Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 16: State Cabinet, which is meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on February 18 (Monday), is likely to give nod to the establishment of State Biodiversity Board and enhancement of honorarium to the Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers.
The Cabinet was earlier scheduled for February 11 at 4 pm but it was postponed as Chief Minister and several Ministers had to rush to Kashmir valley to personally review the situation in the Kashmir valley in the aftermath of hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. The agenda which was to be taken up at that time will also be discussed by the Cabinet on Monday.
The Cabinet is also likely to relieve the Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, who was recently appointed as Secretary in the Ministry of Medium and Small Enterprises, and hold discussion on the appointment of new incumbent.
Authoritative sources told EXCELSIOR that Cabinet will discuss and take decision on the proposal of the Forest Department regarding establishment of State Biodiversity Board as required under Section 22 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002. As the proposal has already received the concurrence of Finance and General Administration Departments and vetted by the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Department, it is likely to receive the nod, sources added.
Chief Secretary will be the chairperson of the Biodiversity Board while as Administrative Secretaries of Forest and Agriculture Production Departments, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden would be its members. Director, State Forest Research Institute would be Member Secretary of the Board.
Vice-Chancellors of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir and Jammu, Dr Shashi Bala Singh, Director, Defence Institute of High Altitude Research, Leh, Azra Nahid Kamili, Head of Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kashmir and Prof Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Dean Faculty of Bio-Sciences, University of Kashmir would be Expert Members of the Board and their term will be two years.
The Board would advise the State Government on matters relating to conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources. The Board would also regulate by granting approvals for commercial utilization for bio-survey and bio-utilization of any biological resource. The Board will be located in the office of the Director, State Forest Research Institute, Srinagar/Jammu.
Sources said that Cabinet will also accord sanction to the revision of honorarium of the ReT teachers from existing rate of Rs 1500 per month for two years and Rs 2000 per month for next three years to single tier rate of Rs 3000 per month. This proposal of School Education Department has already received the concurrence of Planning and Development and Finance Departments.
“The increase in the honorarium was felt expedient due to the reason that honorarium has not been revised till date despite spiral inflation and exclusion of ReT guides for the revision of their honorarium despite revisions in the minimum wages under Minimum Wages Act and implementation of the 6th Pay Commission for the State Government employees”, sources said.
At present the total annual financial implication of honorarium is Rs 49.26 crore for approximately 20813 ReT teachers. The additional financial implications after revision has been worked out at Rs 25.67 crore of which total additional burden on the State exchequer would be around Rs 8.98 crore. The remaining burden would be shared by the Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development.
According to the sources, Cabinet would also accord approval to the re-constitution of the Cabinet Sub-Committee for examining the recommendations of the Working Group-V regarding strengthening relations between the State and the Centre.
“This has become imperative as the portfolios of some Ministers including some members of the Cabinet Sub-Committee have been changed while some new Ministers have been inducted in the Council of Ministers”, sources informed.
They said that Cabinet will also give approval to the new slabs vis-à-vis electricity tariff for the non-gazetted move employees. Following the approval, the Power Development Department will issue the requisite notification. However, the gazetted move employees, non-move employees and other tenant consumers will be charged tariff on metered rates.
The Cabinet will also take decision on amendment in the Jammu and Kashmir Value Added Tax to rectify the grave mistake whereby the Line of Control between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan has been termed as Line of Actual Control, adjustment/absorption of surplus staff of Integrated Rural Energy Programme (IREP) in some other departments, restoration of possession of the land, buildings, management and affairs of the Institute of Medical Sciences Soura along with other institutions and property affiliated with it in the favour of Sher-e-Kashmir National Medical Institute Trust, Srinagar and re-employment of Tariq Ahmad Banday, Secretary, J&K State Human Rights Commission and Dinesh Mani, retired Court Secretary as Deputy Registrar in the Accountability Commission.
Follow our WhatsApp channel