Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Oct 27: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday announced amendment in land laws to allow everyone in India to buy the land in Jammu and Kashmir which hitherto was exclusively meant for permanent residents of J&K.
The MHA said that the order will be called the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020.
A number of amendments have been carried out in the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act to allow the buying of land by anyone as words such as domicile or PRC holders find mention.
The “state” has been substituted by “Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
In sub section (2) ”whole of the State”‖has been replaced by “whole of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir” while Section 2 “being permanent resident of the State” has been omitted altogether, meaning thereby that the land is no more exclusively meant for the permanent residents of erewhile Jammu and Kashmir.
In clause (l), for ―section 3 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1990 has been substituted with “the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013).
After clause (l), government has added:- ―(m) ―Strategic Areas‖ means an area notified as Strategic Area under sub-section (3) of section 3 of this Act.‖
In Section 3, after sub-section (2) the government has inserted sub section (3) which reads : “Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Government may on the written request of an Army officer not below the rank of Corp Commander, declare an area as Strategic Area within a local area, only for direct operational and training requirements of armed forces, which may be excluded from the operation of this Act and rules/regulations made there under in the manner and to the extent specified in the declaration and the Government may satisfy itself about the reasons cited for declaring the area as strategic area and will have such area notified accordingly with such conditions as may be required.”
In section 5, “The Authority”‖ with has been substituted with “Subject to any rule, regulation, order or instruction” while In sub-section (1), for ―for each of the zones into which the local area may be divided‖ substitute ―for such zones which are declared as development areas under section 13‖ and for ―each zone word “each such zone issued in this behalf by the Government, the Authority” has been substituted.
The government has also inserted a new section—Section 11 A after section 11 which reads as : Permitted land use and levy of land use charges ―11A(1) Upon coming into operation of the master plan or a zonal plan, the land use permitted in the area covered thereunder shall only be as provided in terms of such master or zonal plan. The provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976, Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat 1996 or any other law for the time being in force requiring any permission to change the usage of any land, shall not be applicable to any land so covered. (2) The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, notify a scheme for levy of charges for use of land as permitted in the master plan or the zonal plan, the proceeds whereof shall form part of the fund of the Authority and may be used to defray the expenses incurred on acquisition of land that may be required to be acquired in terms of section 50.
The section 13 has been substituted with Declaration of development area and permission for development etc. ―13. (1) After a notice approving the date of operation of plan is published under section 11, the Authority may, with prior permission of the Government and by notification in the Official Gazette, declare any zone or part thereof as development area for the purposes of this Act. (2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law for the time being in force, consequent upon such notification, no person including a Department of the Government shall undertake or carry out development of any land or building in the zone unless permission for such development has been obtained in writing from the Authority in accordance with the provisions of this Act: Provided that the development of any land undertaken by a Department of the Government or any local authority before the 31st day of October, 2019 may be completed by that Department or local authority. (3) No person or entity, whether private or public, including a Department of the Government or any authority, shall undertake the implementation of any street or layout plan, in any form whatsoever, in the local area outside the limits of a Municipal Corporation established under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Corporation Act, 2000,without the prior written permission of the Authority: Provided that for the purposes of such permission, the Authority shall follow the procedure laid down in Chapter XIII of the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Corporation Act, 2000, and any reference therein to the Corporation or the Commissioner shall be construed as reference to the Authority or the Vice-Chairman of the Authority, respectively: Provided further that the restriction under this sub-section shall not apply to the development undertaken by or on behalf of the Metropolitan Region Development Authority established under the Jammu and Kashmir Metropolitan Region Development Authorities Act, 2018, or to a town planning scheme implemented under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Town Planning Act, 1963.

Ibni Maqbool
Srinagar, Oct 27: The Central Government has empowered the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to constitute Property Tax Board whenever the Union Territory is without its elected government.
According to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (adaptation of state law) fifth order, 2020, to empower the LG to appoint chairman and members of property tax board in absence of an elected government in the UT. “Provided that during the continuation of proclamation issued under section 73 of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the chairperson and members of the Board shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor,” reads the amendments made in the law through the order.
According to the law, the chairman and members of the panel shall be appointed by cabinet on recommendations of a committee headed by Chief Minister, Minister in-Charge Housing & Urban Development Board and Minister in-charge Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
The committee shall recommend a panel of two persons for each post to the cabinet for approval, the law states.
Under the law, the chairperson shall be a person not below the rank of person of commissioner secretary rank to the government.
The members shall be persons having knowledge and experience in the field of municipal administration, valuation of property, accountancy law and management.
It is worthwhile to mention here that J&K LG Manoj Sinha had earlier this month claimed that the government will not impose any property tax in the Union Territory.
“Let me clarify that there is no proposal to impose the property tax in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory,” Sinha had said.
Sinha made the statement after Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had empowered the J&K administration to impose the property tax after an amendment to the J&K Municipal Act, 2000 and J&K Municipal Corporation Act, 2000 through the J&K Reorganisation (Adaption of State Laws) order, 2020.

Hands over cheque of Rs 250 crore to J&K Bank as commencement of disbursement

Precious Kashmir News

Srinagar, October 27: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today announced the sanctioning of over 10,000 cases under B2V3 Self Employment Programme, Economic Package and My Town-My Pride.

The Lt Governor was addressing the media persons at Raj Bhavan Auditorium here.

The Lt Governor’s press conference witnessed the announcement of some major reforms in the business sector, giving a determined push to the business revival and economic development of J&K, besides empowering youth and women entrepreneurs, making a positive impact on Self Employment.
The Lt Governor observed that his mantra for J&K revolves around 4 P’s viz Peace, Progress, Prosperity and People first. He said that the sanctioning of over 10,000 cases under B2V3 Self Employment Programme, Economic Package and My Town-My Pride highlighted the UT Government’s  commitment to empower the youth which is one of the foremost priorities of J&K Government.

A total of 15309 applications were received, out of which 10828 have been sanctioned and an amount of Rs 100 cr has been disbursed to 6734 applicants, identified under B2V3.

We had taken up a target of covering at least 2 persons in each Panchayat who were in need of financial assistance for self employment, he added.

“I am happy to announce that we have covered nearly 10,000 cases and in order to mark the occasion, one person from each district of J&K is being handed over a sanction letter here” said the Lt Governor.

We stand committed to cover every single aspirant within the Union Territory of J&K, who wishes to set up his own business. What distinguishes the effort this time is the fact that unlike in past, where borrowers had to make several rounds of the bank to get a simple loan, the banks have been more than forthcoming towards helping the people.

The officers went to the villages under B2V3 and My Town My Pride, and identified the aspirants.

The officers from the bank also attended these events and in a departure from the normal culture of red-tapism, we have been able to sanction these cases within a short period of time, which is reflective of our resolve to help the young generation in achieving their aspirations, he continued.

The Lt Governor called upon the J&K Bank to not only extend financial assistance to these entrepreneurs but also provide handholding to them so that the youth who opt for self employment can set up sustainable businesses and flourish in their lives.

The Lt Governor also handed over a cheque of Rs 250 crore to J&K Bank as commencement of disbursement of 5% Interest Subvention and coverage of re-structured accounts of 2014 and 2016. He also termed it as very important milestone.

This is only the beginning and as and when requests are received for further disbursement, we will continue to meet these requests in a timely manner, he added.

Providing a much needed relief to the business community, the Lt Governor also announced that from 1st January, GST shall be reimbursed timely and automatically, without delays.

Reiterating Government’s commitment for taking comprehensive measures for the revival of the business sector, the Lt Governor observed that the committee had been constituted under the Chairmanship of KK Sharma, Advisor to the Lt Governor to suggest measures for improving competitiveness of local industry post abrogation of toll tax at Lakhanpur.

The committee was supposed to give its report within a month of announcement of economic package. I am happy to announce that the committee has given its report within the scheduled time and the Government will soon commence the implementation of recommendations, observed the Lt Governor.

These recommendations contain 20 key steps that will not only enable the industry to become competitive but also flourish in times to come and become competitive not only in this region but also at the national level, he said.

The steps include i) local filter for J&K in GeM, (ii) price preference to MSMEs, (iii) mandatory procurement of 20% from the local MSMEs within strict time frame, (iv) release of FDR/CDR in expeditious manner on completion of work, (v) sensitization of departments, (vi) buyer-seller meet, (vii) capacity building of local MSMEs, (viii) review of SROs related to GST reimbursements, (ix) review of upper limit of allowed usage of land in industrial areas, (x) review of fee charged on additional line of business activity and (xi) review of charges on transfer of unit to a blood relation, (xii) liquidity infusion as per Atma Nirbhar Abhiyan, (xiii) Committee for examining levy of user charges in Mandis for specified products, (xiv) establishment of Anchor Units, (xv) Expansion of footprints of benefits under CGTMSE and Trade Receivables Electronic Discount System, (xvi) Mudra Loans, (xvii) Regular Stakeholder Consultations, (xviii) timely GST reimbursements and (xix) streamlining of negative list for industrial incentives, and (xx) capacity building of MSMEs

I believe that this is a comprehensive set of measures and these 20 measures are expected to go a long way in meeting the aspirations of local industry which have been looking for support from the Government, he added.

Speaking on the Economic package, the Lt Governor observed that the economic package announced had 83 measures.

I had also said that the implementation of the package shall be personally monitored by me. I am happy to announce that nearly 50% of the recommendations have already been implemented, he added.

These include: Interest subvention of 5% in case of all borrowers. The first tranche is being released today; 50 % waiver of the fixed charges of electricity/ water charges in respect of the Industries and Commercial Establishments for a period of 1 year; Release of Pending interest subvention under 2014 and 2016 rehabilitation schemes for restructured accounts, which is being done today; Constitution of committee for examining delay in payments to industries and suppliers; Re-structuring of functional NPAs as per RBI guidelines, the discussions with borrowers of the J&K bank have commenced and efforts are on;  Extension in date of filing of GST reimbursement claims up to 31st December, 2020; Streamlining of sanction of loans by bank branches; Extension of repayment schedule as per RBI guidelines;  Infusion of additional liquidity through GECL and business support loan; Rs.1700 crore to 47,000 borrowers. Holding of workshops related to capacity building under GeM in 20 districts, 8 districts already covered and 2 districts are being covered today; Special desk to facilitate youth and women entrepreneurs has been set up by the bank; Credit Card Scheme for artisans and weavers by enhancing the credit limit from Rs 1.00 lakh to Rs 2.00 Lakhs with interest subvention of 7% has already been approved;  Customised “Help Tourism” scheme by J&K Bank for financial assistance to persons associated with the Tourism Sector has been launched and further streamlining underway; Land bank exclusively for the establishment of Food Park clusters, 4 such clusters already identified. Soft loan to bakers for ovens; Land bank in the industrial estates for the establishment of the warehouses, J&K Bank has been accordingly instructed; Committee for regular stakeholders’ consultations has been set up; Streamlining of guarantors required for working capital loan; Conduct of Workshops to remove difficulties and delay in filing reimbursement claims, 8 districts have already been covered and 2 districts are being covered today;  Establishment of Consumer forums and Rationalization of restrictions on movement of manpower and material to Industrial Estates has been taken forward.

With all these innovative measures, we are progressing towards creating a better socio-economic ecosystem in J&K, and the implementation of the economic package shall be further intensified in times to come, the Lt Governor affirmed.

Strengthening the grass roots democratic set up, 3-tier Panchayati Raj System is being implemented for the first time in J&K, thereby giving further fillip to the developmental agenda centered around people’s welfare, he added.

“My Government is committed to peace and progress in J&K. As you have seen, we had announced the economic package about a month ago and we have been able to make progress on nearly 50% of the measures under the economic package. We mean what we say”, said the Lt Governor.

For empowerment of youth of J&K, the UT Government is coming up with YES J&K- a Youth Empowerment programme for Youth Engagement and Employment. The intended programme will be an institutional mechanism for providing the necessary handholding and support to the youth to facilitate and nurture their capabilities, he added.

The government is aiming to operate youth engagement programmes in the field of Sports, Livelihood generation, Recreation, Education, Counselling to effectively support and encourage young individuals to shape their future as per their aspirations, observed the Lt Governor.

On employment generation, the Lt Governor said that 24,000 posts have been identified in different departments, with 10,000 posts already advertised, across the UT for recruitment, which will be filled up soon.

We will continue to march ahead. We will spare no efforts to ensure that the Government of J&K comes up to the expectations of the people.

We stand committed to fast-tracking development in the Union Territory as per the dreams of our Hon’ble Prime Minister. We are committed to building a system based on values of transparency and accountability, he added.

As part of this endeavour, I take this occasion to mandate achievement of 100% DBT in all individual beneficiary schemes within two months, announced the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor also held an interactive session with the media fraternity present there and answered their queries.

Kewal Kumar Sharma, Advisor to the Lt Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Finance Department; R K Chhibber J&K Bank Chairman & Managing Director; Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department, and Information Department; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Commissioner/Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, CEO Mission Youth (YES J&K) were present on the occasion.

‘Posing with guns, making videos won’t make you a militant, come back’

Srinagar, Oct 27: General officer Commanding of army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lieutenant General B S Raju Tuesday while reaching out to the new militant recruits said that posing for a photograph with a gun and releasing a video won’t make them a militant and they can still come back and join their families.

“I have a message for the newly recruited militants that posing for a photograph holding a gun in hands and releasing a video won’t make you a militant. You can still come back and join your families. There has been progress in this direction recently and we are hopeful of more on this front,” GoC Raju told a selected group of newsmen at 15 Corps headquarters here on the occasion of Infantry Day.

He said that recently four cases of surrenders by militants came to fore but there are many such cases. “We are ready to receive the gun-wielding youth back,” he said.
On his message for the youth of Kashmir, he said: “Situation has improved (in Kashmir) youth should cash it. Young ones should focus on studies. Those who have completed must work on finding opportunities in entrepreneurship, others should try for government jobs or starting their own ventures.”

About Infantry Day, the GoC 15 Corps said that Infantry is an important name and soldier from the Infantry Division have a potential to work with other agencies too like air-force and Navy. “Infantry is playing a great role in every battle. I want to put it on record that we are able to take any kind of task,” he said. (KNO)

Peerzada Waseem

Baramulla, Oct 27: The Army Monday said that over the past few weeks there is a considerable reduction in the Ceasefire Violation and the overall violence along the Line of Control in the Valley which remains to be seen how long it will remain. It said that the army has been able to plug the infiltration to a large extent this year and the smuggling of weapons and drugs from across the LoC too has been stopped.

Talking to media men here in north Kashmir on the occasion of Infantry Day—October 27—the day Indian army landed in the Valley, General officer Commanding (GoC) of Baramulla based Army’s 19 Infantry division Major General Virender Vats said that since past few weeks, there has been a reduction in violence and CFVs along the LoC in Kashmir.

“Pakistan has not been able to succeed in infiltration. As far as the reduction in violence along the LoC, whether it’s a change of mindset by Pakistan, it would be too early to judge. We don’t know how long the same situation will last,” Vats said.

He said that the Army has a fair amount of control on the LoC situation. “The resources we have at the LoC are quite adequate and infiltration has been largely plugged this year,” the GoC 19 Infantry Division said.

Asked whether the China situation has resulted in some issues along the LoC, he said that there has been no let-up in the vigil of the army despite the China situation. To a query whether drugs and weapon smuggling has from across LoC has been stopped, the army officer said that there had been efforts by the neighbour to transport weapons and drugs using drones etc “in plain areas of LoC.”

“We strengthened our mechanism and today I can say that no weapon or drug consignment is coming from across the LoC,” he said.

Srinagar, Oct 27: The General Officer Commanding (GOC), Chinar Corps, Lt Gen B.S. Raju, and Director General Police Dilbag Singh, co-chaired a meeting of the Core Group consisting of top officials of the civil administration and intelligence agencies here on Tuesday to review security for upcoming Panchayat Elections and put in place “winter security strategy”.

“The Core Group reviewed the security situation in Kashmir. The meeting also reviewed the security requirements during the upcoming Panchayat elections and to discuss the winter security strategy,” a defence ministry spokesman here said in a statement.

“Officials shared that reports indicate that the launch pads in (Pak) continue to be full and Pakistan establishment is keen to push in infiltrators before the onset of winters and closing of the passes due to snow.”

The officials, the statement said, expressed satisfaction at the efforts so far along the line of control to prevent infiltration.

“The robust security grid along with technical surveillance has considerably lowered infiltration in current year.”

The officials discussed modalities of continued conduct of operations to prevent infiltration of weapons, narcotics and money in the region, the statement said. “The forces are gearing up to meet the challenges during the change into winter posture.”

Review of security indicators, the army statement said shows that violence level has dropped in last few months.

“Intelligence inputs indicate desperation in Pakistani establishment and separatists to generate violence and civil casualties in the valley. The core group discussed the need for continued intelligence based anti-(militancy) operations with a humane touch,” it said, adding, “To address the complete eco-system of (militant) organisations, the efforts to identify and arrest over ground workers who sustain the (militant) organisations will continue with vigour.”

The statement further said that the “Pakistan supported anti-national element is keen to disrupt normal life of the people and interfere with restart of political activities.”

“It was decided to carryout extensive area domination and counter (militant) operations to deny any opportunity to the (militants) for creating violence, till onset of winters and the conduct of local body polls.”

The core also decided to enhance steps to prevent local youth from joining militant ranks including proactive steps in consultation with families of vulnerable youth, and identification and arrest of “instigators”.

“Special emphasis was laid down to continue the operations in a manner to give options of surrender to the local youth. Officials opined that the role of civil society was considered important for this effort to succeed.”