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JKENG/2012/41612

Vol. 2 No: 33

IN BRIEFIN BRIEFHigh court notice toCongress, BJP on

foreign fundingNEW DELHI: The Delhi

High Court Monday issued

notice to the Congress and the

BJP on a plea seeking direc-

tive for a CBI or SITprobe for

allegedly taking donations

from subsidiaries of Britain-

based Vedanta Group.

A division bench of Justice

Sanjay Kishan Kaul and

Justice contd on page 2

LS polls anytime afterSeptember: MulayamL U C K N O W / D E L H I :

Samajwadi Party supremo

Mulayam Singh Yadav on

Monday asked party workers

to get ready for snap Lok

Sabha polls as they may be

held anytime after September

2013. Yadav has been goad-

ing party workers to get their

act together and work

towards ensuring maximum

number of seats for the party

in the polls. Recently he had

asked party members to

"leave their fascination" of

staying contd on page 2

Two-day strike call togive a strong

message: Yechury

KOLKATA: Extending sup-port to the two-day strike call

given by all central trade

unions of the country, CPI(M)

Politburo member Sitaram

Yechury on Monday said the

strike will sent out a strong

message against the anti-peo-

ple policies of the Centre.

"Earlier also we had given

a one-day strike call against

the policies of the Centre. But

that strike call didn't send a

strong message to them,"

Yechury said. "So now a two-

day strike call has been given

to deliver a stronger mes-

sage," contd on page 2

Solicitor General RFNariman resigns

NE W DE LH I: Solicitor

General of India Rohinton F

Nariman resigned on

Monday from his post. The

reason behind his resignation

is not yet clear, but sources

familiar with the incident

said that Nariman was upset

due to some tiff with Law

Ministry officials. Nariman

was appointed as the

Solicitor General by the gov-

ernment in July 2011 after

Gopal Subramaniam quit the

post.

Israel will 'regret

aggression against

Syria': Iran

Pawar speaks up forbanned mining

industry in Goa

Rajnath is a leader

with differencePage 6 Editorial Page 7

UP spends Rs.120 crto protect VIPs

LUCKNOW: With security

often seen as a status symbol,

the Uttar Pradesh govern-

ment is spending a whopping

Rs.120 crores in public

money a year to provide

security cover to around

1,500 VIPs of different hues,

deploying as many as 2,913

police officials, officials

records show.

Inspector General of

Police (Law & Order) Badri

Prasad Singh admitted that

1,476 VIPs (very important

persons) were being given

security based on "pre-emp-

tive threat perception".

"Police does a security

check of the threat perception

to a contd on page 2

NEW DELHI: A CBI court

has framed charges against

sacked CWG Organising

Committee chief Suresh

Kalmadi and nine other

accused in CWG timing and

scoring scam on Monday

over two years after the

Commonwealth Games.

They have been charged with

cheating, conspiring, abusing

his official position and caus-

ing a loss of over Rs 90 croreto public exchequer in a

games-related graft case.

Kalmadi pleaded not guilty in

the court. All the accused in

the case are out on bail.

Special CBI Judge

Ravinder Kaur framed

charges under various provi-

sions of the IPC and the

Prevention of Corruption

(PC) Act against Kalmadi

and other accused, including

OC Secretary General Lalit

Bhanot, in the case. Besides

cheating and criminal con-

spiracy, the accused have

also been charged with

offences relating to forgery

and use of forged documents

as genuine, criminal intimi-

dation, destruction of evi-

dence of the IPC and section

13(1)(d) read with section

13(2) (criminal misconduct

by public servants) of the PC

Act.

The court has fixed

February 20 as the date for

the commencement of trial in

the case. The judge said that

the evidence will be recorded

on a day-to-day basis barring

Monday and Friday.

The Central Bureau of

Investigation claimed that

they were involved in illegal-

ly awarding the contract for

timing and scoring for the

games to Swiss Timing. This

allegedly caused a loss of

about Rs 90 crore to the

exchequer. After framing of

charges contd on page 2

NEW DELHI: The govern-

ment on Monday defended its

decision to pass an ordinance

on sexual harassment saying

there was an urgent need for

amending the criminal law.

The conglomerate of

changes, which introduced

the death penalty for extreme

rape cases, has to be cleared

by parliament within six

months. Union Minister P

Chidambaram addressed a

press conference on Monday

and announced the measures

taken up by the government

in the ordinance. "There will

be changes in the ordinance,"

said Finance Minister P

Chidambaram. "There will

be decisions with political

parties, parliament...I appeal

to everyone to complete the

process in the parliament ses-

sion."

Chidambaram rejected

claims that the recommenda-

tions of the Justice JS Verma

panel have been rejected. He

said, "As we were expected

to be prompt, we have

brought this ordinance.

Marital rape a difficult issue

in which we need more con-

sultations. Some clauses like

AFSPA need more discus-

sions." "The ordinance is the

first step in the making of

law," Information and

Broadcasting Minister Manoj

Tewari told the media here.

"If there are objections, the

government will look into

them with a positive frame-

work and take into considera-

tion whatever is necessary,"

the minister said.

Chidambaram added that

the government welcomed

the suggestions from public

to replace ordinance with a

bill in Parliament. "There

will be debate, consultation

with political parties, which

will give ample opportunities

to reflect broadest perspec-

tive. The government wishes

to assure everyone that fur-

ther consultations will take

place."

The minister also clarified

that some recommendations

of Justice JS Verma panel

have not been incorporated

because of divergence of

opinion. "It is not correct to

say that Justice Verma

Committee report has not

been accepted. The ordinance

is only the starting point of

legislative process. Justice

Verma also agreed to the 22

clauses put in ordinance yes-

terday," said Chidambaram.

He also said that the

Cabinet contd on page 2

CWG scam: Charges framed againstKalmadi and nine others

BJP welcomesKalmadi charge-sheet

NEW DELHI: The BJP

Monday welcomed the fil-

ing of charge-sheet against

former Commonwealth

Games Organising

Committee chief Suresh

Kalmadi but sought to

know if action would also

be taken against Delhi

Chief Minister Sheila

Dikshit for irregularities

during the 2010 games.

"While the BJP wel-

comes the belated charge-

sheeting of Suresh

Kalmadi," it would like to

know contd on page 2

Women groups protestanti-rape ordinance

Dubbing the government's ordinance on sex-

ual violence against women an "eyewash,"

a number of women's groups today protest-

ed at Jantar Mantar seeking full implementation of

Justice Verma committee recommendations. "Thisordinance is an eyewash. It is diluting the actual rec-

ommendations of Justice contd on page 2

Govt defends ordinance, welcomessuggestions from public

'Nothing rejected from Verma report': Chidambaram

BANGALORE: In

Karnataka, the Budget

Session began Monday with

the customary address by

Governor H R Bhardwaj to a

joint sitting of the Assembly

and Council. The Governor

enumerated the success and

progress of this government

in the last four and a half

years. He referred in his

speech about drought man-

agement, waiver of loans,

generation of additional elec-

tricity, implementation of

social welfare and infrastruc-

ture programmes and finan-

cial jurisprudence.

Karnataka Chief Minister

Jagadish Shettar today assert-

ed there was no threat to his

government in the wake of

resignation by some BJP

MLAs and he would be pre-

senting his maiden budget on

February 08.

"There is no threat to the

government. On February 8 I

am going to present the budg-

et. Nothing to worry", he told

reporters after Governor HR

Bhardwaj's address to the

joint state legislature session

here. Shettar said he would

welcome constructive criti-

cism contd on page 2

Cold conditionsgrip NorthIndia again

JAMMU, FEB 4: North

India is again in the grip of

cold conditions. Himachal

Pradesh is reeling under cold

wave condition with upper

parts of the s tate experienc-

ing fresh snow fall and lower

parts wide-spread rain since

last night.

The people in the glacier

prone areas have been told to

shift to the safer areas.

In Jammu and Kashmir,

the 300-km-long Srinagar-

Jammu national highway,

contd on page 2

Jammu Marathonon Feb 17: Tajtakes a review

JAMMU, FEB, 04: The

Jammu Marathon race would

be held on February 17 and it

would invite participation of

around 25, 000 people

including some 10 celebri-

ties.

This was disclosed in an

interactive meeting the

Minister had with a deputa-

tion of Managing Committee

of the Marathon race.

The meeting was

informed that the race would

start at 9 am from MAM

Stadium, contd on page 2

ED slaps Rs 98.5crore notice on

Rajasthan Royals

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI,

FEB 4: The Enforcement

Directorate (ED) has slapped

a penalty notice of approxi-

mately Rs 100 crore against

IPL team Rajasthan Royals

for allegedly violating forex

laws in its business opera-

tions. The agency, which

issued the penalty notice after

a two years of investigations

under the Foreign Exchange

Management Act (FEMA),

has sent out three separate

notices to the IPL franchise

totalling contd on page 2

JAMMU, FEB 4: Mr. N. N.

Vohra, Governor, who is

Chairman of the Shri

Amarnathji Shrine Board,

released a Brochure brought

out by the Jammu Kashmir &

Ladakh Tourism

Development Cooperative

Ltd. (JKLTDC), Jammu and

Kashmir, at Raj Bhavan, here

today.

This Brochure, listing

Do's and Don'ts for the

intending pilgrims, has been

brought out by the JKLTDC

with a view to enlarging

awareness among the Yatris

about the various aspects of

the annual Shri Amarnathji

Yatra, including the terrain

and topography, and the pre-

cautions to be taken during

the pilgrimage. This year's

Yatra commences on 28th

June, 2013.

Interacting with a delega-

tion of the JKLTDC on this

occasion, the Governor laud-

ed their initiative of bringing

out the Brochure, which

would serve as a useful guide

for the pilgrims. He observed

that such literature could be

usefully made available at the

Yatra Registration Counters

across the country for the

benefit of the intending pil-

grims.

Mr. Rajesh Gupta,

Chairman, JKLTDC, briefed

the Governor about the activ-

ities of this organization and

the aims and objects of bring-

ing out the Brochure. He said

that the JKLTDC volunteers

will also provide free assis-

tance to the Yatris and sup-

port during healthcare emer-

gencies, hospitalization assis-

tance and attendants at vari-

ous locations.

The 9-member delegation

comprised Syed Sajjad

Madni, S. Gurmit Sing, Mr.

Asif Iqbal, Mr. B. B. Kotwal,

Mr. Rajinder Singh Kotwal,

Mr. Shujahat Madni, Mr.

Ajay Kumar Mahajan and

Mr. Sudhir Gulati.

Mr. Navin K. Choudhary,

Chief Executive Officer of

the Shri Amarnathji Shrine

Board, was present on the

occasion.

Karnataka Budget Session begins

today, Shettar asserts no threat to govt'Will not move no-trust motion': CongressBANGALORE: The Congress will not move a no-confi-

dence motion as it expects the BJP government to collapse

on its own, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly

said in Bangalore on Monday."We will not move", Mr

Siddaramaiah said, when asked if the Congress was planning

to bring in a no-trust notice in the budget session, which

commenced on Monday. "We don't have the numbers (to suc-

ceed)". The BJP government "technically" enjoys a majority.

However, the "ground reality" is contd on page 2

Governor releases brochure about Do's and Don'tsShri Amarnathji Yatra, 2013

N. N. Vohra, Governor along with others releasing a brochure listing Do's and Don'ts for the intending pilgrims at Jammu.

BJYMannounces its

new State team

JAMMU, FEB 4: State Unit

of Bharatiya Janata Yuva

Morcha has announced its

new state office bearers and

its seven new district

Presidents. After the consul-

tation with BJP State

President Jugal Kishore

Sharma and the Senior party

leaders, BJYM State

President Ravinder Raina

announced the team of new

BJYM office bearers with

Narinder Singh Kotwal

(Badherwah), Bharat

Sharma, Advocate Naresh

Bhagat (Udhampur), Vicky

Mahajan, Karan Sharma,

Sanjay Kumar, Advocate

Bhanu Singh Jasrotia as State

Vice-Presidents while two

post of vice presidents; one

from Kashmir and another

from Ladakh region shall be

announced after the consulta-

tion with the senior leaders of

the respective regions.

Inderjeet Singh Sambyal

nominated as State General

Secretary while Ranjeet Tara

(Rajouri),contd on page 2

NEW DELHI: Amidst the

growing hullabaloo within

the Bharatiya Janata Party

for declaring Gujarat Chief

Minister Narendra Modi as

the next prime ministerial

candidate for the 2014 elec-

tions, BJP president Rajnath

Singh on Monday urged the

party members not to specu-

late or comment on the

issue.

"I am appealing to all my

leaders of BJP and workers

not to speculate or give any

statement on BJP's PM can-

didate," the newly-elected

BJP president said.

He further reiterated that

only the BJP's central par-

liamentary board can take a

decision on the PM candi-

date. "If any decision is to

be taken on PM candida-

ture, only the central parlia-

mentary board will decide,

we should not speculate on

this," Singh said.

contd on page 2

BJP's PM candidate fromeight leaders: Naqvi

AGARTALA:Any of eight leaders in the BJP, includ-

ing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, could be

the prime ministerial candidate, party leader Mukhtar

Abbas Naqvi said Monday. "The parliamentary board

will choose one from among the eight top leaders at

an appropriate time as the prime ministerial candi-

date," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice president

told reporters. He said there was no confusion or dis-

agreement within the contd on page 2

Rajnath asks BJP leaders notto comment on PM candidate

Page 1_Bali_Bali_Jan_14_New.qxd 2/5/2013 9:54 AM Page 1


2/8

Govt defends ...approved a draft ordinance and

advised President Pranab Mukherjee to

promulgate the ordinance. He said,

"The death penalty exists in Indian law

for several offences. The Supreme

Court says where death is a punish-

ment it can be awarded in rarest cases,

we have kept that principle. One where

the rape is followed by injury that

causes death, causes the person in a

vegetative state, or repeats the crime of

rape."

On Juvenile Justice Act,

Chidambaram said that this is a sepa-

rate law that deals with any offence

committed by juvenile. "Whether the

age should be reduced for certain kind

of offences has to be considered very

carefully," clarified the Union

Minister. Reacting to recent comments

by the Opposition, Chidambaram said,

"We have been completely faithful of

Justice Verma panel report, don't

understand what is the eye wash."

Talking about the juvenile accused

in Delhi gang rape, he said, "Criminal

law cannot apply in retrospective.

Whatever changes we make they will

apply to crimes made post making the

law and will not apply to crimes that

have already occurred, that is the con-

stitution of the country." "If the familyof the victim demanded that the

Juvenile Act should be amended, I can

understand their sentiment, but opin-

ions differ. Opinions are so divergent

then we should kept that aside for the

time being and discuss it in

Parliament," stated Chidambaram.

Women groups...

Verma committee. We want a bill

based not on this ordinance but the

panel's suggestions," said Kavita

Krishnan, secretary of AllIndia

Progressive Women Association

(AIPWA).

Sehba Farooqui, secretary of All

India Democratic Women's

Association (AIDWA), listed their

demands which include recognising

marital rape.

"While we wanted a gender specif-

ic definition of rape, government'sordinance has made it gender neutral.

Also, Verma panel's recommendation

that no sanction will be required if the

armed forces personnel are accused of

a crime against woman has been turned

down," she said.

"We were also in favour of recom-

mendation that recognised marital

rape. But this ordinance instead of

strengthening the law will derail the

issue," Farooqui said.

She also said that government's per-

mission should not be required to pur-

sue cases where public servants are

accused of rape.

"Why should the government

decide which cases are fake. Let the

courts take a call on that. Also, com-

mand responsibility should be fixed

where the armed forces are involved,"

argued Krishnan.

The protesting groups said they will

continue their demonstrations to build

pressure on the government.

"The government might have want-

ed to push the ordinance to give a mes-

sage that it is moving fast on the issue

of violence against women. But this

should happen in a transparent manner.

We will not defuse the pressure and

will continue to push for our

demands," she added.

Krishnan said women's groups will

carry out a signature campaign in

favour of implementing Justice

Verma's recommendations.

"From February 21, we will all

gather here at Jantar Mantar to hold a

people's watch over Parliament to

make sure that Justice Verma's recom-

mendations are implemented," she

said. The women's groups have been

protesting against the ordinance, say-

ing it ignored several recommenda-

tions of the Justice Verma committee.

President Pranab Mukherjee yester-

day promulgated the Ordinance under

which rape that leads to death of the

victim can attract death penalty.

The Union Cabinet on Friday rec-

ommended the draft of the ordinance

to the President for his assent in a bid

to fast-track stringent amendments to

the criminal laws to check crime

against women. The ordinance came

less than three weeks before the start of

the Budget Session of Parliament.

The ordinance, based on the recom-

mendations of the Justice J S Verma

Committee and going beyond, also

proposes to replace the word 'rape'

with 'sexual assault' to expand the def-

inition of all types sexual crimes

against women

CWG scam...

the trial will begin and the court

will summon prosecution witnesses in

the case.

According to the CBI, the selection

process for awarding the contract took

around three years. Swiss Timing's

first presentation was made one year

after the publication of expression of

interest. This was issued by Lalit

Bhanot without the knowledge of

Organising Committee's finance

department.

Swiss Timing itself recorded Rs 18

crore as escalation cost due to delays.

VK Verma then changed the eligibility

criteria of the TSR deal without bring-

ing it to the notice of OC executive

board and Kalmadi ensured the com-

mittee formed to approve the TSR deal

consisted of those who favoured Swiss

Timing. VK Gautam and Sujit

Panigrahi were forced to resign from

their positions in the OC as they

opposed the choice of Swiss Timing.

An overall loss of Rs 90 crore was

incurred due to awarding the contractto Swiss Timing.

BJP welcomes...

about the other recommendations

of the Shunglu Committee, which was

constituted by Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh to examine the

entire CAG (Comptroller and Auditor

General) report pertaining to the

Commonwealth Games, BJP

spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad

told reporters here.

"The Shunglu Committee has given

very stringent comments against the

collusion and inaction of the Sheila

Dikshit government. It has used an

expression, 'there was a method in the

madness'," he said. Prasad said,

"Manmohan Singh had assured the

house that he would take appropriate

follow up action in the light of the con-

clusion and recommendations of theShunglu Committee."

"The BJP would like to know

whether the prime minister will allow

the CBI (Central Bureau of

Investigation) to fairly and honestly

investigate the role of the entire Sheila

Dikshit government as far as massive

irregularities relating to the prepara-

tions are concerned," he said.

Rajnath asks ...

His appeal came a day after VHP

leader Ashok Singhal openly said

Modi should be declared the PM can-

didate by the party.

"If people themselves are demand-

ing that Modi should be made the PM

candidate then BJP will also have to

think about it. Such a thing is happen-

ing for the first time. After all, the BJP

president himself has said that Modi at

present is their most popular leader,"

Singhal said.

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha

and noted criminal lawyer Ram

Jethmalani have last month openly

endorsed Modi's name as prime minis-

terial candidate. The other BJP leaders

have been so far evasive on this issue.

NDA allies like the Janata Dal-

United (JD-U) have indicated that

Modi's name is not acceptable to them.

The Shiv Sena had earlier said that

Sushma Swaraj is its first choice for

the prime ministerial candidate in

2014.

BJYM announces..

Sachin Gupta (Ramnagar), Neelam

Langeh (Ramban), Ishant Gupta,

Sudesh Kumar Sethu, Mackson Bharti

and Ajay Pargal are nominated as State

Secretaries. Mohinder Pratap Gupta as

State Treasure and Tarun Sharma is

nominated as New State Media

Secretary and Suza Iqbal Khan as

Additional Media Secretary while Dr.

Gurpreet Singh Khalsa (Cancer

Specialist), Fayaz Ahmed and

Jamyang Tsering Namgyal are nomi-

nated as Spokesperson s. Honey Singh

Jamwal and Rajeev Dubey as State

Publicity Secretaries. Vikas Sharma is

nominated as State Office Secretary.

State Unit of BJYM has also

announced i ts seven new district

Presidents with Ajay Vaid as President

Jammu district, Rajesh Choudhary as

President R.S. Pura, Vikas Choudhary

as President Akhnoor (Jammu Rural),

Sudershan Singh as President Reasi,

Amit Gupta as President Ramban,

Ashish Sharma as President Kishtwar

and Prince Sharma as District

President Poonch, where as District

Presidents of Kathua, Basoli, Samba,

Udhampur, Doda, Sunderbani-

Nowshera and Rajouri shall be

finalised shortly after the consultation

with local BJP units. Provincial and the

District Bodies of Kashmir valley and

the Ladakh region are being finalised.

BJP's PM...

BJP on this issue.

After releasing the BJP manifesto

for the Feb 14 Tripura elections, Naqvi

said at least eight important political

parties would soon join the National

Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Refusing to disclose their names, he

said some of them were earlier BJP

allies. "Manmohan Singh is a prime

minister on deputation with remote

control in Sonia Gandhi and Rahul

Gandhi's hands," Naqvi said.

He added: "Our rivals portray the

BJP as a Hindutva party although ours

is a nationalistic party.

"Even though several northeastern

states are Christian-dominated states,

the BJP's aim is to develop each part of

the region."

The BJP has fielded several candi-dates in all three northeastern states

which will see elections this month:

Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya.

Karnataka Budget...

and suggestion from opposition

parties, when his attention was drawn

to opposition criticisms on his govern-

ment.

In the event of Assembly elections

approaching shortly, the Governor

appealed to the people of Karnataka to

actively participate in the electoral

process and urged the legislators to

play a constructive and effective role

for the formulation of people friendly

policies. On the other hand, the leader

of the Opposition in the Assembly

Siddaramaiah has termed Governor's

speech as bundle of lies.

He said that the Government has

made Governor to read lies. Replyingabout the question of no confidence

motion, Siddaramaiah said they will

not move 'no confidence motion' as

they do not have required numbers in

the House. He however added that the

Government has no moral right to

present the budget. He said technically

speaking the Government has simple

majority now, but with Yeddyurappa's

supporters resigning by the day, the

Government will fall soon.

Days ahead of the session, 13 rebel

BJP MLAs loyal to former Chief

Minister and Karnataka Janata Party

president BS Yeddyurappa had submit-

ted their resignations from the House

membership to Speaker KG Bopaiah,

who accepted 12 and rejected one on

technical grounds.

One more BJP MLA had submitted

his resignation on Feb 1, but its fate is

yet to be known.

The development posed no threat to

the six month-old Shettar ministry as

the effective strength of the 224-mem-

ber House has been reduced with 12

more seats falling vacant in addition to

the two earlier. With the acceptance of

resignation of 12 MLAs, the BJP now

has a strength of 105, Congress 71,

JDS 26, independents seven (one of

whom is supporting the Government

and is in the Ministry) and the Speaker.

'Will not move ...

different and it's in minority as some

of the ministers supporting former

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa are

only continuing in office "to loot", Mr

Siddaramaiah alleged.

"The government will fall on its

own", he said and likened the step to

move a no-trust motion as "flogging a

dead horse"."If government respects

the Constitution, it should recommend

dissolution of the House, and seek a

fresh mandate', Mr Siddaramaiah

added.

In the 211-member House, after

acceptance of resignation of 12 MLAs

and two vacancies, the ruling BJP has

a strength of 108, including an inde-

pendent who is a minister, a nominated

member and the Speaker. The BJP

headcount includes two members who

have tendered their resignations, yet to

be accepted by the Speaker K G

Bopaiah. Assembly elections are due

in Karnataka in May.

Cold conditions....

connecting the Kashmir valley with

the rest of the country has been closed

due to landslides, triggered by heavy

rains and fresh snowfall. Met depart-

ment has already issued a forecast for

heavy to very heavy rains and snowfall

for two days from tomorrow in the

Pirpanjal range, including the highway.

Surface and air transport are also like-

ly to get affected due to this Western

Disturbances.

A cloudy day greeted Delhiites

today with parts of the national capital

witnessing rains overnight and in the

early hours. The minimum temperature

this morning was recorded 11.7

degrees Celsius, three notches above

normal, it is likely to dip later in the

day. The Met department has predicted

more rain as well as hailstorm for

Delhi today, accompanied by strong

winds, which is expected to bring back

the chill.

In Rajashthan, Cold conditions

today subsided in parts of the state

where Sriganganagar recorded the

lowest temperature of 11.2 degrees

Celsius. Other places including the

state capital recorded minimum tem-

perature between 13 degrees to 17.3

degrees Celsius.The MET department

has predicted light rains at isolatedareas in the state.

Light to moderate rains lashed most

parts of Punjab and Haryana though

minimum temperature rose sharply by

up to eight notches above normal in

both the states. Chandigarh recorded a

minimum of 13.7 deg celsius, up by

seven notches above normal.

The city also witnessed rainfall of

3.8 mm. In Haryana, Ambala, Karnal

and Narnaul settled at 14.2 degree

Celsius while Hisar had a low of 14.6

degree up by 8 degrees above normal.

The MeTin its forecast said light to

moderate rain may continue in next 48

hours, while hailstorm or thunderstorm

may occur at isolated places in Punjab

and Haryana.

Jammu Marathon...

go through BC Road, Kachi

Chawni, Parade, Gumat to finally endback at MAM stadium.

Appreciating the initiative, the

Minister asked the organizers to attach

a slogan for the marathon so that more

and more people feel inclined to it.

Mr. Taj directed the Secretary,

Sports Council to facilitate conduct of

the race in the most hassle free manner.

He assured the organizers of the race

all help in making the event a success.

The Minister said Government is

very keen to inculcate sports culture

among youth of the State and organiz-

ing such events would go a long way in

this direction. He said Government is

contemplating more and more events

to benefit youth.

Secretary, Sports Council, Mr.

Dileep Thusoo and representatives of

the managing committee were present

in the meeting.

ED slaps...

to Rs 98.5 crore plus some other sim-

ilar notices earlier, sources said.

While a Rs 50 crore penalty has

been slapped on Jaipur IPL Cricket

Private Limited (JIPL) and its direc-

tors, owners of Rajasthan Royals, Rs

34 crore notice for evasion of forex

duties has been issued against EM

Sporting Holding, Mauritius and its

directors.

A fresh notice of Rs 14.5 crore has

been issued against Ms ND

Investments, United Kingdom and its

directors.

All the three parties can appeal

against this penalty order in the appel-

late authority of FEMA. The order

requires the IPL team to pay up in 45

days.

The ED has been investigating

financial and foreign exchange irregu-

larities against all the IPL franchises

for almost two years now and this is

the first big order against any team. It

comes just a day after auctions con-

cluded in Chennai for the sixth edition

of the glamorous cricket extravaganza.

The penalty order said the probe

agency found that foreign investment

in JIPL was made in "flagrant contra-

vention of FEMA" and the investment

made in this regard was made "much

prior to the incorporation of JIPL".

The penalty was issued after inves-

tigations pointed out that the funds in

the firm have been remitted in an irreg-

ular manner and shares were allegedly

issued in violation of forex rules stipu-

lated and framed by the RBI.

High court ...

Indermeet Kaur sought response

from both political parties within three

weeks and posted the matter for March

19. The court earlier sought response

from the home ministry and the

Election Commission saying it will go

through their responses before asking

the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) to respond.

LS polls...

in the state capital and carry out exten-

sive campaigning in favour of the party

in their respective areas.

Samajwadi Party has to repeat the

history of UP assembly elections in

Lok Sabha polls, he said, adding that

the top priority should be to achieve

the target of winning maximum seats

in Lok Sabha elections.

The SP supremo said more the

number of party candidates winning

the polls, more the party would gain a

decisive role in national politics.

Two-day strike...

Yechury said on the sidelines of a

programme here.

Trade unions CITU, INTUC,

AITUC, BMS and Left-backed bank-ing sector unions have jointly called

the country-wide general strike oppos-

ing financial sector reforms and allow-

ing FDI in retail on February 20 and

21.

UP spends...

person who has applied for securi-

ty from the state and thereafter the

home department approves it," Singh

said.

Government sources said that more

than 10,000 applications requesting

security cover are pending before the

home department and the officials are

at their wits' end handling them.

They point out that the "craze for

'sarkari suraksha' (state security)" is

bigger under the ruling Samajwadi

Party (SP). "With the state hard-

pressed for police, the situation is sad.

Crime rate is soaring and people arelooking for better security mecha-

nism," said a police officer.

Security cover taken away from

civil police force impeded not only

routine policing but also burnt a hole

into the state's coffers, the officer said.

Slathia inauguratedseveral Developmental

Works Worth Rs 93lacs in Bari -BrahamnaJAMMU 4 FEB : Surjit Singh Slathia

,MLAVijaypur , Senior Vice President

and Former Minister of J&K state

today inaugurated several

Developmental works worth Rs 93 lacs

which include lanes and Drains and

link road along distributory in Bari

Brahamna .

On the occasion, Slathia said that

National Conference leadership is

determined to fulfill promises made

with the people during the elections.

National Conference does not believe

in hollow slogans but is committed for

the upliftment of down trodden and

poor sections of the society. He said

challenges ahead are serious but, pres-

ent coalition government under the

leadership of dynamic young Chief

Minister Mr. Omar Abdullah is com-

mitted to give justice to the people of

the state & ensure equitable develop-

ment of all the three regions of the

state. He further said that the coalition

government has made a holistic devel-

opment and has achieved visible sig-

nificance during the last four years in

various fields like education, tourism,

empowerment, road connectivity, pub-

lic dealing etc. He assured the people

that National Conference has always

been their voice for their aspirations

and feelings and will be on the fore-

front to mitigate their sufferings.

Employment fairpostponed

DODA, FEB 04: Two days

Employment Fair which was sched-

uled to be held with effect from 05-02-

2013 to 06-02-2013 at Government

Higher Secondary School Bhagwah

has been postponed due to some

unavoidable circumstances. Fresh

dates shall be intimated later on.

STUDENT AGE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 20132

Contd. from page 1... Cadet dies duringtraining at NDA

MUMBAI: Asecond year (fourth term) Army

Cadet, Ajitesh Anuj Goel (19), of the National

Defence Academy (NDA) expired on the

night of 2 February 2013 whilst participating

in a routine training activity, which was being

conducted in accordance with the promulgat-

ed programme.

The fourth term cadets were being given

practical exposure in the aspects of night nav-

igation and map reading.

This activity, conducted each term within

the geographical limits of the academy, is part

of exposing the cadets to the various aspects

of field craft; and was supervised by group of

trained instructors with proper medical cover.

This training exposure focuses on technical

map reading skills and to facilitate better

supervision.

The entire 4th term course was split into

two groups of approximately 180 cadets in

each group.

The cadet was part of the first of the two

groups. Only the first group took part in night

navigation training on 2nd February.

The cadet collapsed short of the finishing

point at around and immediate CPR was

administered on site.

He was then rushed to the Military

Hospital located within the NDA campus, but

could not be revived. FIR was lodged at the

Uttam Nagar Police Station, Pune.The cadet's body was handed over to his

father and all the administrative arrangements

made for an officer to escort the body by air to

Delhi, and onward to his home town,

Kashipur, Uttrakhand; and to be present till

completion of last rites. An internal enquiry on

the incident leading to the loss of life has been

initiated.

Vikar for adequateessential services in winter

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 04: Minister of State

for Technical Education and Information,

Vikar Rasool, has said that necessary instruc-

tions have already been passed to ensure ade-

quate power supply especially in rural and far-

flung areas in the winter months.

The Minister was interacting with a depu-

tation form Poonch led by MLA, Aijaz Jan.

The Deputationists, while expressing

thanks for speedy restoration of power supply

in Poonch district, said that they are grateful tothe government. They also demanded alloca-

tion of additional funds for the border districts

besides seeking early payment under MGN-

REGA.

Vikar assured the deputationists that all

their problems and genuine demands would be

looked into for an early redressal. He said that

the government is committed to ensure that

the people of the State get better facilities. In

this regard, instructions have already been

conveyed to the concerned for ensuring ade-

quate supply of essential services especially

power supply in border district of Poonch and

other such parts of the State.

JKSPDC wins National FootballTournament

JAMMU, JANUARY 4: The Jammu &

Kashmir State Power Development

Corporation has won the "All India Invitation

Malwa Football Tournament 2013".

The JKSPDC's football team defeated

Sahara India Lucknow by 2-0 in the final

played here today at Sironj in Badesha district

of Madya Pradesh winning a prize money of

Rs 1,00,000 with cash reward of Rs 11000/=

each for man of the match (Gulzar) and the

man of the tournament (Damny).

The team has clinched this prestigious

tournament for the second time in a short span

of 2 years since its inception.

The corporation has expressed gratitude to

Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, who is the

Chairman of the Corporation and its

Managing Director, Basharat Ahmad Dhar for

taking keen interest in development of the

team. Besides, contribution of Manager,

Iftikhar Kakroo, Coach, Abdul Majeed and

Assistant Coach, Rajinder Choudhary was

also recognized. The team is now leaving for

Nagpur to participate in another National level

tournament to be held from 7th February 2013

to 17th February 2013.

Snowfall Control Rooms estab-lished at Kupwara

KUPWARA, FEBRUARY 04: On the

instructions of Divisional Commissioner,

Kashmir as the fresh western disturbances are

approaching due to moderate to heavy snow-

fall is expected from February 03 to 07, 2013,

the District Administration Kupwara has

issued weather warning forecast of snowfall.

All the concerned departments have been

directed to remain vigilant and not to leave the

headquarters to meet any eventuality and keep

close contact with Police Control Rooms of

Kupwara and Handwara on contact Nos.

01955-252451, 01955-262295, 01955-252280

and 9419046946 respectively.

Page 2_Defence_Bali.qxd 2/5/2013 9:55 AM Page 1


3/8

STATESTUDENT AGE


NEWS IN BOX

Ban light bulbs instate govt offices

JAMMU, FEB 04: State Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had

decided to ban use of incandescent bulbs in government and

public buildings in the state to cut down on power bills.

The chief minister, who also holds the power portfolio in

the state, posted on his Twitter site: "Am going to move a

proposal in the cabinet to ban the use of incandescent bulbs

in govt & public buildings. Can't sustain power losses."

The incandescent bulbs are likely to be replaced by com-

pact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, which consume less

power. The state spends around Rs.4,000 crore annually on

its electric power import bill for use by its consumers but low

recoveries have led to mounting losses. "The total recovery

by way of electric tariff does not exceed Rs.1,500 crore anu-

ally," said an engineer of the department here. The power

tariff in the state is the lowest in the country after Sikkim,

while the transmission and distribution losses (T&D) losses

are around 65 percent. The Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and

Kashmir government has been focusing on setting up new

micro and macro electric power generating units in the state,

which include the Chenab Valley Power Development

Corporation on Chenab river from which 10,000 mega watt

(MW) of power could be generated

4 injured, one missing asavalanche hits Banihal town

BANIHAL : Four persons were injured as avalanche hit

mountainous belt of Banihal in Ramban district of Jammu

and Kashmir Monday. Ten persons, including four women,were trapped in the avalanche triggered in Mahoo-Mangit

mountainous belt of the region, said Anil Magotra,

Superintendent of Police Ramban. An operation was

launched by security forces with the help of civilians, and

nine of them were rescued. One person, Ali Mohammad,

was missing, the SP said adding that operation to trace him

was on. Four of rescued persons have been hospitalised due

to their critical condition, officials said.

Kundal chairs Petition Committee meet

JAMMU, FEB 04: The Committee on Petitions (PC) of

Jammu and Kashmir, Legislative Council today discussed

the LAWDAreport with regard to land compensation peti-

tion filed by Mr. Ali Mohammad Renu and Ghulam

Mohammad Renu, Nandpura, Srinagar.

The Committee, which met here today under the

Chairmanship of Mr. B. R. Kundal, discussed the report

received from LAWDA on the subject under the examina-

tion. The committee directed Vice Chairman, LAWDA to

take necessary action on the order passed by the Divisional

Commissioner, Kashmir, in the year, 2009 with regard to the

subject and submit action taken report to the Committeebefore the next meeting. The committee directed the Vice

Chairman LAWDA to issue the warrant to recover the com-

pensation from the wrongful person and also lodge the FIR

against them and start investigation in this regard.

Legislators, Ch. Nizam-ud-Din Khatana, Mr. Naresh

Kumar Gupta, Mr. Ghulam Qadir Pardesi, Master Noor

Hussain and Dr. Shahnaz Ganai, besides officers and offi-

cials of the Legislative Council attended the meeting.

Vice Chairman, LAWDA, Mr. Irfan was Yaseen also pres-

ent on the occasion.

3-days sale-cum-exhibition of Khadi & VillageIndustries products concludes

SAMBA, FEB 04: Athree day sale-cum-exhibition of Khadi

& Village Industries Products manufactured by the artisans

of J&K Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVIB) conclud-

ed today at Block Development Officer complex Vijaypur.

The people from adjoining villages thronged in hundreds to

the place and showed their keen interest in the products man-

ufactured by the entrepreneurs of KVIB. Asale of Rs. 3.65

lakhs in total was recorded during the three days exhibition.

The District Officer KVIB Samba Santosh Saraf distrib-

uted the certificates of participation among the participants.

He appealed to the unemployed youth to take inspiration

from these successful entrepreneurs and setup their own

income generating units. He assured of all possible help from

the KVIB Department in establishing their units.

1st batch of diploma holders leave for ApolloFoundation Vadodara under Udaan scheme

JAMMU, FEB 04: 1st batch of 63 selected Diploma holders

from the State left today by train for Vadodara Gujarat for

Apollo Foundation for training and placement under Udaan

scheme in collaboration with National Skill Development

Corporation of India. Mr. Shabir Ahmed Mobilization

Executive of Apollo Technical Education Foundation accom-

panied the batch from Jammu Railway Station.

The batch was seen off by Er. Neetu Maini, Principal of

Government Polytechnic Jammu and Mr. Hamid Malik,

Training and Placement Officer at the railway station. The

students were asked to work with dedication.

Health check up conducted at GM School Majheen

JAMMU, FEB 04: A school health checkup of children of

Government Middle School Majheen was conducted by Dr.

Abdul Shabir a renowned paediatrician and neonatologist of

J&K, Health Department. The programme was inaugurated

by Zonal Education Officer Gandhi Nagar S. Santokh Singh

in presence of head of Panchayat Chowdhary Alam Din.

About 300 children of Majheen, Sidhra and adjoining

locality were examined and provided free consultation and

medicines under school health programme.

Head Master of School Mr. Raj Kumar Uppal briefed the

gathering about the importance of health and hygiene in the

building stage of children. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Nodal Teacher

for implementing WIFS (Weekly Iron Folic Acid

Supplementation) of Gandhi Nagar Zone highlighted the ini-

tiative taken by NRHM where free medicine and treatment

being provided to the children.

SRINAGAR: The hardline

faction of Hurriyat

Conference on Monday dis-

tanced itself from the 'decree'

issued by grand mufti of

Jammu and Kashmir, that

had termed singing as "un-

Islamic", even as it dis-

missed the reported threats to

the Valley's maiden all-girls

rock-band as "mere propa-

ganda".

"We disassociate our-

selves from the 'fatwa' issued

by Mufti Bashiruddin (grand

mufti of Jammu and

Kashmir). People do not

recognise him as grand mufti

(chief cleric)... Only the gov-

ernment recognises him,"

Hurriyat Conference

spokesman Ayaz Akbar

souces said.

Akbar termed the decrees

issued by the grand mufti as

"mysterious" saying such

things give rise "lawlessness

in the society".

"It is mysterious...The

way he issues fatwas...It aris-

es lawlessness," Akbar said,

adding fatwas can be issued

only when a nation is gov-

erned under Shariah rule.

The Hurriyat spokesman

also dismissed as "mere

propaganda" the reported

threats to the rock-band

'Pragaash', saying "a big

bomb is being made out of

the issue".

"There is no threat to the

girls. Nobody has issued any

threats.

It is a mere propaganda

by Indian media and they are

making a big bomb out of a

normal issue to defame

Kashmiris," he said.

Akbar said some young-

sters posting abuses on social

networking sites cannot be

termed as threat, adding

Hurriyat does not support

such abuse or coercion and

force in any way.

The teenage girls, who

came to limelight in late

December last year after

their scintillating perform-

ance at the annual 'Battle of

the Bands' competition here

received online threats and

absurd comments, leaving

their parents a worried lot

and forcing them to keep a

low profile.

The girls had defied the

convention by stepping into

the male-dominated bastion

and faced online threats and

abuses from conservative

sections of the society.

Grand mufti Bashiruddin

Ahmad yesterday issued a

decree terming singing as

un-Islamic.

"I have said that singing

is not in accordance with

Islamic teachings," Ahmad

sources said.

Mufti said he has advised

the members of the band to

abandon singing as it is

against Islamic teachings and

will not help them in playing

any constructive role in the

society.

"Society cannot be built

or developed by doing un-

Islamic acts like singing. I

have advised these girls, and

other Muslims as well, to

stay within the limits of

modesty as prescribed for

them," he added.

Hardline Hurriyat distances itself from grand mufti's decree

BJP praises Omar,takes on critics ofKashmir's all-girl

rock bandNEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: With Kashmir's

first all-girl rock band now facing a fatwa

from Muslim clerics after threats on social

networking sites, Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) vice president Najma Heptulla on

Monday said that such restrictions under the

banner of religion are not correct."I think this is not justice for religion. If

you don't like the songs, then you should not

listen to them, but to cite religion as an excuse

to restrict them from singing is just wrong,"

she said.

Muslim cleric Khalid Rashid, however,

supported the diktat and threat and termed the

band as ''against the culture and traditions of

India''.

"I think that their decision and their con-

cern regarding the rock band and music are

completely according to the basic tenants of

Islam and such kind of music and such kind

of rock bands are not allowed as far as Islamic

teachings are concerned. And they are against

the Indian culture and tradition and they also

promote noise pollution," he told the media in

Lucknow.

Support has poured in for the Kashmir

Valley's first all-girl rock band Pragaash, who

have now stopped live shows following

threats and criticism on social networkingsites, from all sections of the society, includ-

ing National Commission for Women (NCW)

chairperson Mamta Sharma.

After threats, Kashmir's first all girls

music band is now facing a fatwa from

Muslim clerics.

Kashmir's Grand Mufti has condemned

the rock band and issued a fatwa against

them, saying music is bad for the society and

women must be under a veil at all times.

The criticisms have hit the morale of these

young girls, but they have remained defiant

and are fighting on. 16-year-old Nazir is the

vocalist and guitarist, while Khalid is the bass

guitarist and

Deeba is the drummer. Both Khalid and

Deeba are 15 years old.

The focus of this band, which is decided

against public performances for now, is on

producing an album.

The band Pragaash, which means from

darkness to light, was formed last year.

Singers can't besilenced by morons:Omar Abdullah on

all-girl bandSRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief

Minister Omar Abdullah has come down

heavily on those threatening the three young

girls who have formed the Valley's only rock

band, Pragaash, and Monday promised police

investigations into the threats.

He encouraged the girls, saying their talent

should not be stymied by "a handful of

morons who are trying to silence them".

Late Sunday evening, Kashmir's Grand

Mufti (head priest) Mufti Bashiruddin had

issued a 'fatwa' (religious decree) against the

singing of the girls, and criticised the govern-

ment for "trying to encourage a shameless

act".

The chief minister, however, was unfazed

and poured scorn on the 'fatwa'.

"Given the importance people attach to the

fatwas of the Grand Mufti, the less said the

better," he tweeted.

The three local girls formed the Valley's

only girls' rock band last year. The girls had

earlier received threats on social media. Local

police have begun investigations into the

threats, and the girls have taken a break from

performing.

The girls' band attracted public attention

when they finished third in a local competi-

tion, 'Battle of Bands' last month.

Sham conducts surpriseinspections of PHE

establishments, ordersattachment of AEE

JAMMU, FEB 04: Taking a tough stance

against the poor performers, the Minister for

PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Mr Sham

Lal Sharma today attached a AEE of City

Division with the Chief Engineer and sought

explanation from two Executive Engineers of

I & II City Divisions for their unsatisfactory

functioning.

During his maiden surprise inspection of

City Division, Gandhi Nagar and Sitli

Division, after taking the charge of PHE here

today, the Minister asked the officers and

employees to change their attitude and ensure

work culture and accountability in their func-

tioning. Anybody found lacking in his per-

formance would face action as warranted

under law, he warned. He said the

Department has already issued an advisory

after introductory meeting of the officers for

improving work culture and efficiency in the

offices and these instructions should be fol-

lowed strictly.

He stressed the need for rationalization of

staff in different divisions for smooth func-

tioning. He said those indulging in corrupt

practices and skipping duties will face strict

action. Every head of the institution will be

accountable for the functioning of their estab-

lishments and they have to maintain the trans-

parency and efficiency in the overall func-

tioning, he asserted.

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 04: The

Minister for Higher Education,

Mr. Muhammad Akbar Lone

today said that a Project

Monitoring and Coordination

Cell (PMCC) would be constitut-

ed in Higher Education

Department to oversee develop-

ment of infrastructure, including

College buildings.Chairing a high level meeting

convened to review the status of

work on various college build-

ings in Jammu region, the

Minister asked the executing

agencies, the Roads and

Buildings Department and

Jammu and Kashmir Projects

Construction Corporation

(JKPCC) to complete the works

in a time bound manner. He said

the process for the constitution of

the Monitoring Cell would be

soon started which would have

experts and planners as members.

Mr Lone directed the execut-

ing agencies to speed up the pace

of work on under construction

college buildings and other allied

infrastructure to ensure comple-

tion in a time bound manner. He

warned that any lapses on the part

of the department or executing

agencies will not be tolerated and

stern action under rules shall be

initiated against the erring offi-

cials.

The Minister directed the con-

cerned to complete the construc-

tion work on Rs 2.05 crore

Auditorium of Government M. A.

M. College, Jammu by ending

April this year. He also directed

PHE authorities to ensure

replacement of the water pipes

damaged due to construction of

flyover at Government Women

Colleges Gandhi Nagar within a

week's time for which Rs 6 lakh

has already been released. He

asked the PHE authorities to sup-

ply the water to the college

through water tankers till the nor-

mal supply was restored. He also

directed the R&B Department to

complete the construction work

of GCW Gandhinagar boundary

wall by the end of this month, for

which the government has

already sanctioned Rs 60.78

lakhs.

While taking stock of func-

tioning of the GGM Science

College, Jammu and Amar Singh

College, Srinagar, Mr. Lone

directed for preparing compre-

hensive Detailed Project Reports

(DPRs) for conserving these col-

leges as heritage institutions of

the State. In this pursuit, he asked

the Higher Education Department

to depute a team of officers and

engineers for conducting survey

and preparation of the reports so

that the funds could be arranged

accordingly.

Detailed deliberations were

held on acquisition of land,

removing of bottle-necks,

process of floating tenders andspeedy construction of the build-

ings already sanctioned for new

colleges in the State. The

Minister directed the concerned

District Development

Commissioners to settle the

issues, if any, with the help of

local representatives of the area

and ensure that the colleges are

made functional at an earliest.

Earlier, the Minster reviewed

over all working of the

Department and stressed for

quick disposal of official proce-

dure. He directed the Principals

of the Colleges to ensure punctu-

ality and attendance of the staff

and students in the class rooms.

He also stressed for proper main-

tenance of the Laboratories and

other crucial sections within the

college campuses.

Monitoring Cell to oversee constructionof college buildings: Lone

Minister for Higher Education, Mr. Muhammad Akbar Lone Chairing a highlevel meeting at Jammu.

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 04:

Minister for Agriculture, Mr.

Ghulam Hassan Mir today said

that achieving high quality stan-

dards in education was impera-

tive for socio- economic develop-

ment of the State.

The Minister was addressing a

gathering after inaugurating the

Girls Higher Secondary Institute

opened by Galaxy Group of

Educational institutions, here at

Saink Colony here this afternoon.

The Minister said that during

last two decades a lot has been

done to upgrade the educational

infrastructure both by govern-

ment and private sector across the

state and need of the hour was to

improve quality of education to

help students to achieve excel-

lence.

Saying that the private sector

has helped to infuse the competi-

tion in education sector, the

Minister stressed for introduction

of job oriented courses so that

human resources produced by

different educational institutions

could be utilized for the nation

building.

On the occasion, the Minster

also distributed blankets among

the needy people provided by the

organization.

Earlier, the students of the

institute also presented variety

cultural programme.

High quality standards in education imperative for socio- economic growth: Mir

Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir distributing blankets to

JAMMU, JAN 4: Underscoring the need

for timely submission of next fiscal State

Programme Implementation Plan (SPIP)

of the State to the Centre for approval

under National Rural Health Mission, the

Minister of State for Health, Mr. Shabir

Ahmad Khan has stressed upon the con-

cerned functionaries of Health depart-

ment to incorporate all the deficiencies in

the plan for overall development of

healthcare facilities in the State.

Chairing a meeting of Health

Department and State NRHM Society

here on Monday, convened to discuss pro-

posed SPI plan for 2013-14 of the State

under NRHM, the Minister exhorted upon

the concerned authorities to double their

efforts and ensure time bound completion

of ongoing health projects and other

health care facilities under implementa-

tion in the State under NRHM funding.

He said that non utilization of funds

besides l ate submis sion of utilization cer-

tificates of the projects obstruct in the

release of funds and inflate next year's

allocation under the Mission.

The meeting discussed the components

of proposed plan formulated by State

NRHM Society for next financial year

under which the Society has proposed to

include some new initiatives to improve

health care facilities.

The Minister said that due considera-

tion in the next year plan should be given

for up gradation of health infrastructure

and setting up of health centers in diffi-

cult areas where health centers not estab-

lished and people suffered lot for want of

these

Earlier, Mission Director, NRHM, Dr.

Yashpal, gave a power point presentation

on the proposed plan, besides the physical

and financial achievements registered in

the State under the Mission.

He informed that Society has formulat-

ed the draft SPIP 2013-14 for Rs. 568.99

crore as per the guidelines of Union

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on

the inputs received from Health Services,

ISM, Medical Education Departments and

District Health Societies.

Commissioner Secretary, Health and

Medical Education, Mr. M K Dwivedi,

Mission Director NRHM, Dr. Yashpal

Sharma, Director Health Services,

Jammu, Dr. Madhu Khullar, Director

Family Welfare, Dr Kassar, besides senior

officers of Health, NRHM Society,

Planning and Finance wings of Health

Departments attended the meeting.

Shabir chairs NRHM Society meeting, asksfor incorporation of all deficits in the plan

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STATESTUDENT AGE


SRINAGAR FEBRUARY

4: Reiterating that the

Government attaches much

significance to good and cor-

dial relationship between

administration and the trade

and industry, the Minister for

Finance and Ladakh Affairs,

Mr. Abdul Rahim Rather

today said that effective and

judicious use of resources

and better deliverance of

services to the citizens is the

main policy framework of

the states planning process

and its implementation on

the ground.

Speaking at marathon

seven hours long pre-budget

discussions with the nomi-

nated representatives of

Kashmir Chamber of

Commerce and Industries

(KCCI), Kashmir Hotel

Restaurant Owners

Federation (KHAROF),

Kashmir Hotel and

Restaurant Associations

(KHARA), Kashmir Traders

& Manufacturers Federation

(KTME), Federation

Chamber of Industries,

Kashmir (FCI), Transporters

Federation, Goods carriers

Transport Association and

the Association of Kashmir

Motors and Drivers

Association at the Excise &

Taxation Complex, Solina

Srinagar today, Mr. Rather

said that synergy of Ideas

between the Government and

the Civil society, including

traders and business commu-

nity, was primarily impera-

tive to harness goals and ben-

efits of various government

programmes and schemes

aimed at state's sustainable

socio-economic development

with focus on employment

generation and economic

emancipation.

The Economic Advisor to

Government, Mr. Jalil

Ahmad Khan, Commissioner

Commercial Taxes, Mr.

Kifayat Hussain Rizvi,

Director Budgets, Dr. M.

Ishaq Wani, Special

Secretary Finance, Mr.

Zubair Ahmad, Additional

Commissioner Commercial

Taxes, Mr. Rafiq Ahmad

Hakim, Deputy

Commissioner Commercial

Taxes Central, Mr. Showkat

Aijaz and other concerned

Officers were also present in

the meetings.

Mr. Rather announced

that representatives of Trade

and Industry would be

included in the permanent

grievance redressal

Committee (PGRC), so that

their grievances and

demands are heard appropri-

ately at the highest level for

immediate redressal. The

PGRC is a high powered

committee headed by the

Financial Commissioner

Finance, to address the day to

day problems. Responding

to queries of the business

community, Mr. Rather

assured that Public Private

Partnership (PPP) mode for

undertaking mega projects

and schemes will be given

first priority adding that PPP

mode of development is

emerging as the preferred

mode for the self sustained

progress and economic

development in the 12th Five

Year Plan.

He said that he has

personally ensured that pre-

budget discussion take place

with representatives of trade,

commerce and industry, civil

society, economists and intel-

lectuals, so that government

keeps itself abreasts with the

vision, inspiration and ideas

of the stakeholders and every

effort is made to accommo-

date as many ideas as possi-

ble in the new Budget pro-

posals year after year.

"There discussions bear fruit

and stakeholder in the socio-

economic development feel

as much involved in budget

preparation as Government"

Mr. Rather added.

" I have earlier also

impressed upon Union

Finance Ministry at a pre-

budget meeting with the

State Finance Ministers of

the Country held at New

Delhi to give further boost to

the PPP mode through ade-

quate budgetary initiatives to

attract additional investments

in different sectors of econo-

my", Mr. Rather added.

In response to another

query, Mr. Rather said

Government has in clear

terms asked the Officers of

Excise and Commercial

Taxes that business commu-

nity is a respectable and rea-

sonable segment of the socie-

ty and all precautions need to

be taken that no trader is

unnecessary harassed during

his dealings with the depart-

ment.

" I have strictly

instructed the Officers and

field agencies to ensure bet-

ter tax management system

at various Toll Posts of the

State so that there are 'zero

seizures', Mr. Rather said and

added that this will be a step

forward towards removing

complaints about alleged

harassment to the traders.

Last year only 2% seizures

have been registered through

test checks at Lakhanpur toll

plaza, though about 6000

vehicles move to and fro

daily through this Checkpost.

While assuring that all the

possibilities will be explored

to make the next year's

Budget proposal more people

and trader friendly, Mr.

Rather asked the business

community to discourage tax

evasion attempts by a few

unscrupulous traders and to

bring it to zero level so that

there are no seizures at all

and the system of random

checking is done away with

steadly with the passage of

time. He also sought co-

operation of trade and busi-

ness community in revenue

realization as tax revenue

was also important for devel-

opment of the state which

cannot be compromised.

Mr. Rather asked the busi-

ness community that before

implementation of Goods

and Services Tax regime in

the State alongwith other

states of the Country, all the

stake holders including trade

and Industry will be taken on

board adding that the inter-

ests of the State's people

would be protected at all lev-

els.

The representatives of the

Trade and Industry, while

thanking the Minister for

providing them an opportuni-

ty to highlight their demands,

congratulated him for

achieving the distinction of

No. 1 state in the country

with regard to tax collection,

i.e. highest tax collecting

state.

Pre budget discussion starts with stakeholders in SrinagarLakhanpur toll to be 24 x 7 checkpost for traders convenience: Rather

JAMMU, FEB 4 :

Underlining education as pri-

ority area of the government,

Deputy Chief Minister Mr.

Tara Chand said that focused

attention is being paid to

upgrade infrastructure in the

sector and to equip education

institutes with most modern

facilities. He said education

has a vital role to play in

enlightening society as well

as individuals.

Flagship programmes like

SSA and RMSA would go a

long to improve the facilities

provided in schools all

across the state, he added.

He was addressing annual

day cum prize distribution

function of one of oldest and

premier girls education insti-

tute of the city Government

Girls Higher Secondary,

Mubarak Mandi, here today.

The Deputy Chief

Minister was chief guest on

the occasion.

MLA, Jammu (East) Mr.

Ashok Khajuria,

Commissioner/ Secretary,

Education Mr. F.A. Factoo,

Director, School Education,

Jammu Ms Dev Lata, DIG

Mr. J.P. Singh, CEO, Jammu

Mr. N.R. Dingra, parents,

staff and school children

attended the grand event.

On the occasion prizes

were distributed among stu-

dents of the school who had

excelled in the different cur-

ricular and co-curricular acti-

vates.

Annual School magazine

'Sahtiya Sarita' was also

released on the occasion.

Lauding role of the teach-

ers, Mr. Tara Chand said that

the community commands

special respect in the society

and status of Guru is next to

god, adding that bond of

Guru-Sishya is a pious bond

which has special status in

every body's life.

"Education is torch light

of the society and teachers

are torchbearers who lead us

from darkness to the enlight-

ened world of knowledge,"

he added.

He said in the era of cut

throat competition right

guidance by the professional

teacher can ensure success of

student in various competi-

tive examinations at state

and national level. He appre-

ciated the performance

shown by the students of the

school and called for main-

taining the same in coming

years also.

"Besides preparing our

children in studies special

efforts need to be made to

promote moral education

among them, as morality in

society has a special signifi-

cance to curb the social

evils," he exhorted.

He said secularism,

democracy and lessons of

great leaders like Mahatma

Gandhi are to be taught to

young minds of children and

the same need to be dis-

cussed in morning assembly

sessions in the schools.

Earlier to facilitate larger

participation by the students,

Mr. Tara Chand gave instruc-

tions for shifting venue of

the function from indoor to

outdoor.

Stressing on in-service

training for teachers, the

Deputy Chief Minister said

that to update professional

skills in tune with modern

day teaching techniques the

teaching fraternity would be

sent to different institutes.

He said necessary education

reforms would also be initi-

ated in the department to fine

tune it with the changing

requirements of the educa-

tion system.

Appreciating role on

women is different spheres,

Mr. Tara Chand said Indian

women is second to none and

by hard work and dedication

women have proved their

mettle in the fields of admin-

istration, science, sports, pol-

itics and space. He said

Laxmi Bai, Sarojini Naidu,

Prime Minister Indira

Gandhi, President Mrs.

Pratibha Devi Patil, Mrs.

Sonia Gandhi, Lata

Mangeshkar, Mallika

Pukhraj and Kalpana Chawla

are some of the names of

daughters of the country on

which the nation will always

be proud of.

Education priority area, getting focused attention: Dy CM

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 04 :

Chief Minister, OmarAbdullah Monday said that

capacity building of youth and

upgradation of their skills has

been flagged as focused area

and is receiving due attention

to enhance employability of

youth to ensure them employ-

ment in open job market.

Receiving presentation on

capacity building of ITIs here

this afternoon, the Chief

Minister said that training of

trainers is key to impart mod-

ern skills to students and

ensue their placement in open

job market.

Omar Abdullah said that

with the expansion of poly-

technics and ITIs in the State

during the last four years, his

government has also initiated

various measures to introduce

new trades in these institu-

tions and provide latest train-

ing to trainers so that students

are made market ready and

job relevant.

It was informed in the

meeting that the government

has introduced a scheme of

upgradation of ITIs through

PPP mode and 34 ITIs have

been covered under this

scheme so far. As many as 30

new trades have been intro-

duced under this scheme and

40 existing trades have been

upgraded to suit market

trends. State Power

Development Corporation has

been involved as industrial

partner in five ITIs, while

NHPC, TATA Motors and

Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah

University have been

involved under the scheme to

upgrade the ITIs and make

these centres of modern skill

development.

Taj Group has also agreed

for knowledge partnership

with Jammu and Kashmir in

the field of vocational educa-

tion. The Department of

Technical Education is also

tying up with Maruti Suzuki

India, Apparel Training and

Design Centre, Foot Wear

Design and Development

Centre and Central Institute of

Plastic Engineering and

Technology for their involve-

ment in skill upgradation pro-

gramme in the State.

Under the Skill

Development for J&K Youth

Programme 9583 youth have

received training so far within

and outside the State while

1238 youth have received

training under Skill

Development Initiative (SDI)

and 1200 candidates are

undergoing training at pres-

ent.

Minister for Planning and

Development, Ajay Sadhotra,

Minister of State for Technical

Education, Viqar Rasool,

Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal,

Principal Secretary Planning

and Development, B. R.

Sharma, Principal Secretary

to the Chief Minister, B. B.

Vyas, Commissioner

Secretary Employment,

Yedullah, Director Technical

Education and representatives

of BTGT were present in the

meeting in which BTGT

made the presentation about

the module of capacity build-

ing in ITIs aimed at develop-

ing sufficient grass root level

knowledge and bring system-

atic reforms in Vocational

Institutions ensuring better

employment for youth in open

market.

Minister of State for

Technical Education said that

modernization of ITIs has

been underlined as a thrust

area by the government and

focused attention is being

given to train the trainers in

latest technology and modules

of trainings so that they in turn

impart best possible trainings

to the students.

Capacity building, skill development focused area: OmarModernization of ITIs receiving fillip: Viqar

Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand along with others during cultural function organised by Government Girls Higher Secondary, Mubarak Mandi at Jamm u.

JAMMU, FEB 04: The Departmental RelatedStanding Committing (DRSC) of Jammu and

Kashmir Legislative Council on Revenue met

today under the Chairmanship of Sheikh

Ghulam Rasool and reviewed the functioning

of the department.

The meeting discussed the issues with

regard to land settlement operations in Jammu

and Kashmir, Transfer Policy with regard to

Patwaries, disbursement of Land compensa-

tions, land acquisitions problem and vesting of

ownership rights under the Roshani scheme,

besides filling of the vacant posts of Tehsildars,

Naib Tehsildars, Girdawars and Patwaris. The

Committee as ked the department to furnish a

status report covering all these issues and

points in the next meeting.

The Legislators, Haji Ali Mohammad Bhat,

Mr. Subash Chander Gupta, Syed Asgar Ali,

Dr. Bashir Ahmed Shah (Veeri) and Sham Lal

Bhagat gave their valuable suggestions to

improve the functioning of the department.

After threadbare discussion, the

Committee was of the view that a uniformpolicy shall be adopted with respect to the evic-

tion of the encroachment on the State and for-

est land. The Committee called for adopting a

proper procedure for eviction of encroach-

ments. The members of the Committee

expressed concern over the way the eviction

was conducted in Sidhra area recently. They

were of the opinion that the drive was carried

out without any proper procedure and severing

any notice to the illegal encroachers, who

according to the reports were in possession of

the land for last more than five to ten years and

even where residing in the land/houses .

Commissioner Secretary, Revenue Mr. B. A.

Runyal, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu Mr.

Sanjeev Kumar Verma and other senior officer

of the revenue department also participated the

meeting. Earlier, the Chairman took serious

note on the absence of some concerned officers

at the meeting and expressed dissatisfaction

over the statement submitted by the department

in response to the agenda points.

DRSC reviews functioningof Revenue department

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 04:

Minister for Housing, Horticulture

and Culture Mr. Raman Bhalla has

called upon the concerned officers

to motivate the growers and traders

to ensure that quality fruit and veg-

etables were brought to the market,

adding that in this era of competi-

tion the quality control is must and

"We have to focus on this vital area

to maintain the credibility of State's

horticulture produce".

This was stated by the Minister,

while chairing a meeting of officers

of Horticulture (Planning and

Marketing), convened to review the

functioning of the department at

Narwal, here today.

Director Horticulture (Planning

and Marketing) Mr. A R Natnoo,

Managing Director, Syed Rafiq

Ahmed, Managing Director J&K

HPMC Mr. Syed Rafiq Ahmed

Furahi, Director Horticulture, Mr. J

R Sharma, besides other senior offi-

cers of the department were present

in the meeting.

Mr. Bhalla stressed for exploring

new markets to promote State's hor-

ticulture products. He said horticul-

ture was the mainstay of the state's

economy and all out efforts will be

made to promote this vital sector

appropriately across the country.

Calling for well-knit and coordi-

nated efforts to achieve the targets,

the Minister asked the officers to

put in their best efforts to enhance

the business activities in their juris-

dictions to improve the State's econ-

omy further. He stressed for regular

interaction between the officers and

traders to sort out the petty issues

and problems being faced by the

business community associated

with this trade.

In order to bring more trans-

parency in the functioning and to

respond quarries of customers with

regard to the quality and other

aspects of products and trade, the

Minister directed for arranging

awareness camps in the established

Fruit and Vegetable mandies,

adding that this would also help in

getting valuable feedback and sug-

gestions from the stakeholders to

improve the functioning of the

department.

Regarding the problems of field

functionaries, which are posted in

different parts of the State as well as

outside, Mr Bhalla assured that the

Government would create modern

infrastructure in the offices of Area

Marketing Officers according to the

present requirements at the earliest.

He said the Government acknowl-

edges their difficulties and every

effort will be made to overcome

these in a phased manner. He direct-

ed the Director Horticulture

(Planning and Marketing) to formu-

late a comprehensive proposal for

equipping the offices as per the

present needs to enhance the effica-

cy of the officers.

Earlier, the Minister also visited

fruit and vegetable mandies here at

Narwal, reviewed the facilities

being provided by the Horticulture

(Planning and Marketing) depart-

ment to the fruit and vegetable

traders. Mr. Bhalla said the

Government has approved Rs. 4.78

crore for face lifting of Phase-I and

Phase-II mandies at Narwal. He said

the places would be developed with

modern line basic amenities like

improved power, safe drinking

water, better roads besides toilet

blocks. He said Government has

also earmarked Rs. 70 lakh for con-

struction of auction platform in veg-

etable mandi, adding that the project

is nearing completion and would be

dedicated to the traders shortly.

Later, the Minister also reviewed

the functioning of Directorate of

Archives, Archeology, Museum,

Libraries , Research and Academy

of Art, Culture and Languages.

Commissioner/Secretary Culture

Mr. Atul Dulloo, Secretary, Art,

Culture and Languages Mr. Bashir

Ahmed Bhat, Consultant

Department of Culture, Mr. S K A

Qadri, Chief Engineer, R&B Mr.

Tehseen Mustafa besides other sen-

ior officers of the departments were

present in the meeting.

Mr. Bhalla said Government has

earmarked Rs. 30.76 crore for con-

struction of Shri Paratap Singh

Museum at Srinagar, besides RS.

17.40 crore for interior designing

and other ancillary works. He said

for digitization of archives records,

Government has earmarked Rs.

5.34 lakh for Phase-I 2 lakh folios,

Rs. 47.94 lakh for Phase-II 17 lakh

folios digitized besides Phase-III 50

lakh folios to be digitized during

next two years, adding that tender-

ing process is under progress.

Rs. 4.78 cr earmarked for face-lifting of Narwal F&V mandies: BhallaJAMMU 4TH FEB: A meet-

ing of State Central Labour

Union Jammu was held today

at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan

under the Chairmanship of Kr.

Rachpal Singh MLA, Central

Secetary J&K National

Conference to take stock of

the problems of labour class.

The meeting was attended

among others by PHE & PDD

labourers. While addressing

Kr. Rachpal Singh said that

the labourers are most impor-

tant part of the society and

National Conference from its

very inception has fought for

the cause of the labourers. He

said National Conference is

the party of peasants, labour-

ers and down trodden people.

It has always stood for their

welfare which is now visible

in their living style in the state

as nobody is shelter less or

sleeps without taking meals.

He further asserted that

National Conference labour

wing which is known as State

Central Labour Union is

working day in and day out to

uplift the labour class in the

daily paper february 5, 2013

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