State meet with PCI further delayed
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 1: In a significant decision, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who holds Planning Department, has authorized 25 per cent of the plan amount to all Government Departments to meet their expenditure including capital component for development as plan meeting of the State has been further delayed and was now expected to take place in the middle of May.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Planning Department held by the Chief Minister himself has issued an order to this effect and circulated it to all Government Departments.
“One-fourth of total plan authorization for the financial year of 2012-13 has been made in favour of all Government Departments-whether they were connected with the incurring of capital expenditure or not, the Planning Department has issued authorization certificates to all Departments”, sources said.
They added that this has been done to ensure functioning of all Departments including those connected with development notwithstanding delay in finalisation of annual plan of the State by the Planning Commission of India.
‘‘As finalisation of J&K’s annual plan, tentatively projected at Rs 7300 crore, was expected to be finalized by June followed by holding of District Development Board (DDB) meetings, the Government with a view to ensure that working of the Departments didn’t suffer issued authorization letters in favour of all Departments giving them a nod to use 25 per cent plan amount out of the total budgetary allocations made in their favour by the State Legislature”, sources said.
Noting that 25 per cent plan amount was enough to meet expenses of all Government Departments, sources said rest of the authorization letters would be issued as and when the plan amount was sanctioned and allocated by the Planning Commission of India in June.
They disclosed that 25 per cent plan in favour of all Government Department would be funded by the State through its ‘‘own resources”, which had recorded an all time increase in 2011-12.
As reported, the Government had already authorized the District Development Commissioners to go ahead with development works, which were already under execution without waiting for the plan finalisation. However, the Government had asked the DDCs not to undertake any new development works till finalisation of the plan and holding of DDB meetings.
Sources said one-fourth plan authorization would be enough for the Departments pending finalisation of the annual plan.
Meanwhile, plan finalisation of the State has been further delayed.
Only one meeting of the State bureaucrats was held with officials of the Planning Commission of India on December 15, 2011. The next meeting was scheduled for January-February but it couldn’t take place due to budget session of the Legislature and Assembly election in five States including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
With Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Government, now scheduled to re-open on May 7 at summer capital of Srinagar, the Planning Department would take up with the Planning Commission of India for early fixation of plan meeting of the State. Sources said at least a couple of meetings were expected at bureaucratic level after which the State plan would be clinched in a meeting between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The Chief Minister could also meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee before finalisation of the plan as this year also happened to be the first year of 12th five year plan for which separate meetings would be conducted by the Union Finance Minister and the Planning Commission with all State.
It may be mentioned here that the State had projected Rs 7300 crore worth annual plan and Rs 700 crore Prime Minister’s Re-construction Plan (PMRP) for 2012-13. The projected plan was 10 per cent over and above the previous year’s plan of Rs 6600 crore.
However, the PMRP amount, which was Rs 1200 crore during last financial year, has been pegged at Rs 700 crore this year as some of the schemes undertaken under the PMRP have been completed.
Sources said the Planning Commission in its first meeting with the State bureaucrats had sought the details of targets of Own Tax Revenue in the State, reforms in different sectors and expenditure of current financial year’s plan. The Planning Commission had expressed satisfaction over all three issues.
The delegation had apprised the Planning Commission that the State’s power revenue was also increasing but a big gap remained between power bill and revenue as it can’t initiate all reforms in one go.
‘‘It was in view of this that the State Government had batted for annual power reforms grant to the tune of Rs 2000 crore for few years till the State managed to bring reforms and improve its revenue”, sources said, adding that the Planning Department assured to give a thought to the State’s demand.
Worthwhile to mention here that J&K Government was given Rs 1300 crore worth annual power reforms grant for three years in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. The grant was later stopped as the Government didn’t take significant power reforms then.

Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, May 1:  Special Judge Anti-Corruption Kashmir, Aijaz Ahmad Mir, has directed State Vigilance Organization (SVO) Kashmir wing to initiate investigations against Dr. Riyaz Farooq, Principal Government Dental College, Srinagar in multi-crore purchase scandal that surfaced in the GDC last month.
Taking cognizance of a complaint lodged by one Tanveer Hussain Khan through his counsel Shahid Ahmad Ronga, the Special Judge Anti-Corruption Kashmir in his order directed Senior Superintendent of Police, Vigilance to take up the investigation of the case relating to multi-crore purchase scandal at Government Dental College, Srinagar.
“Senior Superintendent of Police, Vigilance Organization Kashmir is directed to take up the investigation of the case in terms of Section 156 (3) Criminal Procedure Code and intimate this court about the final outcome of the investigation. Senior Superintendent of Police is further directed that while conducting the investigation he shall give audience to both the parties as mandated by the law and thereafter conclude the investigation of the case on merits,” wrote the Judge in his order.
The complainant filed the complaint under Section 156 (3) of Criminal Procedure Code and prayed for the directions to the State Vigilance Organization to register an FIR against the accused Dr. Riyaz Farooq, Principal GDC-Srinagar. The complainant, who recorded his statement before the Judge also prayed for initiation of the action as per law against the accused.
It is in place to mention here that under Section 156 any officer in charge of a police station may, without the order of a Magistrate, investigate any cognizable case which a court having jurisdiction over the local area within the limits of such station which would have power to inquire into the matter.
Under this section no proceeding of a police officer in any such case shall at any stage be called into question on the ground that the case was one, which such officer was not empowered under this section to investigate.
It may be recalled here that the GDC authorities have purchased medical equipment worth crores of rupees at higher rates than quoted by the company from which they purchased it. Interestingly, the rates quoted for the equipment by this company were very less as compared with the rates actually paid by the GDC authorities, both at Srinagar and Jammu.
The revelations about the scandal came to the fore after the Medical Superintendent, (Public Information Officer) GDC responded to the Right to Information (RTI) application moved by Tanveer Hussain Khan.
In his reply, the PIO said that GDC, Srinagar purchased digital panoramic X-ray machine model and make of ORTHOPOS XG 5 DS CEPH-Single Sensor (AERB approved) Rs. 46, 80, 000 lakh. The machine was supplied to the GDC, Srinagar by VILLA India, New Delhi.
The RTI applicant compared the rates paid by the GDC authorities with the one being offered by the same company. He found a difference of Rs. 26, 00, 000 lakh between the actual purchases made and the rates offered.
The PIO in his reply said that the GDC, Srinagar purchased eight complete vertical rack sterilization systems from VILLA India, New Delhi from time to time. The difference between the actual price and the amount paid was around Rs. 50, 00, 000 for eight systems.

NEW DELHI, May 1:
In an important order relating to army personnel engaged in counter insurgency operations, the Supreme Court today ruled that those involved in encounter killings cannot be prosecuted without prior sanction of the Central Government as they enjoy immunity under AFSPA.
A bench of justices B S Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar, however, said if the accused army officials are to be tried under the court martial proceedings then no such sanction was required.
The bench granted the option to the army authorities to try the officers in Pathribal  and Saikhowa encounter killings under court martial proceedings or alternatively subject them to trial in criminal courts.
The court gave this ruling while rejecting CBI’s contention and upholding the appeal filed by army officers challenging their prosecution over “fake” encounters in Pathribal, J&K, 12 years ago in which 7 persons were killed.
The verdict also covered another encounter in 1994 in Saikhowa Reserve Forest in Assam’s Tinsukhia District in which five persons were killed.
The court said the immunity granted to security personnel under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Section 197 Cr PC was to ensure that they were not subjected to unnecessary harassment or prosecution.
“It is also to be kept in mind that the cognizance is taken of the offence and not of the offender. The sanction of the appropriate authority is necessary to protect a public servant from unnecessary harassment or prosecution.
“Such a protection is necessary as an assurance to an honest and sincere officer to perform his public duty honestly and to the best of his ability. The threat of prosecution demoralises the honest officer,”Justice Chauhan writing the judgement said.
The apex court however, said that performance of public duty under colour of duty cannot be camouflaged to commit a crime.
“The public duty may provide such a public servant an opportunity to commit crime and such issue is required to be examined by the sanctioning authority or by the court.
“It is quite possible that the official capacity may enable the public servant to fabricate the record or mis-appropriate public funds etc.
“Such activities definitely cannot be integrally connected or inseparably inter-linked with the crime committed in the course of the same transaction,” the bench said.
“Thus, all acts done by a public servant in the purported discharge of his official duties cannot as a matter of course be brought under the protective umbrella of requirement of sanction,” the bench said.
However, once the matter stands transferred to the Army for conducting a court-martial, the court-martial has to be as per the provisions of the Army Act.
“The Army Act does not provide for sanction of the Central Government. Thus, we do not find any force in the contention raised by the appellant (Army) and the same is rejected,” the bench said.
The apex court said whether the sanction is required or not under a statute has to be considered at the time of taking cognizance of the offence and not during enquiry or investigation.
It said Section 7 of the Act 1990, puts an embargo on the complainant/investigating agency/ or an aggrieved person to file a suit, prosecution etc. In respect of anything done or purported to be done by a Army personnel, in good faith, in exercise of power conferred by the Act, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.
“We wish to record that the protection and immunity granted to an official particularly in provisions of the Act 1990 or like Acts has to be widely construed in order to assess the act complained of.
“This would also include the assessment of cases like mistaken identities or an act performed on the basis of a genuine suspicion.
“We are therefore of the view that such immunity clauses have to be interpreted with wide discretionary powers to the sanctioning authority in order to uphold the official discharge of duties in good faith and a sanction therefore has to be issued only on the basis of a sound objective assessment and not otherwise,” the bench said.
According to the apex court from the conjoint reading of Section 197(2) CrPC And Section 7 of the Act 1990, it is clear that prior sanction is a condition precedent before institution of any of the aforesaid legal proceedings.
The apex court disposed off the petition with the following directions.
The competent authority in the army shall take a decision within a period of eight weeks from today as to whether the trial would be by the criminal court or by a court-martial and communicate the same to the Chief Judicial Magistrate concerned immediately thereafter.
In case the option is made to try the case by a court-martial, the said proceedings would commence immediately and would be concluded strictly in accordance with law expeditiously. (PTI)

Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, May 1: The Emergency drugs counter at Kashmir’s premier hospital, Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, is non-functional for past 3 months causing in-convenience to the patients, who were forced to buy the medicine and medical gadgets from SKIMS hospital.
Principal Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar, Dr Qazi Masood, while admitting that the drug counter is non-functional said it was earlier run by former HOD Medicine, Dr Ganzaffar, but after his retirement, the new HOD, Dr Perwaiz Shah,  refused to run it.
The Principal said that now the GMC has taken over the drug counter and a committee has been formed that was currently doing stock verification of the counter. “Once the verification is over, the drug counter will be made operational”, he said adding that for the time being the patients have been asked to get the medicine and necessary gadgets from the SKIMS drug store.
However, for the past 3 months, the patients have to go all the way from SMHS to SKIMS hospital in Soura for the purchase of the emergency drugs and necessary medical equipment from the SKIMS drug store.
The attendants of Hameeda Begum of Tral (MRD No. 37949) who is admitted at SMHS hospital, Srinagar had to purchase the stunt and its accessories from SKIMS drugs sale counter last week.
Hameeda is not the only patient whose attendants had to go to SKIMS for purchase of stunt, pacemaker or angiographic medical but all the patients have been facing this problem for past over 3 months.
There are around 40 sizes of stunts and if the patient does not get the required size of the stunt at the time he/she is on the operation table it can lead to death of the patient, says a senior doctor at the SMHS.
The SMHS hospital conducts 4-5 angiographies every day and the attendants of the patients have to buy angiography catheters, introducer sheeths, guide-wires, manifold, contrast dye and other medical equipment needed for it from SKIMS counter.
The pacemakers are not also available at the drug counter and they too are to be purchased from the SKIMS.
Sources said that these all items were available at the SMHS counter but have been stopped for unknown reasons. The SMHS higher ups have given verbal directions to the SKIMS drug counter to provide drugs and equipment for the patients who are admitted in SMHS hospital.
The hospitals didn’t purchase the equipment but different vendors keep it at the sales counter of the hospitals and patients had to make  payment to the vendors after implantation of stunts and pacemakers.
The attendants of the patients are surprised over the issue and demanded that the emergency drugs and medical equipment should be made available at SMHS drug counter.

Illegal allotment of shops/halls at Bahu Plaza

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 1: In the much publicized case of illegal allotment of shops/ halls at Bahu Plaza, the State High Court has directed the Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department to file fresh status report in the light of the affidavit filed by the Commissioner Secretary, General Administration Department. The Court also granted two weeks time to Sajjad Ahmed Bhat, to file objections to the petition justifying his allotment.
These directions were passed in a petition filed by Sunil Mahajan challenging the allotment of Hall No.209 South Block, Bahu Plaza in favour of Sajjad Ahmed Bhat on the ground that no procedure was followed while making the allotment, which according to him was based on extraneous considerations.
When the matter was taken up by Justice J P Singh today, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed appearing for the petitioner drew the attention of the Court to the affidavit filed by the Commissioner Secretary GAD on Court’s directive dated February 22, 2012 wherein the GAD submitted that it was decided to advise the Housing and Urban Development Department to put the allottees to notice, seek their objections and thereafter pass appropriate orders with a view to restore the properties to JDA, which would be inconsonance with the orders of the State High Court.
The affidavit further said that vide communication OM No-GAD (L) F-534/2009 dated April 12, 2012, the Housing and Urban Development Department has been advised to proceed further in the matter.
Advocate I H Bhat appearing for Sajjad Ahmed Bhat submitted that his client was not in possession of Hall No 209, which is under challenge in the petition, but submitted that allotment was made in favour of Sajjad Ahmed Bhat.
The Court recorded the submission of counsel appearing for the Sajjad Ahmed Bhat and allowed two weeks time for filling objections. Advocate S S Ahmed apprised the Court about the order dated June 1, 2009 passed in a batch of petitions wherein the State High Court quashed the cancellation of allotment of 31 halls/ shops.
The Counsel appearing for the petitioner informed the Court that despite the lapse of three years no action was initiated and it was only due to the intervention of this Court, Commissioner Secretary GAD on April 12, 2012 asked the Commissioner Secretary Housing to proceed further in the matter as per the directions of the state High Court.
AAG Gagan Basotra appeared for the State.

Electrification of Jammu-Pathankot railway line

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 1: Though the electrification related infrastructure on Jammu-Pathankot railway line will be in place by the end of current year yet several bottlenecks relating to supply of power are yet to be sorted out between Railways’ concerned wing and Power Development Department of the State Government.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that the officers of concerned wing of the railways have held number of meetings with the concerned authorities of the Power Development Department but the same failed to yield any positive outcome and all the issues of extending power supply to railways infrastructure remained unresolved till date.
Disclosing that railways’ electrification wing has identified location at Samba from where the power supply will be made to the electrification network on Jammu-Pathankot line, they said, “it is yet to be sorted out as to whether Power Development Department’s grid sub-station at Samba or the upcoming grid of the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) would provide power supply to the sub-station of the railways”.
According to the sources, the railways authorities had provided an amount of Rs 3 lakh to the Power Development Department for preparing estimates of works required to be carried out to connect grid sub-station of PDD with that of railways at Samba several months back but till date the same are yet to be finalized.
“In the absence of estimates the railway authorities would not be in a position to release funds for creating necessary infrastructure vis-à-vis connecting grid sub-station of Power Development Department with that of the railways”, sources further said while mentioning that since electrification project is funded by the Union Railway Ministry there would be no constraints of funds.
It is pertinent to mention here that work on electrification of Jammu-Pathankot railway line is going on at required pace and as per the recent statement of General Manager Railway Electrification, Jagdev Kalia, the same would be completed by the end of current year.
“Apart from infrastructure related bottlenecks, the terms and conditions on which the power supply would be made for chugging of Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) on Jammu-Pathankot railway line have also been not settled between electrification wing of railways and Power Development Department”, sources said.
“While the authorities of electrification wing of the railways want PDD to treat them on the pattern of other States of the country, the PDD is insisting on signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the pattern of one it has signed with the Konkan Railways Construction Limited (KRCL)”, sources said while disclosing that railways electrification wing has projected requirement of 5 MVA of electricity at the initial stage and informed the Power Development Department that further requirement of electricity would depend upon the train operations.
Since the meetings held so far have failed to yield any positive result, the senior officers of the Electrification Wing of the railways have decided to approach Principal Secretary, Power Development Department, Sudhanshu Pandey in near future so that all the bottlenecks are sorted out and necessary infrastructure is created well before the completion of electrification related works, sources said.
“Since electrification of Jammu-Udhampur railway line is also targeted to be completed by the end of next year, both the Electrification Wing of railways and PDD should work in tandem to ensure that the ambitious project don’t face any hurdle and is completed well within the stipulated time-frame”, sources stressed.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 1: In an unprecedented move aimed at reducing the pendency of the cases in the High Court and also in view of shortage of judges, the Acting Chief Justice Virender Singh has decided not to avail transit days leave on account of Annual Darbar Move of High Court and issued directions to Registry to list cases before him in the Jammu Wing of the High Court.
The decision of the Acting Chief Justice has been welcomed by the advocates as well as litigants.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Acting Chief Justice was entitled to transit days leave from April 30 to opening of the Darbar Move at Srinagar but keeping in view the shortage of judges and huge pendency, the Acting Chief Justice has decided to hold the Court so that the confidence of the people is restored in judiciary.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 1: Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and National Conference president, Dr Farooq Abdullah today spent third day in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi after being diagnosed with viral infection and chest congestion.
He was being attended by a team of four senior doctors including Balram Airen, HoD Cardio Thoracic Surgery,  V K Bahl, HoD Cardiology, G C Khilnan and Rakesh Yadav.
‘‘Dr Farooq Abdullah is fine, stable and recovering fast. His vital parameters are normal. Blood and other tests conducted on him supported the diagnosis of viral infection”, the doctors attended upon the Union Minister, said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah remained with his father for quite some time today. He had also visited Dr Abdullah in the hospital yesterday.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad today visited AIIMS and inquired condition of Dr Farooq Abdullah.
It may be mentioned here that Dr Abdullah had earlier spent eight days in the AIIMS after being diagnosed with pneumonic and chest infections.