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SNS KASHMIR

JAMMU:4 MARCH 2021,

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday administered the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Jammu.

Sinha received his first shot as the country’s vaccination campaign has been widened to include people above 60, and those who are 45 or more and suffering from certain medical conditions.

L-G urged all the eligible people to come forward and get the vaccine dose.

“I have taken the vaccine today. It was a smooth process. I urge all the eligible people to come forward and get the vaccine dose. The vaccines are safe and I congratulate all the scientists for producing the vaccine,” Sinha said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on March 1 kicked off the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country by getting the vaccine shot.

India on March 1 commenced its second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive to inoculate people above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities against the coronavirus.
Several prominent political leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, have already taken the vaccines.

As per the Health Ministry, a total of 1,66,16,048 vaccine doses have been given to the beneficiaries in the country against COVID-19 till today.

Meanwhile, as many as 17,407 new COVID-19 cases and 89 deaths were reported from India in the last 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Thursday. (Agency)

North-eastern states excluded from its mandate; To carry out exercise only for J&K UT

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, MARCH 04 :

The Central government has extended the term of delimitation commission by one year and excluded the north-eastern states from its mandate.

The Union Ministry of Law & Justice has issued a notification last night to extend the tenure of Justice (Retd.) Ranjana Desai, who is heading the panel, by one year.

The commission’s term was coming to end on March 5, 2021. Interestingly, the north-eastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland have been excluded from mandate of the Commission.

According to the notification, a copy of which is in possession of news agency the Commission’s mandate would now only be to carry out the exercise in Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory

Reyaz Rashid

Uri: Already understaff Tehsil office Uri in north-Kashmir’s Baramulla district has been headless since last one month now, causing grave inconvenience to people and applicants visiting the office to seek required documentn.

Official sources informed that Tehsildar Uri had tested positive for COVID-19 on February 9, following which the official concerned is on leave and it is worth to mention he tested positive twice.

After the development, DC Baramulla in an order had deputed Tehsildar Boniyar on additional charge to take over the affairs however to the utter dismay of locals, the official has not assumed the charge.

“In the absence of Tehsil head, residents particularly students are suffering for want of different necessary documents including Resident of Backward (RBA) Certificates, Pahari Speaking People (PSP) and Domicile Certificates”, a local said.

Rashid Ahmad said that there should Senior Assistant, DWBN,GQ and OQ , Nazarat Patwari which are vacant. Nazarat is run by an orderly as the entire office is under staff.

“O Q ( Office Qanoongo) section which is main and important section of the Tehsil Office is being run by a newly appointed Patwari who is not much inexperienced for the post,” said another local Altaf Ahmad.

When contacted Deputy Secretary Revenue, Muzaffar Ali Malik feigned ignorance about the issue. The official was however quick to add that, he will check as to ‘why the Tehsil office has been under staff and headless for such a long time now’.

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR MARCH 04 :

Jammu & Kashmir government has withdrawn nomination of Zubair Iqbal as director from the Board of Directors of Jammu & Kashmir Bank.

“Pursuant to Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015, we wish to intimate that Mr. Zubair Iqbal , Govt. nominee Director (DIN:08742685) has ceased to be the Director of the Board of Bank consequent upon withdrawal of his nomination by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir,” reads an official document , a copy of which is lying with news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO)

This information was submitted by Muhammad Shafi Mir, company secretary, J&K Bank to National Stock Exchange of India Limited and BSE Limited.

Zubair Iqbal was nominated as the first managing director of J&K Bank in May last year but his appointment was not cleared by the Reserve Bank of India.

He was nominated as the first managing Director of J&K Bank after a rigorous process of selection overseen by a high- level three-member committee under chairmanship of Tapan Ray, ex -Union Corporate Affairs Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Anand Madhukar, Officer on Special Duty, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India—(KNO)

After becoming UT, the Central Investigation Agency has got powers over every department of Jammu and Kashmir

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, MAR 3 :

Central Bureau of Investigation “CBI “has launched a massive probe into alleged bribery and embezzlement of public funds in the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory and the Central Investigation Agency (CIA) has cracked down on the culprits. Several investagting  teams comprising senior officers have been formed to review the records of government construction agencies, corporations and other government departments.

CBI sources have revealed that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been going through the worst hardships for many years due to corruption  and now the CBI is fully providing justice to the people at their doorstep. Efforts are being made to do so and large-scale action has been taken in this regard.

One of the CBI”top official” told KNS that people from UT are facing severe hardships due to corruption in  civil  and police departments  as well as in other construction agencies, banks and corporations over the past many years. Although in the past the jurisdiction of the CBI was limited to the Central agencies only, since Jammu and Kashmir became a Centrally Administered Territory, the powers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been greatly expanded and now The CBI covers all the departments of Jammu and Kashmir including the central institutions as well as local level civil offices, police departments, public and private banks, various construction agencies and corporations etc. and majority of  these departments nd corporatios are allegedly involved in frauds and irregularities over the last several years are being investigated. The said senior officer said that  CBI in Jammu and Kashmir is working hard to curb the system of bribery and bring the perpetrators to justice. And investigative teams headed by competent officers were formed The officers of the aforesaid teams are closely scrutinizing the assets and bank accounts of the officers and employees involved in the corruption during which large scale irregularities and frauds have been uncovered in various departments and soon in this regard. Action will be taken in accordance with the law.He further said That
From the very beginning, CBI has been working for the welfare of the people and providing justice to the people at their doorstep is one of our top priorities,” he added. People complained against him.

Contact the CBI office in Srinagar or Jammu and I assure them that the people will get full justice.
 The “top” officer further told KNS that bribes are demanded from consumers while getting loans from various banks while people in different departments are hired for bribes but the system is completely abolished. The CBI is fully committed to this, but he said, “I urge the people to contact with the concerned authorities in this regard and they will be given justice in all cases.” Sources close to the CBI also told that they were also receiving complaints against the Border Roads Organization and the matter was being reviewed from every angle and if any person or any association from Jammu or Kashmir had In case of any information, they should contact the CBI office at Srinagar or Jammu and the identity of the informant will be kept confidential in all respects. On other hand Patwari, who was posted in a constituency of Budgam district yesterday, was caught red-handed taking a bribe of Rs 13,000 from Srinagar. Patwari was remanded in custody for three days on Wednesday.

However, a CBI investigating officer told KNS that several important documents were recovered from Patwari’s house and the residences of his close relatives. The team has confiscated and the investigation team is examining the bank accounts besides the assets of accused Patwari and more revelations in this regard are expected soon.

It is worth mentioning that in a bribery incident, a special team of CBI led by Rauf Ahmed arrested a Patwari posted at Bimana Budgam at 10:08 am on Tuesday. The CBI team raided the residence of a close relative of Patwari in Srinagar who was a retired inspector of PDD department and on Wednesday accused  was remanded in judicial custody for three days by an anti-corruption court.(KNS )

RAJOURI, MARCH 03 :

A man was shot at by one of his relatives after a scuffle broke out between them over a land dispute in Rajouri district of Jammu region.

Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that a man identified as Pritam Kumar, son of Des Raj of Chakli Baghla village falling under Rajouri Police Station was injured after he was shot at by one of his relatives.

They entered into a scuffle over some land dispute during which Pritam received bullet injuries and was later hospitalized in GMC Associated Hospital Rajouri—(KNO)

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, MARCH 03 :

Amid rumors, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE) on Wednesday said that it will declare the 12th class results on March-08.

BOSE officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the results would be declared on March-08 at 5 Pm.

Earlier the term end examinations of 10th and 12th standard of Kashmir division and winter zones of Jammu division commenced from 9th and 10th November respectively.

In a backdrop of COVID-19, BOSE had decided to give 10th and 12th standard students syllabi relaxation 40 percent—(KNO)

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, MARCH 3:

Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday reiterated that a person cannot be put under preventive detention on the grounds which formed basis of an earlier order that has either expired or has been quashed by a Court.

Quashing a detention order under Public Safety Act against one Mushtaq Ahmad Wani alias Channa of Soaf Shali, Kokernag in south kashmir’s Anantnag district, a bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar also referred to Apex Court’s judgment—Chhagan Bhagwan Kahar Vs. N. L. Kalna and others—to underline that an order of detention cannot be made after considering the previous grounds of detention when the same had been quashed by the Court. “If such previous grounds of detention are taken into consideration while forming the subjective satisfaction by the detaining authority in making a detention order, the order of detention will be vitiated,” the court said, adding, “It is of no consequence if the further fresh facts disclosed in the grounds of the impugned detention order have been considered.”

Referring to another judgement by the top court, Justice Dhar observed that even if the order of detention comes to an end either by revocation or by expiry of the period of detention, there must be fresh facts for passing a subsequent order.

“A fortiori when a detention order is quashed by the Court issuing a high prerogative writ like habeas corpus or certiorari, the grounds of the said order should not be taken into consideration either as a whole or in part even along with the fresh grounds of detention for drawing the requisite subjective satisfaction to pass a fresh order because once the Court strikes down an earlier order by issuing rule, it nullifies the entire order.”

Subsequently, the court quashed the impugned order of detention against Wani which was passed by the Deputy Commissioner Anantnag 7 July 2020. “Direction is issued to the respondents (officials) to release (Wani) from the preventive custody forthwith, provided he is not required in connection with any other case.” (GNS)

NEW DELHI, MARCH 03:

The government has room to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by up to Rs 8.5 per litre without impacting its target for revenue from the tax on the two fuels, analysts said.

Petrol and diesel prices hover at a historic high following a relentless increase in rates over the past nine months. There have been calls by opposition parties as well as sections of society to the government to reduce excise duty to ease consumer pain.

“We estimate excise duty on auto fuels in FY22 (April 2021 to March 2022), if it is not cut, at Rs 4.35 lakh crore versus budget estimate of Rs 3.2 lakh crore.

“Thus, even if excise duty is cut by Rs 8.5 per litre on or before April 1, 2021, FY22E budget estimate can be met,” ICICI Securities said in a note.

It expressed optimism for an excise duty cut given demand recovery, impending privatisation and inflation concerns but expected it to be more modest than Rs 8.5 a litre.

Excise duty was raised by Rs 13 and Rs 16 per litre on petrol and diesel between March 2020 and May 2020, and now stands at Rs 31.8 on diesel and Rs 32.9 per litre on petrol.

The increase in excise duty was to mop up gains arising from international crude oil prices falling to a two-decade low.

But, with oil prices recovering, it has not yet restored the taxes to their original levels.

“If the cut is more modest, which we expect, FY22 excise duty will be higher than the budget estimate,” ICICI Securities said.

Central and state taxes make up for 60 per cent of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54 per cent of diesel.

Petrol is priced at Rs 91.17 per litre in Delhi and diesel comes for Rs 81.47.

The rates of regular petrol had last month crossed the Rs 100-mark at a few places in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which levy the highest value-added tax (VAT) on the fuel in the country.

Between November 2014 and January 2016, the government had raised excise duty on petrol and diesel on nine occasions to take away gains arising from plummeting global oil prices.

In all, duty on petrol rate was hiked by Rs 11.77 per litre and that on diesel by 13.47 a litre in those 15 months that helped the government’s excise mop-up more than double to Rs 2,42,000 crore in 2016-17, from Rs 99,000 crore in 2014-15.

The government had cut excise duty by Rs 2 in October 2017, and by Rs 1.50 a year later. But, it raised excise duty by Rs 2 per litre in July 2019. It again raised excise duty on March 2020, by Rs 3 per litre each. In May that year, the government hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre.—(PTI)

Bupinder Kumar Presided over Block Divas in Uri; Listens Public Grievances, Demands

SNS KASHMIR

Baramulla, March 03: To mark the celebration of Block Divas in District Baramulla, Deputy Commissioner Bupinder Kumar today paid visit to Uri where he chaired a public grievance camp and listened various issues and demands meant for the overall welfare and development of the area.

At the outset, SDM Uri Reyaz Ahmad Malik presented the valedictory address wherein he welcomed Bupinder Kumar for assuming the charge as Deputy Commissioner Baramulla. He also presented a brief profile of Uri region and gave an appraisal of progress cum performance achieved in various sectors in the area.

On the occasion, the PRIs and other prominent stakeholders highlighted their grievances viz availability of potable drinking water, uninterrupted power supply, road connectivity and other matters of vital public significance.

The DC gave a patient hearing and assured that all their issues and demands shall be taken with the concerned authorities for their timely redressel. He also highlighted the objective of celebrating Block Divas and said that the programme aims to listen public demands and issues at the people’s doorsteps.

DC also urged upon the people to cooperate with the administration in carrying out the COVID-19 vaccination programme smoothly and successfully and follow all the requisite guidelines that shall be issued by the authorities. He emphasized upon the people to come forward and reap the benefits of various welfare schemes especially the recently launched PM- Ayushman Bharat (SEHAT) Scheme. DC further added that every possible step shall be taken for the holistic development of border areas.

Bupinder Kumar also said that administration is keen to streamline public service delivery and added that various developmental works are being identified and subsequently approved for their execution.

Meanwhile, the DC issued on-spot directions to various concerned officers with regard to the redressel of some issues and demands for which the people expressed gratitude of the administration. He impressed upon the concerned departments to pay due respect and fully cooperate with the PRIs as they are the important stakeholders of our society.

DDC Member Boniyar, BDC chairpersons of Uri and Parenpilla blocks, officers from RDD,Jal Shakti, PDD, PMGSY, NHPC, R&B among other concerned departments were present on the occasion.