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Infighting in Congress deepens as clamour for Taj’s ouster grows
Jammu region heading for major blackout
Omar congratulates Sharif, hopes he’ll work for K-issue
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Successful Pak elections a good sign, says BJP
Stable Pakistan govt vital for peace in state: PDP
Demon of corruption is becoming larger by day
In Valley, sarpanches and panches turn dak runners
Chamel Singh’s family meets Deputy CM
Inclement weather poses risk to migrating Gujjars, Bakerwals
Complete revision of Pahalgam master plan soon: HC to govt
Army’s search operation on in Kupwara forests
Army destroys IED at Handwara
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Infighting in Congress deepens as clamour for Taj’s ouster grows
Jammu, May 12 Two inquiry committees --- one on the execution of the Save Drinking Water project under the Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU) and the other on the procurement of composite pipes by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department --- have detected large-scale irregularities and bungling worth crores of rupees. The inquiry committee on the Save Drinking Water project had submitted its report on April 18 while the inquiry panel on procurement of pipes completed its findings on May 11. As Taj, a Congress stalwart, had held the PHE portfolio when these alleged irregularities were committed, his detractors in the Congress have been vociferously demanding that he should be shown the door in the interest of the party. “My stand has been vindicated. The findings of the two inquiry panels have substantiated the allegations that corruption was rampant in the government”, senior Congress leader and former Minister Abdul Gani Vakil told The Tribune. Stepping up his attack on Taj, Vakil said the involvement of party ministers in such irregularities had damaged the Congress a lot and it was high time the party leaders took action against such corrupt ministers. “I am not against any individual, my struggle is against corruption,” he said, adding that parameter which was adopted at New Delhi should also be adopted in Jammu and Kashmir while dealing with corruption. Congress sources said loyalists of J-K Pradesh Congress Committee chief Saifuddin Soz had also devised a strategy to exert pressure on the high command for the removal of Taj from the ministry. This morning a meeting of Soz loyalists was held in which they observed that they should forcefully put forward the demand for Taj’s removal, the sources said, adding that it was decided in today’s meeting that a delegation of party leaders would go to New Delhi within a couple of days to apprise the high command about the whole episode. “As the inquiry committees have detected bungling and financial irregularities in the PHE department during the tenure of Taj, it is not possible for his (Taj’s) political mentors at New Delhi to shield him at this juncture, especially after the episode of two former Union Ministers Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar. So, we have decided to launch an all-out offensive against the minister,” a Soz loyalist said on condition of anonymity.
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Jammu region heading for major blackout
Jammu, May 12 Sources said no action has been taken to replace transformers, switch gears and circuit breakers installed since the establishment of grid stations, which supply electricity to half of the population of the state. J&K has the highest transmission and distribution (T&D) losses in the country at 63 per cent and the reason is the old distribution network. Regular and periodic maintenance of the transmission system is of utmost importance for un-interrupted operation of the supply system, which is given importance in every other state of the country. Report of the Committee “For updating the best practices of transmission in the country”, apart from scheduled patrolling of lines has prescribed various techniques for protection of lines, including hot line maintenance, washing, puncture detection of insulators, besides preventative maintenance by using portable earthling hot tools, vibration measurement of the line, thermo scanning and pollution measurement of the equipment. “Chief Minister Omar Abdullah often says that curbing T&D losses in the power sector is a priority, but the fact is these are only table talks. There is nothing on the ground when it comes to maintenance of grid stations, often referred as the heart of the electricity supply,” said a senior officer of the Power Department. The issue was also taken up by Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) to which the executive engineers of the divisions concerned (grid stations) had replied that the work of change of obsolete equipment could not be taken up due to non-accord of Techno-Economic Clearance (TEC) to the projects and the non-release of funds by the Power Development Department (PDD). “The Chief Engineer, Kashmir (S&O) wing, said against the requirement of 3 per cent of the cost of assets for maintenance annually, only 0.5 per cent was provided for the purpose,” says the CAG report on power sector. Chief Engineer (Jammu) Sehnaz Goni accepted that fund shortage was a problem. Goni said more information on the issue could be given by the Chief Engineer (Systems & Operations), Ajay Gupta. However, Gupta was not available for comments. The state has utilised only 49 per cent of the funds made available by the Centre during the 11th Five-Year plan (2007-12) for revamping power infrastructure. The under-utilisation is mostly due to unplanned project formulation. Power Pangs *
J&K has the highest transmission and distribution losses in the country at 63% *
No action has been taken to replace transformers, switch gears and circuit breakers installed since the establishment of grid stations *
Against the requirement of 3% of the cost of assets for maintenance annually, only 0.5 per cent is provided for the purpose |
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Omar congratulates Sharif, hopes he’ll work for K-issue
Srinagar, May 12 The Chief Minister said he hoped that Sharif, who leads the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) or PML (N), will restart the 1999 peace process which had ended with the Kargil war. “Congratulations to Nawaz Sharif. I hope he is now able to live up to his commitment to restart his peace process interrupted in 1999,” Omar wrote on social networking website Twitter. At a rally in north Kashmir’s Pattan town, where Omar addressed a gathering, he said he hoped that Sharif would work for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. “I from this stage at Trikulbal, Pattan, congratulate Mian Sahib on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, my government and myself and hope that he will carry forward the process of restoring peace and friendship with India and work for resolving the K-issue,” Omar said. The Chief Minister also appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to extend a “hand of friendship” to Sharif for resolving all issues, including those pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir. “Unless friendship and peace is restored between the two countries, the basic political issues cannot be solved amicably,” Omar said. He said he hoped that Pakistan had realised that there can be no good and bad terrorist. “Given the bloody elections Pakistan has seen, I hope they now realise that there can be no good terrorists and bad terrorists. All terror is bad,” he said. “Guns cannot be described as good or bad; guns are always responsible for bleedings and killings. Let the gun culture end once for all.” The Chief Minister said it was an important day for the people of the state as Pakistan went to the elections and Sharif emerged victorious and was set to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the third time. |
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Successful Pak elections a good sign, says BJP
Srinagar, May 12 “We are happy over democracy in Pakistan… completion of five-year term by the government and successful elections. We have always believed in improving relations with our neighbours,” BJP national spokesman Prakash Javedekar said while addressing a press conference here. Asserting that Indo-Pak relations had improved in 1999 during the tenure of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Javedekar said: “Nawaz Sharif even now refers to the historic Lahore visit of Atal Bihari Vajpayee… successful elections in Pakistan is a good sign.” Reiterating its demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the “loot and plunder” of the country, he said the BJP would simultaneously launch its “jail bharo” programme at the three regions of the state (Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh) from May 27 to June 2 along with other parts of the country. Javedekar lambasted the Congress-led UPA government while referring to the coalgate and railway bribery scam. When asked why the BJP was launching “jail bharo” as Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar Friday had already resigned as Union Railway and Law Ministers, he said: “The CBI’s investigation report has been tampered with by the PMO… the Prime Minister cannot plead innocence…. Corruption and inflation have been the hallmark of the UPA regime… therefore the agitation.” Javedekar also demanded that the CBI probe into railway bribery scam should be done under the court observation. Alleging that the J&K Government was “in competition” with the Centre on the corruption front, he regretted that the sapanches and panches had not been yet been adequately empowered despite the successful conduct of panchayat elections in 2011. |
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Stable Pakistan govt vital for peace in state: PDP
Srinagar, May 12 In a statement here today, the PDP patron said a democratically elected stable government in Pakistan was a critical element in carrying forward the peace process and Jammu and Kashmir had the highest stake in its revival. Complimenting the people of Pakistan for giving democracy a boost by voting in large numbers in an atmosphere marred by threat of violence, Mufti said it augured well not
just for the interests of that country but could as well also impact the
Indo-Pak relations in a positive manner. “Nawaz Sharif has been one of the architects of a composite dialogue between the two neighbours and his return to power has raised hopes of an earnest and sincere follow-up to the initial progress made on it. The lack of progress on the Kashmir resolution had partly been attributed to the instability in Pakistan. But with the arrival of a new government to be led by a known votary for good relations, it could transform the situation and the two countries need to capitalise on it,” Mufti said. Referring to his recent meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mufti said he had got an impression that a successful conclusion of the elections in Pakistan could facilitate the revival of a dialogue and implementation of J&K-specific confidence-building measures. “I hope Dr Singh and his new counterpart in Pakistan would respond positively to the sentiments of the people in two parts of the erstwhile state and take measures for early resumption of a composite dialogue with special focus on the problems of J&K resulting from hostility between the two countries,” he said. |
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ON THE FRONTLINE
The ouster of two Union Ministers Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar has a definitive message for Jammu and Kashmir --- that such a thing cannot happen in the state. There is a complete sense of helplessness among the people as they find corruption eating away at the vital portions of their lives.
The way corruption is flourishing in Jammu and Kashmir, it has no parallels. This phenomenon has not descended from the sky just now, it has been there for decades together. But this time, it has assumed unprecedented levels. The two Union Ministers were made to resign on different grounds, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar because of “misperception” of things and Railway Minister Pawan Bansal because of the alleged role of some of his relatives in cash-for-appointments in the Railways. But in Jammu and Kashmir to think that the ministers would ever go on charges of corruption is beyond imagination. It is also attributable to the inaccessibility of the common man to the powers that be, and to the absolute denial of justice to the victims of the cycle of corruption. So much so that there are complaints that even sarpanches are not taking their panches into confidence over the utilisation of funds. They are taking their unilateral decisions. The concept of all inclusive participation lies in tatters. In panchayats, some of these grass-roots democratic institutions, it is happening because it is happening all around them. Inaction at the top against the tainted ministers and bureaucrats has become a source of corruption in public life. Not only are the people helpless against the demon of corruption but even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who credits himself with revival of some of the anti-graft institutions as also having empowered the people under the Right to Information Act, finds himself in a piquant situation. It is because he is running a coalition government and most of the ministers act on behalf of their political mentors, and the concept of collective responsibility is just Greek to them It is true that the UPA too is a coalition government, but the Congress is the single largest party and it has some mechanism to deal with the issues. At the party level in Jammu and Kashmir, there is no such mechanism and the game of one-upmanship that is being played by the Congress and National Conference, the coalition partners, is hurting the anti-corruption moves. Some of the ministers are so much intoxicated with power that they are brazenly looting the state, knowing it fully well that none would ever dare touch them. Their overconfidence rests on the fact that many in the state are having a treasure of skeletons in their cupboards. Honesty is a virtue. This is a phrase for public consumption and nothing beyond this. There is a tendency to shirk from the thought of bringing to book the corrupt ministers and bureaucrats. In this state, when something is left by the political masters that is taken care of by the bureaucrats. It is true in most of the
cases, if not all. Where the Centre succeeded in shunting out two ministers, Jammu and Kashmir cannot do so. Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi could prevail and make the ministers resign. There is no such mechanism in Jammu and Kashmir. Omar, it is understood, has the best of the intentions to ease out the corrupt ministers. But he cannot do so because of the precarious condition of the coalition government. There are compulsions of the coalition. He has also admitted, on occasions, that it is very difficult to check corruption because of the compulsions of the coalition government. This logic can have many counter-arguments, but one particular aspect that is not being looked at is that only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. Omar is in the know of the misdeeds of the ministers, both of his National Conference and the coalition partner Congress. He made an attempt to end this muddle in the mid-January ministerial reshuffle, but the picture that now stares at him is that the task is far from over. |
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In Valley, sarpanches and panches turn dak runners
Srinagar, May 12 Many panchayat members can be seen carrying estimates and bills of works from one official to another in various block development offices across Kashmir. “The public representatives --- panchayats members --- have turned into dak runners and this aptly explains the failure of the Panchayat Raj institution in the state,” said chairman of the J&K Panchayat Conference (JKPC) Shafiq Mir. “The panchayat members had braved the odds to ensure that the grass-roots democracy sees the light of day and two years down the line, we are feeling let down both by the state and Central governments. Instead of empowering panchayat members, they have turned many of us into dak runners,” he added. There are over 33,000 panchayat members across the state who were elected in 2011 elections which were held in the state after a gap of over 30 years, and which saw people from rural Kashmir queuing in hordes to cast their vote. The government too is aware about the exploitation meted out to these public representatives. The Director, Rural Development, Kashmir, Mir Altaf Ahmed, recently issued a stern warning to the officials who would be found using panchayat members as dak runners. “ …. It should also be noted that the estimates/bills should not be passed through the panches and sarpanches as they are public representatives and it is not their job to carry estimates/bills from one office to another. The erring officer shall be responsible for any negligence and action as warranted under rules shall be taken against him in this connection,” a government order issued by the Director, Rural Development, Kashmir, said. The government order was issued after complaints were lodged with the department saying bills were being handed over to panches and sarpanches by the officials. The Director, Rural Development, Kashmir said the order was issued to curb the practice of dispatching official documents through the panchayat members. “It was observed the proper official procedure for dispatch of estimates and bills from one office to another was not being followed and the bills estimates were being handed over to panches and sarpanches which causes delay and sometimes loss of these critical documents occurs. So the order was issued to curb this practice,” Mir told The Tribune. Panchayat elections *
The panchayat polls were held in 2011 in the state after a gap of over 30 years *
More than 80 per cent turnout was recorded in these polls and over 33,000 panches and sarpanches were elected across the state *
After the election, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated people for voting and showing faith in democracy. The United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi termed the voter percentage as a "befitting reply" to Pakistan *
Since the panchayat elections, six panchayat members have been shot dead by suspected militants and many have got injured |
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Chamel Singh’s family meets Deputy CM
Jammu, May 12 Singh hailed from Pargwal, a border village of Akhnoor. His wife, Kamlesh Devi, and son, Dara Singh, presented their charter of demands to the Deputy Chief Minister and pressed for adequate compensation. They demanded a compensation package and recognition on the pattern given to Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh who was also attacked in Kot Lakhpat Jail recently and later succumbed to his injuries. The Deputy Chief Minister said people share the grief of the family and efforts had already been initiated to adequately address the family’s genuine demands. “I have personally initiated the process to address their demands and the matter has been taken up with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Union Home Minister,” he said. Local sarpanch and panches, who accompanied the family, also met the Deputy Chief Minister. |
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Inclement weather poses risk to migrating Gujjars, Bakerwals
Jammu, May 12 The Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation in a statement issued here today said thousands of Gujjars, Bakerwals and Deeras were stranded at various points in the mountain ranges of Pir Panjal, Shivalik, Trikuta and Zojila in the Himalayas. Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation secretary Javaid Rahi said these nomadic commuties, who started migration in April, had reached high altitude areas and due to the dip in the temperature in many parts of the state, they were facing tremendous problems in migration. “Our organisation has received reports from tribals that a number of nomadic families are stranded near Pir Panchal, Doda, Anantnag, Kulgam, Zojiala pass Jamia Gali, Pir Ki Marg, Chhapran, Upper Banihal, Wadwan, Trichhal, Mughal Road, Gurez Macheil sector. They are facing a lot of hardships due to heavy snowfall and rainstorm for the past few days,” said Rahi. He urged the authorities to conduct an arial survey of the area and provide them food, medicines, blankets and fodder for their animals. He said the main tribal migration routes, including Jamiya Gali, Gora Batta, Nanansar and Ropadi Dharhal, were badly damaged due to snowfall. He said these needed urgent repairs. The foundation has asked various organisations working for tribals in the state to mobilise resources for providing necessary logistics to the tribes. “There is an apprehension that a large number of livestock may get perished in this hostile weather,” he said, urging the authorities to take urgent steps for restoration of confidence among nomads. |
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Complete revision of Pahalgam master plan soon: HC to govt
Srinagar, May 12 These directions followed a submission by the advocate general that the authorities needed “more time” to complete the revision of the master plan and that a high-level committee to supervise the revised master plan for Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir had been constituted. The High Court is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) about Pahalgam Master Plan violations filed by the Pahalgam Peoples’ Welfare Organisation. The PIL had alleged that Pahalgam Master Plan 2005-2025, which was constituted by the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA), had not been made in accordance with its aims and objectives. It was also alleged that the master plan had been changed to benefit a particular group of persons in the area. After holding numerous hearings, the High Court in May, 2011, had constituted an expert committee to study the master plan,
which had subsequently submitted its final report in November, 2012. Subsequently, the High Court had directed
the government to revise the Pahalgam Master Plan 2005-2025 by incorporating the amendments and modifications proposed by the court-appointed expert committee in its report. The five-member expert committee, headed by former Chief Engineer Akhtar Rashid, with then District and Sessions Judge, Anantnag, as its member secretary, in its report had shed light on the illegal constructions raised in violation of the master plan and had termed the master plan as “erroneous.” As the matter came up before a division bench comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Hasnain Masoodi this week, the state government represented by advocate general M Ishaq Qadri sought more time to complete the revision of Pahalgam Master Plan. He further submitted that a high-level committee had been constituted to supervise the ongoing revision of Pahalgam Master Plan and additional staff had also been engaged to complete the exercise expeditiously. After hearing all sides, the bench in its orders passed on Friday, granted the government time to complete the revised master plan, directing them to complete the exercise “expeditiously”, preferably within two months. |
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Army’s search operation on in Kupwara forests
Kupwara, May 12 The Army’s 18 Grenadiers, 17 Garwal, Paratroopers and Special Operations Group of the police had launched the search operation on May 7 following the exchange of firing between the Army and the militants near the Shamaswari range. Police sources said the Army had moved in more troops in the bordering areas of Rangwar, Chowkibal, Sadhna, Bangus, and TMG to tighten the cordon and intensify the search operation. On May 7, a group of eight to 10 militants had reportedly infiltrated via the Shamaswari range into the Valley. The militants are believed to be hiding in the forests of Hafrada and adjacent areas. A police officer said in view of the recent developments, troops had increased their vigil along the Line of Control (LoC) to foil any infiltration attempt of militants into the Valley.
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Srinagar, May 12 Troops of 47 Rashtriya Rifles detected the 15-kg IED planted by suspected militants on the roadside in Handwara, 85 km from here, this morning, officials said. They said a bomb-disposal squad was rushed to the spot and the explosive was destroyed through a controlled explosion. — PTI |
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Welcoming the successful conduct of landmark elections in Pakistan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said it was “happy” that a civilian government had completed a full five-year term in the neighbouring country.
Snowfall and heavy rain in the north-western Himalayas are posing a risk to around two to three lakh nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwals, who are migrating towards the upper reaches of the state.
The Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation in a statement issued here today said thousands of
Gujjars, Bakerwals and Deeras were stranded at various points in the mountain ranges of Pir
Panjal, Shivalik, Trikuta and Zojila in the Himalayas.
Probe panel findings