Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 4: State Cabinet, which is meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on December 6, will give nod to the revision of fare for various types of public transport and approve transfers and postings in the Finance Department. The Cabinet will also give administrative approval for construction of balance portion of main Ravi Canal upstream of Ravi river from Basantpur right up to inflow of reservoir of Ranjit Sagar dam, the fate of which is hanging in balance because of ‘hurdles’ created by the Finance Department.
Authoritative sources told EXCELSIOR that Transport Department is placing a proposal before the Cabinet for revision of fare for various types of public transport, the demand for which is pending for the past quite sometime. On this demand, the transporters recently observed one-day strike across the State and even warned of indefinite strike if the Government fails to take early decision on the issue.
The Transport Department has proposed 14.40% hike in fare in respect of big buses (stage carriage), 13.49% in respect of mini-buses, 12.93% in respect of Taxi Maxi Cab and 8.81% in respect of auto-rickshaws, sources said, adding “the proposal is likely to receive the Cabinet nod as a committee headed by the then Principal Secretary, Finance Department and presently Financial Commissioner, Finance Department, Iqbal Khandey has already recommended significant hike in the fare for public transport”.
Sources informed that Cabinet would also put a seal of approval on the proposal of the Finance Department to transfer some senior level officers of the J&K Accounts (Gazetted) Services.
R K Magotra, Director General Budget in the Finance Department is being transferred and posted as Director General, Accounts and Treasuries. A M Jehangir, Director Finance, Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation is being transferred and posted as Director Codes, Finance Department.
Similarly, M I Wani, Director Codes is being transferred and posted as Director Budget, Finance Department while as Manzoor Ahmed Geelani, Director Finance, Institute of Management and Public Administration (IMPA) is being placed as Director, Audit and Inspection. Z A Bhat, Director Finance, Department of Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation is being transferred and posted as Director Local Fund Audits.
“On the instructions of the Minister Incharge Taj Mohi-ud-Din, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department is once again taking up Ravi Canal project issue with the Cabinet as despite earlier nod of the Cabinet the work on the ambitious project could not be taken up due to hurdles being created by the Finance Ministry”, sources said.
The State Cabinet in its decision (No. 41/2/2010 dated 15.2.2010) had granted approval to the project and directed the Irrigation and Flood Control Department to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and submit it for the approval after obtaining all necessary approvals and concurrence of Planning and Finance Departments, sources said, adding the Cabinet had also in principle agreed to provide 10% of the total funds obtained from NHPC and other entities after implementation of Water Usage Charges Act in the State.
When the file reached the Finance Department, the Finance Minister raised certain queries, which were replied to by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. But despite this the Finance Department didn’t give concurrence and continued to delay decision on the important project, which, otherwise, has the potential to usher in green revolution in parts of Jammu province, sources said.
“Now, Minister for Irrigation and Flood Control, Taj Mohi-ud-Din is again taking up the issue before the Cabinet for its administrative approval to start the project on the ground that finances for this Project shall be raised by his own Ministry”, sources said while disclosing that Irrigation and Flood Control Department has attached all the queries of the Finance Department and the response submitted to the same with the main memorandum for the information of the Cabinet and prove that hurdles are being created by the Finance Department in the start of the project.
The project assumes great significance in view of the fact that it will irrigate nearly 1.33 lakh acres of land in three district of Jammu province for which 82 kilometer canal and 500 kilometer tributaries were constructed 30 years back. Besides, another important aspect is that the project also has the potential to produce nearly 20 MW of power for the State.
According to the sources, the Cabinet will also discuss the proposal to amend Energy Conservation Act, 2001 and accord approval to the use of forestland for non-forestry purposes. They, however, ruled out transfers in Civil and Police Administration as the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for elections to four seats of MLCs from Panchayat quota will remain in force till October 8, 2012.
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