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Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said there was no system in place in J&K due to years of misgovernance and corruption.

PTI

Srinagar: People in Jammu and Kashmir have to keep patience to enjoy a whole lot of benefits of the Centre’s move to nullify Article 370 as many positive initiatives have not been rolled out fully yet, Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam has said.

Jammu and Kashmir was a “broken state” and there was “no system” in place due to years of misgovernance, corruption and “unbelievable levels of fraud” committed by leaders of mainstream parties and separatist organisations, he said.

Therefore, not a “single soul had cried” over the detention of political and separatist leaders in August last year, when the Centre announced its decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution, he added.

Subrahmanyam, a 1987-batch IAS officer who was hand-picked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “clean up” the Jammu and Kashmir administration, said mis-governance and corruption had continued for so long that the system collapsed from inside.

“People have to be patient to get a whole lot of benefits after the abrogation of Article 370 as what had happened on August 5 last year, have not been rolled out fully (yet),” he told a group of visiting journalists here.

On August 5 last year, the central government had announced abrogation of Article 370 provisions and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into Union Territories (UT) — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Subrahmanyam said before he came to Jammu and Kashmir in June 2018, he met the prime minister and sought his guidance for his new assignment.

“The prime minister told me: Go, clean up the administration, rebuild it and hand over the ‘amanat’ (precious possession) to the local people,” he said.

The chief secretary said he has been working sincerely to create a robust institutional infrastructure which is free of corruption.

“There was a terrible situation here. Things were designed for corruption. Mis-governance and corruption were for so long that the system has collapsed from inside. The whole state was a big ponzi scheme,” he said.

Subrahmanyam said there were scores of incomplete projects, land acquisition was a big scam and there were instances when doctors working in the Middle East were drawing salaries in Jammu and Kashmir as it had no system of monitoring.

He said frauds in Jammu and Kashmir were at “unbelievable levels”. “There were frauds in jobs, frauds in projects, frauds were everywhere”.

“The JK Bank CMD was the scamster number one. Twenty families or a maximum 30 families milked the JK Bank. There was no accountability. All other PSUs (public sector undertakings) in other states submit their report to the assembly, the PSUs in other states come under RTI, CVC (Central Vigilance Commission). But the JK Bank is accountable to none,” he said.

The chief secretary said Jammu and Kashmir was a “broken state, the governance was broken badly, there was no system, no rules and the decay began a long time ago”.

“We are reconstructing things which were crumbling,” he said.

Asked about how people felt one year after the abrogation of Article 370, Subrahmanyam said common men are not bothered about Article 370, what they expect is jobs, growth and development and the administration is working in that direction.

He said once the administration delivers development, create jobs, people will realise the positive sides.

“Delivery will happen. Reconstruction of the UT is not an overnight work. It takes time. The work is on,” he said.

The chief secretary said three stages of transition have been going on in Jammu and Kashmir.

They are transition from Jammu and Kashmir Constitution to Indian Constitution, bifurcation of the State and then transition from State to UT.

“There have been lots of changes. Separation of three lakh employees were done in just 15 days. The UT rules were made. We had to prepare budget for five months from October 30 to March 31. Then again budget from April for the whole financial year. Division of assets and liabilities have not been finalised yet,” he said.

Subrahmanyam said Rs 6,500 crore worth of projects had been lying incomplete that include a 26-year-old project to construct a bypass in Baramulla. “We have already sanctioned Rs 2,500 crore to complete all these incomplete projects,” he said.

Asked about the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Subrahmanyam said, “The day I can drive down to Pulwama just with my driver without police escort and pilot, we can safely say that the peace has returned to Jammu and Kashmir.”

Pulwama is considered to be a hotbed of militancy. A bus carrying CRPF jawans was blown up by terrorists in Pulwama in February 2019, killing 40 personnel.

Hints at rival Islamic bloc if OIC doesn’t meet on Kashmir

THE WEEK

Pakistan’s foreign minister warned on Wednesday that if the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) did not convene a meeting of its Council of Foreign Ministers on Jammu and Kashmir, Islamabad would call a separate meeting of Muslim nations.

Speaking on a talk show on ARY News, Shah Mehmood Qureshi was quoted by Dawn as saying, “I am once again respectfully telling OIC that a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is our expectation. If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris.”

Qureshi made the comments on a day when Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments marked one year of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir by holding various protest events. Pakistan had been seeking international pressure on India ever since August last year, with little success.

“Pakistan has been pushing for the foreign ministers’ meeting of the 57-member bloc of Muslim countries, which is the second-largest intergovernmental body after the UN, since India annexed occupied Kashmir last August,” Dawn reported.

Responding to a question on the talk show, Qureshi declared Pakistan “could not wait any further” on the issue of a meeting of Islamic nations. Qureshi had previously claimed a meeting of OIC foreign ministers was needed to send a clear message from the Ummah (community of Muslims) on the Kashmir issue.

Saudi Arabia, considered to be one of the most influential members of the OIC, had been reluctant to support Pakistan’s call for a meeting of OIC foreign ministers. In December last year, Imran dropped out of a meeting of Islamic nations organised in Kuala Lumpur by then Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. The leaders of Iran, Turkey and Qatar attended the meeting, which was touted as being an ‘alternative’ to the Saudi-dominated OIC. At the time, there were reports that Imran dropped out owing to pressure from Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, Qureshi acknowledged Imran skipped the Kuala Lumpur summit on Saudi Arabia’s request and added “Pakistani Muslims are demanding of Riyadh to show leadership on the issue [of Kashmir]”.

“We have our own sensitivities. You have to realise this. Gulf countries should understand this,” Qureshi was quoted as saying by Dawn.

In June this year, a contact group of the OIC discussed the Kashmir issue, leading to criticism from India, which asserted the grouping had “no locus standi on matters strictly internal to the country”.

In March 2019, Qureshi boycotted a meeting of OIC foreign ministers after India’s then external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was guest of honour at the organisation’s summit in Abu Dhabi.

With inputs from The Week

Srinagar: In order to address the growing population of stray dogs in the city , SMC in collaboration with veterinary faculty Skuast is going to resume the Animal Birth Control and Anti Rabies programme soon at its Animal Birth Control AR facility shuhama.

The programme which was temporarily on hold due to the restrictions in place because of COVID 19 Pandemic shall now be resumed in the coming week said Commissioner SMC Mr Gazanfar Ali.

Initially areas with overpopulation of dogs and complaints coming from the red zone areas, shall be attended .

In this regard all the necessary arrangements have been kept in place and surgeries shall be conducted strictly as per the covid 19 protocol in place.

Meanwhile Commissioner has appealed to people not to throw garbage or any left over food on streets or in an open area.

It is clear that population of street dogs is directly related to the amount of food and edible waste matter in the area.

Areas of city which are usually kept clean have a very low dog population and areas having large amount of waste have a much higher population. So one part of the ultimate answer to street dog control is to control the availability of edible waste which shall result in decrease of life span and breeding efficiency of stray dogs said Commissioner SMC.(KNS)

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, Friday recorded the season’s highest temperature at 35.4 degrees Celsius, which is 6 degrees above season’s average.

The day temperature in Jammu settled at 32.2 degrees Celsius, which is 1 degree below normal.

Qazigund, Pahalgam and Kokernag recorded maximum temperatures at 32.3°C, 29.3°C and 31.6°C respectively.

“Kupwara and Gulmarg also recorded this season’s highest day temperatures at 36.3°C and 27.0°C respectively,” said he. “Mercury in Gulmarg was 7 degrees above normal while as in Kupwara it was 6 degrees above normal.”

Meanwhile Kashmir Weather has predicted several spells of rain & thunderstorms till 12th August.

“Some brief spells of rain, thundershowers with gusty winds is possible from tonight till August 12,” “Temperatures are likely to come down from tomorrow onwards.”

Srinagar: To bring out students from psychological stress, Board of School Education has formulated a policy regarding reduction in syllabus or its rationalization and has sent it to higher authorities for administrative approval.
Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Veena Pandita, Secretary BOSE said department has formulated a policy which will be sent to Principal Secretary Education Department Dr Asgar Samoon for administrative approval so that the stress level of students in wake of Covid-19 pandemic will be eased.

“We have asked students to fill examination forms for class 10th, 11th and 12th as it has to fill them for database purpose whatever the circumstances are?”, she said.

She said we can’t predict how long Covid-19 will go but it is impossible for the department to workout database of students at last moment.
She appealed students not to be panic at this juncture as department needs database for discussion with the Government to ensure relief to student community.

“We can’t workout reduction in syllabus, rationalization or time of examinations at the eleventh hour, so we have started the process”, the official said.

She added that relaxation in syllabus and other examination related affairs are academic decisions. “We too have to fix the line like CBSE has given relaxation of 10 percent syllabus to students”, she said.

When asked what steps BOSE has taken for easing hardships of students amid pandemic, she added that it was impossible to gather at a single platform at this juncture. We have asked concern quarters to send their suggestion and by August 6 we received comments from them.

“We are drafting procedure how to go ahead? By Monday or Tuesday we will formulate the policy and according will send it to Principal Secretary Education Department for administrative approval”, Pandita added.

She hoped that within seven to ten days department will be ready with a particular program how to go ahead?. (KNS)

Governors come and go: Farooq Abdullah

Only time will tell how he delivers: GH Mir

Govt should first respect sentiment of Kashmiris: Justice Masoodi

Sending LGs here is routine: Fayaz Mir

Srinagar: Politicians of various political parties share a mixed response over the Mission Development talk of the newly appointed Lt Governor Manish Sinha.

Taking on KNS, NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah said, “Governors come and go. What kind of expectation can I have from him?”

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party Senior Leader Ghulam Hassan Mir who attended the oath-taking ceremony of LG Sinha said that only time will tell how he can deliver. “Peace is a two-way process- His efforts and efforts of the people. Peace is essential for development. He has experienced politician and has administrative experience. His track record is clean. However, J&K is a sensitive place. Time will tell about his actions and how he can deliver,” he told KNS.

Justice Hasnain Masoodi, National Conference MP who represents restive south Kashmir said Government of India should respect sentiments of people, then only peace and development will happen. “Development is not possible without peace. The Government figures itself reflects the ground situation of the last year. We have heard these claims and talks before also. We have 5000 hotel rooms. But where are tourists? The present LG is one of the top 100 leaders of BJP. Obviously they would have sent him here with some agenda. Changes in faces won’t help anything unless there is a change in policy, attitude and approach towards Kashmir.GOI has to first respect the sentiments of Kashmiris.”

PDP Member Parliament Fayaz Ahmed Mir said he did not attend the oath-taking ceremony and it amounted to attestation of downgrading the special status of J&K. On being asked about the slogan of development by Lt Governor on his first day here, he said, “Governor Satya Pal Malik also said same. When centre sent G C Murmu, they declared this is the beginning of Naya Kashmir. But he was removed in a jiffy and what he changed here In a year! Nothing. Today a person succumbed of injuries due to shelling by the Pakistani army. Kashmiris are getting killed on a daily basis whether he is a civilian or affiliated with any party. Talks should start. No one is talking about Kashmiris who are dying every day. Sending LGs by GOI here is routine. Whatever we had; everything was snatched. GOI should first restore the special status of J&K. This is our right.”(KNS)

Srinagar: BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav Friday hinted out that appointment of LG Manoj Sinha will pave way for resumption of political activities in J&K.

According to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Madhav known for Kashmir expertise said that replacement of Girish Chandra Murmu should not be seen as bureaucratic versus politician issue. There was a need of some political acumen personality to be at helm who will pave way for carrying out political activities in J&K.

“Mr. Manoj Sinha is a political figure who had served several ministries during Modi’s 1.0 rule. All LGs from Jagmohan to Murmu have done tremendous work in J&K. Now there should be a political process to resume and Mr Sinha can better understand the need of political exercise”, Madhav said.

He said Mr. Sinha will carry forward the mission of his predecessors to its logical conclusion. “His appointment will provide comfort to local politics as BJP also wishes political process to resume in J&K”, Madhav said.

He added, “Once process of delimitation will culminate, the reins of local government will be handed over to local politicians”.

When asked how it is possible to resume political activities in J&K in absence of leadership who are still either imprisoned in jails or kept under house detention, Madhav denied and said all leaders are roaming freely and enjoying every service.

“I am surprised why political leaders don’t resume political activities in J&K when they are roaming in New Delhi, using Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp etc. They had been released months back”, BJP leader said and added, “What thing has stopped them from taking forward political activities, I don’t know?”.

Lashing out on mainstream political parties over fanning trouble on Article 370, Madhav said every citizen of the country including people of J&K have accepted the abrogation of Article 370 by heart.

“Since Article 370 was incorporated in Constitution, enough water had been flown till its abrogation. It was hollow inside but local politicians used it for hoodwinking people for political gains. By its annulment, we ended up separatism in Valley and now every citizen of the country did support of our decision”, he asserted.
BJP leader, on issue of development after abrogation of Article 370, stated that winters followed by Covid-19 pandemic put some hurdles in development but BJP is committed to take J&K into new developmental heights.

He said instead of saying what we have given to people of J&K, we should listen what they are saying? “They want violence free J&K. They don’t want to hit the streets for protests. They don’t want to go for resistance”, Madhav claimed.
Hitting out to mainstream political parties who are demanding restoration of special status of J&K, BJP leader said that those threaten for resistance should join Hurriyat. He urged political parties to represent people in true sense and speak on developmental issues instead of issuing threats of resistance, stone pelting etc.

About return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, BJP leader said that when BJP came into power we took concrete steps for their return.
“Soon after BJP came into power, party started discussions with concerned stakeholders. We ensured job reservations for their youth. As we know terrorism is still haunting Valley, there are security concerns in their return and it is our top priority to bring the community to their homes. Erstwhile we took several steps for their return and we will keep our full concentration on their return as Article 370 has gone now”, Madhav said. (KNS)

New Delhi: India-China ties, already fraught with tensions, dipped further on Thursday with Beijing insisting on a discussion on Kashmir at the United Nations Security Council at Pakistan’s behest.

Ties between the neighbours, strained since early May because of intrusions by Chinese troops into Indian territory, plummeted further after a violent clash on 15 June in which 20 Indian Army personnel and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers were killed. Talks to ensure a pullback of Chinese troops have hit a roadblock with Beijing refusing to budge from places where its soldiers are ensconced.

It was against this backdrop that China pushed for a discussion on Kashmir on Wednesday at the UN Security Council, at the behest of its close friend and ally Pakistan. Its all-weather friendship with Pakistan has been a major irritant in India-China ties.

New Delhi said it had “noted” that China “initiated a discussion in the UN Security Council on issues pertaining to the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.

“This was not the first time that China has sought to raise a subject that is solely an internal matter of India,” the foreign ministry said.

“As on such previous occasions, this attempt too met with little support from the international community. We firmly reject China’s interference in our internal affairs and urge it to draw proper conclusions from such infructuous attempts,” it said.

The discussion at the UN Security Council coincided with the first anniversary of India revoking a special provision in its Constitution, Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

On 5 August 2019, India’s Parliament had passed a bill to allow the region to be integrated closer with the country. The move had caught Pakistan off guard as New Delhi took the Indian-administered part of Kashmir off the negotiating table with Islamabad. Pakistan has since been trying to refocus attention on Kashmir and the campaign is being led by Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. Last September, Khan’s speech at the UN General Assembly was focused on Kashmir.

China’s support to Pakistan to get the matter discussed at the UN Security Council followed a statement by the Chinese foreign office calling India’s revocation of Article 370 “illegal and invalid”.

On Thursday, India also reminded China that it had agreed that “early and complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and de-escalation from India-China border areas” and “full restoration of peace and tranquillity was essential for the smooth overall development of bilateral relations”.

“India remains committed to this objective. We also expect that the Chinese side will work with us sincerely for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in New Delhi.

With inputs from Live Mint