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Industrial body for
Rs 50,000-crore package to boost state’s economy
1999
GANDERBAL “CUSTODIAL” KILLING CASE
Two witnesses turn hostile in J-K sex scandal
Centre to directly give
aid to poor patients
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Detained trader has terror links, claims Mumbai police
State BJP wants MEA mediation
Azad wants train from Jammu to Chandigarh
Budget session from Feb 28
Omar meets Bollywood actors over lunch
Govt flayed for lifting ban on extraction of
medicinal plants
Recent snowfall leaves 50 villages in Poonch without power
MLA seeks investigation into Rajouri blast
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Industrial body for
Rs 50,000-crore package to boost state’s economy
Jammu, January 31 “We suggest an annual special package of Rs 10,000 crore for five years from the Central government to give a boost to small and medium enterprises, food processing units, horticulture, tourism and hospitality, information technology enabled services, BPOs and other industries in Jammu and Kashmir,” ASSOCHAM secretary general DS Rawat said, while jointly releasing a strategy paper, ‘Special Assistance for Development in J&K’, with Entrepreneur Development Council chairman Babu Lal Jain. The strategy paper has been prepared by the ASSOCHAM Research Bureau on the request of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Rawat said a constant flow of private investments and growth of industries was imperative to bring about sustainable growth in the state. “J&K attracted live investments worth just over Rs 1 lakh crore out of the total live investments worth over Rs 140 lakh crore in India as of December 2012,” he said. He said the state attracted 1.3 per cent of the total investments made by the Central government in the country and a meagre 0.3 per cent of the total investments made across India by private sources. He said, “Out of the total 7,109 live investment projects worth around Rs 58 lakh crore from all government sources across India, J&K attracted 187 projects worth over Rs 1 lakh crore. Out of the total 9,950 live investment projects worth around Rs 83 lakh crore from the private sector, J&K attracted 28 projects worth just over Rs 27,600 crore.” He said while frontline states in India were competing to attract domestic and foreign investors, J&K could not attract any foreign investment. “However, J&K clocked a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth rate of over 10 per cent as the value of live investments increased from about Rs 1.1 lakh crore with 212 projects as of December 2011 to 216 projects worth over Rs 1.3 lakh crore as of December 2012,” he said while quoting the paper. While about 105 investment projects worth over Rs 94,000 crore (about 72 per cent) of the total live investments are being actually implemented, about 77 projects worth over Rs 35,000 crore (over 27 per cent) live investments are in the announcement stage, he said. “There is no information about the implementation of 32 projects worth around Rs 267 crore and the implementation of two projects worth around Rs 30 crore has been stalled,” Rawat said. While analysing the growth scenario of the state and that of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, he said J&K’s economy grew at the lowest growth rate of over six per cent between 2004-05 and 2011-12 as against over 12 per cent in Uttarakhand and over eight per cent in Himachal Pradesh in the corresponding period. In his address, Jain said there was a scope of 50,000 jobs in Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services in two years and that he would press foreign investors to invest in the state. |
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1999 Ganderbal “custodial” killing case
Srinagar, January 31 The orders of the High Court came after the counsel representing the victim’s family contested the status report, saying the investigation officer has contradicted his earlier submissions before the court in which he had named two Army personnel as the accused in the case. The High Court is hearing a writ petition by Begum Khatija of Batvina village in Ganderbal district, wherein she has sought reinvestigation into the case involving the killing of her son Mohammad Sultan Bhat. Khatija, in her petition, had alleged that her son was kidnapped and later killed in custody by the Army and government-backed counter-insurgents. However, in his latest status report submitted to the court, the investigation officer has taken a different stand, saying the family members of the victim have not named any Army personnel as the accused in the case. The investigation officer submitted that the questioning and examination of the one of the accused Army personnel and the then Commanding Officer of 5 Rashtriya Rifles had revealed that during the intervening night of September 19 and 20, 1999, an ambush party of the Army was fired upon by militants. In the retaliatory fire by the Army, one militant was killed while the rest of the militants managed to escape. During the hearing of the case today, the status report of the investigation officer was strongly contested by advocate Mian Qayoom, counsel representing the victim’s family. He said the investigation officer in his latest status report has contradicted his earlier submissions before the court. During a hearing in November 2012, the investigation officer had submitted to the High Court that the Crime Branch had received a communication from the Army authorities confirming that Major Adjutant MR Nunia and Major Sunny Kurian had shot dead Bhat in 1999. The court had granted two months to the investigation officer to complete his investigation and produce a status report. After hearing both sides today, the single Bench of the High Court in its orders has sought the appearance of the investigation officer concerned along with the case diaries on the next hearing of the case to explain the contradictory versions of investigation into the case. The case has been listed for further consideration next week. Bhat’s family had alleged that was picked up during the intervening night of September 19 and 20, 1999, by troops from his residence. They were guided to Bhat’s house by Ghulam Muhammad Sheikh, alias Mama Ikhwani. Begum Khatija, Bhat’s mother, in her petition before the High court has sought reinvestigation into the case and ex gratia relief. |
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Two witnesses turn hostile in J-K sex scandal
Chandigarh, January 31 One of the witnesses in the case, Mehrajuddin, a hotel-owner, deposed in the court that SHO Asram Mir used to raid his hotel and that he knew nothing more than that. Another witness Mohammad Ayub Nazir, a resident of Srinagar, also took a U-turn from his statements in the court today. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for March 17. The scandal broke in the summer of 2006 when the J&K Police stumbled upon two sex CDs. The CDs featured a teenaged Kashmiri girl, who was soon identified. She told the police how she and other girls were forced to have sex with senior officials of the administration and security forces. At that time, pamphlets were circulated against several ministers in the PDP-Congress coalition regarding their involvement in the scandal. A CBI probe was ordered. Soon, state ministers GM Mir and Raman Mattoo, principal secretary Iqbal Khandey and BSF DIG KC Padhe were arrested for raping a minor. A total of nine cases for various offences, including Section 376 (rape) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), Immoral Trafficking Act and the Information Technology Act, were registered. Nine persons were accused in one case while three each were named in the remaining eight cases. In September last year, the CBI court acquitted three accused in three cases pertaining to the scandal. These were former state minister Raman Mattoo, Congress legislator GA Mir and IAS officer Iqbal Khanday, who were acquitted under Section 5 of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act as the court gave them benefit of doubt and the victim turned hostile while recording her statement in the court. Cases against the rest are pending. |
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Centre to directly give
aid to poor patients
Jammu, January 31 The Union Health Ministry issued an order on January 1, directing all Central government hospitals and institutions to refer the cases where the amount of financial treatment exceeds Rs 1,00,00 to the RAN headquarters instead of referring them to the State Illness Assistance Fund (SIAF). Earlier for financial assistance between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh, the Central government hospitals used to refer all cases to the state government. The J&K Government has set up the SIAF to provide financial assistance to patients referred by Central government hospitals and institutions. “During our meeting with the state authorities, it came to our notice that a number of cases of needy people were yet to be cleared and the local authorities were adopting delaying tactics,” alleged Yogesh Sawhney, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Interacting with mediapersons here today, Sawhney said: “The Union Health Minister reviewed the entire scheme and issued orders for directly providing financial assistance to poor patients. Sawhney said that due to the “inhumane” approach of the state government, a large number of needy patients were facing hardship. He urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take the matter seriously and fix responsibility on officials who were responsible for this “callousness”. “Since a couple of patients had died awaiting financial assistance, the matter must be treated as criminal negligence and reviewed accordingly,” he demanded. Criticising the state government for not “properly utilising” funds released by the Centre from time to time to improve the health infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, Sawhney said the Union Health Ministry had already sanctioned funds for purchasing critical care ambulances but no purchases had been made so far by the state. Questioning the decision of the state government to allow doctors of private hospitals to hold OPDs in government hospitals, he smelt a nexus between the management of private hospitals and some local politicians.
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Detained trader has terror links, claims Mumbai police
Srinagar, January 31 Soon after his arrest, the Mumbai police informed the Jammu and Kashmir police and sought more details about Naikoo, who was dealing in dry fruits for the past one year at Navi Mumbai. Sources said the Jammu and Kashmir police had given Naikoo’s details to the Mumbai police. “A team of the Jammu and Kashmir police is in Mumbai from the last two days to question Naikoo for his alleged links with Hizbul Mujahideen militants,” said a source in Srinagar. A police spokesman in Srinagar, however, denied that any state police team was in Mumbai to question Naikoo. While Naikoo is being questioned in Mumbai, his family back home said he was innocent. “He is a well-known cricketer from the town who belongs to a middle class family. He was involved in cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade. He shifted to Mumbai for better fortunes last year. We are sure he is innocent,” said one of his relatives, adding that the family came to know about Naikoo’s arrest after a Kashmiri businessman informed them over the phone. “Our family has suffered immensely. In 1984, our father was arrested by security forces and two days later his body was handed over to us,” he said. “We hope that Naikoo will get a clean chit and be back,” he said.
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Death of Indian in Pak jail
Jammu, January 31 State president of the BJP Jugal Kishore Sharma today said the state unit had approached the party high command at New Delhi to take up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs immediately. Chamel, a resident of the border village of Pargwal, had inadvertently crossed the Line of Control and strayed into the Pakistan territory. He was taken into custody and lodged in a jail in Pakistan. In spite of repeated pleas by family members and his wife Kamlesh, he was not allowed to return. Instead, the family was informed that Chamel had died. Sharma said Chamel was tortured and beaten up by the jail authorities resulting in his death. The party had taken the death of Chamel very seriously and wanted to get justice for the family. Sharma also referred to the incident of Rajouri district, wherein two children got accidentally killed by an abandoned explosive device in Mangota under the jurisdiction of Thannamandi police station. He said the government should intensify patrolling and take steps to locate and neutralise any abandoned or concealed explosive device. Sharma demanded an inquiry into the explosion. |
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Azad wants train from Jammu to Chandigarh
Jammu, January 31 Yogesh Sawhney, officer on special duty (OSD) of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, said Azad had been pursuing the cause as patients from the state were facing a lot of hardships due to the non-availability of a direct train to Chandigarh. “We are hopeful that in the forthcoming railway budget, an announcement in this regard will be made,” Sawhney said. For past few years, the authorities in the Jammu region have failed to streamline the functioning of hospitals here. Premier health institutions such as Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, are witnessing a shortage of basic infrastructure, including ventilators, because of which people prefer Chandigarh as the nearest destination for advanced treatment. Due to the increasing pressure of patients from Jammu, Azad had appointed Yogesh Sawhney as his OSD at the PGI for providing assistance to patients from the entire northern region. The civil society of Jammu has been demanding a direct train to Chandigarh for more than a decade so as to provide relief to patients who travel
in buses. Sources said recently a delegation of Jammu residents had brought this matter to the notice of the Union Health Minister, who had promised to approach Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. The Jammu civil society also took an initiative to construct a ‘sarai’ near the PGI to provide shelter to needy patients of the state. |
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Budget session from Feb 28
Jammu, January 31 The budget session will begin with the Governor’s Address, and that will
be followed by discussion on Motion of Thanks on the Address on March 1, 2 and 4. The government business will be taken up on March 5, 25 and April 2. The Annual Financial Statements of Expenditure for 2013-14 will be presented on March 6. The discussion on the budget will be held on March 7, 8 and 9. The demands for grants will be taken up on March 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22. The Private Members’ Resolutions will be
considered on March 26 and 30 while the Private Members Bills will be taken up on March 28 and April 1. |
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Omar meets Bollywood actors over lunch
“It was very nice to meet #RanbirKapoor & @deepikapadukone over the weekend as they filmed in Kashmir. Now waiting for the movie due on 31/5,” Omar tweeted. The Chief Minister gave details of the movie saying, “#YehJawaniHaiDeewani being filmed in Kashmir at the moment. Gulmarg & Pahalgam were the locations finalised for the movie.” Omar met Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Kalki Koechlin over lunch in a popular five-star hotel atop the Zabarwan hills in Srinagar. Sources said Omar relished Kashmiri ‘wazwan’ with the actors while assuring them complete safety in the Valley. “The CM had to leave in the middle as he had some other official engagements. The cast and crew of Omar had earlier met the cast and crew of the film for dinner at the recently launched Khyber Resorts in Gulmarg. During their short stay in Srinagar, the Bollywood stars met the families of local crew members and then headed towards Pahalgam. “The shooting in Pahalgam is expected to finish by Saturday. The stars will be shooting for some scenes in Srinagar, too,” an official spokesperson for the movie said. Ranbir, Deepika and other crew members have not had any public interaction so far, although they have been in the Valley for almost a week now. Fans have been eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of these actors. Sameer, a fan of Ranbir Kapoor, said, “Ranbir was in Kashmir last year as well but he did not meet his fans. I hope he takes a cue from Shah Rukh Khan, who during his visit to the Valley, caught up with his fans.” |
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Govt flayed for lifting ban on extraction of
medicinal plants
Srinagar, January 31 The ban on the extraction of medicinal plants, especially those found in high altitude areas of alpine meadows and forests of the state, was in place since 2005 due to apprehensions of the extinction of rare plant species. Minister for Forests Mian Altaf Ahmad said although under the rules the Forest Department could take such decisions from time to time, the opinion of experts would not be ignored. “The decision has been taken to provide employment to locals in remote areas and some sort of medicinal aid to people through these plant species. However, the extinction of these species is also of paramount importance and will be taken care of. We will consult experts before going ahead with the decision,” said the Forest Minister. The results of an ongoing study being conducted by the Department of Botany at the University of Kashmir under the Special Assistance Programme, being funded by the University Grants Commission for five years, has observed that the state would not have any of its native varieties of medicinal plants after 10 years, if the extraction of medicinal plants went unabated. The study which is being conducted under the supervision of Prof Irshad Ahmad Nawchoo, Head of the Botany Department at the University of Kashmir, has also corroborated that the extraction of medicinal plants in high altitude areas of the state by tribal groups continued despite the ban. “The Forest Department has not consulted us or scientists at various research institutes. We have lost some precious native medicinal herbs, including Kuth (Saussurea costus), which grew in abundance in the state 10 years ago. Many native medicinal plants have become extinct due to human intervention and animal grazing,” said professor Irshad. Experts say the extraction of medicinal plants is done by local tribesmen who do not have any knowledge or licence to carry out such activities. “As a result of reckless extraction, the state has lost some rare medicinal plant species such as Wanwagun (Pedophyllum hexandrum), Kaah Zaban (Arnabia benthamy), Nelie Kanth (Gentiana kurroo), Sazposh (Lavatera cashmeriana) and Vire Thethwan (Artemisia amygdalina),” said Akhtar H Malik, researcher at the Centre for Biodiversity and Taxonomy, University of Kashmir. “The Forest Department has not been able to come up with a list of those species of medicinal plants which could be regenerated after their extraction. As a result, random extraction has been going on. Some local tribesmen smuggle the medicinal plants and sell them to private pharmaceutical giants outside the state,” said Malik. Malik said developing a medicinal herbs industry in the state was a good idea, but not at the cost of posing a threat to the rare flora of the state. Commissioner Secretary, Forests Department, Shiekh Ejaz Iqbal said the extraction of medicinal plants would be done with utmost precision and viewpoints of all stakeholders, including botanists and agriculturists, would be considered before taking a decision. “We are devising a plan to see how these medicinal plants can be used for commercial purposes. We will hold a review meeting with all persons concerned. However, I don’t think medicinal plants will be of any use to the state if their extraction is not carried out,” said Ejaz.
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Recent snowfall leaves 50 villages in Poonch without power
Poonch, January 31 The heavy snowfall on the intervening night of January 17 and 18 had brought the entire district to a standstill. Twentyfive towers of 132-KV transmission line suffered damages, besides 100 electricity poles got uprooted in Poonch district. The district remained cut off from the rest of the state in the past few days. Even after 13 days since the heavy snowfall, the power and water supply
has not been restored to Poonch district. Mohammad Sadiq, a resident of Hari Marhot in Surankote tehsil, said, “Even as the snow has melted in many areas in Surankote, the PDD has not yet repaired the power supply lines. The uprooted poles are lying in the fields and the villagers are living in darkness. There is no drinking water.” “Though the district administration made serious efforts and within five days managed to restore the old 33-KV line
which comes via Mendhar but that is not sufficient,” Sadiq said. “We get power supply for 2 to 3 hours a day which causes inconvenience to traders and student who are preparing for their annual examinations,” said Sanjay Raina, president of the People’s Forum, Poonch. “The damages to 25 towers of 132-KV line has raised questions over the functioning of the executing and supervising agency and if it is being probed, serious action should be taken against erring officials,” Raina said. “It is unfortunate that after the visit of two high-level teams of bureaucrats and ministers, the power and water supply has
not been restored yet,” said Rajeev Sharma, a Poonch resident. The state government has constituted an inquiry committee to ascertain the reasons for the failure of the 132-KV transmission towers due to the recent snowfall in Poonch. The committee would submit its report in the second week of February, sources said. People living in various areas of Poonch, Surankot and Mandi have been protesting against the PDD for its delay in restoring the power supply. They have demanded immediate start of restoration work on the 132-KV transmission line. “As more than 25 high transmission towers of the 132-KV line suffered damages worth Rs 4 crore due to the snowfall, it will take two months to repair them. The power supply to the entire district will be restored after the repairs are done,” said Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Poonch Deputy Commissioner Poonch. “There is snow in the Dehra Ki Gali area where maximum number of towers have suffered damages. The area is still inaccessible and huge manpower is required to dismantle
the damaged towers and erect new ones. It is a time consuming process,” said Sahu. “As far as the supply of drinking water is concerned, we are trying
to supply it to towns in parts,” he said. |
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MLA seeks investigation into Rajouri blast
Srinagar, January 31 Expressing anguish over the death of the children at Bruen near Dera-Mongata Thanamundi, the MLA asked the state authorities to take serious note of the incident as villagers were alleging foul play. “If the state government really means business, it must take quick and time-bound action to find out the facts regarding the incident and punish the culprits,” Sheikh said in a statement. The killing of the two children on Wednesday had triggered protests in the village. The protesters demanded probe into the incident.
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Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) has suggested a special Central annual package of Rs 10,000 crore for five years for the state for sustainable growth, employment opportunities and long-lasting peace.
The family of Chamel Singh, who died in a Pakistani jail after he was reportedly beaten up by the prison staff, has intensified campaign to bring his body from the neighbouring country, while the state unit of the BJP has decided to seek the help of party high command in the matter.
Though the Power Development Department has claimed to have completed the repair work on the 33-KV transmission line and restored power supply to Poonch town partially, 50 villages in Surankote and Mandi tehsils are still reeling under darkness.
Srinagar, January 31