Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 23: A high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary, which was constituted to look into various issues vis-à-vis granting permission for opening of new BEd colleges in the State, has unanimously recommended that moratorium should continue to remain in force. However, the Minister for Higher Education, Mohd Akbar Lone has sought permission in certain cases on compassionate grounds.
The recommendation of the high-level committee and Minister’s formal communication would be placed before the State Cabinet, which is meeting tomorrow at 3.30 pm, for appraisal and necessary orders.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary and comprising Secretaries of General Administration and Higher Education Departments and Vice-Chancellors of University of Kashmir and University of Jammu, which was constituted as per the Cabinet decision dated September 19, 2013, held series of meetings and examined the data provided by the two Universities and Higher Education Department.
Finally, the committee has drawn conclusion that intake capacity of the existing BEd colleges is more than the admissions sought and the number of non-local students seeking admission in the colleges is declining as BEd colleges are now available in their States, sources informed, adding the committee has also observed that the figures provided by the Services Selection Board indicate that the number of BEd/MEd candidates applying for the posts of teachers is huge and against one advertised post of teacher about nine BEd/MEd candidates apply. Moreover, it has found dearth of quality education owing to unqualified faculty and lack of infrastructure.
“Out of 22 districts, the private colleges exist in 18 districts and since the BEd colleges are available in the vicinity of uncovered districts, there is no need to establish new private BEd colleges as it will further deplete the number of candidates seeking admission in the already-established colleges affecting viability of such institutions”, sources said quoting the observations of the committee.
With these observations, the committee has unanimously recommended that the moratorium imposed on the establishment of new private BEd colleges in the State should continue to remain in force.
However, the Minister for Higher Education, Mohd Akbar Lone, who is strong votary of lifting the moratorium, has made a communication to the Chief Secretary, head of the high-level committee, mentioning that eight cases require sympathetic consideration as these persons have invested a lot of money in creating infrastructure in terms of buildings etc and they want to set up private BEd colleges in those areas where at present there is no such college, sources said.
“Inspection of these eight colleges has also been conducted on the directions of the High Court and inspection committees have recommended establishment of these colleges, which will serve the purpose of imparting BEd education to the students living in these areas”, sources said quoting the communication of the Minister.
They said that observations/recommendation of the high-level committee and communication of the Minister would be placed before the Cabinet tomorrow for final decision.
It is pertinent to mention here that moratorium on the establishment of new private BEd colleges was imposed in pursuance of Cabinet decision dated July 17, 2007.
Sources said that Cabinet will also discuss the draft Jammu and Kashmir Hindu Marriage Registration Rules, 2013 prepared by the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
The J&K Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013 has already been passed by both the Houses of State Legislature and it received the assent of Governor on April 24, 2013, sources said, adding the J&K Hindu Marriages Registration Act, 1980 was amended in the light of the Supreme Court judgment dated February 14, 2006 whereby it was directed that marriages of all persons, who are citizens of India and belonging to various religions, shall be compulsorily registrable in their respective States.
The Supreme Court had also directed the Central and State Governments to notify the procedure for registration of marriages by amending the existing rules or by framing new rules.
High-level panel recommends continuation of moratorium on opening of new BEd colleges
School Edu CC delegation meets Secretary Education
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: A delegation of School Education Coordination Committee met Secretary Education Hardish Kumar and discussed pending issues with him.
The delegation was led by its chairman Abdul Qayoom Wani. He was accompanied by State convener, Dr Manzoor Ahmad, Narinder Jamwal provincial president, Jammu and Pir Nisar Ahmed press secretary of the Committee.
The delegation put forth the demands of the employees of Education Department from class IVth upto the level of joint directors particularly the inclusion of five years in the services of ReTs inclusion of 16 years in the services of migrant substituted teachers, non vocational status to principals, headmasters, reorganization and creation of non teaching staff, transfer policy in favour of ReTs, issuance of confirmation orders in favour of EVs belonging to Jammu division, leave encashment and senior teacher grade in favour of teaching community etc.
Omar reviews restoration of essential services
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 23: Asking Government officials to brave the weather vagaries courageously and face the challenges of nature with a missionary zeal to relieve the people from the difficulties imposed on them by the heavy snowfall, the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today said that the high spirit of responsiveness by the administration to public call at the hour of need is of paramount importance and denotes the dutifulness of Government functionaries.
The Chief Minister this afternoon arrived here from Jammu to personally monitor and ascertain the progress on restoration of essential services like road communication, power and water supply, availability of edibles and fuel, healthcare facilities and other services of emergency nature at a high level divisional officers meeting, he chaired.
The Chief Minister impressed upon the officers to put in all efforts in mitigating difficulties caused by the heavy snowfall reportedly highest ever in the month of January during last 10 years. “You should monitor the restoration process thoroughly and have personal appraisal of the ground situation by visiting various areas, interacting with people and ascertaining their needs”, he told divisional level officers directing for quick snow clearance on roads so that accessibility is restored and service delivery on various other sectors smoothen. He also directed for timely installation and operationalisation of dewatering pumps in low lying areas so that people do not face problems due to the melting of snow.
Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Shalinder Kumar, various Chief Engineers, Directors, Divisional Heads and senior civil and police officers presented detailed account of snow clearance and restoration of essential services centric functions undertaken by various units of their departments throughout the Valley. They said all out efforts have been made to restore the services within the shortest possible time.
The Chief Minister while taking brief on the availability of essential commodities and fuel asked the concerned departments to keep constant vigil over black-marketers, hoarders and unscrupulous traders who utilize such situations to create false scarcity of commodities and indulge in price hiking and profiteering. He asked the officers to ensure smooth service delivery in Government Hospitals as also availability of life saving medicines in health institutions and in the market.
The Chief Minister was told that men and machinery are working unabated to mitigate the difficulties of people and restore various essential services. He was assured that all measures are afoot to address the challenges and restore the services in full in all field of life which have severely been hit by the heavy snowfall in the Valley.
MTNL, BSNL may offer free roaming
NEW DELHI, Jan 23:
State-owned telecom firms MTNL and BSNL are likely to launch new roaming plans from January 26 that will offer their subscribers free calls, sources said.
“MTNL has plans to make roaming free for its customers on its network in Delhi and Mumbai without any additional charge,” said an official source.
He added, however, that BSNL will also have a roaming plan for free calls, but its customers may have to shell out Re 1 a day to avail of the facility.
The schemes are likely to be in place from January 26.
Several private telecom operators already offer plans under which, for a monthly or daily fee starting Rs 5, people get all incoming calls without roaming charges.
MTNL has operations in Delhi and Mumbai only, while BSNL has operations across country except in these two circle.
MTNL’s Mumbai customer will not have to pay any extra charge when they travel to Delhi, and same scheme will apply for its Delhi customers.
As per latest the data released by telecom regulator TRAI, 9.78 crore mobile subscribers while MTNL has 35.75 lakh customers on its network. (PTI)
Irate truck operators protest, block road
Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Jan 23: The irate truck operators held a protest demonstration in front of DC Office here today and blocked the Jammu -Kathua road for one hour demanding free and fair elections of the Truck Union for Kathua district be conducted.
They lifted the road blockade on the assurance of ACR who told the agitating truck operators that the administration will take up the issue with transport authorities and convey them their feelings.
NSUI to resume agitation for implementation of RTE Act
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: National Students Union of India is going to resume its agitation for the implementation of Right to Education Act in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
This was stated by Fairoz Khan, NSUI national secretary while talking to media persons at Jammu University, here today.
He alleged that the Omar led Government has failed to implement the basic and most important acts in the State and NSUI has decided to take the lead and resume its suspended agitation for the implementation of RTE Act.
The NSUI leader also highlighted some other demands, such as University campus at Ramban, online budget of every State university for bringing transparency.
Other NSUI leaders, who were present there, included Joginder Thakur, Neeraj Kundan, Ajay Kumar, Kamal Magotra and Nitin Bakshi.
Rs 1000 monthly pension approved
NEW DELHI, Jan 23: The Finance Ministry has approved a proposal for providing a minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to workers in the organised sector, a move which would benefit 27 lakh pensioners immediately.
The ministry has also approved a proposal for raising the basic wage ceiling under the Employees Provident Fund Scheme to Rs 15,000 from existing Rs 6,500 per month.
At present, there are about 44 lakh pensioners. Of this 27 lakh, including 5 lakh widows, get less than Rs 1,000 a month.
“The Finance Ministry has approved the proposal for providing a minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95) run by EPFO. The ministry also cleared enhancing the wage ceiling to 15,000 under social security schemes run by the retirement fund body,” an official source said.
The Government will provide additional contribution of Rs 1,217 crore to ensure the minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 starting 2014-15. Pensioners are, therefore, expected to get benefit with effect from April 1 this year.
Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, however, is yet to decide on whether the move requires the Cabinet approval or not.
The Labour Ministry’s proposal on giving a minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 under the EPS-95, run by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), has been pending for a long time.
Earlier, the Labour Ministry had proposed that Government should increase contribution on EPS-95 from 1.16 per cent of basic wage to 1.79 per cent to ensure minimum pension. However, it did not find favour with the Finance Ministry as this would have resulted in a permanent increase in its contribution.
The Labour Ministry in its revised proposal has asked the Finance Ministry to provide for around Rs 1,217 crore additional amount every year, and indicated that this amount can come down over a period of time with more members subscribing to EPS-95.
The increase in the wage ceiling to Rs 15,000 would be effective only after the notification of the decision by the Government.
At present, Government contributes 1.16 per cent of basic wage of workers as contribution toward the EPS-95. Government had provided around Rs 1,400 crore for the purpose in 2012-13.
All those employees getting basic wages, including basic pay and dearness allowance, of more than Rs 6,500 per month, are not covered under the social security schemes run by EPFO.
EPFO has a corpus of around Rs 5 lakh crore, including around Rs 1.7 lakh crore in its pension fund. It has a subscriber base of around 5 crore and all of them are covered under the EPS-95.
The increase in wage ceiling under the scheme run by EPFO is important as it would bring in around 50 lakh more workers and increase the flow of mandatory savings. (PTI)
Charak for launching peaceful struggle to get justice
Excelsior Correspondent
SAMBA, Jan 23: Alleging that Bishnah constituency has been neglected for so many years in terms of development, former Minister and former member, CWC-AICC, Gulchain Singh Charak, today appealed the public, especially, the youth of the area to be ready for launching a peaceful struggle for getting the justice done for the people of whole of the Bishnah constituency.
The senior Congress leader was addressing a meeting of Block Congress Committee (BCC), Bishnah, today held here at Prithipur in Bishnah, where he was invited as chief guest.
During the meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Harshvardhan Sharma, president BCC, Bishnah, various speakers highlighted problems being faced by the people including improper supply of seed, fertilizer and pesticides, silting of irrigation canals, deteriorating condition of roads and electricity wires, improper supply of drinking water and power etc.
The speakers also complained of unrest among the people due to mis-appropriation in releasing the funds under IAY Scheme to the deserving individuals and non-payment of the financial assistance to the people whose houses were collapsed during the rainy seasons.
Charak urged upon the Government to direct all the concerned departments to take immediate and necessary steps to mitigate the problems being faced by the people of the area. He also assured the public that he will take up all the issues with the concerned departments at the earliest.
Haryana, UP sail into semis in national kabaddi
Patna, Jan 23: Haryana and Uttar Pradesh entered the semifinals of the senior men’s Kabaddi Championship played at the Patliputra Sports Complex here today.
Haryana trounced nine-time champion Railways in a keenly contested match to make it to the semis while UP beat Karnataka 18-14 in another quarters.
Haryana and Railway were locked at 16-16 when the match ended in the scheduled time. In five raids later, Haryana outsmarted Railways 7-4 with two bonus points.
In the women’s category, Maharashtra beat Delhi by 18-13 while Haryana eves got the better of Punjab 22-18 to enter the semis.
The semi-finals and finals for both the men’s and women’s section would be played tomorrow. (PTI)
3 IAS, 69 officers of J&K Accounts Service being promoted
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: State Cabinet is going to accord approval to the promotion of three IAS officers and 69 officers of J&K Accounts Service. Transfers in the civil and police administration may also be considered by the Cabinet in the light of the Election Commission of India directions.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that three IAS officers of 1998 batch namely Vinod Koul, Secretary, Revenue Department, Gazzanfer Hussain, Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department and Ghulam Hassan Tantray, Secretary, ARI and Trainings Department are being promoted to the Super Time Scale of IAS with effect from January 1, 2014.
They said that Cabinet will also accord approval to the proposal of the Finance Department regarding promotion of 23 officers of J&K Accounts Service to the Special Scale and 46 officers to the Selection Grade with effect from December 31, 2013.
The officers, who are being promoted to the Special Scale are Kulbir Kour Gujral, CAO in the office of Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control, Jammu, Ravinder Singh, Director, Defence Labour Procurement, Usha Kiran, Joint Director, J&K Funds Organization, Naresh Kumar Sharma, Mohd Rafi Andrabi, Deputy Director (Budget), Finance Department, Fayaz Ahmad Lone, Executive Officer, J&K Haj Committee, Mohd Yaqoob Ittoo, Deputy Director (Hqrs), Directorate of Audit and Inspections, Mahesh Dass, FA&CAO, Public Works Department, Parvez Sajjad Sofi, Comptroller SKUAST Kashmir, Rajesh Talwar, FA&CAO, CA&PD Department, Shadi Lal Pandita, FA&CAO JAKFED Jammu, Azad Ahmad Wani, FA&CAO, Financial Organization, PDD Srinagar, Neeraj Gupta, DFA&CAO, Financial Organization, PDD Jammu, Mohd Sultan Malik, Member Services Selection Board, Shaheen Mohd Ashraf, FA&CAO PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Bashir Ahmad Haji, Principal, Accountancy Training Institute, Srinagar, Zahoor Ahmad Wani, FA&CAO Health and Medical Education Department, Rajesh Chander Kotwal, CAO J&K State Vigilance Commission, Imtiaz Ahmad Wani, FA&CAO J&K Tourism Development Corporation, Suresh Kumar Sen, Financial Controller, JKPCC Ltd, Mohd Rafiq Hajam, Joint Director J&K Funds Organization Kashmir, Abdul Majid Butt, Chief Pay and AO J&K PDC and Barkat Hussain FA&CAO SICOP.
The officers, who are being promoted to Selection Grade are, Mahesh Chander Tana, FA&CAO Forest Department, Madan Lal, CAO District Fund Office Kathua, Meraj Din, CAO Relief and Rehabilitation Organization, Ramesh Singh, FA&CAO Housing and Urban Development Department, Mazer Hussain, Special Assistant to MoS Health, Mushtaq Ahmed Mir, TO, Additional Treasury Srinagar, Ranbir Singh, CAO Directorate of Estates, Anil Kumar Dogra, CAO J&K Board of School Education, Mohd Araf Khan, FA&CAO J&K Institute of Management and Public Administration and Rural Development, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, District Treasury Officer, Kupwara, Vijay Kumar Tak, Bharti Samyal, CAO Directorate of Social Welfare Jammu, Sukhwant Kour Sasan, CAO Directorate of Stores and Procurement, Haroon Ahmad Bhat, Deputy Registrar (Accounts), University of Kashmir, Archana Kumari, CAO in the office of Chief Engineer, Ravi Tawi Irrigation Complex, Hem Kant Prasher, Financial Officer, Central University Jammu, Neeraj Gupta, CAO Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board, Raman Kumar, CAO District Fund Office Jammu, Showkat Hussain Mir, Deputy Director (Resources), Finance Department, Kulbhushan Kumar, FA&CAO J&K Housing Board, Santosh Kumar, CAO Education Migrant Cell, Reyaz Hussain, CAO Directorate of CAPD Jammu, Abdul Hamid Kumar, CAO Directorate of CAPD Kashmir, Tabassum, CAO GMC Jammu, Ashok Kumar, FA&CAO SRTC, Saraf Singh, TO, Additional Treasury Gandhi Nagar, Chanderkala, Chief Pay and AO, SPDC, Intikhab Ahmad, CAO in the office of Chief Engineer, PHE Kashmir, Umar Khan, CAP JMC, Shahid Majid Kakroo, CAO SMC, Syed Shabir Ahmad, Examiner/CAO, Local Fund Audit and Pensions, Srinagar, Naila Zahoor, TO Saddar Treasury Srinagar, Harjeet Kour, Chief Controller of Finance, LAHDC Leh, Manav Gupta, FA&CAO Tourism Department, Amit Mahajan, DTO Leh, Prem Lata, CAO GP Fund Police Cell, Jammu, Rashim Deepika, CAO in the office of Chief Engineer, PWD Jammu, Monika Hans, CAO DRDA Jammu, Amit Kumar, FA&CAO J&K SC, ST, OBC Development Corporation, Morarji Bhat, CAO J&K Police Headquarters, Zia-ur-Rehman, FA&CAO Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Ghulam Hussain, Chief Pay and AO, Parnai Hydel Project, Beer Singh, DTO Doda, Farooq Ahmad, CAO Directorate of School Education Kashmir, Narsingh Dass, CAO District Fund Office, Doda and Sadiq Ali, CAO Directorate of School Education Jammu.