Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: Minister of State for Agriculture and R&B, Javed Ahmed Dar, today admitted that nearly 6296 hectare area of wheat crop was affected due to yellow rust in five districts of Jammu region.
Replying to the Calling Attention Motion of the NC member Ajay Sadhotra in the Upper House today, Mr Dar said that outbreak of ‘yellow rust’ disease in wheat crop has been observed in five districts of Jammu region including, Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Reasi and Udhampur. He claimed that the incidence was first reported in the third week of January 2012 in the border areas of Jammu, Samba and Kathua.
Mr Dar pointed out that the initial occurrence of the disease in the plains of Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts is from the water logged / irrigated areas along the border which provide the necessary moisture regime for outbreak of this disease. The Government has taken several steps to check this disease. He disclosed that as per a survey conducted by the concerned department officials, out of total 71000 hectare area under wheat crop, an area of nearly 1069 hectare has been affected with the yellow rust in the wheat crop in Jammu district, out of 45,894 ha area under wheat crop nearly 3710 ha area under yellow rust in Kathua district, out of total 20480 ha nearly 1146 ha under disease in Samba, 370 ha in Reasi followed by merely one hectare area in district Udhampur.
The Minister said taking lesson from the earlier experience during 2010-11 in five states of North India, the effective steps were taken by the Government and it was suggested to sow rust resistance wheat varieties like PBW175, PBW509, Raj 3765 and Raj 3077 and these varieties were distributed among the farmers of the vulnerable area. The provision of ` 30 lakh was earmarked for providing pesticides on subsidized cost for control of this disease in Jammu division under RKVY scheme with a provision of 50 % subsidy on Propiconazole 25 % EC pesticide used to control the yellow rust. He claimed that stocking of Propiconazole 25% EC in the Zonal stores of these districts was done in advance and 2100 Lts Pesticide Propiconazole 25 % was stocked in zonal stores well before the occurrence of the disease. An adequate provision was made to provide subsidy to the farmers for the purchase of spray pump sets to spray the chemicals.
Mr Dar pointed out that farmer field schools and demonstrations on wheat crop were laid right from the sowing time of the crop, 5000 crop demonstrations and 108 farmer field schools were laid to train 8240 farmers of Jammu division. Close monitoring was started and one departmental officer was nominated as Liaison Officer in each district to coordinate with the SKUAST/ KVK and the Central Integrated Pest Management Centre for surveillance. Besides chemicals, 1173 spray pumps have also been distributed among the farmers at subsidized cost. Mr Sadhotra criticized the Government for not taking proper measures before the outbreak of the disease and demanded compensation to the farmers whose crop has been affected with the yellow rust. He pointed out that recommendations of noted Agricultural Scientist, Dr S D Singh, were not taken seriously and the farmers were made to suffer again in this year. Mr Dar however, denied the charges and said that all possible measures were taken.
Wheat crop on 6296 hectare affected by yellow rust: Dar
BOSE stops affiliation of 47 pvt schools
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohi-ud-Din today said that Government has stopped affiliation of 47 private schools and it has no intention to relax norms under SRO- 123.
He was replying to a discussion moved by Ajay Kumar Sadhotra regarding the problems faced by private schools in view of SRO-123, in the Legislative Council today. The Minister said for the betterment of our future generation and to provide better education facilities to them, norms laid down under SSA and RMSA coupled with SRO-123 ought to be followed.
Mr Taj said the prescribed space as demanded under SRO-123, viz infrastructure and dimension of rooms i.e. indoor games room (with an area of 150 SQ Mts) one principal room (with 100 SQ Mts area) one staff room (100 Sq Mts Area) are not available in most of the cases. Moreover, instructions have been issued to the concerned school managements who applied for further permission, reorganization and upgradation to provide the entire requisite infrastructure and other facilities as per prescribed norms.
He further said that the norms laid down under SRO- 123 are according to the guidelines of SSA and RMSA which facilitate opening of primary schools, upgradation of primary into middle schools and upgradation of middle schools into high schools. He said academic inspection are regularly conducted by teams constituted by the J&K Board of School Education, the members of which comprise academicians of repute nominated by Directorates of Education Kashmir and Jammu.
As per condition laid down under SRO-123 the J&K BOSE has stopped the affiliation of 39 private institutions of Kashmir division and 8 private institutions of Jammu division which were found deficient and could not fulfill the norms,he added
Shiekh Ghulam Rasool while taking part in the discussion said that Government should extend finance/aid to those private schools for infrastructure development that have shown excellent performance over the years especially in rural areas.
Jehangir Hussain Mir said that Government should relax rules for good schools that have contributed a lot in the education sector over the years. They should be allowed to run till they are able to build the required infrastructure as per norms, he said.
B R Kundal said that the Government should come up with a notification regarding those schools that do not fulfill the norms laid down under the SRO 123 so that parents would be well informed in this regard.
Nurboo Gialchan said that education should not be allowed to run like business and those schools that do not fulfill the norms should not be encouraged.
Earlier while moving the discussion Ajay Kumar Sadhotra highlighted the contribution of private schools in the education sector of the State and demanded that norms under SRO-123 should be relaxed to encourage private schools. He said private schools should be given sufficient time to build the requisite infrastructure before enforcing provisions under SRO-123.
Lack of quorum routine issue in LC ?
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: The lack of quorum and the attendance of the Members at the low ebb in the House of Elders has apparently now become the routine affair.
While the members of Legislative Council today lodged strong protest with the “Chair” that their House was not being taken seriously by the Government (Ministers) and bureaucrats, how serious they were in the business could be well gauged when the discussion on the Budget was going on in the House. Minister for Industries, S S Slathia, MoS Finance and Cooperatives Dr Manohar Lal Sharma and MoS for R&B Javed Dar were sitting in the House. None of them is the member of the Upper House. PDP member Murtaza Khan was acting as presiding officer (vice chairman) and after Javid Rana (NC), Bashir Ahmed Magray from Congress was taking part in discussion.
Only seven members were present in the House, having actual strength of 29 between 1.26 pm to 1.40 pm. They included Ravinder Sharma, Master Noor Hussain, Narboo Gailchan, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Dr B A Veeri, Javid Ran and Khalid Najeeb Suhrawardy. One of the Ministers went out for some time followed by Master Noor Hussain. The House continued proceedings. The strength of the members was reduced to six in the House after NC member Noor Hussain left the House at around 1.55 pm. The discussion however, continued despite the fact that secretary and his staff was witnessed murmuring and counting members present in the House.
It drew the attention of the Vice Chairman, who pointed out “since the Quorum was not complete and time was also nearly over, the House is adjourned”. This is not happening for the first time, it has now become a routine in this House.
About 19 lakh kanal State, Forest land under encroachment
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: Admitting that unscrupulous elements have been making attempts to encroach upon land in and around major cities of the State, Government today said that about 19 lakh kanal State, Forest and Kahcharai land is under encroachment across the State.
In response to a question of CPM MLA, Mohd Yousaf Tarigami, Minister for Revenue, Raman Bhalla, admitted in the Lower House that unscrupulous elements have been making attempts to encroach upon the State/Kahcharai/ Forest land in and around major cities of the State. He, however, said that efforts are made from time to time to evict the encroachers and restore the land to its original position as and when such encroachments are noticed.
“So far as Kahcharai and forest land is concerned, the same is retrieved by revenue and forest agencies from time to time and eviction proceedings are a continuous process”, he said, adding “but an extensive exercise is yet to be carried out so as to ascertain the exact quantum of land which is under illegal occupation of the un-authorized occupants”.
As per the tentative details provided by the Minister, over 14 lakh kanal State land is under encroachment across the State. In Jammu district, over 32995 kanal of State land has been encroached by the mafia while as in Srinagar, over 36394 kanal of land is under the illegal occupation of unscrupulous elements.
Over 392247 kanal State land is under encroachment in Ramban district, 109629 kanal in Ramban, 71201 kanal in Reasi, 62327 kanal in Kishtwar, 25015 kanal in Samba, 90089 kanal in Udhampur, 116174 kanal in Doda, 64552 kanal in Poonch, 57215 kanal in Kathua, 33710 kanal in Anantnag, 27947 kanal in Budgam, 24533 kanal in Ganderbal, 41011 kanal in Pulwama, 93426 kanal in Baramulla, 29114 kanal in Kulgam, 34752 kanal in Shopian, 47763 kanal in Bandipora and 55721 kanal in Kupwara.
As far as Kahcharai land is concerned, over 3.4 lakh kanal is under encroachment across the State. Over 3495 kanals is under encroachment in Rajouri, 514 kanals in Ramban, 2730 kanals in Reasi, 2648 kanals in Kishtwar, 853 kanals in Samba, 9131 kanals in Udhampur, 362 kanals in Doda, 4122 kanals in Poonch, 6609 kanals in Jammu, 3553 kanals in Kathua, 25189 kanals in Anantnag, 23640 kanals in Srinagar, 39534 kanals in Budgam, 16473 kanals in Ganderbal, 33233 kanals in Pulwama, 40396 kanals in Baramulla, 23940 kanals in Kulgam, 39136 kanals in Shopian, 15647 kanals in Bandipora and 53743 kanals in Kupwara.
Leh and Kargil are the only districts in the State where neither State nor (Kahcharai) land is under encroachment.
According to the details, over 13360 hectares (1.06 lakh kanals) forest cover is under encroachment across the State. In Jammu Forest Division, 186.4000 hectares of forest cover has been encroached by the unscrupulous elements, 235.1000 hectares in Ramnagar, 37.5000 hectares in Kathua, 221.6000 hectares in Billawar, 14.1975 hectares in Udhampur, 1533.1000 hectares in Ramban, 411.4650 hectares in Batore Forest Division, 385.6500 hectares in Doda forest division, 615.7500 hectares in Bhaderwah, 278.5700 hectares in Kishtwar, 4.5000 hectares in Marwah, 2201.6500 hectares in Rajouri, 1792.6500 hectares in Poonch, 546.9140 hectares in Nowshera, 125.4400 hectares in Reasi and 879.000 hectares in Mahore Forest Division.
In Kashmir region, 56.39 hectares of forest land is under encroachment in Langate, 387.59 hectares in Jehlum Valley, 18.198 hectares in Kamraj forest division, 26.24 hectares in Kehmil, 994.65 hectares in Anantnag, 376.51 hectares in Lidder, 624.46 hectares in Shopian, 333.50 hectares in Special Division Kulgam, 413.95 hectares in Sidh, 148.76 hectares in Bandipora, 386.46 hectares in Pir Panjal forest division and 123.90 hectares in Special Division Tangmarg.
Protest in Kathua, road blocked for 2 hrs
Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Mar 6: Irate public staged massive protest demonstration against the district administration for its non-seriousness towards the strike of Safai-karamcharis and deteriorating insanitary conditions in the town besides worst condition of the roads.
A large number of people including majority of youth today blocked College Road near DC office and held demonstration. They were raising slogans against the administration for its indifferent attitude. They alleged that strike of Kathua Municipal Committee `Safai’ workers was going on for the last over 23 days. Drains have choked, heaps of garbage scattered all around in the town. Drain water flowing on the roads and lanes, causing serious problems and health hazards to the locals.
CMO Kathua in a letter has already warned the administration of the possibility of spreading epidemic under such conditions. The condition of roads is also worst and no repair has been initiated for the months together. Road widening work has also stopped half -way.
They alleged that District Administration has remained insensitive to these issues and Government should go for over- haling of the entire Administration in the town to improve state of affairs here. The protesters disrupted movement of traffic for about two hours and later dispersed.
Geelani to appear before DP today
From Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, Mar 6: The hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani will appear in Police Station Lodhi Colony tomorrow after he was summoned by Delhi police for his Pakistani visa recommendation to a Kashmiri Lashkar-e Toiba (LeT) militant. Reports reaching here said that two Delhi Police personnel, Dharminder Kumar and Pankaj Singh visited the Geelani’s residence at Malviya Nagar in Delhi and handed over the summon to him. He has been asked to present himself at the Lodhi Colony police station on March 7 where an FIR has been registered against him. The FIR against Geelani has been lodged by the special cell of Delhi after inputs that he recommended for Pakistani visa to the LeT militant identified as Ahtisham Malik. A resident of Sopore in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district Ahtisham was arrested along with another LeT militant Tauseef Ahmad Pir, also a resident of Sopore arrested in Delhi on February 29.
Hawala operator held in City
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: In a major success, police today arrested a hawala operator of the militants from Talab Tillo area and recovered ` 3.44 lakh worth hawala money from his possession. Police identified the hawala operator as Mohammad Aslam, a private teacher and a resident of Darhal, Rajouri. Reports said the hawala operator had got money through banking transaction in Rajouri. He was camping at Talab Tillo for handing over the hawala money to a militant’s contact from Kashmir valley. However, police arrested him before he could hand over the money to Kashmir’s hawala operator
Ruckus over lathicharge on Home Guards, NYC volunteers *Non-PDP Oppn stages walk-out
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: The Legislative Assembly today witnessed ruckus over lathi-charge on agitating Home Guards, National Youth Corps volunteers and Safai Karamcharis with Opposition accusing the Government of not being sympathetic towards the genuine demands of the agitating sections of the society. As soon as the proceedings of the House started, entire Opposition collectively raised the issue of lathi-charge on the Home Guards, National Youth Corps volunteers and Safai Karamcharis, who have been agitating for their genuine demands during the past quite sometime. “This Government only believes in suppressing the voices of the agitating sections of the society by making use of police force instead of sympathetically considering their genuine demands”, National Panthers Party MLA from Udhampur, Balwant Singh Mankotia said and asked the Government to stop using force on agitating Home Guards, NYC volunteers and Safai Karamcharis
Upper House adjourned twice amidst protest by MLCs, absence of Ministers
By Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Mar 6: In an unprecedented development today, the Upper House of the State Legislature was adjourned twice amidst protest by the legislators not only from opposition PDP but also from ruling regime (Cong,NC), for not taking them into confidence while approving several Centrally sponsored projects in their respective areas and non-seriousness on the part of Ministers and bureaucrats towards business in the House. As the Legislative Council commenced its normal business today at 11 AM, the Congress legislator from Bhaderwah, Naresh Gupta stood up and raised the issue that while finalizing projects under PMGSY, BRGF, NABARD etc, MLCs are not taken into confidence by the concerned departments. He lodged strong protest with the Chairman and said that members of this House were facing discrimination on this count and directions should go from the ‘Chair’ in this regard.
Govt toughens stand on fake PRCs State Subject Commission being strengthened, to have new head
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: Toughening its stand on checking settlement of non-State Subjects in Jammu and Kashmir, the State Government has decided to strengthen the State Subject Commission and appoint its new Chairman in place of Dr A Q Parrey with new set of guidelines for early disposal of the fake PRC cases. Official sources told EXCELSIOR that while discussing the functioning of the State Subject Commission, the Government observed that the objectives with which it was set up long back, have not been achieved because of varied reasons. “The Government has found it imperative to strengthen the Commission in such a way that cases of fake PRCs are taken to logical conclusion in a time-bound manner and the settlement of outsiders in the State is properly checked”, they said, adding “there are inputs with the Government that large number of non-State Subjects have not only managed to get settled in the State on the fake PRCs but have also acquired huge property