Srinagar: A Special Police Officer (SPO) guarding a Bharatoya Janata Party (BJP) leader in frontier district of Kupwara in north Kashmir has gone missing along with weapons, official sources said on Monday.

They said during the intervening night a SPO Saqib Tantray, a resident of Bohipora deployed with BJP local leader Rashid Zargar as Personal Security Officer (PSO) fled away with two weapons from his residence.

“Another associate Arif Ahmad who too is a resident of Bohipora is also with him,” sources said.

Sources said an alert has been sounded and efforts are on to trace the two.

The SPOs are the low-paid part-time employees of the police. (UNI)

‘All constitutional rights extended to 1.25 cr UT people in truest sense’

Lucknow: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha Monday said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ushered new era of development in Jammu and Kashmir.

He addressed a commemoration event for the upcoming Birth Anniversary of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Ji, organised by Mahamana Malaviya Mission, Lucknow.

On the occasion, the Lt Governor paid tributes and remembered the teachings and values propagated by Bharat Ratna Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviyaji.

He observed that Mahamana Malaviyaji made an invaluable contribution to the Indian Renaissance, Nationalist Ideology, Public Awakening, Welfare, Justice and Freedom, and in the fields of Education and spirituality.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya always emphasized on the upliftment of the last man in the queue and improvement in socio-economic condition of the country, he added.

In his address, the Lt Governor also spoke on the present situation and development scenario of Jammu and Kashmir. He observed that after August 2019, all the constitutional rights have been extended to 1.25 crore people of J&K in its truest sense. He said that a new era of development has been ushered in the UT by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Lt Governor said that for decades the Valmiki community, Tribals, Gorkhas, Daughters of J&K, West Pakistani refugees and backward classes were treated as second-class citizens. Such rules were made that a sweeper’s son and daughter can only become a sweeper. The talents of the poor were stifled with manufactured restrictions, he added.

Referring to various discriminatory laws and provisions being run in the erstwhile state, the Lt Governor said that now all those laws of discrimination have been abolished. Tribal population has been provided due rights under the Forest Rights Act; three-tier Panchayati Raj system has been implemented for the first time in J&K and elections were conducted in the most fair and transparent manner.

The Lt Governor said that with decisions taken in the last two years under the guidance of the Prime Minister, top priority is being given to the equitable and holistic development of all sections, and the areas which were kept backward since independence have been included in the mainstream development. The policies that have been implemented on the ground after 2019 have brought social justice to all sections for the first time since independence, he added.

Underlining that everyone is being provided opportunities to lead a better life irrespective of religion, caste, class, the Lt Governor said that countless schemes have been started for the Youth in the economic, social, and educational fields, and a host of opportunities have been created for women to become independent and successful.

The Lt Governor observed that mechanization and reforms done in J&K’s Agriculture and Horticulture sector in the last two years has resulted in substantial increase in the monthly income of the farmers, much higher than the national average.

The Lt Governor observed that it is due to transparent, responsive, corruption-free, and accountable administration that the common man is feeling connected with the journey of development and prosperity in J&K. Now every penny that is spent for development is accounted for and the details of every project are kept in public domain, he added.

The Lt Governor also elucidated great strides achieved by the UT administration in the past two years in the health, tourism, and industrial sectors.

All the rights enshrined in the constitution are being extended to the citizens, and Jammu Kashmir is now moving towards becoming a strong pillar of AatmaNirbhar Bharat, the Lt Governor said.

Devendra Swaroop Shukla, Secretary, Mahamana Malaviya Mission, office bearers of Narayan Seva Sansthan, and large number of people were present on the occasion.

Reviews functioning of Health & Medical Education Department

Jammu: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta Monday chaired a meeting to review the functioning of the Health & Medical Education Department and took stock of the physical and financial targets achieved this financial year.

The Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department, Director, SKIMS, concerned HoDs, Principals of all Medical Colleges and other senior officers of the Department attended the meeting.

At the outset, Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department gave a presentation drawing a picture of the functioning of the Department in general, and achievements under various sectors in particular viz. Health Institutions including Medical Colleges, NHM, Emergency Covid-19 Response Package (ECRP), National Ayush Mission, National Aids Control Programme, healthcare infrastructure development and other Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

While discussing ECRP, Chief Secretary directed Principals of all Medical Colleges and Director, Health Services to ensure that the status report with respect to medical equipment like ventilators, beds etc. human resource, oxygen plants, Liquid Medical Oxygen is made available to the concerned authorities within a day, so that any issue identified, is addressed, or an alternate arrangement is made in time, to cater to any emergent situation.

The Chief Secretary observed that Jammu & Kashmir has made significant progress towards achieving 100% coverage in immunization of children as per the National Immunization Schedule, and asked the department to launch a campaign reaching out to the people with an aim to cover all left out children within a period of 3-4 months.

He further observed that considering 94% of births in the Union territory are institutional births, the department should explore to make the immunization record of each child digitally available, which can be extracted to an application like DigiLocker.

With respect to the Centrally Sponsored Schemes, the Chief Secretary asked the concerned Directors of Health Services to ensure that the payments under all schemes are made directly into the Aadhar linked bank accounts of the end beneficiaries timely, without any delay and backlog if any, needs to be immediately addressed. The Chief Secretary directed the concerned to ensure 100% saturation of Golden Cards under Universal Health Insurance.

While reviewing the status of the new Medical Colleges, the Chief Secretary directed that all Medical Colleges must be made fully functional by end March, 2022. He asked the Department to ensure that any issue related to infrastructure, equipment or manpower is addressed by that time.

The Chief Secretary was apprised that the basic project of the Cancer Institute at SKIMS, Srinagar is complete, has been commissioned and is operational. It was also informed that the similar institute at GMC, Jammu will also be made functional by March, 2022.

With a view to improve the standards of healthcare at all institutions across the Union territory, the Chief Secretary said that the level of healthcare made available to the people should be at par with cities like Mumbai and Chandigarh so that any individual is not compelled to travel to cities outside J&K to avail specialized healthcare. Dr. Mehta observed that the hospitals should come up with SOPs of an exchange programme or an excellence group wherein doctors can discuss medical cases and the line of treatment cutting across different hospitals.

The Chief Secretary observed that all hospitals need to maintain a high level of hygiene and cleanliness and should have a quality policy in place immediately. He asked the department to develop an online healthcare feedback system so that the satisfaction level amongst the people can be gauged and improvements can be made. Dr. Mehta noted that the hospitals need to have a proper referral system in place, indicating the name of the doctor referring the case, to curb avoidable referrals. He also directed the concerned to evolve a system in line with CAB for patient waiting-areas in the hospitals, adding that the hospitals should also put a check on the number of attendants that accompany a patient.

With respect to under-utilized medical equipment, Dr. Mehta asked the concerned Directors to furnish a report to the Administrative Department within a week indicating any kind of hospital equipment that is lying un-utilized. He further directed the concerned to ensure that the list of medicines that are available free of cost is conspicuously displayed in the hospitals, for public awareness.

Jammu: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta Monday chaired a meeting to review various activities being undertaken by the Tourism Department to highlight and promote new tourist destinations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Principal Secretary, Public Works (R&B) Department, Administrative Secretary, Tourism Department along with MD, JKTDC, Directors Tourism Jammu and Kashmir, Director, Culture Department, and concerned officers of the Department participated in the meeting.

It was informed that the tourism in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed the mark of highest tourist footfall in November when 1,27,605 tourists visited the Union territory in a single month.

Moreover, to attract local and foreign tourists to the UT, the Tourism Department is organizing various roadshows across major cities of the country and raising awareness on the tourism-related events, activities, and destinations in Jammu and Kashmir. These cities include Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, and Lucknow.

It was further informed that as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav, the Department organized an iconic week celebration in the last week of October 2021, which included performances on Hafiz Nagma, Kalam-e-Khusroo, Kalam-e-Baba Fareed, Qawwali, Baul Sufi folk, Darvish Sufi dance, and Haziri Kathak, besides literary seminar on Sufism and exhibition of local arts, calligraphy, Sufi traditions, and houseboat festival.

To celebrate 75 years of Independence, the Department is organizing 75 tourism festivals to promote 75 off-beat destinations. These destinations will be developed with proper infrastructure and requisite facilities to tap their tourism potential in collaboration with locals, youth clubs, and Panchayati Raj Institutions. The festivals organized so far are- Gurez festival, Monsoon festival, Patnitop & Kashmir, Lolab festival, Wular festival, Aharbal festival, Tosamaidan festival, and Verinag festival.

The Chief Secretary asked the Tourism Department to promote 75 new tourist places by developing comprehensive facilities in an integrated manner having adequate provisions of recreational activities, eateries, and restrooms.

Dr. Mehta asked the Department to preserve, restore, and promote the cultural and architectural heritage of Jammu and Kashmir. He advised the Department to raise awareness about these places by organizing dedicated travel, trekking-expeditions, mountain bike adventures, and stays around the identified sites. He advised the Department to promote tourism cooperatives for comprehensive tourism development through collective efforts of locals, youth, PRIs through Department-sponsored training, capacity-building, and handholding.

In the winter months, the Department will further organize the Jammu festival, white water rafting championship, Christmas carnival, Winter Carnival, Gulmarg snow festival, Lohri festival, Mata Vaishno Devi Sangeet Sammelan, and several others, as a part of its calendar of activities under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The Department celebrated International Mountain Day on 11th December under the theme ‘Sustainable Mountain Tourism’ through several activities including a painting competition and exhibition, wall climbing event at Nowgam, Mountain biking expedition,  and inauguration of Paragliding season.

The Chief Secretary asked the Department to actively promote wall and rock climbing sport throughout the Union territory, as there exists a huge potential on this account. He impressed upon the Department to strive for observing the most vibrant winter season this year with a special focus on the local and domestic tourists, now that the National Highway to the Kashmir valley has been upgraded.

To promote rural tourism, it was informed that specific activities will be organized along the identified rural circuits across Jammu and Kashmir, including Hokersar-Parihaspora-Gohan in Gulmarg, Waderbala, Nowgam Mawar- Lolab in Kupwara, Chari-Sharief-Doodhpathri-Yousmarg in Budgam Saderkoot Payeen- Watlab in Bandipora and, Bani- Basohli-Sarthal and Billawar Duggan in Kathua, among others.

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said though India gained independence in 1947, defence sector remained neglected, which also impacted India’s strategic autonomy.

Launching several events of Department of Defence Production (DDP) to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the Defence Minister said, freedom is not just a thing to be attained or earned, it is also a thing to maintain, for which one has to strive continuously.

“Freedom is not a goal, but a path. To a sovereign nation, freedom means the ability and capacity to take any decision related to defence and socio-economic development. In any situation, we can take a decision only when we are completely self-reliant,” he said.

Singh said while India attained freedom in the fields such as agriculture, education and health post-Independence, not much attention was paid towards the defence sector.

He said since independence, we have made progress on various socio economic parameters, like per capita income, life expectancy, literacy rate and infrastructure etc, But there was one sector on which we could not pay attention, and progress was not as expected. That was the defence sector.

“Before the Government came to power in 2014, the defence sector lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation and research and development. This led to dependency on imports to meet the defence requirements of the country and affected the strategic autonomy,” he said.

The defence minister said the present government understood the importance of self-reliance in defence and has been making constant efforts to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in the sector.

“The defence sector has entered into a new era due to the policies, vision and mindset of this Government,” he added.

The Defence Minister also paid tributes to late General Bipin Rawat, the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and laid emphasis on realising his dream of self reliance on defence as he inaugurated several events of Department of Defence Production (DDP) to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

“I pay my tributes to the country’s first Chief of Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat and other brave military personnel who lost their lives in a recent accident, and express my condolences to their families,” Rajnath Singh said.

“General Rawat still had a lot to do. Modernisation of our Armed Forces and complete selfreliance in the defence sector were subjects close to his heart. Now, it is our responsibility to work tirelessly to achieve the objective even sooner,” he said.

A virtual exhibition, ‘Path to Pride’, public exhibitions, curated museums and a booklet showcasing 75 resolutions of DDP were inaugurated and launched by the Defence Minister.

Congratulating DDP for organising the week-long nation-wide events, he said, it will be helpful in spreading information about the efforts towards making India a net defence exporter from a net defence importer.

Singh also said that this government does not shy away from taking bold decisions in the interest of the nation, and listed out a number of policy reforms aimed at promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

He made special mention of the corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), saying that the move will make OFB more effective and efficient and unleash its true potential.

Other reforms mentioned by the Minister included setting up of Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; increasing the FDI limit to 74 per cent through automatic route and 100 per cent through Government route under certain circumstances; unveiling of draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020; notifying two positive indigenization lists of over 200 items; earmarking of about 64 per cent of its modernisation funds under the capital acquisition budget for 2021-22 for procurement from domestic industries and launch of Innovations For Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative.

Singh appreciated the fact that the private sector has contributed to about 90 per cent of country’s defence exports. He exuded confidence this active and continued partnership between the Government and the private sector will help to soon achieve the objective of ‘Make in India,

Make for the World’ as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He hoped that the week-long events will generate awareness among people about the progress made in the defence sector, instill national spirit and further strengthen their trust in the country’s defence preparedness.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar meanwhile said, the week-long events will make people aware of the achievements, resolve and vision of DDP. He reiterated the resolve to continue to move forward without any comprise to achieve ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

As a run up to the ‘DefExpo-2022’ and with an aim to reach out to a larger audience in India and abroad, a Virtual Exhibition named ‘Path to Pride’ was launched to showcase the journey of 75 years for ‘Aatmanirbhar’ defence manufacturing through 75 stories of growth and evolution across the domains of land, naval, air, missile and electronic systems. This virtual interactive platform offers a repository of India’s defence capabilities, indigenisation efforts, future readiness and policy reforms, augmenting India’s emergence as the global defence manufacturing hub.

Public exhibitions organised by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) at 75 locations across the country were also simultaneously inaugurated through virtual mode showcasing the journey of growth and development of defence manufacturing in the country.

These exhibitions will display an array of indigenous marquee defence products during the week.

The exhibitions will offer a unique opportunity to the general public to have a look and feel of modern defence weapons, arms, ammunition and other equipment. (UNI)

Inaugurates Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, called upon the people to follow three resolutions –cleanliness, creation & innovation, and Aatmanirbhar Bharat for a new self-reliant India on the 75th year of Independence.

“For me, the people of the country are like God and the new India is proud of its culture and also has confidence on its ability… there is ‘Virasat’ and ‘Vikas’ in the new India, so I want three resolutions from you, not for yourself, but for our country – cleanliness, creation and continuous efforts for self-reliant India,” he said.

He said to give a decisive direction to India will lead to a brighter future of the coming generation as the long period of slavery broke the confidence of Indians in such a way that people of the country lost faith in their own creation.

“Today, from this thousand-year-old Kashi, I call upon every countryman, to create with full confidence, innovate, and do it in an innovative way, so that the country plays an important role for self-reliance on our 75th year of Independence,” he added.

Inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Dham here, he said today, a new chapter was being written in the history of Kashi Vishwanath.

“Kashi Vishwanath Dham premises is not just a grand ‘bhavan,’ but a symbol of India’s ‘Sanatan’ culture and traditions. Here, you’ll see how inspirations of the ancient culture giving direction to the future,” he added.

Appreciating the Yogi Aditynath government and the people engaged in the construction of Kashi Vishwanath Dham, he said nothing was impossible, if one had thought and determination.

“We will have to work on how India will be, when it celebrates a hundred years of independence. Today’s India is reviving its lost heritage. Here in Kashi, Mata Annapurna herself resides. I am glad that the statue of Mother Annapurna, which was stolen from Kashi, has now been reestablished, after wait of a century,” he added.

He said, “In the arms of every Indian, there is a force, which makes the unimaginable come true. No matter how big the challenge, we Indians can defeat it together.”

Talking about Kashi, he said, “Kashi is the land of four Jain Tirthankaras, the epitome of nonviolence and austerity. From the integrity of King Harishchandra to the knowledge of Vallabhacharya, from Ramanand ji to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, from Samarth Guru Ramdas to Swami Vivekananda to Madan Mohan Malaviya, how many sages, acharyas have been related to the holy land of Kashi.

“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj came here and from Rani Lakshmi Bai to Chandrashekhar Azad, Kashi has been the birthplace of many fighters. Talents like Bharatendu Harishchandra, Jaishankar Prasad, Munshi Premchand, Pandit Ravi Shankar and Bismillah Khan hailed from this town.

“Varanasi is the city from where Jagadguru Shankaracharya got inspiration from the purity of Sridom Raja, he resolved to tie the country in the thread of unity. This is the place where Goswami Tulsidasji created a supernatural creation like Ramcharitmanas with the inspiration of Lord Shiva and the realisation of Lord Buddha was revealed to the world in Sarnath here,” he added.

He said, “Besides for the betterment of society, sages like Kabirdas appeared here and if there was a need to connect the society, then this Kashi became the center of the power of devotion of Sant Raidas ji.”

“The invaders attacked this city, tried to destroy it! The history of Aurangzeb’s atrocities and his terror is witnessed here. Even during the British era, the people of Kashi knew what happened during the Hastings period.

“I congratulate our artisans, people associated with our civil engineering, people of administration, those families who had their homes here for the speedy construction of this Dham,” he added.

Along with all this, the PM said, “I congratulate the UP government, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji, who monitored day and night to complete the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project.

Today, I would also like to express my gratitude to every labouring brother and sister whose sweat was shed in the construction of this grand complex and even in times like Corona, they did not let the work stop here.”

Earlier, the temple area here was only 3000 square feet, it has now become about 5 lakh square feet and now 50,000 to 75,000 devotees can come to the temple, noted Modi.

He said, “This Kashi Vishwanath Dham is a symbol of Sanatan culture of our India and our spiritual soul.

“This is a symbol of India’s antiquity, traditions, energy and dynamism. When you come here, you will not only see faith, but you will also feel the glory of your past here… It is a surprise here that how antiquity and novelty come alive together,” Modi added.

During his speech, the PM also narrated the importance of Kashi by saying, “Kashi is not a matter of words, it is a creation of sensations.

“Kashi is the place where awakening is life, where even death is happiness, where truth is the sacrament and where love is tradition,” he added. (UNI)

 New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Public Grievances Jitendra Singh on Monday hailed the high disposal rate of the newly created Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) benches of Jammu and Srinagar, saying in a span of just 15 days, more than 100 cases had been disposed of by the Srinagar bench while the Jammu bench had disposed of over 6,000 cases in over one year.

Reviewing the functioning of the newly created benches with CAT Chairman Manjula Das in the national capital, Singh said Jammu and Kashmir is the only Union Territory in the country to have two CAT benches.

The Minister said having two CAT benches signify the impetus the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives to Jammu and Kashmir, and the well-being of the government staff so as to keep them a motivating force which would ultimately accelerate the development of the union territory.

The Srinagar CAT bench was inaugurated by Jitendra Singh on November 23 this year while the Jammu bench was inaugurated by him in June last year. They deal exclusively with service matters of government employees.

The Minister said the two benches will go a long way in not only reducing the burden of various courts but would also provide to the persons covered by the Administrative Tribunals, speedy relief in respect of their grievances and service matters.

It is worth highlighting that both the buildings of CAT at Jammu and Srinagar respectively, have been allotted by the union territory government.

He also said that the Narendra Modi government is committed to transparency and “justice for all”. The people-friendly reforms undertaken in the last seven years have benefitted the entire country including the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

He further said that more than 800 central laws, which were not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir earlier, have been made applicable after August 5, 2019 for the benefit of people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, so that they can enjoy the same rights as people in the rest of India. (IANS)

By: Nadeem Nadu

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir reported three fresh fatalities due to covid-19 while 119 persons tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, officials said on Monday.

26 of the fresh cases were reported from Jammu Division and 93 from Kashmir, taking the overall tally to 338990.

There were three deaths reported in J&K—two from the Valley and one from Jammu—due to the virus during the last 24 hours, they said. So far 4498 persons—2190 in Jammu and 2308 in Kashmir—have died due to the virus, they said.

Giving district wise details of the fresh cases, the officials said that Srinagar reported 48 cases, Baramulla 11, Budgam 6, Pulwama 3, Kupwara 8, Anantnag 0, Bandipora 8, Ganderbal 8, Kulgam 0, Shopian 1, Jammu 20, Udhampur 2, Rajouri 1, Doda 2, Kathua 0, Samba 0, Kishtwar 0, Poonch 1, Ramban 0 and Reasi 0.

Moreover, 215 Covid-19 patients recovered during the time 84 from Jammu Division and 131 from Kashmir, they said.

So far 333050 patients have recovered, leaving active case tally at 1142 —326 in Jammu and 1116 in Kashmir.

They said there was one new confirmed case of mucormycosis (black fungus) reported today. So far 50 black fungus cases have been confirmed in J&K, the officials said.

They also informed that 44395 doses of covid-19 vaccine were administered during the time in J&K. (GNS)

Jammu: Jammu Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Dr Raghav Langer who is also the chairman of Divisional valuation Board on Monday chaired a meeting of Deputy Commissioners and senior officers to discuss revision of Stamp duty rates for year 2022 for Jammu Division.

The Chair was informed that the preparation and revision of Market value guidelines as per SRO 303 2011 and SRO 221 of 2018 by the Finance Department have been initiated.

Threadbare discussion was held on various functions of Divisional Valuation Board and its function, official spokesman said.

He said that the Divisional Valuation Board will analyze the circle rates of land/ market values proposed by the district valuation Committees and grant the final approval so as to notify the market value guidelines for different areas such as general Value of house sites, type and structure of buildings, classification of land, stamp duty rates etc the meeting decided.

While reviewing the district wise revision of Stamp Duty rates, Deputy Commissioner Doda informed the meeting that the district administration has proposed increase of value over the current year; of residential plots from 33.3% to 73.16% and Commercial plots from 52.38% to 163.74% in urban area, while in rural areas it is average 10%to 40 %.

Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri informed that in urban areas the proposed increase in value of residential plots is 5 to 6% and Commercial plots is 6 to 7.5%.

For district Udhampur, the proposed increase in value of residential plots is 2% and no increase in Commercial plots, while in rural areas it is an overall increase of 5 to 8% across all types of land. For District Kishtwar, the increase in value of land in Urban and Rural areas is roughly 3%.

In district Ramban, the value of all urban land is 10% and in rural areas it is 5%. Increase of residential value as well as commercial plots is 5% and in rural areas it is 7 to 30%, was informed in the meeting.

For Poonch urban areas, the proposed increase value is 11 to 14 % and rural area is 3 to 34 %, the Chair was informed by Deputy Commissioner, Poonch.

The proposed value of residential as well as commercial buildings in Reasi is proposed to be hiked upto 4 to 5% and in the rural areas upto 6 to 36%, was informed by Deputy Commissioner Reasi.

The Divisional Commissioner directed all the officers for personally reviewing the process of Market valuation to finalize the stamp duty rates for the year 2022 of Jammu division.

He also directed for correction of aberration or mismatch in previous rate schedule and clearance of variations in any area and including those areas in the upcoming year rate list, which were left out or missing in previous list while preparation of market value and stamp duty rates.

All DCs were directed to seek details of such villages/urban pockets wherein maximum sale deeds/conveyance deeds have been registered by the Sub-Registrars in the current calendar year especially near to infrastructure projects, major highways and growth corridors.

Dr Langer further asked the concerned to re-visit the rate list of proposed market value and compare with previous three year for various categories of land as per the facilities available like important road networks, other amenities, facilities of irrigation in terms of agricultural land, imp mega projects in the area etc.