Cabinet writes off deceased Ministers’, MLAs’, MLCs’ loans

Pir gets charge of CCT; 3 IAS officers given suppertime scale

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 31: In a significant development, Cabinet today waived off all outstanding loans of a number of Ministers and legislators who have passed away in the last two decades. While as three IAS officers were promoted to suppertime scale, Commissioner Excise G A Pir was also given additional charge of Commissioner Commercial Taxes at the end of the re-employment period of Khwaja Bashir Ahmed.

On recommendations of Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Government today ordered immediate attachment of Principal Secretary Health & Medical Education, Dr Ravi Kulbhushan Jeerath. A Government Order, circulated in Assembly, said that Jeerath had been attached to General Administration Department with immediate effect. Principal Secretary Housing & Urban Development, Suresh Kumar, would hold the additional charge of Principal Secretary Health and Medical Education.

As already reported, Jeerath had been censured by Privilege Committee of J&K Assembly and recommended for attachment after he was declared as guilty of showing disrespect to BJP’s MLA from Banni, Lal Chand. Under pressure from a near-unanimous House, Government today removed Jeerath from his posting and ordered his attachment to GAD hours before the Cabinet met with a brief agenda at Civil Secretariat in the evening.

In today’s meeting, Cabinet decided that Commissioner Excise, G A Pir, would also hold additional charge of Commissioner Commercial Taxes till further orders. It accorded sanction to promotion of three senior IAS officers, namely Yadullah (Secretary Rural Development), Aijaz Iqbal (Secretary Revenue) and Farooq Ahmed Pir (Secretary Labour and Employment).

Elevated to the post of Commissioner-Secretary, all the three IAS officers were promoted to super time scale of Rs  37400-67000 with Grade pay Rs. 10,000. They would continue to hold the existing postings.

Two days after J&K Legislative Assembly raised salaries of Ministers, MLAs and MLCs, besides pension of retired legislators, with retrospective effect of nearly two years, Cabinet today sanctioned waiver of loans granted to a number of former Ministers, MLAs and MLCs who died natural death or were killed by militants in the last 20 years. Families of slain Ministers Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, Safdar Ali Beg, Dr Ghulam Nabi Lone, slain Parliamentary Secretary Ghulam Hassan Bhat, besides those of several MLAs and MLCs, including slain counter-insurgents Kukka Parray and Javed Hussain Shah, would be among the beneficiaries.

The Cabinet also approved re-employment of retired officers and officials in the election department for assisting in the conduct of Panchayat Elections.

The Cabinet also approved re-employment of Mr M L Babu, Professor in the department of Surgery, Government Medical College, Jammu. It also approved purchase of 20,000 single phase, whole current LCD Static Energy Meters with Optic Port 5-30 Amperes, 1.30 Lakh meters of single phase whole current LCD Static Energy Meters with optical port 10-60 Amperes and 20,000 three phase four wire whole current fully statics Tri-vector energy meters LCD with optical port rating 20-80 Ampere.

Sources said that the Cabinet also approved the draft of some Bills likely to be introduced on last day of the Budget Session tomorrow in Legislative Assembly and subsequently in Legislative Council.

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