegedly encroached upon by three daughters of Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohiuddin. Since both brothers are pitted against the daughters of the Cabinet minister, their efforts to get the “VVIP encroachers” evicted from their land failed. The Division Bench after hearing both sides observed that “the counsel appearing for the PIL referred a news item indicating that ‘top police officers, politicians encroached upon land worth crores of rupees’.”
	Over 33 lakh saplings to be planted in Valley Our Correspondent Srinagar, March 17 The state government aims at planting 33.70 lakh saplings across the Valley in the coming months. The plantation season begins in the Valley after the harsh winter. The government will also make available 14,000 chinar saplings free of cost for plantation. This was stated during a meeting of various departments to discuss the action plan for the plantation of saplings throughout the Valley. The meeting was chaired by Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Asgar Hassan Samoon recently. At least 33.70 lakh saplings — 11.70 lakh by the Social Forestry Department and 22 lakh by the Forest Department — will be planted during the drive. Around 36,000 saplings will be planted in the summer capital of the state. Besides, 14,000 chinar saplings will be made available by the Floriculture Department for free distribution. The Divisional Commissioner appreciated the efforts of the Forest Department in planting around 1,500 pine trees on the Nallahmar road in the old city. The meeting was attended by senior officials of the floriculture and social forestry departments besides those of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and the Pollution Control Board. The Divisional Commissioner directed the Director, Rural Development, to ensure that plantation was carried out on panchayat land under the MGNREGA scheme. The divisional administration has also urged the civil society and NGOs to take part in the plantation drive.
	Moderate snowfall in Leh Our Correspondent Leh, March 17 Various parts of Leh district received fresh moderate snowfall late last night. Although, the weather remained cloudy, but the snow melted away in low lying areas as the day progressed. Source at the Khushok Bakula Rinpoche airport at Leh said scheduled flights were delayed for some time today morning. The Khardongla pass, the link between the district headquarters Nubra subdivision and the Siachen Glacier had been closed for traffic since morning. According to Police Control Room, Leh, the pass has been closed for traffic following heavy snowfall. The snow clearance operation at the pass would start from tomorrow. Meanwhile, the entire Ladakh region continued to reel under cold weather conditions. According to the Met Department, Srinagar, the minimum temperature recorded at Leh town this morning was minus 5.3 Degree Celsius while the maximum temperature was 4.8 Degree Celsius. At Kargil town, the minimum temperature recorded this morning was minus 5.0 Degree Celsius and the maximum temperature was minus 2.8 Degree Celsius.
	Two youth drown in Tawi Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, March 17 Two Class XII students of Shri Ranbir Memorial Literary (SRML) Higher Secondary School, Jammu, were feared dead after they drowned in the Tawi near Peerkho temple - a famous shrine of Lord Shiva - in the old city area here this evening. The local youth, however, saved the third boy. The trio had gone to the river for an excursion when the incident took place. The two students, who were feared dead, have been identified as Sahil Mehra (17), son of Ram Lal, and Sahil Sharma (17), son of Tilak Raj, both residents of Janipur Colony. Their friend, Ritesh Kumar (18), son of Ajay Kumar, who was rescued, is also a resident of the same locality. The police said the three teenagers had allegedly consumed liquor. “According to Ritesh, they had come to the Tawi for an excursion and had consumed liquor. Under the influence of liquor, they decided to go for a bath and were swept away,” said a police official supervising the search operation to fish out the bodies. Ritesh told The Tribune that they had reached the river bed around 4:30 pm and consumed liquor. “We decided to take a bath and my friends were swept away. People who were collecting sand from the river rescued me,” he maintained. After the local divers failed to trace the bodies, senior police officials called the civil defence personnel for help. “The civil defence personnel, after a two-hour-long search operation, fished out the body of Sahil Sharma while another was yet to be traced,” the police said.
	3 denied bail in attempt to murder case Legal Correspondent Jammu, March 17 Special Municipal Magistrate, Jammu, VS Bhou today rejected the bail application of Shamsher Lal, Thomas Massih and Lakhan Massih, in an attempt to murder case holding that, “Giving bail to the accused at this stage would scuttle the investigations and the accused shall influence the witnesses and tamper with the evidence. Thus keeping in view the enormity of the crime committed and the nature of allegations, the petitioners do not deserve bail.” On March 4, 2012, the accused armed with Tokas entered the house of Ramesh Lal and made a murderous assault on him, injuring him. However, on raising an alarm the four accused managed to flee from the spot while one of the accused Shamsher Singh was caught on the spot along with a Toka. An FIR was also registered in this regard. The Special Municipal Magistrate, Jammu, while rejecting the bail pleas of the accused observed that, “We are living in a democratic set up where rule of law is the hallmark of our Constitution and in a civilised society perpetrators of heinous crime are required to be dealt with a heavy hand.”