Calls for rejuvenation of degraded forests, bio fencing of wetlands

Jammu: Chief Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta, Wednesday chaired stakeholders meeting on Development of City Biodiversity Index and Local Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan for Jammu city’ here at Udyog Bhawan.

The event was organised by the Jammu & Kashmir Biodiversity Council in collaboration with ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia.

Pertinently, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network of more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development and is active in more than 125 countries.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Secretary congratulated all for the institution of the index saying that it should serve as a self-assessment tool for measurement of various ecological benchmarks.

The J&K Biodiversity Council, along with others, will help formulate a Biodiversity Index for Jammu city to help measure “ecological health” of the city. Jammu and later Srinagar, city would be one of the very first in the world to adopt the index. Similar event has been scheduled for Srinagar city later this month.

Chief Secretary said that such indices prove as tools for smart framework of innovations and stressed that the data used should be specific, relevant and measurable.

Chief Secretary hailed the introduction of the index by the UT administration and said, ‘measurement is imperative to performance’. Unless we measure data points, we cannot work towards improvement in any aspect, he emphasised.

Arun Kumar Mehta said that the index needs to be made comprehensible and acceptable to the public, who constitute the majority of the stakeholders. He called life a gift of nature and said that only a city with a healthy ecosystem can sustain all life forms.

He urged upon the Biodiversity Council to learn from similar indices from cities around the world and implement them according to local viability and acceptability. He also called upon other departments and independent bodies to play an active role in addressing ecological issues of the region.

Chief Secretary directed routine measurement and publicity of air and water quality index of prominent tourist spots of J&K. He called for creating awareness about local species of flora and fauna through literature and other means.

Chief Secretary asked for prompt disposal of forests related cases. He directed the Forest Department to develop 75 treks all over J&K as part of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav, including development of forest rest houses.

It was directed that the department present a strategy and action plan for quick restoration of degraded forests of the UT. Bio-fencing of wetlands and constitution of eco-clubs was also called for by the Chief Secretary.

Arun Kumar Mehta assured that the administration is wholeheartedly investing in development of a Riverfront project at Jammu and the same would be completed over a period of one year.

In his address, Commissioner Secretary, Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, Sanjeev Verma, reminded all of the global environmental challenges as highlighted by the 6th IPCC Report and called for paradigm shift and greater participation for meeting the global challenge. He also informed that degraded forests over 3.5 lakh hectares of land would be restored in coming five to six years by the UT administration and said that the decade would be dedicated towards environmental restoration.

Programme Coordinator, Monalisa Sen, from ICLEI South Asia also conducted a one-day workshop for all DFOs, members of J&K Biodiversity Council, NGOs and students among others.

Those present at the occasion included Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Biodiversity Council, Dr. Mohit Gera; Director SFRI and Additional PCCF, Asif Mehmood Sagar; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Raghav Langer among other senior officers from Jammu Municipal Corporation and various departments.

Srinagar: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs comprising of 28 Members of Parliament, Wednesday held several meetings with select stakeholders on the subject ‘administration, development and people’s welfare in the UT of J&K’ for an in-depth understanding of their issues and problems.

The committee held detailed interaction with the representatives of the grassroot institutions, viz, Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies, which included the Mayor, Srinagar City and Presidents of various Municipal Committees and Councils and District Development Council Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons apart from the Chairpersons of the Block Development Councils.

The Committee, comprising of 28 Members of Parliament from Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha, is headed by senior Congress leader and Member of the Parliament, Anand Sharma.

The panel deliberated upon different issues pertaining to infrastructure, development, employment opportunities, business & trade, tourism, government run schemes and other issues.

The PRI representatives presented their views on their further empowerment as per the 73rd and 74th amendment. The Committee members listened to all the demands and issues and grievances put forth by the representatives of the grassroot institutions, while assuring them to include the suggestions in their report.

The representatives from industries, businesses, hospitality and hotel industry, Tourism etc also interacted with the standing committee and highlighted the difficulties being faced by the industries due to COVID-19 pandemic. They also voiced several suggestions and recommendations with regard to loans, incentives, schemes etc for the sustainability of industries in the UT.

Principal Secretary Home, Shaleen Kabra; Principal Secretary Housing & Urban Development Department, Dheeraj Gupta; Principal Secretary Industries & Commerce, Ranjan Prakash Thakur; Commissioner Secretary Labour & Employment, Sarita Chouhan; Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole; Secretary Planning, Development & Monitoring, Sushma Chouhan; CEO Mission Youth J&K, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary; Secretary Tourism & Culture, Sarmad Hafeez, Mission Director Rural Livelihood Mission, Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar, and other concerned were also present during the interactive sessions.

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha on the eve of Ashoora, urged people to follow the path of righteousness, courage, and truth.

In his message, the Lt Governor remembered the martyrs of Karbala on Ashoora, the 10th day of Muharram. He observed that martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) and his companions has a unifying message for all of us to uphold the high principles of human dignity and justice.

The Lt Governor prayed for sustained peace and prosperity in J&K and hoped that the occasion would further strengthen the bond of brotherhood among all communities.

Srinagar: Advisors to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar; Farooq Khan and Baseer Ahmad Khan have paid rich tributes to the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) and other martyrs of Karbala.

On the eve of Ashura, the Advisors urged people to follow the principles of the martyrs of Karbala to ensure a just society which believes in equal rights for everyone and symbolizes love for each other.

In their message, the Advisors said the supreme sacrifices rendered by Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) and his companions at Karbala highlight the unmatched courage and patience demonstrated by them, which will continue to enlighten the mankind for all times to come.

The Advisors also prayed for peace, prosperity and progress of entire Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu: The Indian Army men on Wednesday detained four residents belonging to Pakistan administered Kashmir near the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Troops noticed some movement near the LoC and found four people including two minors,” Army sources here said.

They said that they were in the age group of 9 to 21 years.

“They might have inadvertently crossed over to this side but the confirmed details will be known only after questioning,” said sources.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reviewed the government’s strategy to evacuate Indian citizens in the next few days and ensure safety to the Hindu and Sikh communities in Afghanistan, in a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting.

This is the second meeting of CCS within 24 hours amid the fast changing situation in Afghanistan.

Modi chaired the first CCS meeting on Tuesday evening and directed the officials for speedy evacuation of Indians who are still in the war torn country, in the next few days and also to provide all possible help to “Afghan brothers and sisters who are looking towards India for assistance.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar attended the meeting.

Though the details of the meeting were not shared, it was learnt that the Prime Minister reviewed the strategies formulated by the government on Tuesday to deal with the situation in Afghanistan.

He has already directed the officials to ensure the safety of Hindus and Sikhs and also asked officials to remain in touch with their leaders in Kabul.

The government also intends to give them some kind of refugee status to these Hindus and Sikhs once they come to India and later they will be given citizenship under the newly formulated Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 in due course, the sources who were privy to these developments said.

They also said that the government has also decided that the visa application under the new emergency visa category of those Hindus and Sikhs will be processed on priority.

The highest decision making body of the government has also deliberated on the issues related to the Indian assets and the several projects being executed by the Indian companies and public sector enterprises in Afghanistan.

The Indian government is also keeping an eye on the political development of the country in terms of foreign policy after the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan and amid the deteriorating conditions; many Afghan nationals have been fleeing from the country and many of them want to come to India.

Apart from these Cabinet Members, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Principal Secretary to the PM P.K. Mishra, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba were also present in the meeting on Wednesday. (IANS)

Srinagar: Observing that “much more is required to be done first for the maintenance and development of the parks in existence”, Jammu & Kashmir High Court and Ladakh prohibit the use of plastic and plastic material in all the existing parks and green spaces.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, a division bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Sanjay Dhar direct all the authorities maintaining those parks to see that no such plastic or plastic material is thrown in the parks or green spaces “except in the dustbins which shall be cleared periodically.”

The court also directed for complete prohibition of the constructions in all the parks and open spaces and green spaces in line with its earlier orders on 12 February 2020 and 23 October last year.

“We direct that to minimize illegal activities allegedly being carried out in some of the parks/ open spaces to ensure that all boundary walls/ reeligns of the parks be kept transparent so that people from outside can have an eye on the activities inside,” the court said in another direction.

“Fourthly, we provide that the authorities would undertake construction of sufficient washrooms and toilets at appropriate places to be earmarked by some expert in each of the park and to construct proper pathways wherever feasible.

“In addition to the above, we direct that the authorities will take effective steps in accordance with law for the removal of all encroachments or unauthorized constructions from all parks and green spaces and ensure that no construction in the vicinity is raised without the proper permission/ sanction of the map by the competent authority.”

As per Director Floriculture, there are about 361 parks and gardens in Srinagar. Out of them, 117— 109 parks and 8 gardens— are maintained by the Floriculture Department; 51 by the Srinagar Development Authority, 29 by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, 93 by the Jammu & Kashmir Housing Board (Unit I & II), 24 by the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control and 47 by the PWD (R&B).

The court also directed the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, to consider the feasibility of having at least a quarterly meeting of all the authorities responsible for maintaining and developing various parks and garden including the heritage gardens so as to coordinate their working and to record the minutes thereof for submission before the court if necessary.

“The Divisional Commissioner, Srinagar, as well as Jammu are directed to submit periodical reports with regard to the progress of the work of the Divisional Level Committees constituted vide order dated 14.09.2018.” (GNS)

 Srinagar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned Gulshan Nazir, wife of former Union Home Minister late Mufti Mohammad Sayed for about three hours in money laundering case here.

Former Chief Minister and President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti said summoning and questioning of her mother Nazir was nothing but political vendetta to pressurize opposition.

Nazir in her late seventies was accompanied by daughter Mehbooba Mufti to ED office at Raj Bagh, Srinagar.

She was asked by the ED to appear before it at Srinagar office on August 18.

However, Mehbooba was not allowed to enter the room where her mother Nazir was questioned for about three hours.

Nazir had earlier been summoned on three occasions by the ED in the money laundering case. PDP termed it as a political vendetta against the party which has announced to fight against the abrogation of the special status Jammu and Kashmir and dividing it into two Union Territories (UTs) on August 5, 2019.

The ED had filed a criminal case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following recovery of at least two diaries during the raids on an alleged associate of Mehbooba.

The ED claimed that the diaries contain the details of some purported payments made from the Chief Minister’s discretionary fund in alleged contravention of rules when Mehbooba was heading a coalition government with BJP. These funds are alleged to have been diverted when Mehbooba was CM. (UNI)

Srinagar: Hours after the Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh ordered action against a police officer involved in thrashing of journalists, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar attached the involved officer to District Police Line (DPL) Srinagar.

J&K Police said in a tweet said, “DGP Dilbag Singh takes serious view of undesirable behaviour with some media men in Srinagar yesterday. SSP Srinagar directed to take immediate action against the erring police officer.”

Pertinently, media persons covering restrictions imposed by the authorities on Muharram procession were thrashed up by a police officer on Tuesday in Srinagar city.

In addition to the protest lodged by the media fraternity, the video showing the police officer using batons against some media persons had gone viral after the incident took place.

Meanwhile, three police officers including the one involved in thrashing of journalists have been attached to District Police Line (DPL) and six others have been transferred.

“In the interest of administration, the transfers are hereby ordered with immediate effect,” reads the order.

As per the order Inspector Mushtaq Ahmad has been transferred to DPL Srinagar, Inspector Mohammad Ishaq has been transferred from PS Kothibagh to PS Rajbagh as SHO, Inspector Muddasir Nazar has been transferred from PS Rajbagh to PS Kothibagh as SHO, while Inspector Aftab Ahmad was transferred to DPL Srinagar from PS Shergari.

“Inspector Manzoor Ahmad has been transferred to PP Nehru Park as Incharge, Sub Inspector Sheikh Adil has been transferred to PP Bagiyas as Incharge,” the order reads.

As per the order sub-inspectors including Showkat Ali Darzi and Ghulam Mustafa have been transferred to PS Maisuma as SHO and DPL Srinagar respectively, and PSI Zaheer Nissar has been transferred to PP Urdu Bazar as In charge.

The order stated that the concerned supervisory officers will relieve the transferees forthwith under intimation to the office SSP Srinagar. (KNO)

Asks Govt to go ahead with process, bars it from finalizing till further orders

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir High Court and Ladakh issued notice to government and sought records regarding selection process for the post of Principal, SKIMS Medical College, Bemina Srinagar.

The directions were passed by a bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey on a petition filed by Prof. Abdul Wahid Khan & Another.

The petitioners claim to have applied for the post of Principal, SKIMS Medical College, Bemina, as put to advertisement in terms of Advertisement notice (No. 01 of 2021 dated 7th of January, 2021.”

The petitioners submitted that the selection process for the post is being carried in violation of the recruitment rules governing the subject as well as against the mandate of Clauses (b) and (c) prescribed in the Advertisement Notice.

They submitted that the selection Committee has not assessed the credentials of all the competing candidates on the basis of criteria and that, without such assessment, all the nine (09) competing candidates were called for interview instead of restricting the number of candidates to the ratio of 1:5. They also submitted that the selection Committee was supposed to prepare the panel of three (03) candidates on the basis of merit to be assessed by it and, thereafter, place the same before the Chairman, Governing Body, SKIMS, in the order of merit for making selection against the post of Principal. Instead of doing so, the petitioners said that they have prepared the panel, thereby resulting in violation of the mandate of recruitment rules as well as terms and conditions of the Advertisement Notice.

“Although, the Court is conscious about the fact that it has limited scope in interfering with an ongoing selection process which has not yet culminated, but, in view of the contentions raised by the Petitioners qua violation of mandate of recruitment rules as well as terms and conditions of the Advertisement Notice on part of the Respondents, it has become necessary to call for the records of the selection for perusal and examination of the Court,” the court said and issued notice to the government, returnable on or before the next date of hearing on August 23.

Meanwhile, the court directed the government to submit the relevant selection records before it on the next date of hearing. “It is further provided that the selection process in question may go ahead, but shall not be finalized until further orders from the Court,” the court added. (GNS)