TOP STORY OF THE DAY |
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| CAG uncovers MGNREGA's fake bank accounts, SICOP's land loot, Fire deptt's embezzlements | | | | Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: Comptroller and Auditor General of India's report on performance of the State government departments and Public Sector Undertakings in Jammu and Kashmir, tabled in Legislature on Friday, has exploded a many myths of cleanliness, transparency and accountability during Omar Abdullah's government in 2009-2013.
Accountant General Khalid Bin Jamal revealed at a news presence here on Saturday that the CAG report-2014 on the State government departments would be studied by Legislature's Public Accounts Committee [PAC] and another one on PSUs by the Committee on Public Undertakings [COPU] and these two lawfully competent panels would in turn take up different flagged issues with the government departments and PSUs for necessary action. He clarified it was not directly CAG's constitutional mandate to press the government for taking criminal cognizance of the fund embezzlements and other scandals investigated by the auditors. Nevertheless, AG's office would see what role it could play in view of last year's precedence when former Principal... | |
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FRONT PAGE STORIES |
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| Commissioner Secretary Agriculture violates norms, keeps GAD in dark | | 'Ineligible' officer is Director Sericulture | | | Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: In a brazen violation of rules and regulation an ineligible officer who has neither qualified KAS or IAS, a Professor at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), has been holding the post of Director Sericulture for past six months.
According to the details available with "Early Times", a junior ranked officer in SKUAST Dr Farooq Malik is holding the post of Director Sericulture since 24-10-2014, the order for which was issued by Dr Asgar Hussain Samoon (IAS), Commissioner Secretary to Government, Agriculture Production Department.
Sources said that Malik managed to get the top post due to his close ac... | |
| | | | AICC Chief acts tough to keep state Congress intact | | New JKPCC chief gets Vakil sacked | | | Fazal Khan
Early Times Report
srinagar, Mar 28: Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir is in total disarray after facing a humiliating defeat in the 2014 assembly elections. Despite party remaining in power for nearly 12-years, people voted against the party and Congress could only manage to get 12 out of 87 assembly seats.
The former Chief Minister of the state and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad tried his best to rope in PDP to forge an alliance but couldn't succeed in his endevaour. Soon after the Congress lost the elections and the power the All India Congress Committee Chief Sonia Gandhi replaced the JKPCC Chief Professor Saifuddin Soz and appointed former Tourism Minister Ghul... | |
| | | | Where are the laptops Omar gifted to MLAs | | | | Peerzada Ummer
Early Times Report
srinagar, Mar 28: In addition to the mouth watering perks, luxurious cars, whooping salaries, interest free loans, Omar Abdullah the former JK chief minister spent crores for purchase of laptops for the legislators but ironically not even a single legislator was ever seen with the gadget in the house
It was on January 30, 2010 when Omar took a big leap and gifted laptops to all the legislators of the state. Omar at that time had mentioned that the laptops would make the law makers more updated and informed. In addition to these high configuration gadgets, hundreds of broadband internet connections were brought and given away to MLAs and MLCs.
Reports ... | |
| | | | BJP's U-turn on Article 370 | | Bandookwali Hina Bhat | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy is not happy with the top leadership of his party. His grouse against it is that it has been compromising its stand on Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir to pamper such Kashmiris as Hina Bhat. Only the other day, he tweeted: "Investigation I find that Mufti is relying on Article 370 Bandookwali Hina Bhat to deliver BJP on a platter". This tweet explained many things. One, it showed that the BJP changed its stand on Article 370 only to keep Hina Bhat in a good humour. Hina Bhat joined the BJP only a few months ago and contested the assembly election from Amirakadal constituency only to lose her security deposit.
It bears ... | |
| | | | PDD employees transferred to PDC being denied pensionery benefits | | Brewing resentment among employees | | | ET Report
Jammu, Mar 28: With Government denying them the pensionery benefits and other emoluments as admissible to other government employees there is a brewing resentment among the hundreds of employees of Power Development Corporation (PDC) after the transfer of a sizable number of the PDD employees to PDC.
Hundreds of PDD employees working in PDC this way are facing the bleak future as the authorities are reluctant to give pensionery benefits to them on retirement. Some of these employees who were transferred to PDC but whose lean was kept in PDD have already retired from the service and they were denied the pensionary benefits after the AG's Office returned their pension cases with o... | |
| | | | What about people of Jammu and Ladakh? | | Kashmir first and Kashmiri first | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: The separatists and their supporters - apart from mainstream political parties like the defeated National Conference were in a state of shock till the US President Barrack Obama's Delhi visit on the occasion of the Indian Republic Day. The reason was the formation of the BJP-led NDA government in the centre with the BJP having 282 members in the Lok Sabha and the massive victory of the BJP in Jammu province in the assembly elections. They had felt that they had lost the game. But things changed dramatically after January 26 with the anti-national forces in the Valley getting opportunity after opportunity to intensify their campaign against India. What ... | |
| | | | Nothing for Jammu in Agenda of Alliance -- II | | Amit Shah's interview | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: The people of Jammu region and victims of Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism all through advocated the need for adopting stringent anti-terror laws. They always believed that the existing laws were inadequate to deal with the situation that prevailed in the state after 1989, when secessionists and terrorists rose in revolt against India demanding separation of Jammu and Kashmir from India. Actually, they were of the view that Jammu and Kashmir didn't have a single anti-terror law and that the formation of the BJP-led NDA government at the centre would enact new anti-terror laws to meet the challenge as posed by Pakistan, mercenaries and Kashmir-base... | |
| | | | Repeated CWC recommendations fall on deaf ears | | No authority to monitor safety of State's dams | | | Akshay Azad
ET Report
Jammu, Mar 28: Recommendations of the Central Water Commission to constitute Dam Safety Organisation (DSO) in the state to monitor the safety and security of its sixteen dams have fallen on deaf ears, jeopardizing the crucial aspect of their maintenance.
Sources informed Early Times that despite the fact that National Hydel Project Corporation (NHPC)'s major share of power production comes from Jammu and Kashmir but same had failed to develop Emergency Action Plans besides, state also had failed to constitute Dam Safety Organization as recommended by CWC, time and again.
The Dam Safety Organization (DSO), if in place, is entitled to conduct various types of inspect... | |
| | | | Mufti meets Jaitley, calls for speed-tracking reconstruction package post 2014 floods | | | | Early Times Report
new delhi, Mar 28: Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed met the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, here today. This was the first meeting he had with Jaitley after assuming the charge of the State as Chief Minister.
Minister for Finance, Dr. Haseeb. A. Drabu, was also present on the occasion.
The Chief Minister discussed with the Union Finance Minister the support required for relief and rehabilitation post the devastating floods of the September 2014. He highlighted the need for reconstruction package for the State which has already been submitted to the Government of India.
The Chief Minister emphasized the need to speed-track the financing of the rehabilitat... | |
| | | | Is MGNREGA serving its purpose in J&K? | | 11,51,785 job cards with over Rs 19.43 lacs beneficiaries in J&K | | | Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28 : Despite having minimum ratio of 1.68 persons /job card in Jammu and Kashmir, the condition of the poor people coming under the ambit of MGNREGA, an act that guarantees 100 job days to each job card holders @Rs 157/day in 2015-2016 financial year against Rs. 145/day last financial year hasn't witnessed any change despite the fact that majority of the job card holders have received Rs.14500 last year.
The minimum job card ratio between the beneficiary and the job card holder raised the suspicion whether all job cards (11,51,785) in state or Jammu and Kashmir are genuine?; particularly in wake of Kishtwar job card scandal detected b... | |
| | | | Previous regime diverted 6000 hectares of forest land | | Authorities fail to maintain records | | | Nitesh Sangral
Jammu, Mar 28:Owing to failure of the previous National Conference- Congress regime in the Jammu and Kashmir State, 6,281 thousand hectares of forest land was converted for non-forest purposes with any alternative. An audit of the program by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed that encroachment of forest land had increased by 88 percent from 9214.53 hectares (March 2003) to 17,352 hectares (March 2012). Non-maintenance of books of accounts and non-adoption of Uniform Common Format of Accounts by State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) was noticed. The report points out, as lackadaisical attitude of the concerned authori... | |
| | | | NC-Congress double standard over transfer of NHPC run projects to Jammu and Kashmir | | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28 : When the opposition National Conference and the Congress kicked up an uproar and disrupted the proceedings of the state Assembly on Friday leading to the adjournment of the House,they were protesting against the entral Government's refusal to handover to the state Government those power projects,which were built and were being run by the NHPC.This is one part of the story.
The other two parts of the story seem to be more interesting than the first. In 2009 the then Chief Minister,Omar Abdullah,who headed the Power Development Corporation, had decided to handover 450 MW Baglihar power project to the NHPC for maintenance and for operation for... | |
| | | | NC-Cong regime hoodwinked SC, ST, OBCs communities | | | | Avinash Azad
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: Despite the formation of various advisory boards to attract voters belonging to SC, ST and OBC, by the previous state government, the fact is that no survey has been conducted for identification of beneficiaries under various schemes launched for development these communities.
According to CAG report, no survey for identification of beneficiaries had been carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes Development Corporation Limited (SCSTOBCDCL). Moreover the corporation had not finalized its account since 1997-98 .CAG revealed that the Corporation had not carried out survey for identi... | |
| | | | Financial irregularities surface in Govt Hospital Gandhi Nagar | | Xerox copies of diet bills used for withdrawal: CAG | | | Bivek Mathur
Jammu, Mar 28 : Lack of internal control and monitoring in Government hospital, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu facilitated serious financial irregularities including fraudulent double drawls (Rs. 7.80 lakhs), suspected double drawl (Rs. 2.83 lakh) and short credit of hospital revenue (7.81 lakh) into hospital development funds.The figures were pointed out by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report tabled in Legislative Assembly on March 27, 2015.
The CAG pointed that a total amount of Rs. 10.63 lakh was drawn (on Feb 2012 to March 2013) towards payment of diet charges on the basis of Xerox copies of bills for payment to the diet contractor. Audit found that diet ... | |
| | | | No end to J&K's Power woes | | State likely to face 53% T&D losses in current year | | | Arun Singh
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: Despite having potential of producing 20 thousand mega watts of power, the power woes for J&K are steadily increasing as demand in the state is expected to rise from 1706 MWs to 4217 MWs by 2021-22 (i.e 150 %) with no relief in insight, especially since the center has refused to return power projects to state.
As per 18th All India Power Survey, it has been projected that an increase in power demand from 1706 MWs i.e. 9640 MUs during 2004-05 to 4217 MWs i.e. 218 87 MUs during 2021-22.Survey further reveals that as per estimates of Power Development Department (PDD) the total availability of power for the year 2014-15 amounts to 13084.50 ... | |
| | | | Will Mufti go after land mafia in Pahalgam? -Part 2 | | | | Mohammad Hamzah
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Mar 28: Many other influential people including some officials of the Revenue and other departments who were posted in Pahalgam have also constructed commercial huts in the ecologically fragile area.
A former Divisional Commission of Kashmir has constructed four huts in the midst of dense forests, where constructions are not permitted. "The officials of the Revenue posted in Pahalgam from time to time have also gone for construction. These include some clerks and peons too," the sources said.
A Naib Tehsildar, Abdul Ahad, who was earlier posted in Pahalgam and was later transferred from there after acquiring about five kanals of land in K... | |
| | | | Transporters vouch for soft loans from Government to start fresh innings | | Want immediate shifting of bus terminal from Pantha Chowk to Batmaloo | | | Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, Mar 28: At a time when various sectors of Kashmir economy are grappling with crisis following last year's devastating flood, Kashmir Motor Drivers Association (KMDA) today demanded loans at subsidized rate of interest for the transporters of Kashmir. Addressing a press conference here, KMDA Secretary General, Mohammad Yousuf Wani said that transporters are against many odds and the state government should come forward at this hour of need. Wani said that transporters can purchase new vehicles only when soft loans are provided to them."Condemning vehicles after 25 years was a blow to the industry and this rendered hundreds of vehicles out of work. At the same ... | |
| | | | Previous Govt's claims on health infrastructure exposed | | 4 yrs on, RS Pura hospital gets 50% funds only | | | Bijay Charak
Jammu, Mar 28: The previous government's claims that about uplifting health infrastructure across the state stay exposed as Sub District Hospital RS Pura received only 50 percent funds has been released in four years. Sources informed Early Times that in the year 2011 the construction work of three storey hospital complex of Sub district Hospital was started at an estimate cost of Rs. 16 crore but surprising till date state government only released 8 crore. Sources further said that the in the year 2012 former Health Minister also visited the health institution and directed concerned executing agencies for ensuring time bound completion of on- going health infrastructure ... | |
| | | | Outside companies delayed implementation: Asiya | | Govt for Punjab type drug policy | | | Javaid Naikoo
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Mar 28: The state government is contemplating to implement much hyped drug policy in Jammu and Kashmir on the pattern of Punjab Government to check supply of drugs coming from unknown places and to overhaul the worn out health care.
Terming the prevailing health system of Jammu and Kashmir an irony, Minister of state for Health, Transport and Social Welfare, Asiya Naqash said that state government is keen to implement drug policy as soon as possible and they are after this task to choose the best health policy for the state to provide complete Health care to common masses at door steps.
"We were asked that central government may announce a ... | |
| | | | Patients pooh-pooh Government's tall claim on better medical facilities | | | | M S Nazki
Early Times Report
MENDHAR, Mar 28: Mendhar, Mar 28: The Sub District Hospital at Mendhar was set up to provide quality medicare to people of the area. But it is quite dismaying to note that this state-of-the-art hospital has failed to live to the expectations of people.
This is due to a number of reasons which include shortage of doctors and para medical staff. Besides, the patients who can be treated at this hospital are referred to either District Hospital Rajouri or to GMC Jammu.
The doctors show inability to treat them at Mendhar on the pretext that concerned doctor is not available in the hospital. Mostly Medical Assistants and lower staff are seen attending t... | |
| | | | Govt blames climate for poor industrial growth in JK | | Of 26,850 units only 186 sick units | | | Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: The government of Jammu and Kashmir in its written reply to AQ No. 881 of MLA Jammu East Rajesh Gupta, stated that the main reasons for poor growth of industrial sector in the State is due to adverse climatic conditions, added that in addition, the department is in the process of finalization of industrial policy 2015 wherein various additional incentives are being proposed for the industrial growth in the State. Besides, the registration is also being made online so that the procedural delay is curtailed. Clearances under Single Window Clearance mechanism shall also be decentralized to Directorate and District level.
As per the deta... | |
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