JAMMU: Commissioner State Taxes, Dr Rashmi Singh, inaugurated office facility for Special Investigation Unit of the department at Excise and State Taxes building.
Speaking on the occasion, Commissioner exhorted upon the SIU to detect fraudulent practices through analysis of data patterns in order to detect wilful evasion by risky dealers to facilitate genuine taxpayers and improve compliance thereof.
Pertinently, the State Taxes Department J&K has recently constituted an in-house intelligence wing on the lines of best practises being followed by Central agencies besides other States and UTs. The objective of establishing SIU is to ensure a dedicated source of information and intelligence through logical and state of the art data analytics.
Additional Commissioner, State Taxes (Tax Planning, Policy and Advance Ruling) J&K, Ankita Kar highlighted significant work undertaken by the nascent unit since its inception in detecting cases through IT based intelligence gathering contributing towards revenue augmentation.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by senior officers of the department along with representatives from Central Indirect Taxes authorities.
The program witnessed vibrant discussion on procedures and best practises that need to be adapted by the State Taxes Department, J&K from across Centre, States and Union Territories to make it more responsive and accountable.
SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today remarked that the encroached State land is being retrieved from the big vested interests only with the purpose of reverting it back for public use.
He was speaking in a meeting of UT, Divisional and District Administration to take stock of measures being taken to streamline the anti-encroachment drive.
Dr Mehta maintained that these measures are aimed at helping common people. He observed that this land belongs collectively to the masses and retrieved land shall be used for the benefit of all of them. He stated that no person has any legal right to usurp the rights of commoners.
The Chief Secretary further pointed out that such measures should be supported by the public as the retrieved and shall be used for public utility such as hospitals, schools, play grounds, bus stands, Industries, parking spaces etc. It shall accelerate all round development in J&K.
The Chief Secretary directed the Deputy Commissioners to safeguard the habitations and livelihoods of poor and downtrodden. He enjoined upon them to develop DPRs for carrying out developmental works on such lands at the earliest so that fruits of these efforts reach the masses.
He stated that some people are voluntarily giving up the encroached lands. He told them to set an example for others and give in writing their testimonies.
The Chief Secretary also directed the IT Department to create a dedicated portal for reflecting the actual quantum of State/ Kacharie/Common land retrieved in all the districts is put in public domain for their information. He advised the Revenue Department to carryout Geo-referencing of these public assets so that the same is preserved for the public without ambiguity.
SRINAGAR: Continuing the anti-encroachment drive, district administration Samba today retrieved 5 kanal and 13 marla prime land in Bari-Brahmana near Industrial estate, having market value worth crores.
The revenue officers informed that the anti-encroachment drive was carried to reclaim state land in possession of a former Bureaucrat and wife of a retired Executive Engineer.
During the anti-encroachment drive JCB machines were deployed to dismantle the boundary walls and other RCC structures erected on the site.
The land was retrieved and notice boards indicating the status of land as state property was installed on the site.
As per the concerned authorities several influential encroachers have been identified and the drive will continue to reclaim the occupied land.
SRINAGAR: National Conference on Wednesday said that the J&K administration is working on a mission to dislocate and disempower the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a workers meet here at the party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha, Srinagar Women’s wing State President Shameema Firdous and District President Srinagar Peer Afaq Ahmed said that the underway demolition drive clearly reek of political vendetta and the misuse of government machinery.
“Government isn’t even bothering to send a notice to the family concerned before going ahead with the demolition. The victims of this demolition drive have been in possession of these chunks of land for several decades before the dawn of independence. How have they suddenly become illegal occupants? Most of these lands were lawfully granted by the then autocratic rulers to people. Laws cannot be modified overnight to the disadvantage of people. State land is not a phenomenon restricted to Jammu and Kashmir and such encroachment in national and commercial areas were regularised and converted into freehold rights. The underway reckless demolition drive has affected the constitution and infringed possessory rights of the people,” they said.
They added that the Supreme Court in its recent order regarding the anti-encroachment drive by the government had clearly barred the executing agencies from demolishing residential houses. “Even that order has also not been implemented. The bulldozer policy is only aimed against a particular community, tribals and poor. They have left little to the imagination of people. Every day a new front is opened against them.”
“BJP-controlled administration is planning an escape route for itself and its B team members involved in land mafia business by uprooting poor and landless people. The drive has fanned new tensions in the region which is already beset with alienation. Why are BJP’s B teams mute on this issue? They are equally responsible for what is going on?” the leaders added.
SRINAGAR: Dismissing petitions filed by paramedics serving the Health Department on an academic arrangement basis, a division bench of the high court has asked the Services Selection Board (SSB) to go ahead with the selection process of the 1446 positions on a regular basis.
High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
In order to manage the staff-deficient department, the government engaged paramedics on an academic arrangement basis for one year. The “service” was extendable up to a maximum of four years on a year-on-year basis.
Later on September 19, 2013, it was made extendable up to six years. The extension was based on “good performance and conduct” or till selection or promotion was made according to the recruitment rules, whichever was earlier.
In 2021, the government recruiter, JK Services Selection Board an advertisement notification for filling up the 1446 posts of paramedical staff on regular basis. This led the candidates serving the department for many years to approach the court.
After many hearings, a number of petitions were clubbed together and the case was decided by a division bench comprising Justices Sanjeev Kumar and M A Chowdhary. The decision admitted that the positions they are holding have been made by a committee, a statutory selection body, so they are not backdoor appointees.
“Though, there is nothing on record to demonstrate that selection of the writ petitioners was pursuant to a selection process but from a reading of the 2009 Rules, in particular Rule-6, we find that there was a proper committee constituted for making selection and, therefore, we presume that appointment of the writ petitioners is not a backdoor appointment,” the judgement delivered by the division bench reads. “However, the fact remains that if such appointments, which are made purely as a temporary measure, are regularized and the persons selected are substantively appointed against the posts held by them, it would definitely violate Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution.”
SRINAGAR: Democratic Azad Party chief Ghulam Nabi Azad called upon Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apprise him of “land eviction issues” in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement, DAP said Ghulam Nabi Azad met Amit Shah to apprise him of “serious unrest and uncertainty prevailing” among the public due to the “circular of eviction issued by the UT administration directing all Deputy Commissioners to remove the encroachments on state land, including Roshni and Kacharai.”
Taking to social networking site Twitter, Azad said he met Amit Shah on Wednesday regarding the land eviction issues in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Met union Home minister Amit Shah Ji regarding land eviction issues in J&K. Apprised him about the prevailing unrest & uncertainty among the common people who are forced to vacate the properties which are otherwise recognized by successive regimes. Amit Shah Ji assured me no small landholders who constructed houses will be touched!” said Azad, in a series of tweets.
The DAP chairman said that he informed the Home Minister that the majority of the occupants who are holding small lands and have constructed houses over the past few decades are migrants and are mostly victims of militancy, “as well as victims of abnormal situations arising from time to time, being a border state.”
The DAP statement further stated that Azad had taken up the same issue with LG Manoj Sinha, who also assured him to do the needful with a cogent land policy for small landholders.
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Police Chief, Dilbagh Singh has stated that the police have recovered a perfume bomb. It is for the first time that such an explosive is said to have been seized during more than 30 years of counter-insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.
Director General of Jammu and Kashmir police Dilbagh Singh addressing a press conference in Srinagar on Monday January 20,2020.KL Image by Bilal Bahadur
The bomb is said to have been recovered from a government school teacher, Arif, who is a resident of the Reasi district. The recovery occurred during the ongoing investigations into the twin blasts in Jammu’s Narwal locality on January 21. Nine civilians were injured in the explosion that took place amidst high alert owing to Bharat Jodo yatra’s entry into Jammu.
“This is the first time we have recovered a perfume IED,” DGP Singh told a press conference in Jammu. “We have not recovered any perfume IED before. The IED will blast if anyone tries to press or open it. Our special team will handle that IED.”
It is basically a bottle of perfume that has been converted into a bomb. It explodes when one attempts opening it.
“Arif is a government employee and is an active militant of Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit. He was working at the behest of Qasim, a Reasi resident and his uncle Qamardin, also a Reasi resident, presently in Pakistan, who are part of LeT,” the DGP said. He said Arif was involved in three IED blast incidents—Shahstri Nagar, Katra and January 21 incident of Narwal, Jammu.
“So far we had seen IED with explosive materials, sticky bombs and timer fitted IEDs but a new type of IED was recovered from Arif which is Perfume IED. This IED is in a bottle form and seems like a perfume bottle but contains explosive material,” the DGP said, adding that “since the IED is new to us, experts will see how harmful and how powerful it can be. We have not touched it so far.”
Singh said the arrest and recovery was part of the 11-days investigations in the Narwal case. “Arif was a very clever operative. He had burnt all the evidence be that his clothes, shoes and that he even set ablaze his mobile phone as well. But police worked hard on even small inputs and leads that led to the arrest of Arif,” Singh said, asserting a strong dossier is in making about his activities.
Police also claimed that Arif, during interrogation has admitted to his role in the attack on a bus carrying Vaishno Devi pilgrims in which four people were killed in May 2022. As many as 24 passengers were injured in that blast.
(Photograph used in this report is merely representational)
ANANTNAG: Continuing the anti encroachment drive against influential encroachers, revenue officials of Tehsil Qazigund today, acting decisively, retrieved encroached land from kin of former Forest Minister and Senior NC Leader, Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Shah.
The land, measuring 1 kanal and 18 marlas is registered as Kahcharai in Estate Kurigam of Tehsil Qazigund. As per revenue officials, the land was encroached by a kin of senior NC leader and Ex Minister Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Shah.
The said piece of land, valuing more than Rs 1 crore, had been illegally encroached upon and is one of the many such patches of land retrieved from clutches of influential land grabbers.
BARAMULLA: The Associate Hospital of Government Medical College Baramulla has failed to come up as an alternative tertiary care health facility for the north Kashmir districts. The hospital lacks diagnostic facilities, hygienic washrooms and also proper accommodation facilities for students.
LG Sinha Lays Foundation Stone of GMC Baramulla on August 14, 2022
The hospital’s washrooms are filthy with the potential to further accentuate an illness or even start a new one.
“Hospitals are meant to make us feel safe and provide an environment where one receives proper medical attention,” Muneera Hassan, a patient said. “But these washrooms here are in a mess.”
A group of patients said that they feel that they are at risk of contracting new infections due to the poor hygiene level of the hospital.
Safeena, a patient said, “The air stinks, there is urine on the floor, and the water faucets are broken.”
Suraya Malik said, “Once I opened the door of a toilet at the hospital I had to immediately step back because a musty, unpleasant odour permeated the air. I could barely make out the shape of the commode as it was covered in mould and mildew. A thick layer of grime had accumulated on the walls and floor, and it was clear that no attempt had been made to clean this public space.
Suraya then opted for the washroom of a nearby restaurant.
Students of GMC Baramulla in December 2022. Pic: GMC Baramulla FB page
While unhygienic washrooms are a part and parcel of the hospital, the facility also doesn’t conduct the ECHO test for several months. An ECHO is an important device used to evaluate the condition of the heart and is essential for patients suffering from cardiac ailments. It checks the structure of the heart and surrounding blood vessels, analyses how blood flows through them, and assesses the pumping chambers of the heart.
The ECHO test facility was started a few years ago at the hospital after Jammu and Kashmir Bank donated the device under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
However, the hospital authorities have failed to ensure that the device was regularly maintained. The ECHO device granted to the hospital by Jammu and Kashmir Bank was in reality secured by the civil society of Baramulla who persuaded the higher officials of the lead bank.
Like the washrooms and the ECHO, the students pursuing their MBBS course from the Government Medical College Baramulla are also in the doldrums.
The students have been complaining about the non-availability of hostel facilities within the premises along with the lack of transport facilities as well. The situation has forced many students to opt for costly private accommodations wherefrom commuting is also expensive. The college has students from as far as Jammu and Ladakh who are forced to take these private accommodations adding to their monthly expenses.
Also, the students have raised concerns about the limited availability of laboratories in the college.
A student said, “Anatomy lab isn’t a proper one. We were supposed to do a practical session at the forensic lab but that never happened. We had to contend with digital content. This presents some difficulties since online content cannot provide the same level of interactivity and first-hand experience that a laboratory setting would have given us.”
A group of students said, “We were promised hostel facilities within the campus. Completion of the hostel seems a distant dream given the slow pace of work,”
Medical Superintendent GMC Baramulla Dr Parvez Masoodi said that on daily basis they receive around 7000 patients for which limited washrooms are available. “We have already put people for proper sanitation in the hospital. But with such a huge influx of patients, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain hygiene, yet the health of our patients and staff remains a priority.”
“I have also implemented strict cleaning protocols to ensure that every single washroom is cleaned and disinfected thoroughly at least twice a day, and we will expand the infrastructure and build more washrooms so that we can provide a safe and healthy environment for everyone.”
Principal GMC Baramulla Dr Rubi Reshi didn’t want to comment on the story.
