JMC misusing money non-productive works

Passenger sheds in city taken over by beggars, no benefit to the people

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 25: Constructed for the benefit of commuters travelling by public transport, passengers sheds in the city have become resting place for beggars. In absence of any action by the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), most of the people are not using them now. 

Passenger shed at Gole Market, near Women College Gandhi Nagar, Jewel Chowk, Amphalla, Main stop, and at Parade are totally ‘encroached’ by beggars. Begging, the most common urban problem has taken alarming dimensions in Jammu city, who roam the market places seeking alms.

“Beggars in Jammu are mostly from other parts of the country who are brought here under a well planned strategy not only to fleece but also to commit petty crimes- the government however seems to be sleeping over the issue” said Amit Singh, a housewife.

Most sheds have been rendered useless for daily commuters, who use the public transport system to reach their destinations every day.

These stops have turned out to be a waste of money, as these are not being utilised for the purpose they were constructed. At some places fruit sellers are using them for storing place.

“These are for the benefit of passengers and the authorities need to create awareness about them. Beggers should be removed from these sites,” says Bupesh Kumarl, a local resident.

Commuters allege that at some place, drug addicts could be seen using the places during the evening hours, which have become a threat to the people moving near these places during evening hours.

 “They have become a nuisance for the people particularly the tourists as they follow them in the markets. Though they are mostly children, but their handlers are always near them keeping a close watch”, said a shopkeeper at Gandhi Nagar.

For being the city of temples, Jammu is a paradise for the beggars who mostly come from other states like Orrisa, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Gujarat along with their families, with the hope of getting good alms here.

Decks cleared for city’s first ropeway project from Bag-e-Bahu and Mubarak Mandi

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 21: The much delayed Mubarak mandi-Bag-e-Bahu ropeway project may soon see the light of the day, as the Pollution Control Board (PCB) today conducted public hearing to get the feedback from people regarding the project, after which the report will be sent to Union Environmental Ministry for clearance.

The project is pending for last over a decade due to non-clearance from the union environment ministry which has raised its objection over the impact on the forested areas, falling on its way.

Sources said that the views of the people living close to the proposed project will be incorporated in the final report to be sent to centre after which the work is likely to start on the ambitious project.

The project was to be constructed on a BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis, in which the state government had to provide the land and private parties had to raise the infrastructure, operate it for 30 years or so and then transfer it back to J&K.

When completed the project will connect Mubarak Mandi, Mahamaya Termple, Bagh-e-Bahu, Bawe Wali Mata Temple, Peerkho temple allowing people to enjoy the beauty of the these places.  

According to sources from the corporation, the EIAA which was established in 2006 in Jammu and Kashmir to clear the environmentally fragile projects, had not given it consent to the ropeway citing that it will damage the environment around the area and will threaten the wildlife.

Row between state’s Environment Impact Assessment Authority (EIAA) and J&K Cable Car Corporation had threatened the ambitious 24-crore Mubarak Mandi-Bahu fort ropeway project, as despite directions by the government to start the work, the EIAA had not given its clearance to the project.

When contacted Chairman PCB, Lal Chand said, “The view of people is necessary before the environmental clearance as per the rules laid down by the government. The work can only start then. Clearance from EIAA and Union Ministry is necessary”.

Sources said that officials from the Pollution Control Board (PCB) had also raised the question on the project by saying that it falls within 10-km of the Ramnagar wildlife sanctuary.

It is pertinent to mention here that the prestigious ropeway project has faced the delay from 1996, when it was conceived by the then Farooq Abdullah government, to boost the tourist attraction in Jammu region.

             

In 2005, much hype was created by the government to start the project, but it continued to face delay due to the differences between different agencies in the state.

Poor electricity revenue collection continue to distress govt.

Mulls to introduce energy accounting

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 17: Distressed with the poor electricity revenue collections, the state government has decided to introduce ‘energy accounting’ to make officials in respective divisions accountable for the failure to achieve the set targets this year.

Sources said that the decision was taken during a high level meeting chaired by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather which was also attended by Commissioner Secretary Power Development Department (PDD), Sudanshu Pandey to review the progress of revenue collection, primarily in view of  recently revised   targets of  Rs 1675 set by the centre for this fiscal. Earlier the state had set the target of Rs 1200 crore for 2011-12.

A senior officer said that energy accounting plan, envisages tallying of electricity units distributed from particular feeder during a specific period with the revenue collections made thereto. “If there will be any discrepancy the officers at the helm of affairs will be held responsible for the lapses” a senior officer said.

Though a sources claimed that the measures could still not be able to help government to achieve the set target of Rs 1675 crore, but it will be a last ditch effort to mount pressure on the field staff responsible for checking power pilferage.

“This year we have not set any particular target, but will introduce energy accounting to make officials manning the feeders supplying electricity to particular locality accountable. They in turn will ensure that power theft is curbed”, said Pandey.

Union Power Ministry has been regularly asking the state to increase revenue from electricity, bring down power purchase bill and Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses, which were currently around 60 to 65 per cent and initiate other reforms.

It is an open fact now that the electricity purchase bill this fiscal is likely to cross 25,000 crore mark, a huge amount for the state which have limited resources even for development works. So far state government is forced to divert some of the plan funds from other sources to meet the rising energy demand.

Power sector is a major headache for the J&K, as its use is increasing every year, the state had to divert crores of rupees from developmental works to keep the power supply stable.

No Fire alarm system in hospitals

157 hospitals, nursing homes lack fire safety measures in J&K

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 16: Raising question mark over the safety measures of the hospitals,  majority of the Government as well as private hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir have been found lacking equipment to tackle the fire incidents.

Sources said that a survey conducted by the government with the help of Fire and Emergency Services Department has found that most of the hospitals are poorly prepared for any major fire incident, which could be life threatening for hundreds of patients and people visiting the hospitals.

At the same time, the administration of all the Government hospitals and nursing homes was directed to equip their health institutions with the required firefighting equipment to avoid any untoward incident that results in loss of life and property.

A senior officer said that during the survey across the state, the Fire Department inspected a total of 157 hospitals including Government Medical Colleges of Jammu and Srinagar and their Associated Hospitals and nursing homes and the outcome of the same was shocking keeping in view that there are no fool proof fire alarm system.

"These revelations indicate that authorities of the Health and Medical Education Department, who are at the helm of affairs in the Government hospitals, have never paid any serious attention towards installing fire fighting equipment”, a source claimed.

Sources said that Home Department, the Fire and Emergency Services Department has started preparing specific requirements vis-à-vis fire safety measures both short term and long term for each and every hospital.

After going through the detailed report, government has directed the hospitals and construction companies to have consonance with the Part-4 of the National Building Code which are required to be followed by the hospitals and nursing homes, sources said while informing that National Building Code’s Part-4 deals with the fire safety measures and is quite clear about the safety of life.

Stopping power losses: Annual APR of officers on performance in Energy Accounting

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 12: Trying to plug the power losses, Annual Performance Report (APR) of officers and engineers of Power Development Department (PDD) will be now based on their performance in energy accounting system started by government from this fiscal.

Due to failure of the government to stop the power losses, even the Planning Commission of India (PCI) has repeatedly expressed his dismay over the failure to achieve the targets.

As per a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) executed with Government of India under Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme (APDRP), the state government was to bring down T&D losses to 25 percent by December 2006. But contrary to it, the losses gone up from 45 percent in 2005-06 to over 62 percent in 2010-11 due to unsatisfactory implementation of the Centrally sponsored power reform Programmes.

Officials said that PDD has also asked the government to give Rs 65.05 crore for purchasing 3.15 lakh electronic meters for 100 percent metering of the consumers in Jammu region. At the moment out of 6 lakh consumers in Jammu, only 2.85 lakh are fully metered.

The PDD is heavily dependent upon the budgetary support from the state government to provide electricity to  the consumers.

“An analysis of the data revealed that for every unit of energy supplied to the consumers by the department during 2010-11, the state had spent an amount of Rs. 5.77 from its budget”, said a engineer.

The new system envisages tallying of electricity units distributed from a particular feeder during a specified period with revenue collections made at the end of the month. If any mis-match is found in the energy supplied and revenue realized, the concerned officers and field staff will be held responsible for the lapse.

A senior officer from PDD said that most of the power theft can be stopped if field staff and engineers take active part in detecting the power pilferage and taking prompt action. “At times the power theft is being overlooked by the officers and if they are given targets and made responsible for losses, they are likely to perform well”, he said.

Govt. fails to take action against land sharks

More than 1.20 lakh kanal Govt land under illegal encroachment in Jammu

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 11: At least 1.20 lakh kanals land is under the illegal occupation of encroachers who have illegally occupied at very prime locations in Jammu. The value of encroached land has been estimated in hundreds of crores of rupees.

“Though so called special drives are launched by the state, but they have no effect as many of the people have strong political backing. The land grabbers had also shown strong resistance during operation”, said a senior officer of Revenue department.

As per the sources nearly 280 kanals of the land around Golf Course, near Sidhra besides downhill the Mahamaya Temple has been illegally grabbed and majority of the people belonging  from Kashmir valley and Kishtwar..

“This one lakh kanals of land is now being treated as encroached, sources said, adding in addition to this there could be at least nearly 20,000 kanals of land, which has been encroached upon in Jammu district only”, sources said.

Sources claimed that there was clear evidence of encroachment of one lakh kanals Government land in Jammu district alone. While 20,000 kanals land was expected to have been grabbed, which is in the process of being identified to get it retrieved.

Administration has received payment for regularization of land only for 40,000 kanals while the persons, mostly influential, didn’t deposit the money to get their land regularized despite having duly applied for it.

Some bigwigs have also encroached upon the Government land worth crores. Despite applying for regularization of land under the Roshni Act, they didn’t deposit the money.

After the implementation of Roshni Act, the administration had received applications for regularization of 1.40 lakh kanals of commercial, residential, agriculture and other form of land in Jammu district. They had to deposit the amount fixed for regularization of land by the Government within a period of two years, which expired in 2009.

This land is in addition to nearly 5000 kanals of land, which has been retrieved by the Revenue Department in Jammu, Samba and Udhampur districts after politician-officials-mafia nexus.

Social welfare department in dock: Ineligible youth getting scholarships

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 10: Social Welfare Department of the state government is meant to provide pension and scholarships for the deserving candidates including widows, old age, students and people belongs to the Below Poverty Line category of the state but now a day the department facilitates more to their blue eyed people.

According to the sources a case of district Udhampur came into limelight that where documents speaks itself that a candidate is not eligible for grant of these scholarship but getting scholarship from this department from the last many month.

Sources further said that this is not a single case but thousands of candidates of such type are getting benefits of these schemes which are really made for poor who are deprived of these facilities because of nexus between politicians and other concerned.

One similar fraudulent case was detected by Crime Branch in Udhampur

where one Nishu Atri daughter of Prem Nath resident Raathian Udhampur is getting scholarship on fake documents but concerned agencies are not doing

anything to save state exchequer.

An RTI activists Rameshwar Sharma obtained information under RTI from the department and came to know that Prem Nath is getting scholarship for her daughter in violation of rules, regulations and norms.

Sharma said Nishu Atri is perusing the degree in BAMS from the Jammu Institute of Ayurveda and Research Bantalab and for that purpose she is getting scholarship from the social welfare department.

As per the documents submitted in the social welfare department by Nishu her father is working as a guard and his annual income is less than Rs 60,000.

Whereas the fact is her father is a LIC agent and his annual income is Rs 3.6 lacs.

Sharma added that this is not a single case but thousands of candidates of such type are getting benefits of these schemes which are really made for poor who are deprived of these facilities because of nexus between politicians and other concerned. 

TB making comeback

Threat of TB looming large in J&K: 12 Drug Resistant cases detected so far

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 07: Detection of drug resistant Tuberculosis (TB) cases by doctors in Jammu region has sent alarm bells ringing in the Health Department engaged in containing the disease in state.

Officials said in past one year 12 cases Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) were detected by health officials, off which three people have died recently. If sources are to be believed, new strain of virus could be affecting thousands of people and detection is only possible if they approach the health institutions.

MDR-TB is defined as tuberculosis that is resistant at least to Isoniazid (INH) and Rifampicin (RMP), the two most powerful first-line anti-TB drugs. “We have to put the patients on other drugs but they are costly.

Doctors say that most of the infected people identified belong to labour class and those living in dingy houses, particularly in rural and far-flung areas of the state.

Talking to TNI District Tuberculosis Officer (DTO), Dr Poonam Mahajan said the when a normal patient of tuberculosis stop taking medicine under DOTS-I then we prescribed the patient DOTS-II after that strong medicine will be given to the patient when the diseases increased to drug resistant Tuberculosis (TB).

Dr Mahajan further said that previously for treatment we were using basic Directly Observed Treatment Short (DOTS), but from January this year the department has introduced DOTS PLUS in which the patient is under treatment for two years. The effected persons take 90 injections in treatment period besides 18 types of medicines regularly.

She informed at present the department has eight such patients who are taking the treatment of DOTS Plus.

Dr Mahajan further said in the department has registered 12 cases Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), off which four have died.

As per the report in Jammu region the TB cases as in last year recorded in district Doda there were about 1002 cases of TB, in Kathua the cases were 1006, in district Poonch 551 TB cases were record, in Rajouri 815 cases were recorded, whereas in district Udhampur there were 1287 cases of TB. The cases in Kashmir province in the year 2006 was 827, but exceeded to 1476 in year 2010.

The concern authorities has established Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) centre in different part of the state to treat the TB patients. Under this scheme the concern doctor take the saliva sample of the patients for test, and if the reports come positive then they refer the patients to the nearest DOT centre for further treatment. 

Stopping power losses

Annual APR of officers to be based on performance in Energy Accounting System

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 06: Trying to plug the power losses, Annual Performance Report (APR) of officers and engineers of Power Development Department (PDD) will be now based on their performance in energy accounting system started by government from this fiscal.

A senior officer from PDD said that most of the power theft can be stopped if field staff and engineers take active part in detecting the power pilferage and taking prompt action. “At times the power theft is being overlooked by the officers and if they are given targets and made responsible for losses, they are likely to perform well”, he said.

Jammu and Kashmir is the single state in where highest 62 percent energy is lost due to power pilferage and T&D losses.

Officials said that PDD has also asked the government to give Rs 65.05 crore for purchasing 3.15 lakh electronic meters for 100 percent metering of the consumers in Jammu region. At the moment out of 6 lakh consumers in Jammu, only 2.85 lakh are fully metered.

Due to failure of the government to stop the power losses, even the Planning Commission of India (PCI) has repeatedly expressed his dismay over the failure to achieve the targets.

The new system envisages tallying of electricity units distributed from a particular feeder during a specified period with revenue collections made at the end of the month. If any mis-match is found in the energy supplied and revenue realized, the concerned officers and field staff will be held responsible for the lapse.

Minister for Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather said, “Officers need to perform as state’s economy cannot afford this kind of huge deficit for along. Situation demands self introspection and the onus lies on the engineers and field staff of power department”.

Rather said that this mechanism will make the staff manning the feeders and supplying electricity to a particular locality more accountable who in turn would ensure that power theft is curbed.

As per a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) executed with Government of India under Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme (APDRP), the state government was to bring down T&D losses to 25 percent by December 2006.

But contrary to it, the losses gone up from 45 percent in 2005-06 to over 62 percent in 2010-11 due to unsatisfactory implementation of the Centrally sponsored power reform programmes.

Intern paramedicos causing nuisance in hospitals

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 04: The intern paramedicos of various private nursing institutions have virtually captured the Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar. The interns are so excess in number that patient care is being affected as the paramedicos already deployed in the hospital were enjoying holidays. However, there were hospitals in peripheries which lack the necessary strength of paramedicos. 

According to sources, the situation is so bad that sometimes even the doctor on duty hands over the patient care to the intern paramedicos. With this, the hospital administration is completely ignoring the directions of administration that issued an order that trainees shall be accommodated in shifts to avoid any problem to patients as well as doctors.

Due to chaos of intern paramedicos the patient care was suffering badly but the administration was silently watching the drama. 

On the condition of anonymity, a doctor said "Many of the hospitals are suffering from lack of paramedical, the services of intern paramedicos can be utilized in those hospitals but instead all the interns are being adjusted in just one hospital creates nuisance in the smooth functioning the system of the hospital."

He further said that the administration should think about this and shift some of the paramedical staff to some tehsil and district hospitals so as to make up the shortage.

“The hospital administration is taking handsome amount from the college to provide internships to their students that's they are not bothered about the mess” an insider disclosed.

When contacted, Director Health Services, Jammu Dr Madhu Khullar said, "Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) Hospital didn’t allow paramedical students from the private paramedical colleges for internship."

Some of the interns have been shifted to other health institutions but Gandhi Nagar hospital has the sizeable number, she added.

Heavy rainfall again wreaks havoc, administration slow in assessment

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 01: Heavy rainfall in the Jammu region from the past some days have left with heavy loss of crops in the different part of the state.

Farmers claims that heavy rainfall has demolished all the crops, wiped the standing crops and consumed human lives, it is the lack of irrigational water in canals, shortage of seeds and fertilizers, long hours cuts of electricity which too hit them.

They have urged the government to frame a policy aimed at protecting the lives and crops of the farmers.

“The policy of discrimination towards farmers should be stopped and they should be treated equal in all matters and at all levels adequate facilities of education, health and transport to the villages are the basic need and they are deprived of that too” they said.

BJP leader Sat Sharma said that the state government is doing nothing to save the villages from heavy rain and floods.

“The state government claimed that funds have been utilized to protect the areas near river and canals by building protection walls but somehow left behind small parts due to which people suffers from heavy losses” added Sharma.

Whereas MLA Kathua Charanjeet Singh said that the administration is providing basic amenities to the effected people of the area.

MLA Basoli Jagdish Raj Sapolia said that the authorities has promised to give the compensation to the effected people adding that the officials assure to provide rupees 1.5 lack to the family of deceased lady and child.

When contacted Deputy Commissioner, Kathua Zahida Khan said the department is consolidating the figure from all part of the district and as soon as we collect the data we will send it to the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu for further process.

She further said that as per the rules the department will provide the compensation to the deserving persons.

Minister for Revenue and Relief, Raman Bhalla said that still the department in compiling the figures of effected people as soon as it will done we will proceed further.