Was ban on SMS in National (Conference) interest?
‘Three Idiots” rant should have roused Omar against ‘rumour agencies’ in his own state
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 18: Dramatic imposition of ban on SMS services and its equally dramatic withdrawal within hours last week has exposed not only Government of India’s bankruptcy in handling plain matters of governance in Jammu & Kashmir but also the Kashmiri politicians’ trait of blaming ‘Delhi’ for all of their own sins. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah demonstrated tremendous alacrity for fear of everybody---from Mehbooba Mufti to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq---in rushing to media with his invectives and taking his complaint to the peoples’ court in the Valley rather than calling up his coalition partner in New Delhi.
In the entire drama, Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre has nonsensically confirmed what the cynics of the Kashmir politics and intelligentsia have been complaining of in the last over 60 years. From hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani to the mainstream politicians, who have themselves been the best beneficiaries in becoming even the state’s Chief Ministers and Union Home Ministers, all and sundry in Srinagar have been holding ‘Delhi’ responsible for calling the ruling party’s interest as the ‘national interest’. It has been emphatically substantiated by Home Minister P Chidambaram’s obsequiously acting on the J&K Chief Minister’s advise---first by imposing ban on all types of SMS services in ‘security interest’ of the country and then revoking it within hours.
Nobody asked Chidambaram as to what precisely was his interpretation of the ‘national interest’ and ‘security interest’. None other than Chief Minister and the ruling National Conference President revealed it---nobody knows whether inadvertently or to pre-empt what could have been a potentially dangerous revelation from Mehbooba---that ban on the SMS services was, in fact, sequel to an official SOS from Jammu. Chief Minister said it, rather candidly, that his government had urged the Centre to block bulk SMS circulation, “most of it done by BSNL”, as, according to him, illegal ‘news agencies’ in the state had been found spinning rumours through their cellphones.
Interestingly, the Jammu communication has gone in the wake of PDP having allegedly sponsored “Three Idiots” tirade against Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s dynasty. Telecommunication is undoubtedly a Central subject. A ‘Centre’ that does not mind Srinagar-based practising lawyers’ audacious acts of insulting the Indian Constitution and sovereignty before High Court judges can not be expected to act on petty matters of SMS circulation of its own. Chief Minister was obviously justified in breaking ‘Delhi’s slumber’ with his strong complaint.
Police and law and order figure in the state list. What would have prevented Chief Minister from taking strong action against the anti-social elements running ‘news agencies’ merely on what he himself termed as ‘unsubstantiated rumours’? Head of the government haplessly knocking at New Delhi’s door has raised far serious questions: Are the state mainstream parties programmed simply to act as “Delhi’s surrogates” on the geopolitical patch from Lakhanpur to Uri? People from outside Lakhanpur have been already grappling with other questions: Why does Delhi reward every Delhi-basher in Jammu & Kashmir? Why are all nationalists and patriotic people consigned to dustbins in this state of anarchy and mobocracy?
Chief Minister appears to be handicapped in acting against the ‘news agencies’ for the fact that almost all of his Ministers and senior government functionaries have been making best use of these very “rumour mongers” in their false promotion. They are invariably the special invitees on most of the official functions and events. That perhaps explains as to why these services should exist and their bulk SMS circulation alone should be banned. In Srinagar, this is now ridiculed as “Delhi’s National Conference interest”.
Six years back, its best manifestation came in the form of ‘Delhi’ shutting her eyes to Mehbooba Mufti’s brazen act of vandalizing a polling station and preventing genuine electors from exercising their right to vote. It was only when Omar threatened to withdraw from remaining two phases of the Lok Sabha election of 2004 that Election Commission of India asked Returning Officer to register an FIR against the PDP President. All successive Directors General of Police are wise enough to know that such FIRs are only to be registered and never to be investigated. Call it “national interest”, this “National Conference interest”, “PDP interest” and “Congress interest” is, in fact, preventing millions of the Generation-3 in the Valley from having faith in the Indian Constitution and the real democratic body politic.
END
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
3 CMs tell Dr Shawl: Kashmir needs brick kilns, not hospitals
World’s top cardiologist’s dream of setting up hospital in Srinagar remains unfulfilled
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 17: Washington DC-based interventional cardiologist, Dr Fayaz Shawl, who has the unbeaten distinction of having performed more than 20,000 angioplasty procedures in the world, has failed to get permission for establishing a super-specialty cardiovascular hospital in Nishat area of his hometown Srinagar in the last over two years. In a desperately written letter to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, he has finally threatened to dispose off the land he had acquired in 2008 if the state officialdom continued to sleep over his dream project by the end of next month.
Posted as a junior surgeon at a public health centre at Shahdara Sharief (Rajouri) in 1974, after completing his MBBS from Government Medical College Srinagar, Dr Shawl had joined United States of America Army in 1980. He had completed his post graduation studies and many other top degrees in interventional cardiology from UK and USA before performing the first ever angioplasty procedure in the US armed forces in 1981. Being the world’s highest profile interventional cardiologist, Dr Shawl has been the family physician of top celebrities who include former US Vice President Dick Cheney, former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief, many Bollywood and Hollywood film icons and a number of the Indian governors, Chief Ministers and Union cabinet ministers.
Working as Director International Cardiology Washington Adventist Hospital and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at George Washington University, a born and brought up in Srinagar Dr Shawl has also the credit of having trained India’s topmost cardiologists including Dr Ashok Seth, Dr Upendra Kaul, Dr Ashwin Mehta, Dr Mathew and many others who are running cardiac centers like Maxwell, Apollo Hospitals and Medi-city.
With the dream of setting up a cardiac centre, mainly for promotion of medical tourism in Kashmir, alongwith a non-profit wellness centre for the patients of Jammu & Kashmir, Dr Shawl had returned to Srinagar after 30 years. Three Chief Ministers in succession---Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Ghulam Nabi Azad and now Omar Abdullah---have given him assurances but not the permission he required for setting up the modern clinical facility. Plush with assurances of support from Mufti, Dr Shawl had purchased a piece of land for raising his dream project in the picturesque Zabarvan foothills in Nishat area.
Although the proposed site was far away from the restricted green belt and did not fall under forest, wildlife and other notified areas, permission of land use change was never issued by the authorities in the last over two years. Constructions to be raised on agriculture land are cleared by the municipal authorities only after a proper permission of land use change from the Minister incharge Revenue. Unscrupulous entrepreneurs, well versed with the trick of making shortcuts, often adopt the strategy of recording the area as ‘barren land’ for three years, which neutralizes the obligation of seeking permission of land use change from the competent authority. Hundreds of high pollution industrial units, including more than 400 unauthorised brick kilns, have been laid by such industrialists in Kashmir valley in the last 12 years.
“His problem is that he is a Kashmiri American. Had he been simply a Kashmiri, he would have managed to get permission in 2007 itself. He is one of the richest professionals but can not pay bribes to officers and politicians to offset the legal procedure”, one of Dr Shawl’s local promoters said. He explained that entire cost of the project was to be born by Dr Shawl out of his personal earning for 30 years besides donations from a galaxy of celebrities under his treatment. He said that India’s richest diamond merchant and a Dubai-based businessman, Harshad Mehta, whose life was saved by Dr Shawl with a Diamond Drill procedure in UAE, had contributed a large amount of money for the Kashmir hospital.
On the pattern of Shawl Cardiovascular Center at Zulekha Hospital in Dubai, Dr Shawl had planned to equip his Srinagar center with the most modern facilities including two state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratories, a 20-bed Tran scare holding unit (for pre-operative and post-operative management), one fully equipped cardiac operating room, a 10-bed intensive care unit, a 10-bed coronary care unit, 50 fully incorporated telemetry beds, one echocardiography laboratory, a nuclear cardiology testing center and a non-invasive endovascular laboratory.
Dr Shawl had also planned to raise a fully equipped auditorium for 100 people besides a hostel for 50 attendants and patients arriving in from rural areas of the state. For completely free treatment of the patients from Jammu & Kashmir, Dr Shawl also proposed a wellness centre equipped with gym, swimming pool and other peripheral services.
A renowned philanthropist, Dr Shawl has spent an amount of over Rs 2 Crore on the high risk interventional procedures he conducted on the Kashmiri patients in 2007 and 2008 at SKIMS, Soura. During these operations, normally possible in Delhi, Mumbai and other metropolitan cities, Dr Shawl contributed and planted nearly 100 imported balloons (stents) on the economically poor patients at SKIMS. He is scheduled to arrive in Srinagar on May 31st with similar equipment worth Rs 1.25 Crore which he will be implanting on J&K patients on his third trip at SKIMS.
Dr Shawl revealed to Early Times in an email from Washington DC that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s response to his request was highly reassuring. He said that Chief Minister had immediately issued instructions to his bureaucracy for processing the permission of land use change on urgent basis. He said that the ground breaking event would he held on the site on June 4th. He, however, made it clear that if he failed to get the permission, he would dispose off the property fully and give it to a charity.
END
World’s top cardiologist’s dream of setting up hospital in Srinagar remains unfulfilled
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 17: Washington DC-based interventional cardiologist, Dr Fayaz Shawl, who has the unbeaten distinction of having performed more than 20,000 angioplasty procedures in the world, has failed to get permission for establishing a super-specialty cardiovascular hospital in Nishat area of his hometown Srinagar in the last over two years. In a desperately written letter to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, he has finally threatened to dispose off the land he had acquired in 2008 if the state officialdom continued to sleep over his dream project by the end of next month.
Posted as a junior surgeon at a public health centre at Shahdara Sharief (Rajouri) in 1974, after completing his MBBS from Government Medical College Srinagar, Dr Shawl had joined United States of America Army in 1980. He had completed his post graduation studies and many other top degrees in interventional cardiology from UK and USA before performing the first ever angioplasty procedure in the US armed forces in 1981. Being the world’s highest profile interventional cardiologist, Dr Shawl has been the family physician of top celebrities who include former US Vice President Dick Cheney, former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief, many Bollywood and Hollywood film icons and a number of the Indian governors, Chief Ministers and Union cabinet ministers.
Working as Director International Cardiology Washington Adventist Hospital and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at George Washington University, a born and brought up in Srinagar Dr Shawl has also the credit of having trained India’s topmost cardiologists including Dr Ashok Seth, Dr Upendra Kaul, Dr Ashwin Mehta, Dr Mathew and many others who are running cardiac centers like Maxwell, Apollo Hospitals and Medi-city.
With the dream of setting up a cardiac centre, mainly for promotion of medical tourism in Kashmir, alongwith a non-profit wellness centre for the patients of Jammu & Kashmir, Dr Shawl had returned to Srinagar after 30 years. Three Chief Ministers in succession---Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Ghulam Nabi Azad and now Omar Abdullah---have given him assurances but not the permission he required for setting up the modern clinical facility. Plush with assurances of support from Mufti, Dr Shawl had purchased a piece of land for raising his dream project in the picturesque Zabarvan foothills in Nishat area.
Although the proposed site was far away from the restricted green belt and did not fall under forest, wildlife and other notified areas, permission of land use change was never issued by the authorities in the last over two years. Constructions to be raised on agriculture land are cleared by the municipal authorities only after a proper permission of land use change from the Minister incharge Revenue. Unscrupulous entrepreneurs, well versed with the trick of making shortcuts, often adopt the strategy of recording the area as ‘barren land’ for three years, which neutralizes the obligation of seeking permission of land use change from the competent authority. Hundreds of high pollution industrial units, including more than 400 unauthorised brick kilns, have been laid by such industrialists in Kashmir valley in the last 12 years.
“His problem is that he is a Kashmiri American. Had he been simply a Kashmiri, he would have managed to get permission in 2007 itself. He is one of the richest professionals but can not pay bribes to officers and politicians to offset the legal procedure”, one of Dr Shawl’s local promoters said. He explained that entire cost of the project was to be born by Dr Shawl out of his personal earning for 30 years besides donations from a galaxy of celebrities under his treatment. He said that India’s richest diamond merchant and a Dubai-based businessman, Harshad Mehta, whose life was saved by Dr Shawl with a Diamond Drill procedure in UAE, had contributed a large amount of money for the Kashmir hospital.
On the pattern of Shawl Cardiovascular Center at Zulekha Hospital in Dubai, Dr Shawl had planned to equip his Srinagar center with the most modern facilities including two state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratories, a 20-bed Tran scare holding unit (for pre-operative and post-operative management), one fully equipped cardiac operating room, a 10-bed intensive care unit, a 10-bed coronary care unit, 50 fully incorporated telemetry beds, one echocardiography laboratory, a nuclear cardiology testing center and a non-invasive endovascular laboratory.
Dr Shawl had also planned to raise a fully equipped auditorium for 100 people besides a hostel for 50 attendants and patients arriving in from rural areas of the state. For completely free treatment of the patients from Jammu & Kashmir, Dr Shawl also proposed a wellness centre equipped with gym, swimming pool and other peripheral services.
A renowned philanthropist, Dr Shawl has spent an amount of over Rs 2 Crore on the high risk interventional procedures he conducted on the Kashmiri patients in 2007 and 2008 at SKIMS, Soura. During these operations, normally possible in Delhi, Mumbai and other metropolitan cities, Dr Shawl contributed and planted nearly 100 imported balloons (stents) on the economically poor patients at SKIMS. He is scheduled to arrive in Srinagar on May 31st with similar equipment worth Rs 1.25 Crore which he will be implanting on J&K patients on his third trip at SKIMS.
Dr Shawl revealed to Early Times in an email from Washington DC that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s response to his request was highly reassuring. He said that Chief Minister had immediately issued instructions to his bureaucracy for processing the permission of land use change on urgent basis. He said that the ground breaking event would he held on the site on June 4th. He, however, made it clear that if he failed to get the permission, he would dispose off the property fully and give it to a charity.
END
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Shopian whistleblower doc now himself in the dock for rape
Victim woman’s statement recorded, investigation completed, challan produced in court
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 15: Having completed investigation in less than a month with recording of statement of the sexually exploited woman before Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Pulwama, Police today produced challan against the suspended Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Ghulam Qadir Sofi, in the court of District & Sessions Judge of Pulwama. With scientific evidence and corroborative statements recorded before a judicial magistrate, Pulwama Police claimed to have established in 25 days of the investigation that 57-year-old Dr Sofi had committed rape on a female patient at his clinic in Pulwama township of south Kashmir in September 2009.
Interestingly, Dr Sofi and two of his colleagues had achieved the image of ‘bold whistleblowers’ in Kashmir valley last year as it were they who had confirmed ‘rape-cum-murder’ of two young woman in Shopian. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already found Dr Sofi, his subordinate gynecologist Dr Nighat Shaheen and four other Kashmiri doctors guilty of manufacturing a rape-cum-murder case with fudged and fabricated evidences with the motive of implicating four Police officials in a criminal matter that would have made them liable to capital punishment.
Informed sources in South Kashmir told Early Times that Pulwama Police produced challan of case FIR No: 121 of 2010, under section 376 (d), in the court of District & Sessions Judge, Mr Aijaz Ahmed Mir. Police investigation has held suspended CMO, Dr Sofi, guilty of having sexual intercourse on one of his female patients at his illegally operating clinic in September 2009. This type of act, notwithstanding consent of the victim, makes doctors and other hospital staff liable to rigorous imprisonment of five to seven years. Investigation completed in the record time of 25 days, has observed that Dr Sofi had committed the crime in an afternoon in the holy month of Ramazan, around the same time when government had promoted him ton the senior position of CMO and continued his posting in his hometown of Pulwama.
Government had removed Dr Sofi, from his duty on March 20th, placed him under suspension and ordered a departmental inquiry into the allegations against him after a video clip, showing him committing rape on a woman, came into wide circulation in Srinagar, Pulwama and Shopian districts. Taking criminal cognizance of the matter, Police Station Pulwama had on the same day registered case FIR No: 121 and begun questioning of the accused.
During the course of investigation, Police questioned the accused as well as the people associated with the act of filming Dr Sofi’s immoral act. On their disclosures, Police got the victim of the rape identified. Dr Sofi initially pleaded innocence and claimed that some people were, in fact, blackmailing and defaming him. However, during the course of sustained questioning, he spilled the beans and revealed details of his criminal act. He was formally arrested on March 25th and produced before CJM Pulwama, who initially granted his Police remand. Later, he was remanded to judicial custody and shifted to Srinagar Central Jail. His judicial remand is valid till April 17th.
Proceeding with the investigation, Police had seized a video clip in the form of a Compact Disc as also a Nokia mobilephone that had been used by two men for visual recording of the criminal act. These evidences had been sent for forensic examination to Chandigarh-based FSL of the central Crime Detection Training School (CDTS). Sources said that the CDTS report was still awaited but it had become irrelevant for the fact that the videographers have deposed before a judicial magistrate, under Section 164 CrPC, that they had filmed the fact. Mobilephone used for the secret shooting has also been seized. Besides, victim of the rape has herself revealed details and got her statement recorded before CJM Pulwama under Section 164 CrPC. With all these developments, Police have completed the investigation and produced the challan for trial in the court of District & Sessions Judge Pulwama.
END
Victim woman’s statement recorded, investigation completed, challan produced in court
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 15: Having completed investigation in less than a month with recording of statement of the sexually exploited woman before Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Pulwama, Police today produced challan against the suspended Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Ghulam Qadir Sofi, in the court of District & Sessions Judge of Pulwama. With scientific evidence and corroborative statements recorded before a judicial magistrate, Pulwama Police claimed to have established in 25 days of the investigation that 57-year-old Dr Sofi had committed rape on a female patient at his clinic in Pulwama township of south Kashmir in September 2009.
Interestingly, Dr Sofi and two of his colleagues had achieved the image of ‘bold whistleblowers’ in Kashmir valley last year as it were they who had confirmed ‘rape-cum-murder’ of two young woman in Shopian. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already found Dr Sofi, his subordinate gynecologist Dr Nighat Shaheen and four other Kashmiri doctors guilty of manufacturing a rape-cum-murder case with fudged and fabricated evidences with the motive of implicating four Police officials in a criminal matter that would have made them liable to capital punishment.
Informed sources in South Kashmir told Early Times that Pulwama Police produced challan of case FIR No: 121 of 2010, under section 376 (d), in the court of District & Sessions Judge, Mr Aijaz Ahmed Mir. Police investigation has held suspended CMO, Dr Sofi, guilty of having sexual intercourse on one of his female patients at his illegally operating clinic in September 2009. This type of act, notwithstanding consent of the victim, makes doctors and other hospital staff liable to rigorous imprisonment of five to seven years. Investigation completed in the record time of 25 days, has observed that Dr Sofi had committed the crime in an afternoon in the holy month of Ramazan, around the same time when government had promoted him ton the senior position of CMO and continued his posting in his hometown of Pulwama.
Government had removed Dr Sofi, from his duty on March 20th, placed him under suspension and ordered a departmental inquiry into the allegations against him after a video clip, showing him committing rape on a woman, came into wide circulation in Srinagar, Pulwama and Shopian districts. Taking criminal cognizance of the matter, Police Station Pulwama had on the same day registered case FIR No: 121 and begun questioning of the accused.
During the course of investigation, Police questioned the accused as well as the people associated with the act of filming Dr Sofi’s immoral act. On their disclosures, Police got the victim of the rape identified. Dr Sofi initially pleaded innocence and claimed that some people were, in fact, blackmailing and defaming him. However, during the course of sustained questioning, he spilled the beans and revealed details of his criminal act. He was formally arrested on March 25th and produced before CJM Pulwama, who initially granted his Police remand. Later, he was remanded to judicial custody and shifted to Srinagar Central Jail. His judicial remand is valid till April 17th.
Proceeding with the investigation, Police had seized a video clip in the form of a Compact Disc as also a Nokia mobilephone that had been used by two men for visual recording of the criminal act. These evidences had been sent for forensic examination to Chandigarh-based FSL of the central Crime Detection Training School (CDTS). Sources said that the CDTS report was still awaited but it had become irrelevant for the fact that the videographers have deposed before a judicial magistrate, under Section 164 CrPC, that they had filmed the fact. Mobilephone used for the secret shooting has also been seized. Besides, victim of the rape has herself revealed details and got her statement recorded before CJM Pulwama under Section 164 CrPC. With all these developments, Police have completed the investigation and produced the challan for trial in the court of District & Sessions Judge Pulwama.
END
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Valley observes shutdown against Behanji’s conviction
Petrol bombs, stone pelting on Police after boy drowns in Sopore
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 13: Kashmir valley today observed shutdown on the hardliner separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s call against a Delhi court’s conviction to six Kashmiris in the Lajpath Nagar bomb blast, in which 13 people had got killed and nearly 40 others had sustained injuries on May 21, 1996. Trouble flared up in the apple township of Sopore where scores of people threw petrol bombs and engaged Police in stone pelting with the allegation that a teenager had drowned to death in Jhelum after being chased by Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Government offices, educational institutions and private businesses, including commercial traffic, remained closed today in Kashmir as the Valley observed shutdown to register a strong protest against a Delhi court’s conviction to six Kashmiris in the Lajpath Nagar explosion of May 1996. Hardliner separatist leader and Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani had called for a daylong shutdown. In a statement, Geelani had charged the Indian judiciary with punishing the “innocent Kashmiris” on false and fabricated charges and, thus, taking the side of the establishment. On April 8th, Court had exonerated four of the accused but held six others, including Chairperson of the separatist outfit Fareeda Behanji, guilty of their involvement in the bloodbath.
With the conviction yet to be pronounced, life was crippled in entire Kashmir valley in the wake of near-total shutdown. In Srinagar downtown, Police and CRPF imposed restrictions on free movement of the people and allowed the light motor vehicles to ply only after checking photo-identity cards. Quite a number of people traveling in motor cars and pedestrians were frisked at several places.
Reports said that most of the shops, business centers, educational institutions and government offices remained closed for the whole day in the summer capital and most of the rural district headquarters. Commercial traffic did not operate due to the shutdown and for fear of stone pelting. Reports said that attendance was extremely thin in the offices that chose to function in defiance to the call and the ongoing strike of government employees.
Though no reports of any major disturbance came in from any place till late tonight, scores of youth engaged Police in stone pelting at about six spots in Srinagar downtown as also in the uptown localities of Maisuma and Batmaloo. About a dozen demonstrators and Police personnel are estimated to have sustained injuries in these intermittent clashes. However, officials insisted that nobody was killed or injured.
According to the reports available, groups of youth in the north Kashmir townships of Baramulla and Sopore shouted anti-India and pro-Azadi slogans. They also resorted to heavy stone pelting on Police. One ASI and an SPO sustained injuries in such clashes in Baramulla.
Informed sources in north Kashmir told Early Times that hundreds of the residents resorted to heavy stone pelting and lobbed at least four petrol bombs on Police with the allegation that a teenager had drowned into the Jhelum and died as, according to them, Police and CRPF personnel had chased away a group of the youngsters. Dead body of 16-year-old Zubair Hassan Bhat S/o Ghulam Hassan Bhat of Jamia Qadeem locality of downtown Sopore was recovered from the river at around 1745 hours. Large number of the residents alleged that he had drowned into the river when he and four other youngsters of his group had been chased away by Police and CRPF in Hathi Shah locality.
SP Sopore, Altaf Khan, insisted that there was no question of the boy having drowned due to Police or CRPF action as, according to him, there had been “absolutely no deployment of Police and the paramilitary forces” in Hathi Shah and Jamia Qadeem localities till 1700 hours today. Quoting preliminary reports available with the authorities, SP Sopore maintained that a group of four to five youth swam to the other side but one of them, namely Zubair Hassan Bhat, drowned and died under the waters. He said that the drowning had taken place nearly 400 meters from the nearest Police and CRPF post. “There was no stone pelting or clash in that area and, as such, no question of the Police or CRPF deployment”, SP Sopore asserted.
Residents, however, disputed the official version and insisted that the teenager had drowned when he and his associates were being chased by a CRPF party. They assembled in the locality after learning about the teenager’s death and engaged Police and CRPF in ding dong clashed till late this evening. Eyewitnesses said that the demonstrators in Jamia Qadeem and Hathi Shah localities in downtown Sopore lobbed at least four petrol bombs on Police parties and engaged them in clashes till late this evening. They also attempted to ransack Police Station and dismantle a CRPF pillbox near Town Hall.
SP Sopore confirmed that the mobs attacked Police and CRPF bunkers but claimed that these were repulsed with the use of baton charge and tearsmoke. He said that four Police personnel sustained injuries and three to four Police vehicles were damaged in the clashes that erupted in an hour of the recovery of the teenager’s dead body. Residents insisted that about a dozen demonstrators and civilians were injured in these clashes. They said that one you had sustained critical injuries and he was rushed to a Srinagar hospital for specialized treatment.
Residents in both, Sopore and Baramulla towns, told Early Times late tonight that the local population had called for four-day shutdown from tomorrow.
END
Petrol bombs, stone pelting on Police after boy drowns in Sopore
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 13: Kashmir valley today observed shutdown on the hardliner separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s call against a Delhi court’s conviction to six Kashmiris in the Lajpath Nagar bomb blast, in which 13 people had got killed and nearly 40 others had sustained injuries on May 21, 1996. Trouble flared up in the apple township of Sopore where scores of people threw petrol bombs and engaged Police in stone pelting with the allegation that a teenager had drowned to death in Jhelum after being chased by Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Government offices, educational institutions and private businesses, including commercial traffic, remained closed today in Kashmir as the Valley observed shutdown to register a strong protest against a Delhi court’s conviction to six Kashmiris in the Lajpath Nagar explosion of May 1996. Hardliner separatist leader and Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani had called for a daylong shutdown. In a statement, Geelani had charged the Indian judiciary with punishing the “innocent Kashmiris” on false and fabricated charges and, thus, taking the side of the establishment. On April 8th, Court had exonerated four of the accused but held six others, including Chairperson of the separatist outfit Fareeda Behanji, guilty of their involvement in the bloodbath.
With the conviction yet to be pronounced, life was crippled in entire Kashmir valley in the wake of near-total shutdown. In Srinagar downtown, Police and CRPF imposed restrictions on free movement of the people and allowed the light motor vehicles to ply only after checking photo-identity cards. Quite a number of people traveling in motor cars and pedestrians were frisked at several places.
Reports said that most of the shops, business centers, educational institutions and government offices remained closed for the whole day in the summer capital and most of the rural district headquarters. Commercial traffic did not operate due to the shutdown and for fear of stone pelting. Reports said that attendance was extremely thin in the offices that chose to function in defiance to the call and the ongoing strike of government employees.
Though no reports of any major disturbance came in from any place till late tonight, scores of youth engaged Police in stone pelting at about six spots in Srinagar downtown as also in the uptown localities of Maisuma and Batmaloo. About a dozen demonstrators and Police personnel are estimated to have sustained injuries in these intermittent clashes. However, officials insisted that nobody was killed or injured.
According to the reports available, groups of youth in the north Kashmir townships of Baramulla and Sopore shouted anti-India and pro-Azadi slogans. They also resorted to heavy stone pelting on Police. One ASI and an SPO sustained injuries in such clashes in Baramulla.
Informed sources in north Kashmir told Early Times that hundreds of the residents resorted to heavy stone pelting and lobbed at least four petrol bombs on Police with the allegation that a teenager had drowned into the Jhelum and died as, according to them, Police and CRPF personnel had chased away a group of the youngsters. Dead body of 16-year-old Zubair Hassan Bhat S/o Ghulam Hassan Bhat of Jamia Qadeem locality of downtown Sopore was recovered from the river at around 1745 hours. Large number of the residents alleged that he had drowned into the river when he and four other youngsters of his group had been chased away by Police and CRPF in Hathi Shah locality.
SP Sopore, Altaf Khan, insisted that there was no question of the boy having drowned due to Police or CRPF action as, according to him, there had been “absolutely no deployment of Police and the paramilitary forces” in Hathi Shah and Jamia Qadeem localities till 1700 hours today. Quoting preliminary reports available with the authorities, SP Sopore maintained that a group of four to five youth swam to the other side but one of them, namely Zubair Hassan Bhat, drowned and died under the waters. He said that the drowning had taken place nearly 400 meters from the nearest Police and CRPF post. “There was no stone pelting or clash in that area and, as such, no question of the Police or CRPF deployment”, SP Sopore asserted.
Residents, however, disputed the official version and insisted that the teenager had drowned when he and his associates were being chased by a CRPF party. They assembled in the locality after learning about the teenager’s death and engaged Police and CRPF in ding dong clashed till late this evening. Eyewitnesses said that the demonstrators in Jamia Qadeem and Hathi Shah localities in downtown Sopore lobbed at least four petrol bombs on Police parties and engaged them in clashes till late this evening. They also attempted to ransack Police Station and dismantle a CRPF pillbox near Town Hall.
SP Sopore confirmed that the mobs attacked Police and CRPF bunkers but claimed that these were repulsed with the use of baton charge and tearsmoke. He said that four Police personnel sustained injuries and three to four Police vehicles were damaged in the clashes that erupted in an hour of the recovery of the teenager’s dead body. Residents insisted that about a dozen demonstrators and civilians were injured in these clashes. They said that one you had sustained critical injuries and he was rushed to a Srinagar hospital for specialized treatment.
Residents in both, Sopore and Baramulla towns, told Early Times late tonight that the local population had called for four-day shutdown from tomorrow.
END
Govt terminating services of 40 ring leaders today
Minister: Trade union leadership’s ship will be sinking in a few days
JCC: Employees are firmly on strike and they make the Govt bow soon
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 12: Minister of Irrigation & Public Health Engineering, Taj Mohiuddin, confirmed to this newspaper that Omar Abdullah’s coalition government would be terminating the services of 35 to 40 ring leaders of different trade unions any time on Tuesday as, according to him, government’s limit of leniency towards the employees on the strike had exhausted fully. Continuing to take the government’s threats of “stern action” non-seriously, trade union leaders today extended the state-wide strike of over four Lakh employees to April 17th as they threatened to include essential services in the stir and asserted that the government would be forced to bow.
Highly placed authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that the state government had compiled a list of 40 trade union leaders on the basis of reports received from their respective Heads of departments (HODs) and CID for termination of their services under Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). Sources said that much more than the officials found absent in their offices, government had taken serious notice of a number of trade union leaders and activists enforcing the shutdown of offices while physically preventing staff from attending to their duties. With the help of Police intelligence and telecommunication companies, government has gathered material evidence of the employees being harassed over mobile phones and threatened of “dire consequences” if they continued to keep their offices functional.
Member of the 5-member Cabinet Sub-committee dealing with the employees’ strike, Taj Mohiuddin, confirmed to Early Times that the government had compiled a list of 35 to 40 “disruptionists” andb their services were being terminated by competent authorities any time on Tuesday. He said that even after invoking ESMA on April 9th last, Government had avoided to take the extreme action and had provided every possible opportunity to the employees to terminate the strike and engage it in a dialogue for redressal of their genuine grievances. “Rather than being amenable to reason and logic, they unfortunately continued to enforce shutdown and doled out threats to make the government bow. They can no more test our patience as the limit of our leniency has now exhausted fully and we are striking back with termination of the services of all delinquent ring leaders”, Taj said.
Taj said that taking stern action against those enforcing shutdown of offices with open threats had become imperative as the government was responsible for keeping the systems and services to the people functional. Besides, it had now become the question of the government’s credibility. “We have placed under suspension some defaulters and detained few others but avoided to go for the extreme action. Now that the trade union leaders have chosen to be obstinate, we are left with no option but to terminate services and initiate process of fresh recruitment”, he said.
While commenting on the trade union leaders’ fresh decision of extending the strike to April 17th, exempting the educational institutions but announcing their own timing of 0830 hrs to 1230 hrs, and threatening to go for breakdown of all essential services, Taj said: “I am telling you with full amount of confidence that the government is going to tackle this strike firmly. Take it from me that the ship of trade union leadership will be sinking in the next few days. If they are sure to enforce the breakdown of power system on April 17th, we are sure to keep it functional throughout the state”.
Taking serious note of reports that a large section of the junior employees was inclined to attend duty but their officers were more proactive in the strike, Government today ordered suspension of over two dozen officials, including a Tehsildar and Naib Tehsildar in Pulwama district. Government is understood to have directed Deputy Commissioner of Budgam to take necessary action against Chief Medical Officer, Dr Abdullah, who had locked his office and was missing since April 5th. Police today conducted a raid on CMO Budgam’s office and found him absent though a number of his subordinate officials were found present but sitting in a park outside.
On the other hand, addressing a news conference, EJAC top functionaries, Khursheed Alam, Muntazar Mohiuddin and Fayaz Shabnam reiterated that the employees’ strike would soon make the government bow. They asserted that Government’s threats of stern action could not succeed in breaking the employees’ resolve. They announced JCC’s decision of extending the strike to April 17th and said that there would complete power breakdown in entire state of Jammu & Kashmir on April 17th in case the Government chose not to revoke ESMA and release all those detained in the last ten days. They also said that essential services would be included in the strike if the stalemate continued.
On the 8th consecutive day of the JCC and EJAC –sponsored strike today, nearly 10 percent of the educational institutions were seen functional, albeit with few students and teachers in attendance. Reports said that there was reasonable increase in the employees’ attendance in other offices but the strike appeared to be imposing as few people were seen going to government officials for getting their routine works done.
END
Minister: Trade union leadership’s ship will be sinking in a few days
JCC: Employees are firmly on strike and they make the Govt bow soon
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 12: Minister of Irrigation & Public Health Engineering, Taj Mohiuddin, confirmed to this newspaper that Omar Abdullah’s coalition government would be terminating the services of 35 to 40 ring leaders of different trade unions any time on Tuesday as, according to him, government’s limit of leniency towards the employees on the strike had exhausted fully. Continuing to take the government’s threats of “stern action” non-seriously, trade union leaders today extended the state-wide strike of over four Lakh employees to April 17th as they threatened to include essential services in the stir and asserted that the government would be forced to bow.
Highly placed authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that the state government had compiled a list of 40 trade union leaders on the basis of reports received from their respective Heads of departments (HODs) and CID for termination of their services under Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). Sources said that much more than the officials found absent in their offices, government had taken serious notice of a number of trade union leaders and activists enforcing the shutdown of offices while physically preventing staff from attending to their duties. With the help of Police intelligence and telecommunication companies, government has gathered material evidence of the employees being harassed over mobile phones and threatened of “dire consequences” if they continued to keep their offices functional.
Member of the 5-member Cabinet Sub-committee dealing with the employees’ strike, Taj Mohiuddin, confirmed to Early Times that the government had compiled a list of 35 to 40 “disruptionists” andb their services were being terminated by competent authorities any time on Tuesday. He said that even after invoking ESMA on April 9th last, Government had avoided to take the extreme action and had provided every possible opportunity to the employees to terminate the strike and engage it in a dialogue for redressal of their genuine grievances. “Rather than being amenable to reason and logic, they unfortunately continued to enforce shutdown and doled out threats to make the government bow. They can no more test our patience as the limit of our leniency has now exhausted fully and we are striking back with termination of the services of all delinquent ring leaders”, Taj said.
Taj said that taking stern action against those enforcing shutdown of offices with open threats had become imperative as the government was responsible for keeping the systems and services to the people functional. Besides, it had now become the question of the government’s credibility. “We have placed under suspension some defaulters and detained few others but avoided to go for the extreme action. Now that the trade union leaders have chosen to be obstinate, we are left with no option but to terminate services and initiate process of fresh recruitment”, he said.
While commenting on the trade union leaders’ fresh decision of extending the strike to April 17th, exempting the educational institutions but announcing their own timing of 0830 hrs to 1230 hrs, and threatening to go for breakdown of all essential services, Taj said: “I am telling you with full amount of confidence that the government is going to tackle this strike firmly. Take it from me that the ship of trade union leadership will be sinking in the next few days. If they are sure to enforce the breakdown of power system on April 17th, we are sure to keep it functional throughout the state”.
Taking serious note of reports that a large section of the junior employees was inclined to attend duty but their officers were more proactive in the strike, Government today ordered suspension of over two dozen officials, including a Tehsildar and Naib Tehsildar in Pulwama district. Government is understood to have directed Deputy Commissioner of Budgam to take necessary action against Chief Medical Officer, Dr Abdullah, who had locked his office and was missing since April 5th. Police today conducted a raid on CMO Budgam’s office and found him absent though a number of his subordinate officials were found present but sitting in a park outside.
On the other hand, addressing a news conference, EJAC top functionaries, Khursheed Alam, Muntazar Mohiuddin and Fayaz Shabnam reiterated that the employees’ strike would soon make the government bow. They asserted that Government’s threats of stern action could not succeed in breaking the employees’ resolve. They announced JCC’s decision of extending the strike to April 17th and said that there would complete power breakdown in entire state of Jammu & Kashmir on April 17th in case the Government chose not to revoke ESMA and release all those detained in the last ten days. They also said that essential services would be included in the strike if the stalemate continued.
On the 8th consecutive day of the JCC and EJAC –sponsored strike today, nearly 10 percent of the educational institutions were seen functional, albeit with few students and teachers in attendance. Reports said that there was reasonable increase in the employees’ attendance in other offices but the strike appeared to be imposing as few people were seen going to government officials for getting their routine works done.
END
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Govt may order retirement of 35-plus, offer 30-60 to employees
Khursheed Alam let off yet again, 30 employees sent to Srinagar Central Jail
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 10: On lightning orders from Ministry of Finance, Heads of Departments (HODs) have submitted a list of all those employees to the government who have completed 35 years of their service. Even as the process of their forcible retirement from service is now underway, Omar Abdullah’s coalition government is likely to address the agitating employees’ demand of extending the age of retirement by offering them a fresh ceiling---60 years of age or 30 years of service, whichever is earlier. Meanwhile, on 6th consecutive day of the shutdown of offices, sponsored by Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), authorities today arrested 30 of the employees on strike, though the most wanted Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) chief, Khursheed Alam, has been yet again detained and later sent back to his home.
Highly placed sources in the coalition government told Early Times that a Cabinet sub-committee, comprising five Ministers, which met and briefed Chief Minister about the latest obtaining situation on Thursday, sounded unanimous over the need to restore the government’s credibility with certain “harsh initiatives”. Immediately after the meeting ended, Ministry of Finance flashed a circular to all HODs, excluding Police, asking them to furnish a list of all the employees who had completed 35 years of government service. Sources said that the HODs compiled lists of their respective departments and submitted the same to Commissioner-Secretary of Finance Department, Sudhanshu Pandey, within 24 hours. According to these sources, Government was mooting forcible retirement of all these employees who were reportedly a few thousands in number.
Sources said that the state government was likely to address the demand of raising the age of retirement from 58 to 60 years while offering the trade union leaders a fresh proposal. Under this scheme, all the government and semi-government employees would reach superannuation on the day of completing 60 years of age or 30 years of continuous service, whichever earlier. This was being considered to allay the apprehensions of over half-a-million unemployed youth who have been bitterly critical of the government’s intention of raising the age of retirement at the cost of their job opportunities. People at large have been viewing the employee’s demand with its co-relation to the fact that almost all of the prominent trade union leaders were in the age group of 57-58 years and thus supposed to retire in the next few months.
As regards the release of pay arrears, Government would soon send a political delegation, comprising representatives of all mainstream political parties, to New Delhi where it would approach Prime Minister as well as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and Chairman of 13th Finance Commission to seek special grant of Rs 4200 Crore on account of liquidating the employees’ salary arrears.
On the 6th consecutive day of near-total shutdown of government establishments in Jammu and Kashmir, authorities today detained 25 employees in Bandipore and 35 more in the summer capital of Srinagar. Later this evening, all the 25, detained in Bandipore, and five more detained in Srinagar, were let off. Remaining 30 of the detainees were released from Police Stations of Kothibagh and Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar.
Sources said that the five trade union activists, picked up from Civil Lines of Srinagar and later let off by Police on the telephonic orders of a Minister, included the most wanted EJAC President, Khursheed Alam. Earlier too, Alam had been detained for a few hours but subsequently dropped back at his residence. He has set up a “strike control room” at headquarters of CAPD quarters where the trade union leaders have been holding news conference and threatening to make the government bow before them.
The agitating employees’ threats have worked till date as the government has not shown competence to enforce the draconian ESMA it invoked with fanfare at Jammu earlier this week. Today’s reports, gathered from independent sources at different district headquarters, said that shutdown was complete in the sense that nobody from the common masses was seen visiting any office with the hope of getting a work done. Reports said that attendance was slightly up as compared to five previous days of the strike but most of the officers remained closeted with DCs and Divisional Commissioner.
These reports said that little impact of the strike appeared to be on emergency services, including power, water and health services. Though less than five percent schools functioned, remaining 95 percent remained locked for the whole day like on the last five days.
Police foiled attempts of the striking employees to assemble and put up a mass show of strength and solidarity at Sher-e-Kashmir Park. Officials said that in all 35 of the trade union activists and striking employees were taken into custody and detained at three different Police Stations in Civil Lines. Five of them, including EJAC chief, Khursheed Alam, were later let off, reportedly on the telephonic orders of a Cabinet Minister. Officials said that remaining 30 detainees were lodged at Srinagar Central Jail. While as the trade union leaders insisted that more than 50 of their striking colleagues sustained injuries in Police action, officials maintained that less than ten people were believed to have sustained just minor injuries.
Speaking at a rally, before he was taken into temporary custody, EJAC chief Khursheed Alam said that the alliance of trade unions would not engage into any dialogue process with the state until ESMA was fully revoked, all the detained activists released and a written offer came from the government. He said that JCC would consider the government’s offer of dialogue only after receiving a formal invite.
END
Khursheed Alam let off yet again, 30 employees sent to Srinagar Central Jail
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 10: On lightning orders from Ministry of Finance, Heads of Departments (HODs) have submitted a list of all those employees to the government who have completed 35 years of their service. Even as the process of their forcible retirement from service is now underway, Omar Abdullah’s coalition government is likely to address the agitating employees’ demand of extending the age of retirement by offering them a fresh ceiling---60 years of age or 30 years of service, whichever is earlier. Meanwhile, on 6th consecutive day of the shutdown of offices, sponsored by Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), authorities today arrested 30 of the employees on strike, though the most wanted Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) chief, Khursheed Alam, has been yet again detained and later sent back to his home.
Highly placed sources in the coalition government told Early Times that a Cabinet sub-committee, comprising five Ministers, which met and briefed Chief Minister about the latest obtaining situation on Thursday, sounded unanimous over the need to restore the government’s credibility with certain “harsh initiatives”. Immediately after the meeting ended, Ministry of Finance flashed a circular to all HODs, excluding Police, asking them to furnish a list of all the employees who had completed 35 years of government service. Sources said that the HODs compiled lists of their respective departments and submitted the same to Commissioner-Secretary of Finance Department, Sudhanshu Pandey, within 24 hours. According to these sources, Government was mooting forcible retirement of all these employees who were reportedly a few thousands in number.
Sources said that the state government was likely to address the demand of raising the age of retirement from 58 to 60 years while offering the trade union leaders a fresh proposal. Under this scheme, all the government and semi-government employees would reach superannuation on the day of completing 60 years of age or 30 years of continuous service, whichever earlier. This was being considered to allay the apprehensions of over half-a-million unemployed youth who have been bitterly critical of the government’s intention of raising the age of retirement at the cost of their job opportunities. People at large have been viewing the employee’s demand with its co-relation to the fact that almost all of the prominent trade union leaders were in the age group of 57-58 years and thus supposed to retire in the next few months.
As regards the release of pay arrears, Government would soon send a political delegation, comprising representatives of all mainstream political parties, to New Delhi where it would approach Prime Minister as well as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and Chairman of 13th Finance Commission to seek special grant of Rs 4200 Crore on account of liquidating the employees’ salary arrears.
On the 6th consecutive day of near-total shutdown of government establishments in Jammu and Kashmir, authorities today detained 25 employees in Bandipore and 35 more in the summer capital of Srinagar. Later this evening, all the 25, detained in Bandipore, and five more detained in Srinagar, were let off. Remaining 30 of the detainees were released from Police Stations of Kothibagh and Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar.
Sources said that the five trade union activists, picked up from Civil Lines of Srinagar and later let off by Police on the telephonic orders of a Minister, included the most wanted EJAC President, Khursheed Alam. Earlier too, Alam had been detained for a few hours but subsequently dropped back at his residence. He has set up a “strike control room” at headquarters of CAPD quarters where the trade union leaders have been holding news conference and threatening to make the government bow before them.
The agitating employees’ threats have worked till date as the government has not shown competence to enforce the draconian ESMA it invoked with fanfare at Jammu earlier this week. Today’s reports, gathered from independent sources at different district headquarters, said that shutdown was complete in the sense that nobody from the common masses was seen visiting any office with the hope of getting a work done. Reports said that attendance was slightly up as compared to five previous days of the strike but most of the officers remained closeted with DCs and Divisional Commissioner.
These reports said that little impact of the strike appeared to be on emergency services, including power, water and health services. Though less than five percent schools functioned, remaining 95 percent remained locked for the whole day like on the last five days.
Police foiled attempts of the striking employees to assemble and put up a mass show of strength and solidarity at Sher-e-Kashmir Park. Officials said that in all 35 of the trade union activists and striking employees were taken into custody and detained at three different Police Stations in Civil Lines. Five of them, including EJAC chief, Khursheed Alam, were later let off, reportedly on the telephonic orders of a Cabinet Minister. Officials said that remaining 30 detainees were lodged at Srinagar Central Jail. While as the trade union leaders insisted that more than 50 of their striking colleagues sustained injuries in Police action, officials maintained that less than ten people were believed to have sustained just minor injuries.
Speaking at a rally, before he was taken into temporary custody, EJAC chief Khursheed Alam said that the alliance of trade unions would not engage into any dialogue process with the state until ESMA was fully revoked, all the detained activists released and a written offer came from the government. He said that JCC would consider the government’s offer of dialogue only after receiving a formal invite.
END
Friday, April 9, 2010
EARLY TIMES IMPACT
Govt brings Bill to regulate brick kilns but wants amnesty for listed defaulters
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
JAMMU, Apr 9: Government of Jammu & Kashmir has finally introduced a comprehensive law seeking to regulate and control brick kilns but the draft Bill seems to be remarkably soft towards hundreds of unauthorized kilns which have been established by influential industrialists in brazen violation of environmental laws in the last two decades. As regards the new entrepreneurs, the Bill has proposed stringent penal punishment for violation of its provisions and, much like the draconian Forest Act, bar to judicial scrutiny in the matters of challenging the executive orders.
On the concluding day of the 50-day-long Budget session in Legislative Assembly, Minister incharge Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), Qamar Ali Akhoon, introduced a Bill to regulate and control the establishment of brick kilns in the state. This Bill, when passed in due course of discussion possibly in the next session in Srinagar later this year, would be called “Jammu & Kashmir Brick Kilns (Regulation) Act, 2010”. During Governor’s rule in 1990, Government had enacted a law but it had expired as none of the successive government’s had replaced it by a formal law in the state legislature.
“In absence of any law on the subject, a mushroom growth of brick kilns has emerged in the state, which needs to be checked and controlled” reads the statement of objectives and reasons attached to the Bill. It adds: “The proposed J&K Brick Kilns (Regulation) Bill, 2010, seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives. In the Bill, provisions for protection of environment, conversion of agricultural land into brick kilns etc, have been incorporated”.
In October, 2009, Early Times had published a series of reports to highlight ecological vandalisation being carried out by a well-connected mafia of brick kiln owners and government officials. It had been reported in detail how hundreds of unauthorized brick kilns, laid in brazen violation of Environment Act, Air Act and Water Act, besides nearly a dozen related laws, had been operating in Kashmir valley, particularly in Budgam and Pulwama districts, in an anarchical state.
Taking suo moto cognizance of the environmental series in EARLY TIMES issues of 8th, 9th and 13th October 2009, Speaker of Legislative Assembly, Mohammad Akbar Lone, had written DO NO: LA/J/Spk/06/09 dated 10-11-2009 to Chief Secretary, asking him to get all illegal and unauthorized brick kilns closed down in Budgam district. He had recorded serious concern over the ecological degradation and breakdown of administrative machinery in the letter and told head of the state bureaucracy that several delegations had made similar complaints to him during a recent visit to Budgam. He had written to Mr Kapur that a large number of brick kilns had been set up in Budgam up “in utter violation of the prescribed rules and regulations in connivance with the concerned departments, thereby causing a lot of inconvenience to the people there”.
Quoting an inventory prepared by J&K State Pollution Control Board (PCB) and submitted to Chief Minister in July 2009, Early Times had put the number of brick kilns established and operating in Budgam district alone in brazen violation of over a dozen laws and without PCB’s Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) as 155 out of the total of 202.
Reluctant to take recourse to Environment Act and Water Act, which are in force in entire country, including the state of Jammu & Kashmir, and have superseding effect on all existing laws, Chief Secretary S S Kapoor had expressed government’s helplessness and sought to make it clear that necessary powers under law were not with any authority. In his DO No: CAPD/Food/19/Brick/09 Dated 26th November 2009, Chief Secretary has informed the Speaker that “presently we do not have any legal framework for regulating the activities of the brick kilns as the “J&K Brick Kilns (Regulation) Act, 1990” enacted during the Governor’s rule in 1990 has not been replaced by an Act passed by the State Legislature”.
“However, the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department has now drafted an Ordinance viz “J&K Brick Kiln (Regulation) Ordinance, 2009” which is shortly being submitted to the State Cabinet for its consideration”, Chief Secretary had written to the Speaker and added: “The issue of illegal use of agricultural/forest land has also been taken care of in the proposed Ordinance, which also seeks to adequately empower the State Government to control the illegal growth of brick kilns”.
Notwithstanding Chief Secretary’s averment, legal and environmental experts had insisted to this newspaper that the state government was already competent to close down and dismantle brick kilns not conforming to the ecological standards and citing criteria fixed by J&K State Pollution Control Board. They had cited examples where a number of such defaulter units had been closed down or dismantled. Well-placed sources had insisted that lack of political will alone was the lifeline of unauthorised brick kilns.
The Bill introduced in the Assembly today has addressed many of the problems identified by Early Times but it has adopted a remarkably soft approach, bordering general amnesty, towards the listed defaulters who have been operating such industrial units in clear violation of over a dozen laws. It has proposed stringent punishment for the prospective defaulters and even sought to bar judiciary from challenging the government’s executive orders carried out under the new law.
The Bill has also proposed unlimited powers to government officials without identifying necessary safeguards to check their misuse like the already maligned Forest Act of 1998. Section 24 of the Bill reads: “Power to Exempt: The Government may, by general or special order, exempt any class of persons from operation of any or all provisions of this Act and may modify or rescind any such order”.
END
Govt brings Bill to regulate brick kilns but wants amnesty for listed defaulters
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
JAMMU, Apr 9: Government of Jammu & Kashmir has finally introduced a comprehensive law seeking to regulate and control brick kilns but the draft Bill seems to be remarkably soft towards hundreds of unauthorized kilns which have been established by influential industrialists in brazen violation of environmental laws in the last two decades. As regards the new entrepreneurs, the Bill has proposed stringent penal punishment for violation of its provisions and, much like the draconian Forest Act, bar to judicial scrutiny in the matters of challenging the executive orders.
On the concluding day of the 50-day-long Budget session in Legislative Assembly, Minister incharge Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), Qamar Ali Akhoon, introduced a Bill to regulate and control the establishment of brick kilns in the state. This Bill, when passed in due course of discussion possibly in the next session in Srinagar later this year, would be called “Jammu & Kashmir Brick Kilns (Regulation) Act, 2010”. During Governor’s rule in 1990, Government had enacted a law but it had expired as none of the successive government’s had replaced it by a formal law in the state legislature.
“In absence of any law on the subject, a mushroom growth of brick kilns has emerged in the state, which needs to be checked and controlled” reads the statement of objectives and reasons attached to the Bill. It adds: “The proposed J&K Brick Kilns (Regulation) Bill, 2010, seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives. In the Bill, provisions for protection of environment, conversion of agricultural land into brick kilns etc, have been incorporated”.
In October, 2009, Early Times had published a series of reports to highlight ecological vandalisation being carried out by a well-connected mafia of brick kiln owners and government officials. It had been reported in detail how hundreds of unauthorized brick kilns, laid in brazen violation of Environment Act, Air Act and Water Act, besides nearly a dozen related laws, had been operating in Kashmir valley, particularly in Budgam and Pulwama districts, in an anarchical state.
Taking suo moto cognizance of the environmental series in EARLY TIMES issues of 8th, 9th and 13th October 2009, Speaker of Legislative Assembly, Mohammad Akbar Lone, had written DO NO: LA/J/Spk/06/09 dated 10-11-2009 to Chief Secretary, asking him to get all illegal and unauthorized brick kilns closed down in Budgam district. He had recorded serious concern over the ecological degradation and breakdown of administrative machinery in the letter and told head of the state bureaucracy that several delegations had made similar complaints to him during a recent visit to Budgam. He had written to Mr Kapur that a large number of brick kilns had been set up in Budgam up “in utter violation of the prescribed rules and regulations in connivance with the concerned departments, thereby causing a lot of inconvenience to the people there”.
Quoting an inventory prepared by J&K State Pollution Control Board (PCB) and submitted to Chief Minister in July 2009, Early Times had put the number of brick kilns established and operating in Budgam district alone in brazen violation of over a dozen laws and without PCB’s Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) as 155 out of the total of 202.
Reluctant to take recourse to Environment Act and Water Act, which are in force in entire country, including the state of Jammu & Kashmir, and have superseding effect on all existing laws, Chief Secretary S S Kapoor had expressed government’s helplessness and sought to make it clear that necessary powers under law were not with any authority. In his DO No: CAPD/Food/19/Brick/09 Dated 26th November 2009, Chief Secretary has informed the Speaker that “presently we do not have any legal framework for regulating the activities of the brick kilns as the “J&K Brick Kilns (Regulation) Act, 1990” enacted during the Governor’s rule in 1990 has not been replaced by an Act passed by the State Legislature”.
“However, the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department has now drafted an Ordinance viz “J&K Brick Kiln (Regulation) Ordinance, 2009” which is shortly being submitted to the State Cabinet for its consideration”, Chief Secretary had written to the Speaker and added: “The issue of illegal use of agricultural/forest land has also been taken care of in the proposed Ordinance, which also seeks to adequately empower the State Government to control the illegal growth of brick kilns”.
Notwithstanding Chief Secretary’s averment, legal and environmental experts had insisted to this newspaper that the state government was already competent to close down and dismantle brick kilns not conforming to the ecological standards and citing criteria fixed by J&K State Pollution Control Board. They had cited examples where a number of such defaulter units had been closed down or dismantled. Well-placed sources had insisted that lack of political will alone was the lifeline of unauthorised brick kilns.
The Bill introduced in the Assembly today has addressed many of the problems identified by Early Times but it has adopted a remarkably soft approach, bordering general amnesty, towards the listed defaulters who have been operating such industrial units in clear violation of over a dozen laws. It has proposed stringent punishment for the prospective defaulters and even sought to bar judiciary from challenging the government’s executive orders carried out under the new law.
The Bill has also proposed unlimited powers to government officials without identifying necessary safeguards to check their misuse like the already maligned Forest Act of 1998. Section 24 of the Bill reads: “Power to Exempt: The Government may, by general or special order, exempt any class of persons from operation of any or all provisions of this Act and may modify or rescind any such order”.
END
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