NEW DELHI, Apr 24: The controversial proposal to amend the Income Tax Act with retrospective effect to bring into tax net Vodafone-type deals is expected to yield to the exchequer Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 crore, the government said today.
“The Income Tax department has made an estimation that the total tax implication in consequences of retrospective amendments introduced in Finance Bill 2012 may be to the tune of Rs 35,000-40,000 crore”, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s Budget proposal, aimed at taxing Vodafone-type merger and acquisition deals involving domestic assets has generated lot of debate, with various global bodies claiming that the move would hurt foreign investment.
Once the amendment is approved by Parliament, the British telecom giant would have to pay Rs 11,000 crore as tax for its acquisition of the Hutchison’s stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd in 2007.
On the overall implications of the proposed amendment, Palanimanickam said, “The figure of Rs 35,000-40,000 crore is an estimate and the exact amount is determined only when assessing officer completes assessment proceedings.
“The proceeding before assessing officer is a quasi judicial proceedings and the name along with demand raised is determined only on completion of such proceedings.”
In a separate reply, Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said: “Foreign investors make their decisions taking into account all relevant factors and the investments are admitted into the country within the framework of the applicable laws, rules and regulations formulated to promote the country’s interest”. (PTI)
In the latest Apex Committee meeting of the Kashmiri migrants ,the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced that his Government will soon promulgate ordinance for the protection and care of Kashmiri Hindu shrines and religious places. He asked his Revenue Minister to prepare a draft document in this regard so that it could be placed in the next cabinet meeting for approval . For the Hindu community of the State, in general, and that of Kashmir, in particular , the announcement is reassuring that its religious and spiritual place will be safe and the sign posts of Valley’s ancient civilization will receive adequate protection , to ward of threats of the prowling land mafia . These religious places are inextricably linked with the physical and spiritual existence of every Hindu who lives in the Valley. They are his defining land marks. Some of these places have been mapped by the UNESCO as part of the universal heritage. Therefore , this announcement of Omar Abdullah is a welcome development. Undoubtedly , he and his cabinet colleagues deserve our gratitude.
The unfortunate events of the last two decades have , besides traumatizing the displaced community , played havoc with its religious places . They became victims of weather and the human greed .Te raison detr’e of the law has been very well delineated by the Aims and Objects of the Bill No11/2009 , pending consideration before the Assembly, wherein it was introduced by the present Government ” …Due to the disturbed conditions in the Kashmir Valley in 1990 ,the majority of the Hindus left the Valley and Shrines remained unattended. There are complaints that properties of these shrines have been encroached up on .” This weighed with the then leader of the opposition and present Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and made him introduce a private member’s bill in the previous Assembly. The bill was withdrawn on the assurance of then CM Gulam Nabi Azad that his Government would bring the necessary bill on its own . That, however , didn’t happen . The present government brought the bill . Though same got stuck in the Assembly, for the reasons not required to be mentioned here .
Experience has taught us that the religious places which have a statutory control are well managed and have become focal points to attract religious tourism , opening up lot of employment opportunities. Waqaf boards for Muslim Shrines , Prabandhak committees for management of Sikh Gurdwaras and Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine board provide shining examples in this regard . Ten million pilgrims paid obeisance to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in the previous year . Imagine ! how much revenue it must have generated for the state . Similar can be the case with the well managed Hindu Shrines in Kashmir , given the breath taking locale and archeological value of some of them. We understand that whenever a reformatory step is contemplated it does impinge upon the vested interests of some one , somewhere. It was so in case of Mata Vaishno Devi enactment and it is being so experienced in case of the law under discussion here. It was the total commitment of the government, in1986, which cleared the way for law for Mata Vaishno Devi. Thankfully, we are seeing same kind of political will developing in favour of Kashmiri Hindu Shrines law as well.
It is understandable that some body or an organization may have a case to seek exemption from the sweep of the proposed law. We do appreciate that a democratic and responsive government has a duty to ensure that no section of the populace is harmed by its action .Precisely to avoid such a situation from arising , the Bill has enough provisions in it to take care of genuine interests of all concerned. It is not that the temples and religious places in Kashmir will ,ipso facto , fall under the purview of the law , as soon as it is promulgated . Cl ;1 ( a) of the Bill says that only those religious places and shrines will be administered , managed and regulated by the Board , created by the proposed Act , which are notified under Cl ; 5 of the Bill. They will be notified only after objections , if any , of any body or an organization are disposed of by the Special Officer-who will be a Class 1st Officer of the State Governmen. Before that, in order to notify the religious places under Cl 5 , a detailed enquiry and investigation has to be held by the Special Officer under Cl 4 of the Bill , regarding any claim of any kind laid by any person or a body. The Special Officer has been invested with powers of a Civil Court to decide the matter before him .In no case are his orders final in the matte. An aggrieved party has a right of appeal before the territorial District Judge, under Sub -Cl ( 5) of Cl 4 of the Bill .We hope , the Government will keep these facts in view while promulgating the ordinance . Care has to be taken that the proposed law does not get diluted as to make it ineffective in the real sense of term . Or, that the Hindu community is perpetually is caught in unnecessary litigation which might become unavoidable if the scheme and structure of Bill No11 /2009 is disturbed . There is need to ensure that the remedy does not become worse than the disease .
(The author is former Principal District & Sessions Judge )
Corruption in public life is not a modern phenomenon. It was prevalent in the political and civic life of ancient India and has been discussed by famous historian i.e. Katulilya in Arthshastra. But it is since independence that corruption has become a chronic feature of our public life. It is now treated as a normal feature. Now people do not show any reaction against corrupt practices, or express any shock when big scandals like 2G Spectrum, fair fax deal, scandal in Common Wealth Games are exposed .
In British rule when India was ruled with the help of bureaucrats of Indian civil service. These officers being above corruption helped the British to maintain law and order and run the administration efficiently. But some departments like police and PWD were notorious for their corrupt practices even then. Corruption was not so rampant as it is today for the simple reason that there were fewer opportunities.
After independence, we adopted a democratic pattern of society. In order to make democracy successful there must be responsible citizens who are not merely aware of their rights but also of their duties. They have power to put people in power who are worth to rule. Political rulers should be role model in society. They must possess high values. But it was indeed sad that public trust in these leaders was betrayed. Such is the height of situation that people now realize that the faith they had placed in politicians was misplaced. Now it has become a normal routine that when ever a scandal is exposed commissions of inquiry are appointed to appease the common masses and their anger. However complete truth is never made public.
There are endless opportunities for corruption in a developed country like ours. Although there are rules and regulations governing the conduct of public servants but these are twisted and interpreted in accordance with the circumstances. There is a wide spread nepotism and favourtism and manipulation in social setup of our country.
Even a petty clerk wields more power than a more successful private citizen. It is said that to get even a paper moved in a office of Govt. one has to grease the itching palms of these people.
The basic factor responsible for corruption is the conflict between the civil servants and politicians. In order to maintain his political base and consolidate his position in his area a politician accommodates many people i.e. prominent wealthy voters, party leaders, members of parliament etc. and grants them concessions to give their support. On the other hand responsible civil servants are constantly thwarted in their attempts to move according to establish rules. This is the crucial reason that antisocial activities can not be effectively be brought under control. Thus many people i.e. hoarders, smugglers, tax evaders, business, houses enjoy political support thus weaking the hands of the authorities. Corruption can certainly checked if the civil servants do not succumb to political pressure. However Govt should ensure that there is no victimisation of such honest officers. Otherwise it can demoralise them and corruption will flourish to a great extent in society. There is a widespread impression that many of our politicians and party chiefs place personal and party interests above public welfare and there by endanger basic values of life. A political leader should not become prey of people who are not well wishers of society. As political parties can not function without funds. They are obliged to accept money from business houses in exchange for certain concessions. The only way to eliminate this form of corruption is that election expenses should be reduced to the minimum and the law should be vigorously enforced.
Due to the progress in economy the price levels have risen to such extent that the purchasing power of the rupees is only 10 paise today. It has made life of fixed income group very difficult. People having black money used to live in palatial houses and make the middle classes feel helpless. Many of them can not resist the temptation of making easy money to maintain their social status. But this does not in any way justify corruption, but brings us to the point that we have forgotten our Gandhian ideals and merely pay lip services to them. Had our politician led an austere life corruption in society could have been greatly checked if not altogether eliminated. Besides no amount of revision in pay scales can satisfy people, unless the abnormal rise in the prices of essential commodities is brought under control.
Today corruption has become so widespread that there is no sphere of national life where it does not exist. Large sum of money allocated for development of people at grassroot level for their welfare never reaches to real beneficiaries. Thus there is no progress of nation in real sense.
The Central Govt is always aware of the need to combat corruption. In 1964 on the suggestion of Sanathan Committee the Govt announced code for Central and State Ministers. It suggested the people in power to declare their assets and liabilities and put restretch on collecting funds for election. However these restriction were not seriously enforced, things continued to degenerate. A major factor in facilitating corruption in the existing system of transfers and posting of Govt servants. The threat of transfer was considered an ideal way of controlling the behavior of civil servants. The transfer system was introduced by British to prevent local officials from becoming too powerful. Today it has become the soul of the our social society. Of course there are still people who are honest. But as long as people are willing to offer bribes, directly or indirectly and as long as the needs of people go on increasing, there would be temptations to make money on the sly.
The J&K state not only enjoys a special constitutional status amongst the states of the Indian union, but has its own special and distinct problems as well, which are unique to itself. No other state has its borders with actively hostile neighbours as J&K. No other state has suffered so many external aggressions from its neighbours as J&K. And no other state has suffered so much internal turmoil and sabotage, day in and day out to neighbourly state’s – armed and unarmed intervention. It is the J&K Police, which faced in the past and still continues to face the consequences of this external onslaught of the enemy as the frontline force.
To add to this situation is the complexity of its geographic and demographic makeup. It’s four regions of Ladakh, Rajouri and Poonch, Kashmir and Jammu are distinct and each has its special identity and complexity. A development or a situation in one region does not affect the people of other regions as much as it does the originally concerned regions. The state is not a homogeneous unit. It is first bound together by geography and was brought into being by means of conquest.
For the past over twenty years we are facing the problem of armed militancy sponsored by Pakistan and it’s ISI. Though there is a thaw at present in the situation, yet the problem is not completely over. The training camps of militants across the border are still intact. The situation in Pakistan is not stable. Any major setback in the situation in Afghanistan and Waziristan will have direct impact on us. Situation on the militancy front can revert any time. We need to continue our vigil keeping our forces at the designated places. It is no time to make experiments and to harness new horses to run an unchartered course.
The present DGP Shri Kuldeep Khoda, is retiring after his successful and glorious innings and his successor is clearly visible even to a blind eye. Where is the ground for doubt and speculation unless the idea is to slacken the vigil against militancy, to demoralise the police force, to heap humiliation upon it’s glorious records of the past two decades of fighting militancy and to mock the supreme sacrifices of its thousands of brave jawans and officers in the service of the motherland. Why a public debate about a new DGP has started ? Is it a conspiracy, a mischief or a sabotage against the J&K Police and as a consequence against the J&K State or all the three combined ?
Normally, when a vacancy occurs, the senior most officer in the seniority list is considered and if found fit from all angles is promoted. If due to some reasons he fails short of the requirements of the job, only then – only then, the next officer on the list is considered. Or when number two in the seniority list far outweighs in merit than the officer at number one of the list and is found more suitable for the job, then only number two is considered, not otherwise. It is not the requirement of rules that if there are more than one officer of the same year of allotment then all of them will be considered for promotion simultaneously. There is law of progeniture in services. Every officer is considered for promotion in his own turn. There is no point in making water muddy by clubbing two officers with the same year of allotment together for consideration, however competent number two officer may be.
I was the first IPS officer to be allotted to the state of J&K on the basis of all India competition in 1962. During these over fifty years of association with the J&K Police, I have observed the working of many a deputationist, IGPs and DGPs and have found this experience as disastrous (with the sole exception of one deputationist who was with us only for two years). It is primarily because the deputationists do not thoroughly know the topography of the state, it’s regions, history and culture of its distinct four regions, their affiliations and mindset, the complexities in administering the state, the composition of the police force and its ethos, nature and composition of its bureaucracy, politicians, Army and Air Force top brass and many a paramilitary Force.
If one has served the state for intelligence gathering, then he has acquired knowledge about the state only from that angle, and if one has served the state only to maintain public order then he has understood the state from that angle alone (It is no reflection on the competence of the officers reportedly mentioned in the MHA panel proposed for the post of DGP, as I do not know the gentleman).
Policing as a whole is a very big and complex affair. It touches almost all aspects of human society. Knowledge of one or two functions of policing is not enough, however, vital these functions might be.
In order to qualify as Police Chief, one must first qualify as possessor of the knowledge of the state, its history and culture, its regions and religions, its police, government and politics. Mere superficial knowledge won’t do. A thorough knowledge can be obtained if one has lived and breathed the air of the state for years and years and if one has rubbed shoulders with its toiling masses and the rank and file of its police force and if one has lead his men in crisis and during enemy onslaught. These qualities give him a special place and regard in the hearts of his men making him worthy of leading them as their chief. Importing officers and superimposing them on the existing system won’t work. It might even reverse the momentum painstakingly achieved against militancy by years of hard work and sacrifice.
I have also read in the newspapers that senior most officers of the state cadre, being of 1984 batch, do not qualify to be DGPs, as they have not completed thirty years of service. It is humbug. The state government is well within in competence to take a decision on the appointment of the new DGP. Here also seems to be a hand of mischief or conspiracy at work. For the past more than half a century since I have been associated with the J&K Police none of the IGPs and DGPs who were selected for the post had completed thirty years of service at the time of their selection. The following table will expose this argument also. Since the extension of IPS to the state, the following officers have been selected to serve as IGPs and DGPs;
Bedi was succeeded by our own very competent cadre officers like M N Sabarwal, A K Suri, Gopal Sharma and a deputationist Gurbachan Jagat (1966) till Kuldeep Khoda. None of these officers had completed thirty years of service at the time of their selection as their DGP. Raising this point now against the 1984 batch officers is nothing short of mischief.
Deputationists, since they work under various handicaps try to create their own lobby of officers who are loyal to them. These officers are rewarded for their loyalty. Sometimes juniors are promoted over the head of their more deserving seniors creating dissentions and bad blood, dividing the force in camps. Chain of command is disturbed and sycophancy becomes the norm. Deputationists in order to consolidate their own position create their lobbies in the secretariat and in Delhi, amongst politicians and press men to the determent of cohesion and camaraderie in the force. Being men of the centre they often look more towards the centre.
IPS cadre of J&K state has come off age. It has given many distinguished and highly competent IGPs/DGPs to the state. Why should it be ignored now ? when highly competent, trained and tested officers are available to head the force. Why should we look elsewhere for commanders. There is no point in making a tamasha or circus of it at all. The chief of the police is not a ring master. His selection is a quiet, governmental exercise and it should be done in a quiet and dignified manner. The public debate which is raging in the press and other forums should cease forthwith.
(The author is J&K’s first IPS Officer and a former DGP)
In a decisive verdict, the Supreme Court has dismissed a PIL petition challenging the appointment of Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh as the next Army Chief. This verdict, however, does not affect any legal proceedings against him in connection with the alleged fake encounter in J&K. Earlier, the SC Bench had asked for the file from the government clearing the appointment of Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh. The Court said that it had studied the file and found that there were not one but many allegations brought against the General but the Government had, at its level, cleared him of all those doubts and finally cleared his appointment. As such the court did not find any reason why it should interfere in the decision of the Government in this regard. The age issue of COAS also came up in the course of debate but the court brushed it aside saying that that case had already been disposed off and would not be reopened. The counsel for the petitioners made a strong plea that Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh was implicated in UN Congo mission besides the J&K alleged fake encounter but the court did not uphold any of these objections and ruled the dismissal of the petition reiterating that the Government had cleared him at various levels.
The legendary actor Ashok Kumar’s family today comprises his eldest daughter Bharati Jaffrey, grand-daughter Anuradha Patel and daughter-in-law Meena Ganguly. “Our father was everything one expects in a father and more,” recalls Bharati Jaffrey, remembering the days she spent with her illustrious father. “He was loving, affectionate and gave us the freedom of space and choice to do whatever we wished to do. He didn’t bring his studio back home and was full of jokes that would send us into peals of laughter.”
Mother Shobha Rani Ganguli played the disciplinary role in the family. “His multifaceted talents that reached out to areas and fields that had nothing to do with films, was amazing,” Jaffrey adds.
In memory of this philanthropy and his multifaceted character, his children and grand-children have formed the Ashok Kumar Foundation to commemorate their father’s multi-faceted talents.
Ashok Kumar who this writer had the good fortune of interviewing at his residence in Chembur, Mumbai, was the first actor in Hindi cinema to usher in the natural style of acting where dialogues are delivered as people talk in real life. This is interesting in the backdrop of his film-script-like entry into films as an actor. He was a lab technician at noted Bombay Studio when studios were the epicenter of filmmaking and stars worked on monthly salaries. During the shooting of a film, the leading lady ran away with the actor who was playing the hero. She happened to be the wife of the studio proprietor too. She was brought back pronto but the hero was shown the door. Who then would substitute the hero? The shy lab technician was persuaded to step in. He stepped in with great reluctance. The rest, as the clichéd saying goes, is history.
Ashok Kumar’s long and illustrious career is a happy mix of genres from action films, ghost dramas, family entertainment, through comedy to thrillers to musicals to literary classic and satire. Any listing of names would be just a small drop in the ocean of his performances. He has left behind a great legacy for the next generation to watch, view and learn from.
Ashok Kumar was one of the first actors wise enough to invest in another line of business and attain success in it too. In those days many actors and actresses wasted their wealth in their heyday to repent later. He had invested in a poultry farm which soon became a big supplier to many big and small hotels in and around Mumbai.
He was a brilliant homeopath and for 45 years he practiced homeopathy as an exercise in social service on Sundays and on his shooting holidays.
Moushumi Chatterjee, who acted with him in many films, says that one of her daughters was hit by a severe back pain once which the doctors could not give a happy solution. “I asked him to look into the case and he asked me to bring my daughter to him. He treated her for some days and the pain was not only cured but it never came back,” says Moushumi. “The Ashok Kumar Foundation donates homeopathic medicines to a clinic that takes medical care of deprived and poor children. It also funds solid scripts and its first benefactor was the Marathi film Shwaas that went on to bag many awards both in India and abroad,” says Meena Ganguly who looks after the entire workings of the Foundation.
“He had a passion for learning. He learnt to write his dialogue in Urdu from Dilip Kumar; he spoke French and German fluently. He used to say that one should be open to learning till one dies,” says Jaffrey. The rickety antique car used in Chalti Ka Naam Gadi was Ashok Kumar’s favourite. He helped his cousin when the latter was in trouble to produce Bimal Roy’s Parineeta in which he played Sekhar opposite Meena Kumari. He rescued Kishore Kumar when the latter invariably landed with massive backlogs in his income tax dues.
“Our father didn’t like his daughters to enter the films. But we have it in our blood; so how can we not come in? We never went anywhere near a studio when we were in school. But our youngest sister Preeti became one of the most talented comediennes in Hindi cinema and I made a career in television and in a few films. My daughter Anuradha has also done some good films. So, the bloodline begins to speak no matter how much you want to silence it,” says Bharati laughing at memories of happier days.
One of his sons-in-law, Deven Varma, husband of his second daughter Rupa had a long and successful career in films and a very close friend of his father-in-law. Actor Kanwaljeet, married to Anuradha Patel, is also into films and television. His son Arun Ganguly did just one film which was a disaster and never returned.
The actor was a chess player, a practicing astrologer and also a very good painter. “When he learnt that I am basically a painter by qualification and profession, though I switched over to acting, he made it a point to visit every single one of my painting exhibitions whenever I held them in Mumbai,” recalls actor Amol Palekar who was a fresh actor when he did a role with Ashok Kumar in Basu Chatterjee’s film. Late actor Iftekar who was an old friend, was his daily companion for chess so Ashok Kumar became a lonely man after his companion’s demise.
When he stopped working, his sat on a comfortable chair in his bedroom with his paintings decorating every empty space in the room. There were some knick-knacks scattered around and he picked on his nebuliser to take a few breaths as he had serious respiratory problems that had stopped him from smoking. He felt very lonely he said and wished that those who came to interview him would stay back and watch some of his films along with him on video. Unfortunately, few young journalists with deadlines to submit could spare the time to spend for an old and lonely actor. (TWF)
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 23: The State Government has decided to move an application before the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) with the plea to extend the deadline for metering of about 4.5 lakh electricity connections across the State so that such a large number of consumers don’t get deprived of power supply beyond April 28, 2012, which as per the J&K Electricity Act, 2010 is the last date for ensuring power supply through installation of correct energy meters.
Official sources said that following news-report in this paper that 4.5 lakh non-metered consumers would not be entitled for power supply beyond April 28, 2012 as per the provisions of J&K Electricity Act, 2010, the senior officers of the Power Development Department started deeply examining the relevant provisions of the Act.
“Even some officers of the Power Development Department unofficially contacted the State Electricity Regulatory Commission Members to discuss the legal position and finally it emerged that Department can also adopt the recourse of moving an application before the SERC seeking extension in the deadline for metering of non-metered connections”, they said.
However, for this the Department has to chalk out comprehensive metering plan for all the un-metered connections across the State and further time-table required to accomplish the task, which are vital steps before pleading the case before the Commission, sources said, adding while seeking extension in the deadline, the Power Development Department would have to justify before the Commission the delay behind meeting the earlier deadlines and elaborate how it would accomplish this vital task within the newly proposed time-frame.
In response to a question, they said, “the Commission can consider the application of the PDD and extend the deadline by way of notification”, adding “since the Commission has itself passed strictures against the PDD, the latter would have to bring clarity in its plans to complete metering exercise, which is essential for preparation of appropriate loss reduction strategies and schemes”.
When contacted, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department, Sudhanshu Pandey said, “I have directed the Development Commissioner Power (DCP) to analyze the situation and formally come up with the exact time-frame required to meter all the left-over non-metered connections”, adding “we have worked out comprehensive metering plan, which is imperative to approach the SERC with plea to extend deadline beyond April 28, 2012”.
In response to a question, he said, “DCP will come up with the time frame within a day or two following which further steps would be initiated in order to ensure that non-metered consumers continue to get electricity even beyond April 28, 2012”.
Among the 4.5 lakh non-metered electricity connections, 3,99,697 are domestic, 43,339 non-domestic/ commercial, 3,022 agriculture, 249 public street lighting and 598 LT public water works. These un-metered connections are consuming connected load of 344.86 Mega Watts (MW).
It is pertinent to mention here that SERC has been laying stress on the 100 per cent consumer metering since 2007-08 financial year when it issued first Tariff Order as the metering is a major step towards energy accounting and reduction of power losses.
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 23: In the much publicized Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting land grabbing at the behest of high-ups and in league with land mafia, Division Bench of State High Court comprising Acting Chief Justice Virender Singh and Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar today granted two weeks time to the petitioner to respond to the fresh status report filed by the Divisional Commissioner in response to earlier order of the Court.
The two weeks time was granted after Advocates Virender Bhat and Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed appearing for the PIL filed by Prof S K Bhalla submitted that they have received the copy of the fresh status report filed by the Divisional Commissioner this morning.
According to the status report, Satish Kumar, son of Madan Lal had applied for 41 kanals of State land falling under Khasra No. 424 min in village Lalyal for grant of ownership rights under J&K State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act 2001 popularly known as Roshini Scheme but the same has been rejected by the authorities.
The girdawari entries over State land measuring 50 kanals falling under Khasra No 1 (25 kanals) and Khasra No 127/1 Min (25 kanals) situated in village Suray Chak, which was in the name of one Vijay Kumar alias Babbi, have been expunged, the report said.
According to the report, Yaseer Nifar Wattali, son of Ahmed Shah Wattali is having 29 kanal and 10 marla of land in Khasra Nos 2438 and 2440 at Amb and whole land has been sold by the vendor. Similarly, Jahwas Ahmad Wattali, son of Haji Ghulam Nabi Shah Watali is having land in Khasra No 2442 & 2449 measuring 49 kanal and 10 marlas situated at Amb and the whole of the land has been sold by the vendor.
Sasba Begum, wife of Jahwas Ahmed Shah Watali is having land in Khasra Nos 2442 & 2449 measuring 20 kanal at Amb. Jawas Jahoos Shah Wattali, son of Jahwas Shah Wattali is having land in Khasra Nos 2442 & 2449 measuring 30 kanal and 10 marla at Amb and the whole of the land has been sold by the vendor. Zanib Shamas Wattali, wife of Shokat Wattali is having land in Khasra No 5291 measuring 9 kanal and 2 marla at Bhalwal and owner is in possession.
The report said that Madan Lal Sharma, son of Gushu Ram is having 15 marlas of land each at Paloura and Muthi. He is also in possession of ancestral land acquired through sale deeds and measuring 9 kanal and 2 marla and 80 kanal and 2 marla at Plattan, Pallanwala.
Sham Lal Sharma, brother of Madan Lal Sharma is owner in possession of measuring 8 marlas of land at Paloura under Khasra No 152 Min. He is also owner in possession of 33 kanal of land at Kot under Khasra Nos, 956, 957, 958, 960, 961, 1240 and 1230. He is also stated to have acquired the ancestral land through sale deeds measuring 104 and 24 kanal and 18 marla at Plattan, Pallanwala but Khasra numbers are not mentioned. He is also in possession of land measuring 5 kanal and 15 marla at Muthi and out of this land one kanal and 8.5 marla has been sold by the vendor.
According to the fresh status report, Ankush Sharma, son of Sham Lal Sharma is owner in possession of land measuring 10 kanal under Khasra Nos 956 and 1240 at Kot. He is also having land measuring one kanal at Muthi and 7 marla has been sold by the vendor.
The report said that land measuring 7 kanal and 7 marla situated at Manda, Akhnoor belonging to Sanjay Sharma alias Sanju, who has been declared as proclaimed offender, has been attached by the order of Principal Sessions Judge, Jammu.
NEW DELHI, Apr 23:
The Government today said any doctor going to the US for higher medical studies would have to sign a bond with it before leaving and honour the document by returning to India after finishing the study period.
“From this year onwards, any student going for further medical education to the US will have to give us a bond that he will come back after finishing the studies. In the last three years, 3000 doctors went abroad for studies and did not return. Now if a student does not come back from the US, he won’t be allowed to practice there,” Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said.
He said the US from this year onwards is insisting on a government NOC to every student enrolling with an American institute for studies.
“No other country except the US is asking for this NOC. Those who apply to go to the US for studies from 2012, will have to give us a bond saying they would come back after finishing the studies. If they don’t fulfill the bond obligation, we can write to the US to deny the student permission to practice,” Azad told reporters here.
The minister also expressed the hope that the MCI will give its approval to the proposed three-year Bachelor of Rural Health Care course, which seeks to create a separate cadre of public health professionals in the country to serve in rural areas. He said the doctors’ organisations were not interested in the course.
“Doctors’ organisations are opposing the course. I have no hesitation in saying that they have a vested interest to increase their practice,” Azad said.
Azad said there was a paucity of doctors in primary health centres as doctors only wanted to stay in urban areas.
“The rural health care course was ready two years ago. The curriculum is also ready. States are free to implement the course, as Assam is doing, but we wanted the MCI’s recognition to ensure uniform standards for the course across India. We hope the MCI will move fast on it,” he said.
The course, Azad said, would create professionals above the level of paramedics and below the level of MBBS doctors.
The move is aimed at not just taming the quacks, who have a field day in rural areas in the absence of adequate medical facilities there, but also provide good medical aid to the rural population at their doorstep.
It is being opposed by doctors’ lobby as patients from rural areas rush to private practitioners in urban areas, even as doctors’ organisations feel the creation of a new set of professionals would confuse the population and lead to devaluing the doctors, official sources said. (PTI)
Currency, communication link on agenda
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Apr 23: Ahead of Indo-Pak Home Secretaries’ meeting in Islamabad next month in which besides security concerns, the issue of cross-LoC trade was expected to figures as part of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between the two neighbouring countries, Union Home Secretary R K Singh would shortly undertake a two days visit of the State during which he would assess more facilities required at Uri-Muzafarrabad and Poonch-Rawlakote routes to give a boost to the trade.
“Initially, Mr Singh was scheduled to visit Uri in Baramulla district of Kashmir and Chakan-Da-Bagh in Poonch district of Jammu on April 24 and 25 or April 26 and 27. However, the dates clashed with the visit of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who would be undertaking an extensive tour of twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch for four days from April 24 to 27, the visit of the Union Home Secretary was likely to be re-scheduled’’, official sources said, adding that the visit was expected to be matured shortly as the Home Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan were expected to take place in Islamabad next month.
The fresh dates being considered for the visit of Mr Singh included April 25 for Chakan-Da-Bagh and Jammu and April 26 for Uri and Kashmir.
State Home Secretary B R Sharma told the Excelsior that the State was yet to get exact dates of the visit of Mr Singh but said the visit was on the cards as he had to travel to Uri and Chakan-Da-Bagh to take assessment of facilities for cross-LoC trade and more facilities required for the businessmen to boost the trade.
Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Home Secretary B R Sharma, Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda and Principal Secretary to Chief Minister B B Vyas had recently called on the Union Home Secretary in New Delhi and discussed the schedule of his visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr Sharma said the Union Home Secretary would tour both cross-LoC points of Uri and Chakan-Da-Bagh shortly for on spot review of the situation.
As per the provisional schedule, Mr Singh besides visiting two cross-LoC points would also hold a security review meeting in Srinagar before flying back to New Delhi.
As per the latest schedule, Mr Singh was scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir on April 25 and 26 confining his visit to Chakan-Da-Bagh and Uri besides an official meeting at Srinagar. Sources said the administration in Poonch had taken up the issue with the administration for getting the visit postponed as Omar Abdullah would be touring Poonch on April 26 and 27.
A formal message from the New Delhi was awaited, sources said, adding even if the visit of the Home Secretary was postponed for the time being, it would mature in the next few days.
Official sources said the Union Government wanted to take up the issue of converting cross-LoC trade from barter system to currency based. The ways and means for switching over to new system would first be discussed with civil and police administration besides Intelligence and other agencies engaged with conducting cross-LoC trade followed by representatives of the State Government before the Home Secretary took up the issue with his counterpart of Pakistan next month.
In the present barter system of trade, the businessmen had been facing a lot of problems to maintain their accounts and currency of both the countries keep on fluctuating.
The lack of communication system between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) was another issue, which was being discussed by the Union Government on the request of the State Government. It may be mentioned here that ISD link from J&K to any part of Pakistan besides PoK has been barred for past quite a long time as a security reason following apprehensions by security agencies that the militants could misuse the communication facility.
Sources said upgradation of infrastructure at Trade Facilitation Centres at Poonch and Uri including installation of full truck scanners and providing other facilities to the businessmen was also under consideration of the Centre Government. Increase in number of items from present list of 21 for trade between two parts of the divided State was also on agenda of the Union Government.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had recently said in the Legislative Assembly that the Union Government should open the banking system for the trade instead of present barter system and facilitate communication channels to boost the trade.
Sources said representatives of the State Government, civil and police administration and other agencies connected with the trade besides the businessmen dealing with cross-LoC trade would take up the demand for increasing number of 21 items to 50 for the trade besides facilitation of banking system and opening up communication channels.
The Home Secretaries of India and Pakistan were scheduled to meet at Islamabad in May to discuss a host of issues including security related matters and cross-LoC trade.
Terming cross-LoC trade as a major confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan, sources said there was a need to further ease it so that its benefits trickle down to the trading partners.
“There is a need for restoration of telephonic links between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and putting in place a proper institutional arrangement by replacing the current barter system of trade which will also address the security concerns,” they said.
They said the Union Government was required to take up the matter with the Ministries concerned so that the trade can flourish in real terms.
The cross-LoC trade on Uri-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawlakote had recently been increased from twice a week (Tuesday and Wednesday) to four days (Tuesday to Friday). However, in the absence of increase in number of items and use of currency, the trade had not been picking up, sources said.
It may be mentioned here that the trade between India and Pakistan through the land route has soared by 44 per cent in 2011-12 to Rs 2,341 crore from Attari-Wagah route.
Though the balance of trade is still in India’s favour, the import from Pakistan through land route rose by over 100 per cent to Rs 965 crore in 2011-12 against Rs 453 crore in the previous fiscal.
The exports from India to Pakistan grew by 18 per cent to Rs 1,376 crore against Rs 1,170 crore in 2010-11.
In 2009-10 and 2010-11, the bilateral trade between India and Pakistan via Attari-Wagah land route stood at Rs 1,194 crore and Rs 1,170 crore, respectively.
The volume of trade in terms of trucks also grew manifold with the number of trucks crossing over to Pakistan increased from 32,000 in 2010-11 to 39,000 trucks in 2011-12.
In 2009-10, the number of trucks which exported items to Pakistan was just 17,000.
The number of trucks coming to India through land route rose from 3,600 in 2010-11 to whopping 17,000.
Before Pakistan, last month, allowed 137 items to be imported from India through land route, India was exporting vegetables, frozen meat, soybean extraction and cotton yarn to the neighbouring country.
Over 70 per cent of total export to Pakistan constitutes soybean extraction and it mainly comes from Madhya Pradesh, while fresh vegetables like tomatoes come from Nasik, Delhi, Kanpur and Rajasthan.
India mainly imports dry fruit (from Afghanistan), gypsum and cement.
India and Pakistan had started cross border movement of trucks in October 2007 after a gap of sixty years from Attari Check post at Amritsar in India to Wagah Border in Pakistan with an intention of boosting bilateral trade.
The Integrated Check Post (ICP) recently opened by India at Attari-Wagah border is expected to further push up the trade between the two countries through the land route.
The ICP set up at an estimated cost of R 150 crore was inaugurated by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on April 13.
Spread over an area of 118 acres, the ICP boasts of dedicated terminals for passengers and cargo, customs and immigration facilities, health and quarantine facility, banks and import and export warehouses.
Punjab-based exporters has said they expect the ICP to push up bilateral trade between both countries through land route by at least 10 times.
