CS reviews ‘District as Export Hub’ scheme

Jammu: Chief Secretary, B V R Subrahmanyam Tuesday chaired a meeting on ‘Promoting District as Export Hub’ to substantially boost the export of products from Jammu and Kashmir. The scheme will work on support measures required for acceleration of exports in sectors in which the UT has relative competitive advantages.

Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department, Managing Director, J&K Trade Promotion Organization along with the concerned officers participated in the meeting.

It was decided in the meeting that a dedicated export cell in the J&K Trade Promotion Organization will be created to work as the single-point contact between Government authorities and various stakeholders.  The export cell will also be an advisory agency for engaging with sector-wise beneficiaries and recommending welfare measures in the form of required handholding, financial incentives, and product-specific assistance, besides coordinating with the Export Promotion Council, international trade bodies, FIEO, India Promotion Trade Organization, among others.

The meeting was informed that efforts of the Centre and State Governments are being synergized to create institutional mechanisms to promote trade with a special focus on the MSME Sector which often lacks the knowledge or risk appetite to venture in the international market.

The scheme intends to boost export potential of the districts by identifying products and export clusters in each district through the District Level Export Committees. This new approach not only de-centralizes the planning process but puts the local producers and manufacturers at its centre.

It was informed that the Department is establishing a Dry Port at Katra as an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to a seaport for the trans-shipment of cargo to be traded from Jammu and Kashmir. The Dry Port will house container terminals and Customs office to facilitate exports directly from J&K.

The Department is also organizing various training and registration drives for traders and exporters to create awareness among them, besides proactively engaging in capacity building measures to improve quality assessment, supply chain management and logistics under a well-defined export strategy.

Srinagar:  The Commissioner/ Sectretary Labour and Employment, Saurabh Bhagat Tuesday said the Labour legislations have changed and the old books of Labour codes are of no use now.

The Commissioner/ Sectretary Labour and Employment, said this during a seminar organized by the Labour Department of Kashmir on Labour Codes for Assistant Labour Commissioners, (ALCs), Labour Officers and Labour Inspectors at Sher e Kashmir International Conference Center, Srinagar.

Labour Commissioner, J&K, Abdul Rashid War, Deputy Labour Commissioner, Ahmad Hussain Bhat, Deputy Labour Commissioner, Centre, Abdul Satar and other officers were present at the seminar.

Speaking on the occasion, Bhagat said that J&K is the first among all the states and union territories in the country to prepare rules for Labour Laws which are awaiting approval. He said legislations regarding Labour have changed and previous books based on Labour laws are of no use now.

He said synthesis of new Labour codes at the central government level is in progress to be implemented for Pan-India.

He impressed upon the officers to educate themselves with new rules and update their knowledge. He said ALCs shall be included in committees which would perform as master trainers to educate concerned organizations and departments including industrial associations, labour associations, BAR Councils of District Courts and High Court, universities etc.

He suggested inter-district movement and specialization of trainers.

Further, he said all the outside Labours working in the UT shall be registered with the department.

He stressed on the officers present to discourage the simultaneous functioning of the offline and online registration of Labours. He directed them that no offline registration shall happen after the Ist April besides he told them to digitize all the procedures and documents.

Jammu: Reacting strongly against the proposed government move of giving high status and protocol to the recently elected District Development Councils (DDCs) in Jammu and Kashmir, chairpersons of block development councils and sarpanches Tuesday threatened to launch an agitation if only one tier of the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) was empowered and other two tiers were left aside.

The BDC chairpersons and sarpanches stated this while addressing a press conference under the banner of All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference in Jammu today.

Shafiq Mir, chairperson of All J&K Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) while addressing the presser said that they were feeling deceived as the government seems to be succumbing before the pressure of “political mafia” which has entered the third tier of the PRI system in Jammu and Kashmir after they were left “jobless” since Jammu and Kashmir became the Union Territory.

He said it was the same “political mafia” that has always been against the Panchayati Raj system in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that these political parties had boycotted the first-tier (Sarpanches and Panches) elections held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 and they had again boycotted the second tier Panchayat elections of block development councils held in 2019.

“Despite their boycott, the people of Jammu and Kashmir came out and voted for this institution. Now seeing no scope of further blackmailing, these political parties jumped in the third tier of PRI elections and now they were struggling for protocol, status and salary,” he said.

Mir, who is also BDC chairperson from Bufliaz block in Poonch district, said if the government wants to fix the status, salary and protocol of DDCs, it should first start from the first tier of PRI, which is Panchayat Halqa then the second tier, which is BDCs and then comes the DDC, which is nothing but the third tier of PRI system.

“Before finalizing the powers of DDCs, the government should define autonomous powers of BDCs and Panchayat Halqas so that these institutions can work smoothly.”

Mir said the first tier and second tier of Panchayats are mostly non-political and they will never tolerate any type of interference by the political class in their working.

Mir said in fact, the politicians who looted the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and now when all doors of corruption have been closed for them, they forced their entry into the PRI. (KNO)

Srinagar: The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) produced a charge-sheet against then Junior Assistant in forest department in a bribe case in the court of Special Judge Anti-Corruption Pulwama.

“ACB produced chargesheet in Case FIR Number 05/2019 Police Station (PS) ACB Anantnag, U/S 5(1) r/w 5 (2), 4-A J&K PC Act SVT 2006 (Amendment) Act 2014, against Ghulam Mohammad, the then Junior Assistant in Forest Department Awantipora, in the court of Special Judge Anti-Corruption Pulwama,” a spokesman of ACB said.

He said the case was registered by PS ACB Anantnag on receipt of a written complaint to the effect that the complainant is running a factory situated at Khunmoh Industrial Area phase III and intent to renew the licence of factory which expired in the month of Feb-2019.

He has visited the office of forest department (DFO Office) Awantipora many times for the renewal of licence. Ghulam Mohammad of DFO Office Awantipora, demanded Rs 7000 as bribe for the renewal of license. The complainant has made several requests to the said clerk for reduction of amount for the renewal of the licence.

The complainant further stated that the clerk had directed him to pay the said bribe amount. The complainant being against paying the bribe to the clerk arranged Rs 7000 .

He approached ACB P/S ACB along with bribe money of Rs.7000/- for taking necessary action against the clerk.

On the receipt of the complaint a case FIR No. 05/2019 U/S 5 (2) of J&K PC Act SVT-2006, 4-A (amendment) Act-2014 was registered in PS ACB Anantnag.

Accordingly a trap team was constituted and the accused was caught red handed while demanding and accepting Rs 7000.

During the course of investigation the statements of trap team members along with independent witness were recorded u/s 161 CrPC which corroborated and established the fact of demand and acceptance of bribe by the accused. After obtaining sanction from the Government, chargesheet was produced in court of law.