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Excelsiordaily

REGD. NO. JK-71/18-20RNI No. 28547/65Vol No. 55 No. 67 JAMMU, SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 20 Pages `̀ 5.00

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 8: The StateAdministrative Council (SAC)which met here today underthe chairmanship of Governor,Satya Pal Malik approved the"State Health CareInvestment Policy-2019", con-duct of BDC elections andaccorded extension in the dateof depositing 2nd installmentof arrears of Old Tax regimeunder Amnesty Scheme forstreamlining the implementa-tion of Good and Services Taxup to March 31, 2019.

The salient features of theHealth Care Investment Policyinclude, 30% subsidy on capitalinvestment to be provided forsetting up of Multi SpecialtyHospitals, Super SpecialtyHospitals, Medical Colleges,Nursing Colleges andParamedical Colleges.

The subsidy on CapitalInvestment will be limited to amaximum of Rs 3 crore incities with population less than10 lakh and a maximum of Rs 5crore in cities with a populationof more than 10 lakh as per 2011

census; provide interest subsidyat the rate of 5% per annum on

term loan subject to a ceiling ofRs 15 lakh per year for a periodof five years from the date ofoperationalization of the project;subsidized power tariff rates asapplicable to the IndustriesSector; provide 100% subsidyon purchase and installation of

DG sets with upper ceiling of Rs45 lakh; one time subsidy up to25% of the cost incurred oninduction training of nursing andparamedical staff will be provid-ed by the State Government,capped at a maximum of Rs12,000 per person;promoters/investors setting upthe project shall be free to estab-lish the unit on their own proper-ty/acquired land subject to eligi-bility of the same as per definedland use; allotment of land atpremium rates as applicableunder Industrial Policy of 2016through land bank to be createdthrough SIDCO & SICOP.

The policy provides thatfor Multi/Super SpecialtyHospitals to be set up outsideMunicipal Corporation limits,land up to 5 acres for 200 bed-ded hospitals and upto 10acres for 500 bedded hospitalswill be provided subject to theavailability of land.

The minimum capital invest-ment required is Rs 80 crore for200 bedded hospitals and Rs 200crore for 500 bedded hospitals,

SAC approves Health Care InvestmentPolicy, conduct of BDC polls

Mohinder VermaJAMMU, Mar 8: To ensure

proper law and order duringthe ensuing general elections,the Election Commission ofIndia (ECI) has directed forprompt verification of armslicenses issued in Jammu andKashmir during the periodbetween 2012 and 2018 andaccordingly PrincipalSecretary to GovernmentHome Department has issueda set of instructions to theDistrict Magistrates and policeauthorities for strict compli-ance in a time bound manner.

According to the officialsources, the matter related to theissuance of arms licenses in the

State of Jammu and Kashmircame up for discussion in ameeting taken by the ElectionCommission of India during itsrecent visit to the State in thecontext of ensuing general elec-tions 2019.

Keeping in view indiscrim-inate issuance of arms licenseswithin the State of Jammu andKashmir by certain DistrictMagistrates in the past fewyears, the ElectionCommission of India found itappropriate to get verificationconducted promptly so as tocheck misuse of weaponsobtained on the basis of suchlicenses during the forthcom-ing elections, sources said,adding "the objective behind

verification is also aimed atcross-checking the credentialsof the persons possessing armslicenses".

Accordingly, the State HomeDepartment reviewed the matterin the light of the discussionsheld in the meeting with the ECIand also in the context of thedirections issued by theGovernment in the past.

"Now, with a view to ensuremaintenance of law and order inthe State particularly during theensuring general elections 2019,the Principal Secretary toGovernment, Home DepartmentShaleen Kabra has issued direc-tions to all the DistrictMagistrates and concerned

NEW DELHI, Mar 8:

NEW DELHI, Mar 8:Giving another chance formediation, the Supreme Courttoday ordered setting up athree-member panel headedby a former Apex Court judgeF M I Kalifulla to explore apossible settlement of thedecades-old politically sensi-tive Ram Janambhoomi-BabriMasjid land dispute inAyodhya.

Spiritual guru and founder ofArt of Living foundation Sri SriRavishankar and senior advo-cate Sriram Panchu, well knownfor his mediation experience,will be the other two membersof the panel. Interestingly, all thethree men appointed by theApex Court hail from TamilNadu where the Ayodhya dis-pute does not have much reso-

nance.The mediation process in

Faizabad of Uttar Pradesh,around 7 km from the twin cityof Ayodhya, will commencewithin a week and the panel willsubmit a progress report withinfour weeks, the top court said inits order that came ahead of theupcoming Lok Sabha polls.

It said the mediation pro-ceeding to be held “in-camera”and in “utmost confidentiality”will be completed within eightweeks which is the interregnumperiod granted earlier by theapex court to the parties in themain Ayodhya case to gothrough translations of oral anddocumentary evidences.

A five-judge ConstitutionBench headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi said it does notfind any “legal impediment” tomake a reference to mediation

for a possible settlement of thedispute.

“We therefore orderaccordingly, and having takennote of the names suggested bythe parties, we are of the viewthat the following panel ofmediators should be appoint-ed to go into the dispute withliberty to the mediators to co-opt other members of thepanel, if so required,” it said.

Declaring the names, thebench said: “Justice (retd)Fakkir Mohamed IbrahimKalifulla - Chairman, Sri SriRavi Shankar - Member, senioradvocate Sriram Panchu -Member.”

The bench, also comprisingJustices S A Bobde, D YChandrachud, Ashok Bhushanand S Abdul Nazeer, was toldearlier by Hindu bodies, except

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR/ JAMMU,Mar 8: Former Chief Ministerand National Conference (NC)president Dr Farooq Abdullahtoday said that repressivemeasures and arrests inKashmir won't yield anyresults, saying that dialogue is

the only way to resolve issues.While addressing a gathering

at his residence in Srinagartoday, Farooq said that arrestingpeople will not resolve anythingin a sensitive State like Jammuand Kashmir where situation isalways on the boil. "Such meas-ures will not help in creating a

peaceful atmosphere here. It isonly dialogue that holds the wayout", he said.

The NC president said thatrepressive measures won't proveeffective to normalize situa-tion in Kashmir. "Banningsocio-religious outfitsalso won't help. DuringJagmohan's time JeIwas banned, theirschools and insti-tutions wereclosed. Whatwas

then Governor able to achieveby banning JeI? Eventually, theyhad to hold parleys with them. Itis therefore reconciliation and

rapprochement only that willsolve all the contentious issues,"he said.

He lashed out at BJP and saidthat the ruling party is trying topolarize the electorate in thecountry in view of forthcomingLok Sabha elections. "Such atendency will prove detrimental

to the unity and integrity ofthe country", he said.

"BJP is trying to cre-ate a rift between differ-ent communities. Such

a trend willprove detri-mental tothe plural-

istic ethos of our country. Indiabelongs to all and we all have tolive in peace and harmony with

Dialogue only way to resolve K-issue: Farooq

MHA’s fresh advisory on

Kashmiri studentsNEW DELHI, Mar 8:

Stepping in following inci-dents of violence againstKashmiris in Uttar Pradesh,Union Home Minister RajnathSingh today directed the ChiefMinisters of all States to ensurethe security of the Kashmiri stu-dents.

Rajnath Singh also askedthe BJP workers to stand in sup-port of Kashmiri students fac-ing violence in many States.

In a message on the microblogging site, he said,"Kashmiris are also ours and itis the responsibility of BJPworkers to stand in their supportif somebody harasses them."

The Home Minister tweetcame a day after the incident ofviolence on Kashmiri dry-fruitsellers.

Azad heads J&Kpoll panel

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Mar 8: Leader of

Opposition in Rajya Sabha andformer J&K Chief Minister,Ghulam Nabi Azad will headthe Election Campaign andElection ManagementCommittee in the Jammu andKashmir for the forthcomingelections in the State.

A Congress spokesman saidthat All India CongressCommittee president, RahulGandhi today announced a 9-member Election Campaignand Management Committee

CBI arrestsRailwaysSuperintendent

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Mar 8: The

Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) today arrested a NorthernRailways official while accept-

ing Rs 10,000 graft from park-ing contractor of the Railways,at Railway Station Jammu.

He has been identified asAjay Gupta, posted as StationSuperintendent, NorthernRailways, Jammu and a residentof Nanak Nagar.

A CBI team arrested Guptaas soon as he accepted Rs10,000 from the parking con-

SPO injured inPak firing

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Mar 8: After a lull

of two days, Pakistan armytoday again violated ceasefire

by resorting to mortar shellingand firing in Shahpur and Kirnisectors of Poonch district inwhich a Special Police Officer(SPO) was injured.

Pakistan army opened mor-tar shelling and firing targetingforward posts of Army andcivilian areas at Shahpur andKirni at about 5 pm today.

2 KAS officerstransferred

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Mar 8:

Government today orderedtransfer and posting of twoKAS officers with immediateeffect.

According to the order,Khalid Majeed, AdditionalSecretary in the J&K PublicService Commission has beentransferred and posted asAdditional Secretary HomeDepartment, whereas ShabirHussain Keen, AdditionalSecretary, Home Departmenthas been transferred and postedas Additional Secretary in J&KPublic Service Commission.

CE gets addl charge,7 promoted; 8 AEEs,AEs shifted

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Mar 8:

Government today assignedadditional charge of ChiefEngineer (CE) to one officerand also ordered transfer andpromotion of 8 others.

According to the ordersissued by Commissioner/Secretary Khurshid Ahmed, thecharge of the post of ChiefEngineer MechanicalEngineering DepartmentKashmir has been assigned toFareed Ahmad Choudhary,Incharge Chief Engineer/Director, Stores ProcurementDepartment J&K Jammu.

Meanwhile, Harpal Singh

Sanjeev PargalJAMMU, Mar 8: Prime

Minister Narendra Modi todaydeclared that the Governmenthas launched decisive battleagainst terror and it was com-mitted to uproot terrorism ashe described yesterday's blastin Jammu as "an act of frustra-tion'' by the militants followingbold steps taken against them.

"Militants have realized thattheir end is near. They are frus-trated. It was the result of thisfrustration that they have target-ed Jammu again and triggered ablast yesterday. This (the blast)is a 'demon's effort' but ourGovernment has been strikinghard at the terrorism and willuproot it,'' Modi said in series oftweets after his address to a rallyat Kanpur.

Declaring that his

Government was committed tofinish off the terrorism, Modisaid it was because of hisGovernment’s steps that todayterrorists, their mentors andthose who were taking moneyfrom them, are badly frustrated.

"We have taken one afterthe other bold decisions(against the terror). We havelaunched the decisive battle

against terror-ism. We will def-initely win thewar and uprootthe terrorism,''the PrimeMinister said,adding that itwas not Modi,who will end theterror but 125crore people ofIndia will unit-edly fight andend it.

Seeking helpof the people inwar against terror,Modi said the citi-zens of the coun-try should be fullyalert, united andfulfill their respon-

sibility towards the nation. "We need unity, brotherhood

in the country. People are mybiggest asset. I need your sup-port,'' he added.

Coming down heavily onsome "crazed people'', who beat-up Kashmiris in Uttar Pradesh, thePrime Minister, however, laudedYogi Adityanath Government in

Uttar Pradesh for taking promptaction against the accused andputting them behind the bars.

"The Uttar PradeshGovernment immediately actedagainst some "crazed people,who had targeted our Kashmiribrothers,'' he said and calledupon all State Governments toact and take stern action insuch incidents.

Few days back, a video hadgone viral showing Bajrang Dalactivists beating-up twoKashmiri vendors in Lucknowevoking strong condemnationfrom the people all over. UttarPradesh Government has, how-ever, arrested the accused.

Modi blamed the Oppositionleaders for insulting the martyrsand benefiting Pakistan, in thecountry's war against terrorism.

"Unity is the Mantra. I say tothose indulging in spurious poli-tics to join fight against terror,than wasting energy on Modi.The Opposition is giving the slo-gan of 'End Modi' while 'I'vebeen asking for End Terrorismand Corruption,'' he said.

He said the country should be

Waseem AhmadSOPORE: The apple town

of Sopore in North Kashmir'sBaramulla district is in uttershambles due to apathy as theinhabitant's say they are beingneglected for boycotting theelections.

The Sopore constituencywas represented by formerMember Legislative AssemblyAbdul Rashid Dar of Congresswho defeated Nazir AhmadNaikoo of People's DemocraticParty (PDP) in 2014 Assemblyelections with a margin of 2755votes. Dar polled 8429 votesand Naikoo 5674.

Residents of the constituen-cy said the problems likegarbage disposal, land appropri-ation, lack of proper medicalcare, electricity and traffic woesare among the issues facing the

once-pros-p e r o u stownship.

The residents, who aremostly associated with applebusiness, claimed that they arethe highest tax payers but eventhe 10 percent of the money isnot being spent on its develop-ment.

As per the residents, theSopore town is not too far fromBaramulla district headquartersand should have been equippedwith all modern facilities due toits proximity. However, thelocals said they have been neg-lected systematically for theirrefusal to vote in the elections.

"We are being deliberatelyneglected in terms of develop-ment as most of the people boy-cott the elections and refrainthemselves from voting. Ourlegislators tell us straight awaythat people do not vote here, sothey are not worthy of anydevelopment. Whenever, weapproach the legislators withour complaints, they alwaysgave the same reason," the resi-dents said.

Sopore town continued tocrumble under the garbage itproduces as authorities fail foryears to finalize a dumping sitefor the town's garbage due towhich streets, markets, roads

and riverbeds are getting over-whelmed by the garbage, pos-ing dangers to the environment,water and the health of resi-dents.

The residents said that thetown that was once called as"Chota London" for its prosper-ity has literally become thegarbage town and the smallroads and illegal encroachmentof footpaths further adds to thechaos.

"Sopore sees an overwhelm-ing traffic and shoppers daily.But nothing has been done toaddress the problems of trafficjam and vehicle parking issuesof the people. The town has 40-year-old Bus Stand which hasnot been macadamized for last30 years," Adil Ahmad, a tradersaid

He said the vendors in the

Apple town of Sopore in utter shamblesEx-MLAs’ Report Card Constituency: Sopore

Abdul Rashid Dar (Cong)http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ex-mlas-report-card/

(Contd on page 4 Col 1)

Army jawanabducted

Excelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Mar 8: An

Army personnel, who was onleave, was abducted from hishome in Central Kashmir dis-trict of Budgam tonight.

Mohammad Yaseen Bhatson of Ghulam MohammadBhat of JKLI was abducted bymilitants from his residence atQazipora Chadoora in Budgamdistrict tonight.

Sources said that the mili-tants barged into his house andabducted him at gun point.Security forces rushed to thearea and massive searches havebeen launched.

Meanwhile, normal liferemained disrupted today due tostrike called by separatists toprotest against ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, arresting its leadership

‘Pak never seriouslycracked downon militants’

NEW YORK, Mar 8:Pakistan has never seriously

cracked down on militantgroups that attack India, a lead-ing US daily has said, warningthat the threat of nuclear warbetween the two nationsremains as a long-term solutionto the conflict is unlikely with-out international pressure.

The New York Times in anOp-ed titled 'This Is Where aNuclear Exchange Is MostLikely. (It's Not North Korea.)'said the current focus on NorthKorea's growing arsenalobscures the fact that the mostlikely trigger for a nuclearexchange could be the conflictbetween India and Pakistan.

The paper said the relativecalm after last week's con-frontation between the twonations is not a solution.

"As long as India and Pakistanrefuse to deal with their core dis-pute? the future of Kashmir? they

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 8: As deathtoll in yesterday's grenadeblast at General Bus Standreached two, police arrestedanother suspect of SouthKashmir from Chenani inUdhampur district when hewas trying to escape toKashmir after staying myste-

riously in Jammu and wasreportedly in touch with theHizbul Mujahideen militant,who had lobbed the grenade.

Police sources said they gotspecific information that anothersuspect from South Kashmir hadreached Jammu along with Yasir

Javed Bhat alias Arhan, who hadlobbed the grenade at Bus Standyesterday morning and was

arrested in the evening fromNagrota when he too was trying

to return to South Kashmir.The suspect has been identi-

fied as Showkat Ahmad Bhat ofKulgam district in SouthKashmir.

Police said they developedsome leads during questioningof Yasir and investigations ofBus Stand grenade blast, whichindicated that Yasir might havebeen helped by another associ-ate. Some clues were gatheredand finally Bhat was detainedfrom Chenani on Jammu-Srinagar National Highwaywhen he too was trying to returnto Kashmir from Jammu, likeYasir Bhat.

No recoveries have beenmade from Showkat so far.However, he was being ques-

Bus Stand blast toll 2; anotherSouth Kashmir suspect held

ECI directs prompt verification of armslicenses to avoid misuse during elections

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*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

Home Secy issues detailed directions for compliance

No conflict between present exercise, CBI probe

(Contd on page 6 Col 1)

Police in touch with Kulgam counterparts

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‘Jammu blast shows frustration of militants’

Decisive battle against terror; we will win it, says Modi

Act againstthose targeting

Kashmiris

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*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

(Contd on page 6 Col 7)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressingthe public at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh onFriday. (UNI)

JAMMU : Mainly clear

TEMPERATUREMax: 21.4 Degree C Min: 9.7 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 64.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 45.0 per centSunset on Saturday: 06.36 p.m.Sunrise on Sunday: 06.58 a.m.

SRINAGAR:Possibility of light rain/thundershowers

TEMPERATUREMax: 11.7 Degree C Min: 1.3 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 85.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 40.0 per cent

LEH: TEMPERATURE

Max: 4.8 Degree C Min: -6.9 Degree C

WEATHER

(Contd on page 4 Col 1)

6 communitiesget OSC status

The State AdministrativeCouncil (SAC) todayapproved the proposal forinclusion of Jogi/ Yogi/ Nath/Bouria/Boria/Bowaria com-munities in the categories ofOther Social Castes (OSCs).

The Jammu and KashmirState Commission forBackward Classes is theappropriate body to recom-mend the inclusion of com-munities in the list of back-ward classes. The advice ofthe Commission is ordinarily

Amnesty scheme for GST extended

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(Contd on page 6 Col 1)

‘Vajpayee-led BJP Govt released Azhar’

(Contd on page 6 Col 5)

AK rifle snatchedfrom DC’s PSOMilitants tonight

snatched AK-47 rifle and 90rounds from Daleep Kumar,Personal Security Officer(PSO) of DeputyCommissioner Kishtwar,Angrez Singh Rana, from hisrented house at Asrarabadnear Government GirlsHigher Secondary School

(Contd on page 6 Col 3)

*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

Retd Judge, Sri Sri, Advocate in Panel

SC refers Ayodhya case for mediation