Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against mining and other activities in Trikuta Hills, Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice J P Singh has allowed the respondents to construct rope-way at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.
After hearing battery of lawyers, the DB observed, “there is agreement between the parties for modification of interim order dated March 19, 2012 which provides for maintaining status-quo till next date of hearing”.
“The Counsels have agreed that the order with regard to the status-quo may not be maintained with regard to construction of rope-way by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB). Accordingly, the order of status-quo dated March 19, 2012 is clarified. However, it shall continue to operate with regard to mining and felling of tree till next date of hearing”, the DB said.
The mining in the Trikuta Hills and setting up of plant for production of Dead Burt Magneria at Panthal near holy shrine of Shri Mata Vaishnodevi has been challenged in the PIL on the ground that such activities would disturb the environment and ecological pattern of land in respect of Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary and Trikuta Hills.
With these submissions, the petitioners have been seeking quashment of orders issued by the various departments and directions to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board through its Chairman to alienate the land held and owned by it in violation of the provisions of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act,1988.
DB allows ropeway construction
Pak PM to be elected tomorrow
ISLAMABAD, June 20:
Pakistan’s National Assembly has been convened on Friday to elect a new Prime Minister with the name of outgoing Textile Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin emerging as the main contender for the post.
President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also co-Chairman of ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), today held several rounds of talks with senior members of his party and allies like PML-Q to build a consensus on a name that will be acceptable to the fractious coalition.
PPP Parliamentary Party also met to discuss possible names for the post of Prime Minister, which fell vacant following Supreme Court’s order disqualifying Yousuf Raza Gilani for contempt.
The party insiders said that senior leader Shahabuddin has emerged as a front runner in the race.
PPP leader Khursheed Shah, who was Religious Affairs Minister in Gilani’s cabinet, told reporters that a session of the National Assembly or Lower House of Parliament will be convened at 5.30 pm on Friday to elect the new premier.
Nomination papers for the election will be filed tomorrow, Shah said.
President Zardari will choose the party’s candidate for the post of premier, he said.
Besides Shahabuddin, others who are being considered for the post include former Defence Minister Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, former Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Samina Ghurki, a PPP leader from Lahore whose late husband was a close aide of Zardari.
“The next Prime Minister will be elected by the national assembly. He will be a Member of Parliament. He will be a nice person and loyal to the party,” Gilani’s lawyer and PPP member Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters.
Shahabuddin, who belongs to the Seraiki belt in the southern part of Punjab province, has held several portfolios in Gilani’s cabinet since 2008.
PPP insiders said that Shahabuddin and Mukhtar were both in the reckoning but Shahabuddin was being considered a stronger candidate.
Besides the top leadership of the PML-Q, a key ally of the PPP, were opposed to Mukhtar due to political rivalries in Punjab, sources added.
During a revamp of Gilani’s cabinet in February last year, Shahabuddin was tipped to be sworn in as the Foreign Minister.
However, the party changed its plans after Shah Mahmood Qureshi skipped the swearing-in ceremony on learning that he would not be reallocated the Foreign Ministry.
Like Gilani, Shahabuddin belongs to a spiritual family that is revered and is the custodian of the mausoleum of the Sufi saint Shah Rukn-e-Alam.
The PPP insiders further said that some party leaders had also suggested the names of Khar, Khursheed Shah and Samina Ghurki for the post of premier.
However, they were not considered front-runners for the position. Ghurki is a low-profile leader from Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.
Several of the PPP’s allies in the ruling coalition, including the PML-Q and the Awami National Party, will also be holding meetings to finalise their strategy.
The main opposition PML-N’s top leadership held a meeting in Islamabad to discuss the election of the new premier. The meeting was chaired by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. (PTI)
CC discusses BDC elections
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: The Coordination Committee (CC) of the National Conference-Congress coalition Government met in Srinagar this morning to discuss various issues including civic and Block Development Council (BDC) elections.
The meeting was chaired by PCC (I) president and Coordination Committee chairman Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz.
Official sources said the meeting discussed holding of Municipal elections, which have been hanging fire for past two and a half hours, Block Development Council (BDC) elections and other issues pertaining to National Conference-Congress coalition Government.
Sources said the CC also discussed the vacancies in the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar and senior National Conference leader Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan.
IT probe against political parties
NEW DELHI, June 20:
The Income Tax Department has launched a probe against a number of political parties as well as charitable and religious trusts after it found that they were receiving “huge funds” beyond the exemption cap for filing tax returns.
The department has compiled a list of those non-filers of IT returns who are exempted to pay tax up to a certain limit of funds under Section 139 of the Income Tax Act.
Political parties, a variety of charitable organisations, scientific research associations, educational institutes and certain hospitals have been found to have “huge receipts” of funds by way of donations, contributions and payments in an IT analysis report.
According to the report, a number of organisations under this exempted category are “potential assesses” but the IT could not scrutinise their accounts as they do not file returns as mandated under the Act.
“Any such exempted organisation has to file IT return if it exceeds the threshold of income that was set for the charitable organisation category. But many institutions are not doing so,” sources privy to the development said.
An earlier IT probe had found that close to 300 registered political parties in the country had never filed their tax returns, which they should be doing as they receive large donations from a host of contributors, they said.
“By scrutinising these returns and donations, not only the organisation which is violating the exemption norms could be checked, but also the department will get to know the people who are making undercover donations,” IT sources said.
The department has already begun an exercise asking its exemptions directorates across the country to track such bodies and develop actionable information about the source and quantity of funds received by them.
“The enforcement units of the department have been asked to check non-filers of returns categories to look for possible cases of tax evasion,” a senior IT official said. (PTI)
Nitish Jamwal slams ton as JKCA Blues enters finals
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: A mammoth opening partnership of 234 runs between Nitish Jamwal and Suryansh Raina helped JKCA Blues thrash MG Academy by a huge margin of 155 runs to enter the finals of the Under-16 Boys Cricket Tournament, being organized by Jammu wing of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket at GGM Science College Hostel ground, here.
Earlier, electing to bat first, after winning the toss, JKCA Blues sailed on a superb century by Nitish and an equally good knock of 72 runs by Suryansh to score a decent total of 257 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in the allotted 40 overs. Nitish slammed 134 off 101 balls, which included 12 crispy boundaries, while Suryansh scored 72 off 91 balls with the help of 4 boundaries. Shubam Singh Pundir remained unbeaten on 12 runs. None of the bowlers was so impressive from MG Academy.
In reply, MG Academy, bundled out for a meagre total of 102 runs to lose the match by 155 runs. Arjun (29), Tushar (22) and Surya (17) were the main contributors. Sahil Chib was the pick of the bowlers for JKCA Blues, who claimed 4 important wickets by giving away 21 runs in his 5 overs, while Shantanu took 2 wickets in just 3 balls, he bowled. Aman, Shubam Pundir, Vikas Mehra and Shivam also claimed one wicket apiece.
The match was officiated by Sandeep Singh and Deepak Dogra as umpires, while Abhishek was the scorer.
Tug of War team leaves for Punjab
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: To participate in the 10th Senior Federation Cup National Tug of War Championship for Men and Women to be held at Punjabi University Patiala from June 22, the State team left from Jammu, today.
The championship will be organized under the weight categories of 640 kg for men, 620 kg for women and 560 kg for mixed men and women.
Before leaving for participation, a 5-days coaching camp was held at Unique Public Higher Secondary School Gadhigarh, Jammu.
The team: Ankush, Ravinder Singh, Gurdev Singh, Mohit Bhatti, Mudasir Ahmed Naik, Umar Abdula Dar, Rajinder Sharma, Arif Sohail, Tarif Sohail, Pawandeep Singh, Kanwaldeep Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Mohit Gupta, Rohit Kumar, Harpreet Singh, Yawar Abass, Rashid Bhat, Ajay Kumar, Pankaj Sharma, Dileshwar Singh, Rajan Kumar, Tejinder Kaur, Kajal Mahajan, Navneet Kaur, Anita Sharma and Gurvinder Kaur.
The team is being accompanied as managers and coaches by Ajay Sharma, Ankush Badyal, Anita Gupta, Ravinder Singh and Raman Sharma.
NCC Cadets of GDC Doda return from NIAP
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: 18 Cadets including 8 girls of NCC unit of Degree College Doda, who recently won second place in group song and poetry in National Integration Awareness Programme (NIAP) at Bhubneshwar in Odisha returned to J&K, here today.
The students who represented the State in group song included Pankaj Sharma, Shakti Jaral, Amit Kumar, Pooja Rana, Neeraj Padha, Susheela Devi, Akashdeep Singh, Jyoti Devi, Manish Dogra and Poonam Katoch, while Mukesh Parihar got second place in poetry.
The students after bringing laurels to the State by bagging second place in the mega event at the national level were received by a large number of people on their return to Doda.
The other students who attended the programme included Meenakshi Parihar, Anjana Bhagat, Arti Devi, Sanjeep Sharma, Amir John, Sudhir Katoch, Ripen Singh, Manmohan Singh, Narinder Singh, Omkar Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Umair Ullah and Sandesh Kumar.
These Cadets were trained by Captain Babu Ram Rakwal and Major Paramjeet Singh of J&K 1 NCC Coy, Bhaderwah.
Trikuta Club lifts Challenge Cricket Cup
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: Defeating Madhya Pradesh XI by a huge margin of 93 runs, Trikuta Cricket Club Jammu clinched the title trophy of the 5th ICF National Challenge Cup Cricket Tournament at Northern Railway ground, here today.
MK Meena, Divisional Traffic Manager, Northern Railways, was the chief guest on the valedictory function, while Subash Dogra and Vijay Singh were the guests of honour. The chief guest along with other dignitaries distributed prizes among the winners and runners-up teams on the occasion.
Earlier batting first, Trikuta Club scored a decent total of 180 runs in 15 overs. Bupinder Singh was the top scorer with quick-fire 60 runs off 25 balls, which included 6 sixes and 3 fours, while Robert and Sunny Gill contributed 26 runs each. Arun Sharma also chipped in 17-ball 27 runs. Tarun scalped 3 wickets for MP XI.
MP XI, in reply collapsed at 87 runs, thus lost the match by 93 runs. Tarun and Joginder scored 17 runs each. For Trikuta Club, Mukesh took 3 wickets, while Bupinder and Hardeep Singh claimed 2 wickets each. Bupinder Singh was adjudged man of the match for his fabulous all-round show.
10-days kho-kho, kabaddi Summer Camp concludes
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: The 10-days Off Season Summer Camp in the disciplines of kho-kho and kabaddi boys and girls, under the age groups of 14 and 17 years concluded at Youth Hostel Nagrota, here today.
The coaching camp which was organized by the Department of Youth Services and Sports, Deputy Director Office Jammu was conducted under the supervision of panel of experts drawn from the department.
The camp in which 115 boys and girls drawn from various districts of Jammu Division participated was declared closed by Tirath Ram, District Youth Services and Sports Officer, Jammu in a well attended function, today.
Prominent among others present on the occasion were Ram Kumar, Zonal Physical Education Officer Jammu, Jeet Singh, Zonal Physical Officer Dansal, Jaswant Singh, Harvinder Singh, Tilak Raj and Rajesh Sambyal, Warden Youth Hostel Nagrota.
Common Cause Trust T-20 cricket tournament gets underway
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 20: Common Cause Trust T-20 Cricket Tournament in which teams of the old city of Srinagar are participating got underway at Radapora Stadium, Khanyar today.
The opening ceremony was attended by Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation, G. N. Qasba, Senior Additional Advocate General, Ali Mohammad Magray, Ex-Mayor Salman Sagar, Abid Nazir and Jehangir Hassan the members of the Common Cause Trust.
The opening match was played between Rising Star Cricket Club, Rainawari and Qadri Cricket Club, Khanyar. Chasing a modest score of 99 runs, the Rising Star Cricket Club successfully chased the target in 7 over’s only.
In the tournament the wining team would be given a cash prize of Rs. 40, 000/-, runner up Rs. 20, 000/- and the man of the series would be awarded Rs. 5, 000/- respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, Qasba said that the Municipal Corporation would provide all the required logistics for the successful conduct of the tournament which would contribute its bit in promoting the sports activities among the youth of the old city.