Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 9: Notwithstanding district administration ordering an inquiry into grabbing and damaging of State land near Bajalta Railway Station few days back, the land mafia again raised its ugly head in the area late last night and attempted to carry out illegal activity by pressing heavy machinery. However, the bid was foiled by the civil administration with the assistance of police and an FIR has been lodged at Nagrota Police Station to take stern action against the land grabbers and those encouraging them.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that at around 8.30 pm yesterday Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Ajeet Kumar Sahu received an information that land mafia had pressed heavy machinery into the service in order to grab and damage the State land falling under Khasra Number 219 of village Pargalta near Bajalta Railway Station.
Acting swiftly on the information, Deputy Commissioner deputed Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Sher Singh and Tehsildar Jammu Sanjay Badyal along with other revenue officers to the spot to take cognizance of the illegal activity. On the request of the Deputy Commissioner, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu, Atul Goel also deputed SP Rural Jammu, M L Kaith for providing assistance to the civil administration in taking action against the land mafia.
On witnessing police and other vehicles approaching the area, persons engaged by the land mafia in grabbing and damaging the State land escaped from the spot leaving behind the JCBs, which were being used to carry out the illegal activity of grabbing and damaging the State land, sources said, adding police immediately seized the JCBs and shifted them to the concerned Police Station.
This morning, on the directions of the Deputy Commissioner, Tehsildar Jammu got an FIR lodged against the persons indulged in encroachment over the State land falling under Khasra No.219 at village Pargalta.
‘Some miscreants have encroached and damaged the immovable public property——the State land by way of cutting/leveling of land recorded as Gair Mumkin Pahar as such FIR shall be lodged against the miscreants for damaging the public property as well as for trespass”, reads a formal complaint addressed to SSP Jammu by Tehsildar Jammu. Along with the complaint, the civil administration also furnished the copies of the revenue papers in respect of the land.
Acting on the complaint, Nagrota Police registered FIR No.16/2014 under Section 447-A RPC and Section 3(1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Property (Prevention of Damage) Act, 1985.
“Yesterday’s abortive attempt clearly indicates how much strong network the land-mafia has developed. This also reveals that those having interest in the land have no hesitation in taking law into their hands in order to grab the land”, sources said, adding “the land-mafia had the impression that their illegal activity amidst heavy downpour would get unnoticed but the swiftness of the police and civil administration has foiled their design”.
They further said, “it seems that the mafia is also enjoying the patronage of influential persons and some police personnel otherwise they would have not dared to make another attempt to grab the State land especially when administration has already taken cognizance of the same”, sources said. They, however, said that all those keeping eye on the State land under Khasra No.219 will get exposed on the conclusion of inquiry already ordered by the Deputy Commissioner Jammu.
It is pertinent to mention here that preliminary inquiry has already pointed towards the criminal conspiracy between the subordinate revenue officials and certain private persons/land owners behind grabbing and damaging the State land.
The committee, which has been constituted to conduct inquiry, has the specific directions to examine the violation of rules/laws from various angles— revenue, criminal and service rules/conduct rules separately by mentioning the clauses. Moreover, it will fix the responsibilities of various revenue officials involved so that suitable disciplinary  action is taken against them.

Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 9:  Adhocism is galore in the State Forest Department and seniority is no criteria at all. Despite availability of sufficient number of  senior officers, the juniors are ruling the roost and managing lucrative posts using their ‘influence’ and the political connections.
One may be surprised to study the data available in the State Forest Department that out of all the 170 territorial and other functional  Forest Ranges of Kashmir, Jammu provinces and the Central circles, hardly 36 are manned by Range Officers which means not more than 20%,  whereas, 114 Ranges are controlled by the In-charge Range Officers , who are actually Foresters or Dy Foresters and their percentage comes out to be above 70 per cent.
Official sources revealed that there are total 66 Forest Divisions including territorial and functional, in the State Forest Department for which there are 48 Assistant Conservators of Forests (ACFs) and 8 Dy Conservator of Forests (DCFs). The total comes out to be 56, which clearly indicates that Divisions are more than senior Forest  officers available with the department.
Again, there are 170 Forest Ranges  for which there are 69 Range Officers Grade-I ( RO-I)  and 39 Range Officer Grade-II  ( RO-II)  and the total comes out to be 108. It means sufficient posts of the cadre are available with the department to accommodate all the Range Officers of Grade I and II. There are 559 Forest Blocks in the State  and they are enough to accommodate all the Foresters/ Dy Foresters.
Interestingly, out of the 69 RO-I, 14 are on training. And out of the remaining 54 RO-I, almost all (44) are placed as  In-charge ACF. Whereas, out of these 44 In-charge RO-I, 39 are working against the posts of DFOs/ Project Officers etc. It reveals that 80 % posts are held by these ROs, Hardly five RO-I are worming as Rangers. There are 39 RO-II and all are working as In-charge RO-I  and out of these ROs some are also working as DFOs/DDO in-charge.    There are 40 Forest Divisions and more than 50 percent are  held by ROs or Block Officers whereas, IFS, DCFs and ACFs combined together hold less than half of the Forest Divisions.
This prevailing malpractice within the department has exposed its internal functioning and the nexus of some influential blue eyed people who manage their placing as per their sweet will and using political connections, where some seniors are even made to work under the juniors. The things would definitely appear more worst to a common in the system when they are made to know that about 20 Foresters and even the Dy Forests in the department have been given the charge of  DFO/PO/DDO, which means two-three steps up in the hierarchy.
And this is happening when department has sufficient number of trained senior officers available. As per the data available some of the junior officers of the rank of Foresters are holding the post of DFO SF Anantnag, DFO Eco Task Force Jammu, DFO Spl Div Tangmarg, DFO SF Ramban, Ramban (t) Forest Division, TPO Srinagar, DFO Stat Dv Srnaar, DFO SF Jammu, DFO Working Plan Ramnagar, DFO SF Baramulla, Dy Director FPF Reasi, Dy Director  FPF Budgam, PO Kishenganga, Dy Director FPF Jammu and so on.
Unfortunately, this undue favour to the ‘favourites’  and other influentials by placing them against the higher and lucrative posts, has disturbed  the whole of the department hierarchy. Not only this, it has also created ‘temporary shortage’ of officers to fill up 170 posts of  Range officers where there are already less officers to fill of all the Ranges available.
This deliberate confusion and chaos created by ‘some key ill-advised officers’ within the department for their vested motives has forced the Government to  fill these Forest Ranges with Foresters and even the juniors. Now a system where Foresters are given preference over the ACFs and IFS officers, one can well imagine the  fate of  forests and the height of the system prevailing within.  Even, if the department avails the services of  direct recruited ACFs they can discharge better services being well equipped and being technically sound.
Sources said that a ‘lobby’ was working within the department where ROs and Foresters are given preference against IFS, DCFs and ACFs. It has deep penetration within the system. Ultimately top officers at the helm of affairs or the minister concerned have to set the system right within the department.
A top Forest officer on the condition of anonymity claimed that there was shortage of staff  in the department and the higher authorities have been apprised of the matter. Some direct recruits have also reported and they are being placed against the available posts. When asked why so juniors are being given preference and placed on the higher posts, even two steps up, he said there may be certain pulls and pressures within but mainly shortage of staff is the main problem.

Excelsior Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Jan 9: Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah during his tour of Udhampur today visited Army Northern Command Headquarters here.
He was received by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, Lt. General Sanjiv Chachra and other ranks of officers.
The Chief Minister stayed with the officers and discussed various matters relating to the J&K security and law and order. The GOC-in-C briefed the Chief Minister on various issues relating to the security of the State and those pertaining to the functioning of security grid in the State.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 9: Former Union Minister and  Pradesh Congress Committee president  Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz has said that there was no need to summon former Army chief General  V K Singh to the Legislature as he has already denied the charges and clarified his position.
Talking to media-persons at the side lines of a function organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jammu to felicitate him (Soz), the  JKPCC president said, “It was my personal opinion that Gen V K Singh, a person of the stature of  Army chief of the country should not be summoned by the Privilege Committee of the J&K Legislative Council. There was no need to rake up this issue again and again as he (Gen Singh) himself has denied the allegations and clarified the issue. The matter should be resolved democratically.”
Replying to another question, Prof Soz said Gen V K Singh remained in controversy when he was in service  and again, he was surrounded by the controversies after retirement.  “But now, when he has denied the charges, there is” no point in raising this issue again, Prof Soz maintained.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 9: The Vigilance Organization Jammu has booked then Executive Engineer (R&B), Special Sub-Division, Mahore, Sunil Gupta, for abusing his official position and allotting the works worth more than Rs 2.5 crore to his blue eyed contractors under the garb of departmental execution.
A case FIR No 17/2013 under Section 5(1) (d) r/w 5 (2) P.C. Act 2006, 120-B RPC was registered in Police Station  VOJ against him and others on the basis of a verification conducted by Vigilance.
The verification has established that the works amounting to approximately 2.53 crores were got executed departmentally by Executive Engineer, R&B Special Sub Division, Mahore by deliberately fragmenting them in parts so as to bring them within financial competence and undue benefit has been conferred upon blue-eyed contractors by first allotting them work without inducing any competition and further releasing payments in their favour without deducting service tax from their payments.
The payments worth Rs 2,53,87,520 have been released without deducting service tax amounting to Rs 26,65,689 from the bills of regular contractors who executed these works.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 9: A middle-aged man was murdered by an ex-serviceman and his two brothers over a trivial issue of parking of a car at Talli Morh under the jurisdiction of Miran Sahib police station last night. Another person was injured.
Police have arrested all three accused involved in the murder.
As per reports, Harnek Singh son of Chanan Singh, a resident of RS Pura and Avtar Singh son of Lakhbir Singh, resident of Talli Morh, Miran Sahib had parked their car outside a house at Miran Sahib late last night, which was objected by the inmates of the house, leading to a verbal dual.
In the meantime, three members of the family stabbed both Harnek Singh and Avtar Singh with sharp edged weapon and later fled from the spot.
On getting information, police rushed to the spot and shifted both the injured to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where doctors declared Harnek as brought dead while the condition of Avtar Singh was stated to be critical, when last reports came in.
Acting swiftly, police party from Miran Sahib police station led by SHO Inspector Arjun Singh Chib conducted raids and arrested the accused, who have been identified as Amarjit Singh, Harvinder Singh and retired Army jawan Harcharan Singh, all sons of Lakhbir Singh of Miran Sahib.
The weapon used in the offence was also recovered from their possession.
A murder case has been registered against the accused at Miran Sahib police station.

NEW DELHI, Jan 9: The Congress today announced establishment of screening committees to select candidates for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
According to AICC General secretary Janardhan Dwivedi, the list, approved by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has Bhubanesh Kalit as chairman of the Lok Sabha screening Committees for Himachal, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir while Harish Chaudhry and General Secretary incharge for the States Ambika Soni have been made members of the committees. Further, the PCC chiefs and CLP leaders of respective states will be its members.
V Narayanswamy has been made chairman of screening committees for Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura while G Chinna Reddy and Luizinho Falero have been made members of the committees. Further, the PCC chiefs and CLP leaders of respective States will be its members.    Jitendra Singh has been made chairman of the screening committee for Uttar Pradesh while Avinash Pandey, General secretary incharge Madhusudan Mistry, PCC chief Nirmal Khatri and CLP leader Pradip Mathur will be its members.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, has been made the chairman of screening committees for Assam, Andaman and Nicobar, Bihar and West Bengal, while Manick Tagore and General Secretary incharge for the states will be their members. Further, the PCC chiefs and CLP leaders of respective states will be its members.    Mallikarjun Kharge has been made chairman of screening committees for MP, Maharashtra and Mumbai while Paresh Dhanani and General secretary Mohan Prakash will be their members.     Further, the PCC chiefs and CLP leaders of respective states will be  members of screening committees for their States.
Vayalar Ravi is the chairman for Screening committees for Goa, Andhra and Karnataka while Bhakta Charan Das and General Secretary Digvijay Singh will be members of these committees.
Ghulam Nabi Azad has been made chairman of the screening committees for Kerala, Lakshwadeep, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu while Subhankar Sarkar and General Secretary Mukul Wasnik will be their members.
Pawan Bansal is the chairman of the committees for Gujarat, Rajasthan, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu while Kuljeet Nagra and General secretary Gurudas Kamat will be their members.    P C Chacko has been made chairman of screening committees for Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab while Deepak Babaria and General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed will be their members.
Oscar Fernandes is chairman of screening committees for Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha while Meenakshi Natarajan and General Secretary B K Hariprasad will be their members. Polls for the Lok Sabha are scheduled in May-June.(UNI)