Excelsiordaily

REGD.NO.JK-71/12-14RNI No. 28547/1992

Vol No. 49 No. 193 JAMMU, SUNDAY, JULY 14, 2013 12+4 (Magazine) = 16 Pages `̀ 3.00

INSIDE WEATHER* Captain played his inning...Page 6* Fire in Secretariat annexeKPs observe Black Day; BJP, NPP, others oppose observance of July 13 as Martyrs’ Day...Page 3BJP struggling to remainrelevant by raising Hindutavabogey: Rana ...Page 3Medical Colleges lack infrastructure for increasedintake capacity ...Page 7Upgradation of Bagh-e-Bahuaquarium hangs in balance ...Page 7Jammu wing to start reason witha bang: Chairman, VCJt Secy ...Page10

Internet Edition: www.dailyexcelsior.comE-Paper: http://epaper.dailyexcelsior.com

JAMMU Possibility of rain/ thundershower.

TEMPERATUREMax: 34.1 Degree C Min: 23.0 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYHighest: 90.0 per centLowest: 58.0 per centSunset on Sunday: 07.41 p.m.Sunrise on Monday: 05.36 a.m.

KASHMIRPossibility of rain/ thundershower.

TEMPERATUREMax: 31.9 Degree C Min: 17.1 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYHighest: 64.0 per centLowest: 39.0 per cent

Neeraj Rohmetra

JAMMU, July 13: Notwi-thstanding the fact thatCentral Government had beenliberally funding the AnnualPlan and Five Year Plan ofJammu and KashmirGovernment over the years,the latter is still dependent onformer for most of the presti-gious projects.

Top official sources dis-closed to EXCELSIOR, "severalprestigious projects, worthcrores had been submitted to dif-ferent departments for fundingpurpose", adding, "the issue wasalso officially discussed in therecent meeting of ChiefMinister, Omar Abdullah withPlanning Commission DeputyChairman, Montek SinghAhluwalia at New Delhi. TheState Government has submitteda list of several proposals/proj-ects, which were being pursuedwith Government of India at dif-ferent levels".

"Several Ministers of theCongress - National Conference(NC) coalition along with thebureaucrats of their respective

departments have been holdingparleys with their counterpartsin Centre and have submittedproposals for sanction and sub-sequent funding", sourcesremarked.

Citing various instances,official sources said, "duringdiscussion over need to makePanchayats more vibrant andeffective institutions, officialstold members of PlanningCommission that funds wererequired to make provision forproviding honorarium to all thePanchayat members and thematter was being pursued withGovernment of India (GoI)".

Talking about the need forenhancing infrastructure androad connectivity, the officialdocument submitted by theState Government to PCI says,"City Mobility Plans had beenprepared by the M/s RITEScompany after serious confab-ulations and the stage is set forsetting up of Mass and RapidTransport System in the twocapital cities of Srinagar andJammu under Public-PrivatePartnership mode (PPP)mode. The Central

Government's support isrequired to fund this propos-al".

"Proposal for 102 roadschemes worth Rs 932 crores inmilitancy hit areas on the analo-gy of Left Wing Extremists(LWE) is also under considera-tion of Ministry of HomeAffairs, GoI", the documentssays.

While discussing the needfor consolidating infrastructureand increasing irrigation poten-tial, the document says, "133Major and Medium Schemes areto be completed during thefinancial year 2013-14. Besides,125 new schemes which areaimed to bridge the gap betweenthe potential created and utilizedhad been framed and submittedto GoI for sanction and fund-ing.”

Talking about the need tofocus on Core Competenciesand the need to promote thesustainable tourism, the docu-ment says, "for promotion ofReligious Tourism, three megaprojects have been conceivedfor implementation that

Ministers, bureaucrats make beeline to Centre for presenting their case

Submitted to GoI forsanction, funding …

Jammu, Srinagar DDB meets on July 15, 17

Districts won't get anyhike in plan amount

Sanjeev PargalJAMMU, July 13: For the

third consecutive year, therewould be no hike in the annu-al plan of districts, the twocapital cities of Jammu andSrinagar could be an excep-tion, as the Government ofIndia has not increased planallocation of the State in thejust concluded plan finalisa-tion meeting in New Delhi.

The meetings of Jammu andSrinagar District DevelopmentBoards (DDBs), which are head-ed by Chief Minister OmarAbdullah himself, were sched-uled for July 15 and 17 respec-tively.

Official sources told theExcelsior that the Governmentwouldn’t be in a position toincrease the annual plan of thedistricts during current financialyear of 2013-14, as proposedearlier, in view of refusal by thePlanning Commission of Indiato increase plan amount of theState from the previous year.

This would be third consecu-tive year when there would beno hike in the districts’ annualplan. Some districts were givenadditional amount before theclosure of financial years in2011-12 and 2012-13 depending

upon their requirements andexecution of works. TheOpposition parties had, howev-er, stated that the additionalitiesto some districts were releasedon ‘political considerations’.

This year, the Governmenthad decided to pass on 10 percent increase in annual plan tothe districts, which it proposedto get from the PlanningCommission but was denied inJuly 9 meeting with theCommission.

In DDB meetings, whichhave been going on and werenearing completion, the dis-tricts were released annualplan equal to the amount theyhad been getting for the pasttwo financial years. The pro-posed 10 per cent increase inthe plan was to be extended tothe districts by the end of thisyear in the form of additional-ities.

Sources admitted that itwouldn’t be possible for theGovernment now to increaseplan allocation of the districts asit didn’t get desired increase inannual plan from the PlanningCommission of India.

The State had sought Rs8050 crores worth annual plan

Evening rhythms....... -Excelsior/Rakesh

Police foils separatist marchStrike, curfew like

restrictions paralyse life Fayaz Bukhari

SRINAGAR, July 13:Government today foiled theseparatist sponsored march toNaqashband Sahib Graveyardin old city area of Srinagar byimposing curfew like restric-tions in most parts of old cityand arresting and placingunder house arrest senior sep-aratist leaders.

Chief Minister OmarAbdullah and PDP patron MuftiMohammad Sayeed visited thegraveyard and offered floraltributes to the martyrs undertight security cover early in themorning by travelling throughdeserted streets of old city.

Normal life in rest ofKashmir valley was paralyzeddue to separatist sponsoredstrike. Police and paramilitaryforces were deployed in fullstrength at Naqashband Sahiband other parts of Old Srinagarto enforce the curfew likerestrictions. Roads to the grave-yard were blocked and peoplewere asked not to venture out.

Police and CRPF personnel,deployed in strength, sealed andsecured the graveyard atNaqashband Sahib in downtownfor the visit of Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah and his cabinetcolleagues and other top offi-cials to pay tributes to those whowere killed on July 13, 1931 out-side Srinagar Central Jail.

The curfew like restrictionswere imposed in Khanyar,Nowhatta, Khawaja Bazar,

Rainawari, Gojwara, RajouriKadal and other neighbouringlocalities. Police and CPRF did-n't allow any civilian movementin these localities.

Officials, however, saidrestrictions and prohibitoryorders under Section 144 CrPCwere in place in the city to main-tain peace. The HurriyatConference led by Syed AliGeelani and HurriyatConference (M) had asked peo-ple to visit the graveyard forprayer meeting.

Shops and other businessestablishments remained closedand transport was off the roadsdue to separatist sponsoredstrike. The Hurriyat Conferencefactions headed by Syed AliGeelani and Mirwaiz UmarFarooq had called for a strikeand march to the Graveyard.

All districts in north andsouth Kashmir also observed ashutdown. In North Kashmir,complete strike was observed inBaramulla, Kupwara,Handwara, Sopore andBandipora. Shops and businessestablishments remained closedand traffic was off the roads.

In all districts of SouthKashmir, Pulwama, Shopian,Kulgam and Anantnag completestrike was observed. Exceptvehicles of Yatris no vehiclewere plying on the roads here.

Chief Minister OmarAbdullah accompanied byFinance Minister AbdulRahim Rather, Rural

Avtar BhatJAMMU, July 13: Over 11,

000 pilgrims performed dar-shan in the holy cave on 16thday of yatra, today.

According to an officialspokesman 11,420 pilgrims per-formed darshan in holy cavetoday. With this, the total num-ber of pilgrims paying obeisancein holy cave of Swami AmarnathJi in South Kashmir district ofAnantnag since the first day ofdarshan on June 28 has reached2,25,338.

The spokesman said 4,845pilgrims left for holy cave fromBaltal base camp via shortertrack, while 4,057 pilgrims leftfrom Nunwan-Pahalgam basecamp via traditionalChandanwari track under tightsecurity arrangements today.

They include those yatrisalso who left for holy cave viachopper, spokesman added.

He said the yatris who left

for holy cave via Chandanwaritrack after halting at

Chandanwari camp, Sheshnagand Panjtarni respectively willperform darshan on July 16 in

holy cave. But the yatris wholeft from Baltal track had per-

formed darshan in the caveshrine by this evening and hadstarted their return journey also.

Spokesman said that theyatris from Chandanwari,

Sheshnag and Panchtarni haltingstations also started their

2.25 lakh pilgrims perform darshan in 16 days

Mohinder VermaJAMMU, July 13: In yet

another incident ofGovernment maintainingblind eye towards the embez-zlements and mis-utilization ofexchequer, the report ofDistrict DevelopmentCommissioner regarding 16Water Supply Schemesremaining defunct despitespending huge amount inBandipora district has beengathering dust sinceSeptember 2012.

Official sources toldEXCELSIOR that the issue ofthese defunct Water Supply

Schemes first figured in theDistrict Development Boardmeeting of Bandipora on July30, 2011 and then on June 6,2012. Keeping in view the con-cerns expressed by the legisla-tors, it was decided that theDistrict DevelopmentCommissioner Bandipora wouldconstitute a committee to exam-ine the matter and furnish thereport.

Accordingly, a committeecomprising Chief PlanningOfficer, Bandipora, AEEIrrigation and JE R&B DivisionBandipora was constituted andthe committee after conductingdetailed inquiry furnished the

report along with the recom-mendations to the DistrictDevelopment Commissioner.

On September 25, 2012, theDistrict Development Commi-ssioner vide CommunicationNo.DDC/ Bpr/ DDB/2 011-12/3008-15 submitted the reportof the committee to theCommissioner Secretary,General AdministrationDepartment, sources said. TheDDC even submitted copies ofthe report to the PrincipalSecretary, Planning andDevelopment Department,Principal Secretary to theChief Minister, CommissionerSecretary, PHE, Irrigation

and Flood Control, ChiefEngineer PHE Kashmir,Principal Private Secretary tothe Chief Secretary and theSpecial Assistant to Ministerfor CAPD/Transport, who wasthe Chairman of the DistrictDevelopment Board,Bandipora.

"However, no action hasbeen taken on the report till datedespite the fact that committee,after spot verification of theschemes, was of the consideredview that executing agency inconnivance with the concernedcontractors of the schemes, havemis-utilized the Government

‘Engineers, contractors mis-utilized Govt funds’

DDC's report on 16 defunct water supplyschemes gathering dust since Sept 2012

Mir FarhatSRINAGAR, July 13: For

past eight years, Governmenthas failed to complete thebeautification project of riverJhelum embankments inSrinagar city that was to becompleted in 2008 and so fareven half of the work has notbeen executed.

The embankment stretchfrom Sonawar Ghat to ChattabalWeir of the river that snakesthrough the Srinagar city was tobe completed in 3 years, but theauthorities have failed to com-plete the project.

Irrigation and Flood Control(IFC) Department officialsclaimed that in phase first of theproject, they have completed atleast 90 per cent of the work sofar. "The beautification of theembankment stretch fromSonawar Ghat to Dubji Ghat at

Gowkadal has been completedin phase-I of the project. Its totalexpenditure amounted to Rs12.5 crore," said Mir JavedJaffer, Chief Engineer IFCDepartment.

The project was started inAugust 2005 by then ChiefMinister Mufti MohammadSayeed to beautify the riverbankat a total cost of Rs 25.55 crore.

"The complete beautification

of the riverbank will take moretime as there is no money allot-ted yet for the project. We havenot stopped work on the projectdespite deficiency of funds. Theproposal for the second phase ofthe beautification from DubjiGhat to Chattabal Weir whichhas a length of 4.5 km has beensubmitted to the Government.The completion of the workdepends upon the release offunds by the Government,"Jaffer said.

The Chief Engineer said thatthe parts developed so far havebeen fenced, creeping grass hasbeen planted and lighting hasbeen installed to make the bankglow during the evening hours.

People, especiallySrinagarites, ridiculed theslow pace of the work on theriver banks. "The then

8 years on, Jhelum beautification project lingers

Punjab reserves seats for

Kashmiri migrantsCHANDIGARH, July 13:Punjab Government today

said it has reserved one per centseat for Kashmiri migrant stu-dents in various courses of uni-versities and technical institu-tions from the current session.

The State Government, afterconsidering the guidelines

Militants slit cop in HandwaraExcelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, July 13: Militants today killed a policeman inHandwara forests of North Kashmir by slitting his throat where hehad gone to collect the fire wood.

Police said that this morning, Head Constable SonnaullahZargar son of Abdul Gani resident of Hardoona, Vilgam had goneto a nearby forest area of Hangalpora alongwith his wife for collec-tion of firewood.

Police said that the duo was intercepted by some unknown mil-itants in the forest.

Sonnaullah was killed by the militants with a knife by slittinghis throat. Police on hearing about the killing of the cop reached

SC judgement hits hurdleNEW DELHI, July 13:

The landmark Supreme Court judgement striking downSection 8(4) of the Representation of the People (RP) Act has hita legal hurdle.

According to Justice K G Balakrishnan, ex-CJI and presentlythe chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), afive-judge constitution bench headed by the then Chief Justice ofIndia R C Lahoti has already upheld the constitutional validity ofSection 8(4) of the RP Act and the law is that the verdict of the

Abducted minor girl murderedExcelsior Correspondent

DODA, July 13: An 11-year old girl, who was kidnapped about10 days back, was found dead in the forest area of Bhaderwah thismorning. However, the kidnapper was still at large.

Police sources said that minor girl namely Kajal was kidnappedfrom Nalthi area of Bhaderwah on July 3 and on next day her fatherRakesh Kumar lodged a complaint with the Police mentioning thatshe was kidnapped by 29-year old Tirath Ram of the same area.

6 doctors terminatedExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, July 13: The State Government has terminated theservices of six doctors for their unauthorized absent from duty inKashmir division.

They include Dr Mohd Lateed Charoo, Dr Mohd Habib Kanth,Dr Dil Rafiqa, Dr Iram Sehar, Dr Nazir Ahmad Mir and Dr MohdFarooq Fazli.

These doctors were reported absent from duty without any per-mission and the Director Health Services Kashmir had issued a for-

Pak Army returns civilianExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, July 13: Pakistan Army today handed over a civilianof Digwar, Poonch to Indian Army officials during a flag meetingheld at Chakan-Da-Bagh in Poonch district.

The civilian, Mohammad Rashid son of Sattar Din, a residentof Digwar Terwan in Poonch district, had inadvertently crossedover to Pakistan occupied Kashmir on January 7 this year and wasarrested by the Pakistani troops.

He was in Pakistani jails for past about six months.

Banks of river Jhelum where beautification project has beencompleted.

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Pilgrims on their way to the Amarnath holy cave at Sheshnag. -Excelsior/Sajad Sameer

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