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Soon, powerful three-tier panchayat system: CM
Three years on, 21export items across LoC down to just chilli
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Jammu & Kashmir Bank comes under RTI Act
Cabinet okays draft ordinance on water resources Act
Amarnath Yatra
HC reserves verdict in Machil case
Landslides block NH, vehicles stranded
Panches turn to govt over LeT threat
Former ‘spy’ shifted to ICU
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Soon, powerful three-tier panchayat system: CM
Jammu, April 24 “You degraded the urban local bodies and made fun of their respected members,” Omar told PDP leadership without naming anyone. He added, “Making a noise is something else and taking action is different. People are wise enough to read between the lines. They judge us on our work rather than sloganeering.” Addressing a gathering at Kalakote in Rajouri district, the Chief Minister said a powerful and effective panchayat system was his government’s commitment. “You will soon see a three-tier powerful panchayat system functioning and flourishing in the state,” he said, asking people not to fall prey to any propaganda. He said under a well-drafted programme, elections to the block panchayats would be completed soon after the elections to reserved seats for panchayats in the Legislative Council would be held. The Chief Minister said the four seats in the Legislative Council were reserved for panchayats and the elections to these were to be conducted by the Election Commission of India. He said the elections to block bodies were delayed because of this reason and now decks had been cleared for holding the elections of MLCs reserved for panchayats, which would follow the constitution of block and district panchayat councils. He said the services of 14 government departments had already been conferred to panchayats, besides providing financial support of Rs 40 crore. Underlining the holding of the panchayat elections as an achievement of his government, Omar said had the main opposition party (PDP) conducted these elections, they would have unleashed a propaganda and self-praise campaign for 100 years. Ridiculing the PDP for taking the credit of opening of the crossing points at the Line of Control, Omar said, “The Uri-Muzaffarabad route was opened after an agreement was reached between the heads of India and Pakistan.” “Similarly, they talked much about healing touch but did nothing during their regime. It is our government which removed bunkers, brought in rehabilitation policy, launched awami mulakat programmes to reach out to people, introduced unemployment allowance, expanded job orbit for youth and transferred power from the Secretariat to the grass-root levels by holding panchayat elections,” he said. He referred to a list of initiatives and path-breaking measures, which the coalition government has taken during the last three years to bring in transparency, restrict corruption and involve people in the governance. He said peace and progress with thrust on creating economic activities and job opportunities was the main idea of the NC-Congress alliance. “We are working in tandem to mitigate the difficulties of people and restore peace and stability in the state,” the Chief Minister said. He said the impact of balanced development during the last three years in the state was visible on the ground. |
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Omar tweets: How about a youngish Vice-President?
Srinagar, April 24 When asked by one of his followers on the micro-blogging website, Twitter, to define what he meant by “young,” Omar said: “Fiftyish. Someone who can be a roving ambassador for the India of today. I didn't have names in mind, just an idea that’s it.” When another follower suggested the name of Member of Parliament Shashi
Tharoor, the Chief Minister said: “Very good choice.” Omar also said the BJP had “muddied” the race for presidential elections by reportedly batting for a candidate of the Samajwadi Party (SP). “So the presidential election waters have been well and truly muddied with the BJP batting for the SP's choice,” he tweeted. |
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Three years on, 21export items across LoC down to just chilli
Jammu, April 24 Initially, when the trans-LoC trade, considered to be the biggest ever confidence building measure (CBM) between India and Pakistan, had begun on October 10, 2008, over 600 traders on this side of divided Kashmir were authorised to export 21 items to Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which now has come down to just chilli. Even a senior trade and industries official said the time had come to take the trade to a higher level by converting it into trade between India and Pakistan rather than confining it between the two parts of divided Kashmir. The Home Secretary is likely to visit Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch district on April 26 or 27, a move aimed at getting a first-hand account of the cross-LoC trade ahead of his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart next month. “Since we were left with no choice but to export just chilli, our counterparts in the occupied-Kashmir have suspended the trade for a week. They had ordered heavy consignments of banana, which has been exempted from the export list,” said Pawan Anand, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Chamber of Cross-LoC Trade. In 2008, New Delhi under Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) had given its consent to the Indian traders to export 21 different items to PoK. Three years on the trade via Chakan-da-Bagh has come down to chilli only. Much to our discomfort, products like coconut, green cardamom, large cardamom, pineapple and banana, which were in great demand in the occupied-Kashmir, were removed from the export list, he added. To add to the woes of the traders, the Pakistani government has levied a tax of Rs 1,000 per vehicle on PoK traders, who have suspended the trade for a week in protest. They will be disclosing their intentions during a meeting of the LoC traders in a meeting at Zero Line on April 28, he said. “To our utter dismay the government didn’t even deem it fit to take us into confidence before removing certain items from the export list,” said Krishan Singh, general secretary of the Cross-LoC Traders’ Association. “If the Union government seriously wants to boost trade then it should increase the number of items in the export list, issue Indian traders temporary visas to visit PoK to see the quality of their merchandise before placing orders, offer banking facility and a proper telecommunication network to get connected with our counterparts, said Singh. A senior official associated with the trade said in 2008 India and Pakistan had decided to have intra-Kashmir trade. “Initially, both governments had adopted a soft approach allowing trading of merchandise which was not produced in both parts of divided Kashmir. The basic spirit behind the initiative was to trade locally manufactured or produced items between the two sides,” he said. Gradually, over the years items were removed from the export list but now the time has come to convert this trade into large-scale trading between India and Pakistan, he added.
trade via Chakan-da-Bagh
Merchandise Exported
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Jammu & Kashmir Bank comes under RTI Act
Jammu, April 24 The full bench of the commission also directed the chairman of the bank to designate First Appellate Authority, Public Information Officers (PIOs) and Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs) for making arrangements to provide information to the people under the J&K
RTI Act 2009. The full bench comprised Chief Information Commission G R Sufi and two Information Commissioners SK Sharma and
Nazir Ahmed. “Once an entity has been established or substantially financed by the appropriate government at any time, it acquires the tag of ‘public authority’ for the purpose of the RTI Act,” the commission said in its judgment. The bank had argued that it didn’t come under the purview of the J&K RTI Act, 2009, as it was created under Section 11 of the Companies Act, 1956. Though the state government’s share percentage in the bank was 51 per cent, the latter contested that it was not a public authority as defined by Section 2(f) of the Act. The bank had turned down a total of nine applications under the RTI Act where the information seekers had sought a varied range of information from the bank, from the break-up of vacancies generated in the bank for Class IV employees and clerks-cum-cashiers from 2002 to 2010 to the criteria adopted for selection of banking associates. The RTI activists, Raman Sharma and Vilakshan Singh, who were denied information by the bank, approached the SIC praying that J&K Bank Ltd was a “public authority” as defined in the state RTI Act, 2009, and it was bound to furnish information under the provisions of the state RTI Act. The Full Bench also directed the chairman and other executive of the bank that the applications made by various complainants would be forwarded to them and they would have to dispose of these applications in accordance with the provisions of the
state RTI Act. On the apprehensions of J&K Bank’s counsel Z A Shah that if the bank was declared a public authority and brought under the ambit of the state RTI Act, it would “open floodgates for certain exploiters with vested interests” to make frivolous applications, the commission said the possibility couldn’t be ruled out. The commission, however, laid stress on the
proper training of PIOs and first appellant authorities to handle such tricky
situations. J&K Bank is the state’s leading bank and had recently surpassed the business target of Rs 85,000 crore in 2011-12. It has around 550 branches spread over 20 states of
the country. |
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Cabinet okays draft ordinance on water resources Act
Jammu, April 24 Sources told The Tribune that the Cabinet gave its approval for amending the J&K Water Resources Act 2010 through an ordinance aimed at creating a “special fund” through water usage charges for development and buying back hydroelectric projects which are at present run by the NHPC. A Cabinet minister, who did not wish to be named, said: “We have approved the draft of the ordinance for constructing new power projects and buying back the existing ones from the NHPC. The government will keep the money collected as water usage charges for non-plan funds and it will solely be used for maintenance, development and buying back power projects from the NHPC.” Sources said the government had collected Rs 543 crore from the NHPC for exploiting water resources in the state while a whopping Rs 400 crore bills were still outstanding. “The government expects to generate around Rs 1,000 crore as water usage charges from the NHPC and other agencies by the end of the current financial year,” a source said. Sources claimed that the government had played safe while keeping the money generated on account of water usage charges in the non-plan sector. “Had the government kept this money in the plan sector, the Centre would have cut down the funds given to it for capital investment,” the source asserted. The sources said the government felt the need of bringing the amendment to the J&K Water Resources Act, 2010, following a confrontation with the NHPC, which was reluctant to return power projects back to the state government. The estimated hydel potential in Jammu and Kashmir is about 20,000 MW, while the present generation capacity of all power projects, including that of 450-MW Baghliar Hydroelectric Project owned by the state government, stands at 759 MW. The state is getting 12 per cent (210 MW) energy as royalty (free power) from the NHPC)for the exploitation of its water resources. The NHPC-owned power projects include Salal (I&II) with 690 MW generation capacity, Uri-I with 480 MW, Dulhasti with 390 MW and Sewa-II with 120 MW. The Cabinet meeting that lasted 25 minutes also gave its nod to the proposal of the medical education department for creation of six posts of lecturers for Super-Speciality Hospital, Jammu and Srinagar. The Cabinet also declared the windstorm that damaged property worth crores of rupees in Kashmir as well as in Jammu on March 19 and March 20 as a natural calamity as per the guidelines of the National Disaster Management
Authority. |
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Amarnath Yatra
Jammu, April 24 He also reviewed the preparations for the construction of entry gates at the base camps at Baltal and Chandanwari. During the meeting, all yatra-related arrangements to be made on the Chandanwari and Baltal routes by the Chief Executive Officer, Pahalgam Development Authority, and various departments concerned, including Tourism, Public Health Engineering, Power, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Health, Labour and Animal Husbandry were discussed at length and required decisions were taken. Referring to the implementation of the sector-wise recommendations of a high-level committee, related to the district administration, the Governor, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, emphasised the timely action to ensure the availability of yatra arrangements. A high-level committee comprising Principal Secretary, Home; Director General of Police; Principal Secretary, Planning and Development; Commissioner/Secretary, Finance; and Principal Secretary to the Governor had been constituted on November 9, 2011, which submitted a comprehensive report on measures to be taken to provide improved facilities to pilgrims during the yatra in 2012. While reviewing health-related arrangements, the Governor instructed the official concerned to coordinate with the Health Department and the district administration for placing of experienced and qualified doctors at identified locations and camps, availability of ambulances at Chandanwari and Baltal and hard bed stretchers and oxygen cylinders in the yatra area. He also gave instructions regarding evacuation of seriously ill pilgrims. He said in case of any pilgrim death, satisfactory arrangements should be made for conducting a postmortem and issuance of a death certificate. — TNS |
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Work on Parnai hydel project to start soon
Poonch, April 24 The project was initiated in 1980s to generate 37.5 MW from the Suran river, a tributary of the Jhelum, with an expenditure of Rs 2 crore. The project office was established in Draba village in Surankote tehsil with much fanfare. But due to a sudden rise in militancy in Surankote between 1996-97, the office was closed. The tendering process has been started and some big construction companies are expected to take part in the process, which will be completed by the end of May, an official said. When completed, the project will generate 37.5 MW, where as the power requirement of Rajouri and Poonch districts is 45 MW. It will be a multipurpose project. Besides generating 37.5 MW, it will also help in irrigating fields. A 9.7 km-long tunnel across Jaran-Wali-Gali with its inlet portal at Bafliaz and exit portal at Bata Durian will be the main challenge for executing agencies. The power house is proposed to be located upstream of the confluence, the official said. Out of the 10,339 hectare, the project will irrigate about 8,742 hectares in Mendhar tehsil. On completion of the project, farmers in Mendhar, who are totally dependent on rainwater, will be able to do farming throughout the year, the official said. Minister of State for Power Shabir Ahmed Khan said, “The project will be time-bound and will be completed in 4 years. Rupees 30 crore has been earmarked for the project and it will be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 483 crore.” |
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HC reserves verdict in Machil case
Srinagar, April 24 The Army had filed a revision petition in 2010 in the high court against the Baramulla Sessions Court and Sopore Chief Judicial Magistrate court challenging the jurisdiction of the civil courts to try the accused Army men in the case. The case dates back to April, 2010, when three youths Shezhad Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad and Mohammad Shafi, all residents of north Kashmir’s Nadihal village of Baramulla, were allegedly killed in a fake encounter by the Army at Machil on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara. All three slain youths had been dubbed as foreign militants. The issue had triggered massive public protests across the Valley leading to a vicious cycle of killings in stone-throwing clashes with police and paramilitary forces over a period of more than four months in 2010. It began with the death of Tufail Ahmed Matoo in Rajouri Kadal of old city on June 11. The alleged fake encounter surfaced when villagers of Nadihal alleged that the three missing youths were killed in an encounter stage-managed by the Army. After protests, the exhumation of the bodies took place on May 29, 2010, and bodies were identified as those of the three village youths. The police later charge-sheeted Army Colonel D K Pathania of the 4 Rajput Rifles, Major Upendra Singh, Major Maurya, four soldiers and three civilians under Section 302 of the RPC (murder) in the case. Three persons, including a Territorial Army jawan were arrested by the police, but they did not arrest the Army officials who figured in the charge sheet. The police charge sheet stated that on April 29, 2010, two counter-insurgents along with Territorial Army personnel lured three residents of Nadihal to Kalaroos on the LoC in Kupwara district with the promise of a job and money, however, all three youths were killed by the troopers. The civil court in Baramulla and Sopore had rejected the court martial in the case and the Army had filed a revision petition against the court order. |
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Veterinary camp organised
Katra, April 24 Farmers were given detailed information on animal health and their management. More than 70 cases of medicine, 20 cases of gynaecology and 15 cases of minor injuries were treated by veterinarians. Dr Vikas Tandon, programme coordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, elaborated on the importance of such camps and also talked about the efforts made by the Kendra in improving the livestock status in the district. Dr Mandeep Singh Azad, subject matter specialist, gave a detailed account of animal population in the area and told farmers about the holistic and sustainable approach in the livestock sector for their socio-economic uplift. |
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Landslides block NH, vehicles stranded
Batote, April 24 The police said following a landslide at Seri near Ramban at 6.30 pm yesterday, the national highway was blocked for an hour. The General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) authorities had managed to clear the road for the one-way traffic within an hour. The road was, however, reopened for the two-way traffic at 9 am today after a three-hour-long operation. Due to a landslide at Hingni in Banihal at 3.30 am today, the national highway was blocked till 10.30 am. The one-way traffic plied on the national highway till 3.45 pm today from both the sides, alternately. The highway was again closed for two hours due to a landslide at Seri. The traffic was also disrupted at Sherbibi for several hours because of the breakdown of a truck in the middle of the road. GREF officials said the road would be cleared completely by tomorrow, subject to fair weather. However, passengers complained of mismanagement of traffic and absence of traffic personnel at most vulnerable places. |
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Panches turn to govt over LeT threat
Srinagar, April 24 Most panches and sarpanches, who have not been provided any security, have written to the state government to take necessary steps regarding their safety and security. “The matter is of serious nature and cannot be taken lightly. It is the responsibility of the state and the Central governments to make necessary arrangements for the safety and security of panches and sarpanches,” a letter written by Convener, Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference, to Minister for Rural Development said. “In case, any harm is caused to our lives due to the negligence of the government, we will not have any other option, but to act as per the dictates of militants, which will be a biggest blow to democracy in the state. We appeal to the Centre and the state government to take necessary steps in this regard,” the letter said. Last week posters allegedly pasted by the LeT had appeared in various villages of Pulwama district, asking sarpanches and panches to resign. Sources said many panches and sarpanches had started distancing themselves from the panchayats by giving advertisement in newspapers. The sarpanches and panches are also planning to meet Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to raise the issue with him.
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Former ‘spy’ shifted to ICU
Jammu, April 24 “My father was shifted to the ICU today in view of his critical health and I think that doctors have also written a letter to the district administration to send some official to concede to his demand,” said Vivek. The former ‘spy’ had gone on a fast-unto-death on April 20 outside Press Club, demanding his rehabilitation. On April 21, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Jammu, Ravi Shankar Sharma had visited the former ‘spy’ for five minutes to persuade him to eat something. Sources said, Sawhney was had not taken any solid food and had been put on IV fluids by doctors since April 21. Sawhney had languished in various Pakistani jails for 11 years after being caught during an espionage mission. No official from the administration except the ADC, Jammu, has visited the ‘ex-spy’ in the hospital so far. |
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