Should Radio play a role in advancing civic and social responsibility? Sajjad says yes
(Mr. Sajjad Bazaz, 45, was born in Srinagar. He attended the Khalsa high school and the Sri Pratap College in Srinagar. He received his bachelor's degree in Media and his master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir. Mr. Bazaz has over two decades of experience in journalism (both print & electronic), and he is author of the book "Bankwatch" which is about a financial scenario with particular reference to the J&K state. He is currently incharge of corporate communications department in a leaduing financial instution in J&K. Mr. Bazaz likes to spend leisure time watching movies and enjoying company of his friends.)
What a pleasure listening to FM radio
Even as television has emerged as the most powerful tool having tremendous impact on the socio-economic aspects of even a common man’s life, Radio certainly continues to be the medium of the masses. With a penetration of above 95 per cent in J&K today radio has been entertaining, educating and informing listeners across the state for decades. There is no doubt about the radio having great socio-cultural impact. Being a free medium, not only does radio reach out to maximum number of people, but is available with the listeners 24x7.It provides the numbers and it provides quality.
In Radio sector, of late Frequency Modulation (FM) radio has gained popularity in J&K state, especially with the entry of private player like BIG FM 92.7. The two words of English language F and M hold a meaning for a common man as a versatile means of entertainment, information and education through quality audio broadcasting. The frequency of listening to the radio as well as the number of radio listeners has increased over the last two years. Housewives, students, shopkeepers, business executives etc. are the keen listeners of radio. In fact, FM has changed the radio landscape in J&K.
Since FM is a great platform for reaching out to the masses, it is but natural that as a responsible corporate entity the private FM also contributes towards the creation of a better society. The FM Radio has the responsibility to propagate all that is good; to ensure that the channel do not incite people through its programming to indulge in anti-social activities; that they do not differentiate between genders, caste or religion; and above all, the programming must at least follow the basic tenets of decency.
In other words, the FM players in the J&K state have to embark on corporate social responsibility drives from time to time. Though our state is in the process of overcoming hurdles hampering economic development at a faster speed, socio-economic problems like poverty, illiteracy, lack of health care etc. are still ubiquitous and government has limited resources to tackle these challenges. Some activities, which can be undertaken by FM Radio, should include cleanliness drive, disaster prevention and management drives and even a road safety week. Even programmes on judicious use of mobile phones can be done. There should be programmes where it tries to make the people aware about social activities and responsibility as well as participating in the programme for a social cause.
Now the question is why FM radio should engage in corporate social responsibility? It is because the medium closely connects with society and leads to active behavior change in young mass. It has the greater interaction with the listeners and has capacity to build customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values. It can even help in building a strong bond within the area of its operation. It has more responsibility than just providing pure entertainment. Let the FM stations here be greater interaction medium of society and provide entertainment with a cause.
Now a word for local Radio Jockeys (RJs). An RJ has to be very open to himself. He should be culturally active - know his city well, the culture and be aware of main events taking place. Since Radio cannot survive without movies, songs or bollywood in terms of India, so awareness about them is a must. An RJ should also be able to write scripts for a show.
To be precise, Radio Jockeying depends on how you deliver. Your originality, the punch in the content, your personality, and presentation of programme and how you connect with your audience will decide your success as a Radio Jockey. Good communication powers and language skills is a necessity. Remember, humor is the lifeline of radio chatting. Jokes or mimicry adds flavor to your presentation. Do something that's normal and at the same time that has never been done in voice medium before. But do all this not at the cost of decency.
Humans have a tendency to make mistake. If an RJ somehow makes a mistake, he or she should not shy away to either admit it or cover it up quite intelligently. However, this is an art which may come up with experience. Always listen to experienced RJs and know how they tackle such mistakes. Their professionalism, relationship with listeners, the flow of their speaking and their unique techniques of interactiveness with their audiences should be an inspiration for you.
Meanwhile, the sound of private FM here has been dominating the government FMs. High production values, slick presentation, good hardware and software, skilled presenters, catchy jingles, and a keen empathy with the listener are the factors that have solidly established private FM in J&K.
However, like in other sectors where the schemes and plans formulated for other parts of India are not necessarily relevant to the state of Jammu and Kashmir for implementation, Radio sector too cannot be different. The operation of the FM stations here needs to be fine-tuned according to the local environment. These players should not shy away from the social responsibilities towards the audience. It is everyone's responsibility to endeavor towards the creation of a better society. However, FM stations should put in place plans both off and on air to ensure that the talented get an opportunity. Focus should be on large-format. The challenge is how to raise the bar of activity. It calls for a lot of innovation and local integration.
Last but not the least. The private FM owners should push for permission to broadcast news and current affairs programmes. Let authorities allow at least 5-minute news and current affairs per hour on FM radio broadcast. By allowing news and current affairs on these channels, the three main objectives of Radio broadcasting for entertainment, education and information will be achieved.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Walnut Industry Takes a Hit as Global Economy Slows Down
Bilal reports on how a drop in demand has hit the local industry
(Mr. Bilal Hussain, 29, was born and raised in Srinagar. He went to the CASET Experimental High School, and the S.P. College, Srinagar. He has a Master's degree in Finance and Control (MFC) from the Kashmir University. He worked as a financial writer and analyst for a telecom start-up company before joining Greater Kashmir staff as a writer/sub-editor in 2007. His personal interests are reading, writing, and internet surfing.)
Valley walnut industry in dire straits
Srinagar: The global economic slowdown has taken a toll on the Valley walnut industry.
The traders here said the walnut exports had come down drastically in the wake of economic recession which had caused steep decline in the demand as well as the prices.
While maintaining that the economic meltdown was the main cause which has brought down the prices of walnut at the international market, president KCCI Dr Mubeen Shah said the demand too has gone down drastically.
President, Kashmir Chamber of Food Processing Industry (KCOFI), Dr Zain-ul-Abidin said the Rs 150 crore walnut industry was presently passing through troubled times.
“Before the recession, US used to export its walnut produce to selected markets like Japan and other countries, besides catering to its local demand of over 65 per cent of its production,” he said.
Abidin said the domestic demand in America has come down from 65 to 10 per cent only leaving the country with huge stocks. “Now with such huge stocks the US has encroached upon the markets which were actually been catered to by India and China,” he said.
He said since in India, it was Kashmir only that produced the walnut therefore it had become the victim.
“US penetration in these markets has increased to a greater extent,” he added.
Companies in the US used to sell walnut at 3.8 dollar per pound and now the same is being sold at 1.8 dollar. China has absorbed the shock as they have the much needed capacity,” he said.
According to Abidin in 2008 traders from Kashmir have exported less than 50 per of walnut as compared to the last year exports.
He demanded that there should be an increase in export oriented incentives provided by the government. “The government should provide the all possible support to the traders, exporters and growers,” he adds.
Experts in the trade believe that the lack of demand from European Union, who are buying over 70 per cent of India’s walnut export has affected the exports from Kashmir.
Traditionally the USA, which is the 2nd largest producer of walnuts in the world past year reduced its prices by over 55 per cent bringing its prices even under the Indian price.
Experts said due to the shortage of US dollar funds, exporters were not given dollar denominated credit during the peak procurement season Sept-Nov 2008.
They said the VAT refunds of walnut exporters were not released by the state government thus seriously impacting the cash flow of exporters.
Many exporters here said that buyers were seeking discounts and re-negotiation of contracts or invoices assigning poor off-take in their country as the reason for their action.
(Mr. Bilal Hussain, 29, was born and raised in Srinagar. He went to the CASET Experimental High School, and the S.P. College, Srinagar. He has a Master's degree in Finance and Control (MFC) from the Kashmir University. He worked as a financial writer and analyst for a telecom start-up company before joining Greater Kashmir staff as a writer/sub-editor in 2007. His personal interests are reading, writing, and internet surfing.)
Valley walnut industry in dire straits
Srinagar: The global economic slowdown has taken a toll on the Valley walnut industry.
The traders here said the walnut exports had come down drastically in the wake of economic recession which had caused steep decline in the demand as well as the prices.
While maintaining that the economic meltdown was the main cause which has brought down the prices of walnut at the international market, president KCCI Dr Mubeen Shah said the demand too has gone down drastically.
President, Kashmir Chamber of Food Processing Industry (KCOFI), Dr Zain-ul-Abidin said the Rs 150 crore walnut industry was presently passing through troubled times.
“Before the recession, US used to export its walnut produce to selected markets like Japan and other countries, besides catering to its local demand of over 65 per cent of its production,” he said.
Abidin said the domestic demand in America has come down from 65 to 10 per cent only leaving the country with huge stocks. “Now with such huge stocks the US has encroached upon the markets which were actually been catered to by India and China,” he said.
He said since in India, it was Kashmir only that produced the walnut therefore it had become the victim.
“US penetration in these markets has increased to a greater extent,” he added.
Companies in the US used to sell walnut at 3.8 dollar per pound and now the same is being sold at 1.8 dollar. China has absorbed the shock as they have the much needed capacity,” he said.
According to Abidin in 2008 traders from Kashmir have exported less than 50 per of walnut as compared to the last year exports.
He demanded that there should be an increase in export oriented incentives provided by the government. “The government should provide the all possible support to the traders, exporters and growers,” he adds.
Experts in the trade believe that the lack of demand from European Union, who are buying over 70 per cent of India’s walnut export has affected the exports from Kashmir.
Traditionally the USA, which is the 2nd largest producer of walnuts in the world past year reduced its prices by over 55 per cent bringing its prices even under the Indian price.
Experts said due to the shortage of US dollar funds, exporters were not given dollar denominated credit during the peak procurement season Sept-Nov 2008.
They said the VAT refunds of walnut exporters were not released by the state government thus seriously impacting the cash flow of exporters.
Many exporters here said that buyers were seeking discounts and re-negotiation of contracts or invoices assigning poor off-take in their country as the reason for their action.
Harmony between nature and people is the best example of Kashmiriyat
Saleem hails the efforts to minimize ecological damage from pilgrims on way to Amarnathji Shrine
(Mr. Mohammad Saleem Beg, 58, was born and raised in Srinagar. He was educated at the S.P. College and the Gandhi Memorial College, receiving his Bachelor's degree from the latter. He was awarded a EEC fellowship in 1998 which allowed him to attend study courses at Universities of Luven, Belgium, and Trinity College, Dublin. Mr. Beg entered the State government service in 1975 and retired in 2006 as the Director General of Tourism. In the 31 years of public service (which included two deputation assignments in New Delhi), Mr. Beg promoted local arts and crafts, and raised public awareness of Kashmir's rich heritage and architecture. He was a leading figure in getting Srinagar listed as one of the 100 most threatened heritage cities by the World Monument Fund in 2008. Mr. Beg has traveled extensively and has attended numerous conferences, including the 1997 UN Special Session on Environment in New York, and the 1997 Kyoto Convention on Climate Change in Japan. His articles and essays have been published in various publications. Since retirement, he has remained active as the Convener of the J&K Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage - INTACH.)
INTACH hails constitution of SASB’s environment panel
Srinagar: Stating that the controversy over Amarnath yatra overshadowed the real issues pertaining to ecology and environment of Kashmir valley, Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Jammu & Kashmir Chapter has hailed the decision of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to constitute a committee for carrying out environment impact assessment.
Stressing on the need to pursue and support the study, Convenor INTACH, M Saleem Beg in a statement issued to Rising Kashmir said the constitution of a committee for preservation of environment on the route leading towards the cave shrine is a much delayed, but a welcome decision.
“This decision reflects the sincerity of the present board to ensure that the real concerns of the society are addressed removing the clouds of recent politicization of the yatra,” he added.
INTACH while complimenting the Shrine Board for addressing the environmental concerns has demanded that the board should notify the detailed terms of reference for the study incorporating the restoration of areas like conservation of the forests, the catchments of Lidder and Sind river, impact assessment of Kolhai and Thajiwas glaciers.
“The study also needs to carry environment impact assessment of annual Amarnath yatra and other tourist traffic with a view to arrive at the bearing capacity of these ecologically sensitive areas. The study must draw up a plan for carrying sustainable pilgrim and leisure tourism related activities which will serve the long term interest of environment, ecology and livelihood of the host community,” a statement issued by INTACH reads.
The committee is headed by Sunita Narain, Director Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). “CSE in the past campaigned and crusaded for many environmental protection policies and programs under the able leadership of Sunita Narain,” the statement reads.
INTACH has expressed hope that CSE will conduct a public hearing while preparing the report.
“Further the study must be conducted on a time bound schedule with due backup support of government and non governmental agencies,” INTACH statement adds.
Expressing concern over the degradation of ecology in the valleys around Amarnath shrine, the statement reads the Lidder and Sind river are a perennial source of glacier waters which sustain life in Kashmir. The catchments area of these two rivers, 46 kms long in Lidder valley and 6 kms long in Sind river have been reduced to degraded and barren wastelands due to human intervention.
“Though these areas are demarcated and protected forests, the State Government has criminally neglected its obligation for their conservation and protection,” the statement reads.
“These two river valleys are critical to environmental and food security of Kashmir and therefore implementation of the decision to commission CSE for preparation of a broad based Conservation plan will remain under keen scrutiny by civil society and other environmental groups,” INTACH statement adds.
(Mr. Mohammad Saleem Beg, 58, was born and raised in Srinagar. He was educated at the S.P. College and the Gandhi Memorial College, receiving his Bachelor's degree from the latter. He was awarded a EEC fellowship in 1998 which allowed him to attend study courses at Universities of Luven, Belgium, and Trinity College, Dublin. Mr. Beg entered the State government service in 1975 and retired in 2006 as the Director General of Tourism. In the 31 years of public service (which included two deputation assignments in New Delhi), Mr. Beg promoted local arts and crafts, and raised public awareness of Kashmir's rich heritage and architecture. He was a leading figure in getting Srinagar listed as one of the 100 most threatened heritage cities by the World Monument Fund in 2008. Mr. Beg has traveled extensively and has attended numerous conferences, including the 1997 UN Special Session on Environment in New York, and the 1997 Kyoto Convention on Climate Change in Japan. His articles and essays have been published in various publications. Since retirement, he has remained active as the Convener of the J&K Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage - INTACH.)
INTACH hails constitution of SASB’s environment panel
Srinagar: Stating that the controversy over Amarnath yatra overshadowed the real issues pertaining to ecology and environment of Kashmir valley, Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Jammu & Kashmir Chapter has hailed the decision of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to constitute a committee for carrying out environment impact assessment.
Stressing on the need to pursue and support the study, Convenor INTACH, M Saleem Beg in a statement issued to Rising Kashmir said the constitution of a committee for preservation of environment on the route leading towards the cave shrine is a much delayed, but a welcome decision.
“This decision reflects the sincerity of the present board to ensure that the real concerns of the society are addressed removing the clouds of recent politicization of the yatra,” he added.
INTACH while complimenting the Shrine Board for addressing the environmental concerns has demanded that the board should notify the detailed terms of reference for the study incorporating the restoration of areas like conservation of the forests, the catchments of Lidder and Sind river, impact assessment of Kolhai and Thajiwas glaciers.
“The study also needs to carry environment impact assessment of annual Amarnath yatra and other tourist traffic with a view to arrive at the bearing capacity of these ecologically sensitive areas. The study must draw up a plan for carrying sustainable pilgrim and leisure tourism related activities which will serve the long term interest of environment, ecology and livelihood of the host community,” a statement issued by INTACH reads.
The committee is headed by Sunita Narain, Director Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). “CSE in the past campaigned and crusaded for many environmental protection policies and programs under the able leadership of Sunita Narain,” the statement reads.
INTACH has expressed hope that CSE will conduct a public hearing while preparing the report.
“Further the study must be conducted on a time bound schedule with due backup support of government and non governmental agencies,” INTACH statement adds.
Expressing concern over the degradation of ecology in the valleys around Amarnath shrine, the statement reads the Lidder and Sind river are a perennial source of glacier waters which sustain life in Kashmir. The catchments area of these two rivers, 46 kms long in Lidder valley and 6 kms long in Sind river have been reduced to degraded and barren wastelands due to human intervention.
“Though these areas are demarcated and protected forests, the State Government has criminally neglected its obligation for their conservation and protection,” the statement reads.
“These two river valleys are critical to environmental and food security of Kashmir and therefore implementation of the decision to commission CSE for preparation of a broad based Conservation plan will remain under keen scrutiny by civil society and other environmental groups,” INTACH statement adds.
Bringing J&K into 21st Century
Raies makes a suggestion and the University of Kashmir follows up on its own (two related stories)
(Mr. Raies Altaf Bodha, 25, was born in Doru-Shahabad located in the Anantnag District. He attended the Sir Syed Memorial Educational Institute in Doru and received his B.Sc. degree from the Government Degree College, Bemina-Srinagar. He completed his Master's degree in Science Communication from the Centre of Science Communication, Ahilya University, Indore, Madya Pradesh.)
E-governance and our State
E-governance can be defined as "a government structure which is efficient and effective and is duly controlled by citizens". On the other hand, e-government also means "exploiting the power of information and communications technology to help transform the accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of public services. E-government also relates to the relationship between citizens and those in power.
E-governance or electronic governance may be defined as delivery of government services and information to the public using electronic means. Such means of delivering information is often referred to as information technology or 'IT' in short forms. Use of IT in government facilitates an efficient, speedy and transparent process for disseminating information to the public and other agencies, and for performing government administration activities.
To increase accountability, empowerment and to achieve citizen participation, the use of e-government is vital. E-governance tools can "be used to sustain the important elements of accountability that a liberal democratic order requires". Within the same context, e-governance aims to promote policy making.
World economies have recognized Information Technology as an effective tool in catalyzing the economic activity in efficient governance and in developing human resource. They have made significant investments in it and successfully integrated it with the development process, thereby reaping the benefits to their society. In India also, these developments have impacted the industrial, education, service and Government sectors and their influence on various applications is increasingly being felt.
The topic of e-government and e-governance has become increasingly acknowledged over the last few years, and many governments desire for online services. In this era of digital economy, the need for e-governance is inevitable in order to: effectively participate in the rapidly evolving globally networked society, propel forward to a new position of strength in the world economy, building strong and effective information chain, fast and convenient service to citizens, effective utilization of resources, integration of communities, reduction in delays, red tape and corruption.
The Government of India has enacted IT Act 2000, which provides legal status to the information and transactions carried on the net. Almost all the State Governments have also taken various innovative steps to promote e-Governance and have drawn up a roadmap for IT implementation and delivery of services to the citizens online. As far as state of J&K concerned, till now there has not been much progress in this direction except in making few websites. Even the official website of J&K lacks interactivity and complete information. The state of Jammu & Kashmir is nowhere in the list of e-governed states of India.
While in most of the states almost every department/Govt. agency providing web based services to it’s citizens like department of agriculture, environment, forest, education, horticulture, transport, finance, health, food and supply, power development department, housing board, revenue department etc. In J&K we don’t have even a single department among these which has full-fledged web based and online services.
It is also true that, to have an effective e-governance system, knowledge of internet and information technology (IT) is must. So the challenge of having an efficient e-government is triple. One, providing easy internet access even in remote areas; second, empowering common people with the basic knowledge of internet and related IT services and thirdly initiating web based and online services in every department and ministry.
In a recent press conference chief minister Omar Abdullah hinted at e-governance in J&K and if the government is really very serious in making public services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of common people, it has to devise it’s own comprehensive, holistic and region specific policy for the implementation of e-governance programme in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
KU to introduce e-governance
Srinagar: Kashmir University Vice Chancellor Riyaz Punjabi Saturday said varsity students will now follow online procedure for filling admissions forms and retrieval of results and issuance of marks sheets as the university would soon introduce e-governance on the campus and its affiliated colleges.
Chairing the first meeting of the Project Review and Steering Group aimed to execute e-governance in Kashmir University's Examination System, Punjabi said KU will soon have e-governance.
Talking about benefits of e-governance Punjabi said there was need to sensitize policymakers about e-governance.
"There is need to sensitize planners and policymakers about the relevance applicability and importance of e-governance," he said. “With e-governance time management will be effective, administrative procedures will be put on fast track, and their will be greater coordination between various department of the university and affiliated colleges.”
Earlier, Director Information Technology KU, Mehraj-ud-Din Dar made a PowerPoint presentation before the members asserting that at the outset e-governance project Phase-I will start for examination system and some 30 affiliated colleges of the varsity will be linked with the system besides all KU departments and centres.
KU Registrar Syed Fayaz, Chief Executive Officer J&K Bank Haseeb Drabu and Joint Secretary Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Shankar Aggarwal also spoke on the occasion.
Project Review and Steering Group is an apex body for supervising the execution of the Project.
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Information Technology, Government of India has approved the proposed project ‘e-support for Examination System, University of Kashmir’ at a total estimated outlay of Rs 443.04 lac to be completed over a period of two years.
Deputy Financial Advisor MC&IT J K Tayagi; Principal Consultant PMU MC&IT Deepak Singla and Assistant Secretary to Government IT Department Civil Secretariat Jammu Muhammad Yousuf Dar also attended the meeting.
(Mr. Raies Altaf Bodha, 25, was born in Doru-Shahabad located in the Anantnag District. He attended the Sir Syed Memorial Educational Institute in Doru and received his B.Sc. degree from the Government Degree College, Bemina-Srinagar. He completed his Master's degree in Science Communication from the Centre of Science Communication, Ahilya University, Indore, Madya Pradesh.)
E-governance and our State
E-governance can be defined as "a government structure which is efficient and effective and is duly controlled by citizens". On the other hand, e-government also means "exploiting the power of information and communications technology to help transform the accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of public services. E-government also relates to the relationship between citizens and those in power.
E-governance or electronic governance may be defined as delivery of government services and information to the public using electronic means. Such means of delivering information is often referred to as information technology or 'IT' in short forms. Use of IT in government facilitates an efficient, speedy and transparent process for disseminating information to the public and other agencies, and for performing government administration activities.
To increase accountability, empowerment and to achieve citizen participation, the use of e-government is vital. E-governance tools can "be used to sustain the important elements of accountability that a liberal democratic order requires". Within the same context, e-governance aims to promote policy making.
World economies have recognized Information Technology as an effective tool in catalyzing the economic activity in efficient governance and in developing human resource. They have made significant investments in it and successfully integrated it with the development process, thereby reaping the benefits to their society. In India also, these developments have impacted the industrial, education, service and Government sectors and their influence on various applications is increasingly being felt.
The topic of e-government and e-governance has become increasingly acknowledged over the last few years, and many governments desire for online services. In this era of digital economy, the need for e-governance is inevitable in order to: effectively participate in the rapidly evolving globally networked society, propel forward to a new position of strength in the world economy, building strong and effective information chain, fast and convenient service to citizens, effective utilization of resources, integration of communities, reduction in delays, red tape and corruption.
The Government of India has enacted IT Act 2000, which provides legal status to the information and transactions carried on the net. Almost all the State Governments have also taken various innovative steps to promote e-Governance and have drawn up a roadmap for IT implementation and delivery of services to the citizens online. As far as state of J&K concerned, till now there has not been much progress in this direction except in making few websites. Even the official website of J&K lacks interactivity and complete information. The state of Jammu & Kashmir is nowhere in the list of e-governed states of India.
While in most of the states almost every department/Govt. agency providing web based services to it’s citizens like department of agriculture, environment, forest, education, horticulture, transport, finance, health, food and supply, power development department, housing board, revenue department etc. In J&K we don’t have even a single department among these which has full-fledged web based and online services.
It is also true that, to have an effective e-governance system, knowledge of internet and information technology (IT) is must. So the challenge of having an efficient e-government is triple. One, providing easy internet access even in remote areas; second, empowering common people with the basic knowledge of internet and related IT services and thirdly initiating web based and online services in every department and ministry.
In a recent press conference chief minister Omar Abdullah hinted at e-governance in J&K and if the government is really very serious in making public services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of common people, it has to devise it’s own comprehensive, holistic and region specific policy for the implementation of e-governance programme in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
KU to introduce e-governance
Srinagar: Kashmir University Vice Chancellor Riyaz Punjabi Saturday said varsity students will now follow online procedure for filling admissions forms and retrieval of results and issuance of marks sheets as the university would soon introduce e-governance on the campus and its affiliated colleges.
Chairing the first meeting of the Project Review and Steering Group aimed to execute e-governance in Kashmir University's Examination System, Punjabi said KU will soon have e-governance.
Talking about benefits of e-governance Punjabi said there was need to sensitize policymakers about e-governance.
"There is need to sensitize planners and policymakers about the relevance applicability and importance of e-governance," he said. “With e-governance time management will be effective, administrative procedures will be put on fast track, and their will be greater coordination between various department of the university and affiliated colleges.”
Earlier, Director Information Technology KU, Mehraj-ud-Din Dar made a PowerPoint presentation before the members asserting that at the outset e-governance project Phase-I will start for examination system and some 30 affiliated colleges of the varsity will be linked with the system besides all KU departments and centres.
KU Registrar Syed Fayaz, Chief Executive Officer J&K Bank Haseeb Drabu and Joint Secretary Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Shankar Aggarwal also spoke on the occasion.
Project Review and Steering Group is an apex body for supervising the execution of the Project.
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Information Technology, Government of India has approved the proposed project ‘e-support for Examination System, University of Kashmir’ at a total estimated outlay of Rs 443.04 lac to be completed over a period of two years.
Deputy Financial Advisor MC&IT J K Tayagi; Principal Consultant PMU MC&IT Deepak Singla and Assistant Secretary to Government IT Department Civil Secretariat Jammu Muhammad Yousuf Dar also attended the meeting.
Civil Disorder Yes, Civic Sense No
Kashmiris borrow books from public libraries and keep them for good. 15,846 books have taken flight that way
Book borrowing goes wrong
Srinagar: If your bookshelf includes some borrowed from the government libraries it’s high time you saved yourself from the embarrassment. The department of libraries is likely to publish the list of defaulters along with their photographs in local newspapers. The harsher plan is being conceived after the officials found out that at least 15,646 books had not been returned for over a decade and, interestingly, the defaulters included celebrities including politicians and bureaucrats.
Officials say a huge number of books that would account for at least two libraries are yet to be recovered and the process of recoveries would soon be implanted.
Talking to Rising Kashmir Deputy Director Libraries, Bashir Ahmad said that a deadline has been set for the burrowers to return the books failing which their names along with their photographs would be published in the newspapers.
Bashir said that the government should ask top officials to get a no demand certificate from the Department of Libraries.
“Appropriate punishment should be given for failing to return a library book as all borrowers and guarantors are educated,” he said.
As a pressure tactics, the department may also publish names of officials who have acted as their guarantors. “If the burrowers don’t return the books after our first warning, we may have publish names of all guarantors too,” said Bashir. The guarantors are usually officers of the gazetted rank.
District Library Islamabad has 1590 defaulters followed by City Central Library with 1473 and SPS Library Lal Mandi with 1350. Besides, most burrowers of all major districts, tehsils and border libraries are defaulters.
The librarians say that the burrowers who withhold books of libraries create problems for those who are in dire need of these books.
“Burrowers don’t consider retaining a book as crime although it is equivalent to a criminal offence,” said a librarian. “People here are not responsible and honest.”
They say it is not east to put the estimated cost of these books as the present market price of these books is difficult to evaluate.
The officials informed that some high profile people too are defaulters of various state libraries.
They said some former ministers and present legislators too have not returned books from the State Legislative Assembly library.
Giving details, officials point out that of the total 12,000 books on record of the civil secretariat's library nearly 3,000 have been taken away by politicians and bureaucrats, who included even a former chief minister and some ex-chief secretaries of the state.
As junior rung officials manning the library dare not to call upon these influential people, the legislators and bureaucrats do not return books borrowed from the library.
Officials said a number of these borrowers have retired or even expired and that the books pertained to references on Kashmir.
Some of these were published over 50 years ago and as such are not available in the market.
Giving instances, sources point out that former chief secretary Moosa Raja has taken away 10 books while another ex-chief secretary M P Khosla has to return 11 books. The books are so old that many of them carry the cost value as Rs 12.50 to Rs 15 only.
(Rising Kashmir)
Book borrowing goes wrong
Srinagar: If your bookshelf includes some borrowed from the government libraries it’s high time you saved yourself from the embarrassment. The department of libraries is likely to publish the list of defaulters along with their photographs in local newspapers. The harsher plan is being conceived after the officials found out that at least 15,646 books had not been returned for over a decade and, interestingly, the defaulters included celebrities including politicians and bureaucrats.
Officials say a huge number of books that would account for at least two libraries are yet to be recovered and the process of recoveries would soon be implanted.
Talking to Rising Kashmir Deputy Director Libraries, Bashir Ahmad said that a deadline has been set for the burrowers to return the books failing which their names along with their photographs would be published in the newspapers.
Bashir said that the government should ask top officials to get a no demand certificate from the Department of Libraries.
“Appropriate punishment should be given for failing to return a library book as all borrowers and guarantors are educated,” he said.
As a pressure tactics, the department may also publish names of officials who have acted as their guarantors. “If the burrowers don’t return the books after our first warning, we may have publish names of all guarantors too,” said Bashir. The guarantors are usually officers of the gazetted rank.
District Library Islamabad has 1590 defaulters followed by City Central Library with 1473 and SPS Library Lal Mandi with 1350. Besides, most burrowers of all major districts, tehsils and border libraries are defaulters.
The librarians say that the burrowers who withhold books of libraries create problems for those who are in dire need of these books.
“Burrowers don’t consider retaining a book as crime although it is equivalent to a criminal offence,” said a librarian. “People here are not responsible and honest.”
They say it is not east to put the estimated cost of these books as the present market price of these books is difficult to evaluate.
The officials informed that some high profile people too are defaulters of various state libraries.
They said some former ministers and present legislators too have not returned books from the State Legislative Assembly library.
Giving details, officials point out that of the total 12,000 books on record of the civil secretariat's library nearly 3,000 have been taken away by politicians and bureaucrats, who included even a former chief minister and some ex-chief secretaries of the state.
As junior rung officials manning the library dare not to call upon these influential people, the legislators and bureaucrats do not return books borrowed from the library.
Officials said a number of these borrowers have retired or even expired and that the books pertained to references on Kashmir.
Some of these were published over 50 years ago and as such are not available in the market.
Giving instances, sources point out that former chief secretary Moosa Raja has taken away 10 books while another ex-chief secretary M P Khosla has to return 11 books. The books are so old that many of them carry the cost value as Rs 12.50 to Rs 15 only.
(Rising Kashmir)
Kashmir's Wetlands are Drying Out
Wetlands are disappearing due to encroachments, pollution, constructions and official apathy
Valley’s wetlands face grave threat
Srinagar: World Wetland Day celebrated on February 2 is the right occasion to think over the causes that have brought most wetlands in the Valley to the brink of extinction, say environmentalists. While lakhs of rupees would be spent on debates, awareness programs, and seminars, rightly so, it is the time to draw radical conservation plans for saving the wetlands so important to ecosystems.
Environmentalists have raised concern over the encroachment, pollution, and heavy deposition of silt in famous wetlands like Hokersar, Haigam, Shallabugh and Mirgund, which are the satellite wetlands of Wullar Lake and host to thousands of migratory birds every year.
Haigam Wetland Conservation Reserve, an important refuge for migratory waterfowls, shorebirds and trans-Himalayan species in winters has shrunk considerably as people of adjoining villages have encroached on the land and started paddy cultivation. Environmentalists blame government for it, as there are no conservation measures and monitoring mechanism in place. In fact, the authorities constructed a road on the wetland’s boundary at Asthanpoora in 2007, throwing to winds the norms and the warnings of the environmentalist that the vehicular traffic on the road will affect habitat of the birds.
Owing to its location at the western extremity of Himalayas, Wullar has been an important flyway and staging ground for migratory birds including shorebirds, gadwall, cranes, ducks, geese, pintails which migrate to Valley to ward off the extreme cold in their summer homes in Siberia and Central Asia.
Due to its rich bio-diversity and capacity to host the avian visitors, Wullar has been included under the Ramsar Convention making its conservation mandatory for the Government. The lake and its satellites wetlands have been included in the network of important Bird Areas.
The migratory birds have been using the Wullar lake for feeding during the night when there is no disturbance from fisherman or hunters. During March-June large areas of Wullar and with floating vegetation, trees, bushes and reed beds serve as breeding and nesting sites for some of the birds. And during daytime they seek refuge in the Hokersar and its surrounding wetlands. Hokersar, which in an important wetland for resident and migratory waterfowls is facing threats of extinction due to silt and encroachment.
Former chief wildlife warden, Abdur Rashid Wani, said due massive urbanization around the Hokersar and other wetlands, many species of migratory birds like Bar-Headed geese and Siberian Crane have stopped to visit the Valley.
“The authorities have failed to maintain buffer zone around the wetlands, particularly Hokersar. Huge concrete constructions are coming up on fringes of Hokersar. This practice has to be stopped if we want the play host to migratory birds,” Wani said.
The wetland within Jhelum including Wullar used to receive seven out of 53 globally threatened and near threatened water birds and wetland birds. None of these species have been observed in the Valley for past a few years.
The Wetland International South Asia in its studies on Wullar and its associated wetlands has blamed loss and modification of habitats as major threat to the birds. Some of the birds visiting the Valley are listed under appendices of Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn 1982) to which India is a contracting party and others are covered under the Central Asian Flyway Action Plan. The Convention makes it mandatory for the states, including Jammu and Kashmir to protect and maintain the wetlands.
Aijaz Rasool, an expert with the Wetland International-South Asia said the remains of dead aquatic flora and plants have largely affected the water holding capacity of the wetlands. “This has not only affected the water quality but plants and seeds which form important feed to the migratory birds,” he said.
He recommended immediate measures to check the encroachments, deweeding and water management for revival of Wetlands.
Chief Wildlife Warden, AK Shrivastava said proposals for conservation plans of Hokersar and Haigam wetlands have been submitted to the Central Government. “As soon as we get the approval, we will start the conservation measures. We are committed to restore glory of the wetlands,” Srivastava said.
In his official message on the World Wetland Day, the Minister of Forests and Environment, Mian Altaf, acknowledges deterioration of the Wetlands. “Many wetlands in the Valley are under threat due to reclamation for agriculture, developmental activities and contamination by sewage, agricultural run-off and siltation. Most of the wetlands in the lower Himalayan region are infested with aquatic weeds. The Trans-Himalayan wetlands are becoming fragile due to anthropogenic activities, growing tourism and faulty land management,” he said.
(Greater Kashmir)
Valley’s wetlands face grave threat
Srinagar: World Wetland Day celebrated on February 2 is the right occasion to think over the causes that have brought most wetlands in the Valley to the brink of extinction, say environmentalists. While lakhs of rupees would be spent on debates, awareness programs, and seminars, rightly so, it is the time to draw radical conservation plans for saving the wetlands so important to ecosystems.
Environmentalists have raised concern over the encroachment, pollution, and heavy deposition of silt in famous wetlands like Hokersar, Haigam, Shallabugh and Mirgund, which are the satellite wetlands of Wullar Lake and host to thousands of migratory birds every year.
Haigam Wetland Conservation Reserve, an important refuge for migratory waterfowls, shorebirds and trans-Himalayan species in winters has shrunk considerably as people of adjoining villages have encroached on the land and started paddy cultivation. Environmentalists blame government for it, as there are no conservation measures and monitoring mechanism in place. In fact, the authorities constructed a road on the wetland’s boundary at Asthanpoora in 2007, throwing to winds the norms and the warnings of the environmentalist that the vehicular traffic on the road will affect habitat of the birds.
Owing to its location at the western extremity of Himalayas, Wullar has been an important flyway and staging ground for migratory birds including shorebirds, gadwall, cranes, ducks, geese, pintails which migrate to Valley to ward off the extreme cold in their summer homes in Siberia and Central Asia.
Due to its rich bio-diversity and capacity to host the avian visitors, Wullar has been included under the Ramsar Convention making its conservation mandatory for the Government. The lake and its satellites wetlands have been included in the network of important Bird Areas.
The migratory birds have been using the Wullar lake for feeding during the night when there is no disturbance from fisherman or hunters. During March-June large areas of Wullar and with floating vegetation, trees, bushes and reed beds serve as breeding and nesting sites for some of the birds. And during daytime they seek refuge in the Hokersar and its surrounding wetlands. Hokersar, which in an important wetland for resident and migratory waterfowls is facing threats of extinction due to silt and encroachment.
Former chief wildlife warden, Abdur Rashid Wani, said due massive urbanization around the Hokersar and other wetlands, many species of migratory birds like Bar-Headed geese and Siberian Crane have stopped to visit the Valley.
“The authorities have failed to maintain buffer zone around the wetlands, particularly Hokersar. Huge concrete constructions are coming up on fringes of Hokersar. This practice has to be stopped if we want the play host to migratory birds,” Wani said.
The wetland within Jhelum including Wullar used to receive seven out of 53 globally threatened and near threatened water birds and wetland birds. None of these species have been observed in the Valley for past a few years.
The Wetland International South Asia in its studies on Wullar and its associated wetlands has blamed loss and modification of habitats as major threat to the birds. Some of the birds visiting the Valley are listed under appendices of Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn 1982) to which India is a contracting party and others are covered under the Central Asian Flyway Action Plan. The Convention makes it mandatory for the states, including Jammu and Kashmir to protect and maintain the wetlands.
Aijaz Rasool, an expert with the Wetland International-South Asia said the remains of dead aquatic flora and plants have largely affected the water holding capacity of the wetlands. “This has not only affected the water quality but plants and seeds which form important feed to the migratory birds,” he said.
He recommended immediate measures to check the encroachments, deweeding and water management for revival of Wetlands.
Chief Wildlife Warden, AK Shrivastava said proposals for conservation plans of Hokersar and Haigam wetlands have been submitted to the Central Government. “As soon as we get the approval, we will start the conservation measures. We are committed to restore glory of the wetlands,” Srivastava said.
In his official message on the World Wetland Day, the Minister of Forests and Environment, Mian Altaf, acknowledges deterioration of the Wetlands. “Many wetlands in the Valley are under threat due to reclamation for agriculture, developmental activities and contamination by sewage, agricultural run-off and siltation. Most of the wetlands in the lower Himalayan region are infested with aquatic weeds. The Trans-Himalayan wetlands are becoming fragile due to anthropogenic activities, growing tourism and faulty land management,” he said.
(Greater Kashmir)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Incredible as it Sounds India Catches up With Kashmir on Moral Policing
Mehmood discusses human traits that do more harm than good. He should have pointed to those newly erected abominable hoardings in Karan Nagar as well
(Mr. Mehmood-ur-Rashid, mid-30's, lives and works in Srinagar. His commentary is published by the Rising Kashmir.)
A thundering nuisance
When virtue becomes vindictive violence pitches its camps for an extended stay. This is the time when reason is squeezed out from morality and compassion no more makes a part of social change. It all becomes soul-less, sense-less and consequently ruthless.
It is here that ‘solutions’ become problems, disallowing the refreshing breeze of change to reinvigorate the society. Throughout the history of mankind changes in individual and social behaviour came gradually and only when there was a willingness to change. Abrupt and forcible changes only amount to disruption. Any act to thrust change or demand a particular behaviour from an individual or a collectivity has never succeeded. Even structured force, like states, have failed in imposing a change on an unwilling people, how can an amorphous and unaccountable force, like religious and cultural groups, make a change stay in any society. It has not happened and will not, as long as human behaviour declines to be decided by others.
Just recently Indian national newspapers carried the news of some youth, claiming their allegiance to a hitherto unknown Radical Hindu group, Sri Ram Sene, conducting a vigilante attack on a pub in Manglore city of Karnataka. The photograph of the angry youth of the organisation, menacingly attacking people in the pub, caught the attention of readers. It was typical of an angry mind driven by the force of hatred towards other as he looks at the world from the ramparts of his own morality. He may be doing all this with the good intention of ‘purifying’ the society from ‘unwanted’ elements. He may be acting in ‘good faith’ to contribute towards the ‘betterment’ of society. But the all important question is that who gives him the right to define a society that he is only a part of. If people belonging to groups like Sri Ram Sene assume that India is a Hindu society and should necessarily fall in line with Hindu tradition, others may have their own ways to understand this society and act accordingly. Even if in the contestation the Hindu society and Hindu tradition of rightwing parties holds, how can they impose their moral standards on others who no longer want to be a part of this society or subscribe to its ideals? Any Geography and Economy does not necessarily belong to a particular version of History or a Society. The obsession with ‘Good’ has always made the wheels of evil spin. This is not the first occasion when a Hindu rightwing group, in the name of purifying Hindu culture from alien practices, resorted to violence. It has been happening in India now from quite some time. New Year parties, dance clubs, western dress, valentine’s day – there are a number of occasion when such forces pop up and hog the headlines.
Did India change? It did not. Contrary to any change for better it filled the society with more anger, hatred, and ultimately violence. Moral policing, radical politics and violence came increasingly closer to each other, giving birth to a monstrous shaped creature.
One may not defend those who believe in no-holds-barred, defending their way of life in the name of liberalism, utilitarianism and making–the-most-of-this-life, but one can also not be comfortable with exclusive definitions of morality. The diversity of beliefs and practices is the dominant fact of human civilisation. The debate of Good and Evil cannot be clinched in the streets by resorting to moral policing.
In Kashmir when we discuss the behaviour of Hindu radical groups imposing their version of morality on others things become easier to talk about. Feathers ruffle when finger points within. If a Sri Ram Sene member can be criticised for his behaviour in forcing down a particular version of morality on others, how should one feel about a Muslim organisation raiding restaurants in an attempt to catch the erring youth ‘red-handed’? How is that organisation different from the Hindu radical group? The argument for moral policing is the same. Either we have to reject both or accept both. It is not about Hinduism and Islam. It is about a particular mindset and behaviour that wants things happen in one particular way.
Here one should also not miss the fact that such groups become easily available for any radical politics that ultimately takes recourse to violence. Anti Terror Squad may or may not be able to establish a link between Sri Ram Sena chief and the Malegoan blasts, but it is most likely that such groups become a part of a dirty game that mobilises people in the name of some grand political project that encompasses the entire globe and brings them in clash with whatever they find on their path to ‘Glory’.
It all ends up in inflicting severe damage to the society, making it easier for evil to flourish. In the heydays on militancy, in Kashmir, we had a group that got the wine shops closed. Now does anybody know to which zoo the Tigers have fled who once roared in the name of Allah! If Kashmiri society abhors wine and rejects it, it is because the family values stealthy and silently transfer to the next generation. This is how values stay in a society. Had force and hatred been a part of social change prophets would not have been gradual and compassionate in their approach.
TAILPIECE
In an interview on a local channel, when Asiya Andrabi was asked to comment on Geelani’s remark that there are 3000 brothels in Kashmir, she not only ‘eagerly’ accepted the figures but was sure that actual number was more. Now one may ask, both of them, if they don’t take any offence, who gives them the right to abuse this society. Police has a habit of looking only for evil, otherwise there more good things happening around.
(Mr. Mehmood-ur-Rashid, mid-30's, lives and works in Srinagar. His commentary is published by the Rising Kashmir.)
A thundering nuisance
When virtue becomes vindictive violence pitches its camps for an extended stay. This is the time when reason is squeezed out from morality and compassion no more makes a part of social change. It all becomes soul-less, sense-less and consequently ruthless.
It is here that ‘solutions’ become problems, disallowing the refreshing breeze of change to reinvigorate the society. Throughout the history of mankind changes in individual and social behaviour came gradually and only when there was a willingness to change. Abrupt and forcible changes only amount to disruption. Any act to thrust change or demand a particular behaviour from an individual or a collectivity has never succeeded. Even structured force, like states, have failed in imposing a change on an unwilling people, how can an amorphous and unaccountable force, like religious and cultural groups, make a change stay in any society. It has not happened and will not, as long as human behaviour declines to be decided by others.
Just recently Indian national newspapers carried the news of some youth, claiming their allegiance to a hitherto unknown Radical Hindu group, Sri Ram Sene, conducting a vigilante attack on a pub in Manglore city of Karnataka. The photograph of the angry youth of the organisation, menacingly attacking people in the pub, caught the attention of readers. It was typical of an angry mind driven by the force of hatred towards other as he looks at the world from the ramparts of his own morality. He may be doing all this with the good intention of ‘purifying’ the society from ‘unwanted’ elements. He may be acting in ‘good faith’ to contribute towards the ‘betterment’ of society. But the all important question is that who gives him the right to define a society that he is only a part of. If people belonging to groups like Sri Ram Sene assume that India is a Hindu society and should necessarily fall in line with Hindu tradition, others may have their own ways to understand this society and act accordingly. Even if in the contestation the Hindu society and Hindu tradition of rightwing parties holds, how can they impose their moral standards on others who no longer want to be a part of this society or subscribe to its ideals? Any Geography and Economy does not necessarily belong to a particular version of History or a Society. The obsession with ‘Good’ has always made the wheels of evil spin. This is not the first occasion when a Hindu rightwing group, in the name of purifying Hindu culture from alien practices, resorted to violence. It has been happening in India now from quite some time. New Year parties, dance clubs, western dress, valentine’s day – there are a number of occasion when such forces pop up and hog the headlines.
Did India change? It did not. Contrary to any change for better it filled the society with more anger, hatred, and ultimately violence. Moral policing, radical politics and violence came increasingly closer to each other, giving birth to a monstrous shaped creature.
One may not defend those who believe in no-holds-barred, defending their way of life in the name of liberalism, utilitarianism and making–the-most-of-this-life, but one can also not be comfortable with exclusive definitions of morality. The diversity of beliefs and practices is the dominant fact of human civilisation. The debate of Good and Evil cannot be clinched in the streets by resorting to moral policing.
In Kashmir when we discuss the behaviour of Hindu radical groups imposing their version of morality on others things become easier to talk about. Feathers ruffle when finger points within. If a Sri Ram Sene member can be criticised for his behaviour in forcing down a particular version of morality on others, how should one feel about a Muslim organisation raiding restaurants in an attempt to catch the erring youth ‘red-handed’? How is that organisation different from the Hindu radical group? The argument for moral policing is the same. Either we have to reject both or accept both. It is not about Hinduism and Islam. It is about a particular mindset and behaviour that wants things happen in one particular way.
Here one should also not miss the fact that such groups become easily available for any radical politics that ultimately takes recourse to violence. Anti Terror Squad may or may not be able to establish a link between Sri Ram Sena chief and the Malegoan blasts, but it is most likely that such groups become a part of a dirty game that mobilises people in the name of some grand political project that encompasses the entire globe and brings them in clash with whatever they find on their path to ‘Glory’.
It all ends up in inflicting severe damage to the society, making it easier for evil to flourish. In the heydays on militancy, in Kashmir, we had a group that got the wine shops closed. Now does anybody know to which zoo the Tigers have fled who once roared in the name of Allah! If Kashmiri society abhors wine and rejects it, it is because the family values stealthy and silently transfer to the next generation. This is how values stay in a society. Had force and hatred been a part of social change prophets would not have been gradual and compassionate in their approach.
TAILPIECE
In an interview on a local channel, when Asiya Andrabi was asked to comment on Geelani’s remark that there are 3000 brothels in Kashmir, she not only ‘eagerly’ accepted the figures but was sure that actual number was more. Now one may ask, both of them, if they don’t take any offence, who gives them the right to abuse this society. Police has a habit of looking only for evil, otherwise there more good things happening around.
Saving te Pride of the Dachigam National Park
Declining Hangul population alerts wildlife experts to plan conservation measures
Zeenat Zeeshan Fazil (Kashmir Images)
Srinagar: Alarming decline in the population of the famed Kashmir stag or ‘Hangul’ has finally alerted the wildlife authorities who are now making a desperate bid to save this specie of deer from extinction.
Already a ‘red-book animal’, the Hangul (Cervus Elaphus Hangul) population has witnessed a steady decline in Kashmir valley, particularly in past two decades and today this endangered specie of deer is already on the verge of extinction.
Perhaps alerted by this, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has agreed to fund “Hangul Conservation Plan’ in a phased manner. This Rs 8-9 crore project aiming to save Hangul envisages using modern techniques including special breeding in captivity, satellite tracking and habitat improvement.
“We have received approval from the Ministry of Environment for ‘Hangul Conservation Plan’ which will be executed in next five years and is divided into three parts - Research, Survey and Census,” says Chief Wildlife Warden, A K Sirivastava.
He said the census will be conducted in Feb-March this year in collaboration with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun inside Dachigam National Park, which has been the traditional breeding ground of this rare specie of deer, besides in Bandipora, Kupwara, Aawoora and other places where these animals have been sighted.
Shrivastava said for the implementation of project, the Wildlife department will be receive Rs one crore during the current financial year which will be used for putting in place the requisite infrastructure, including setting up a breeding place, construction of guard huts, watch towers, pasture improvement, and conducting surveys.
Some research will also be done to see how to use latest techniques for conservation of Hangul, said Chief Wildlife Warden.
“We have started construction of an enclosure for the first breeding place in Shikargah Wildlife Conservation Reserve in Tral on an area of about five-acre as per the guidelines of Central Zoo Authority (CZA)," Shrivastava said, adding the CZA has already released Rs 42.5 lakhs for the breeding programme.
"Besides the enclosure, the infrastructure to be set up for the breeding plant will include guard-huts, watch-towers, cabins for officials, pasture improvement, fencing and construction of road for round-the clock monitoring and management of Hanguls," he said.
Although Chief Wildlife Warden said the infrastructure is expected to be ready by the March-end, Wildlife Warden Dachigam National Park, Intisar Suhail, says it is already late for the programme to start and now we are planning to start it in Feb 2010.
Under the conservation plan, the Wildlife authorities are planning to breed the Hangul in captivity. “Once the fawns grow, they will be released into the forests after being fitted with satellite radio-collars so that the experts can monitor their activities," Shrivastava says.
“The programme can take place only in Dachigam National Park and will start from February 2010 as this is the only month suitable for conducting the activity,” said Suhail, adding that in February the animal is found in lower areas while as by the month of March the Hangul usually moves towards upper reaches.
Confirming that besides the Dachigam National Park Hangul is present in other areas as well, Suhail informed “some three years back I received message form Ganderbal area that the animal has been sighted there and after reaching the spot I myself found give Hanguls, which might have come down through Kangan canal.”
He said three of the five animals seen there were captured by the Wildlife people and were later released in Dachigam National Park and Pahalgam zoo.
The population of Hangul, one the pride of Dachigam National Park, has declined drastically in the last 28 years, bringing the animal on the verge of extinction. According to a census carried out by the WII, during 1980’s, the number of Hanguls inside the Dachigam park was believed to be about 3,000-5,000, which declined to 197 by 2004.
In 2008 census carried out by WII in collaboration with Wildlife department here, the population of Hangul was found at 178.
This decline in the Hangul population is attributed to the increasing human interference in their habitat. Experts blame poaching, excessive livestock grazing, frequent forest fires, and the growing rate of predation from leopard as the major reason for declining Hangul population.
Hangul is the only surviving race of the Red Deer family of Europe in the sub-continent since the ‘Shou’ (Cervus Elaphus Wallchi) of Bhutan is now considered extinct by experts. Hangul stags are prized for their magnificent antlers (horns), having 11 to 16 points.
The animal was enlisted as an endangered species in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 1996.
Zeenat Zeeshan Fazil (Kashmir Images)
Srinagar: Alarming decline in the population of the famed Kashmir stag or ‘Hangul’ has finally alerted the wildlife authorities who are now making a desperate bid to save this specie of deer from extinction.
Already a ‘red-book animal’, the Hangul (Cervus Elaphus Hangul) population has witnessed a steady decline in Kashmir valley, particularly in past two decades and today this endangered specie of deer is already on the verge of extinction.
Perhaps alerted by this, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has agreed to fund “Hangul Conservation Plan’ in a phased manner. This Rs 8-9 crore project aiming to save Hangul envisages using modern techniques including special breeding in captivity, satellite tracking and habitat improvement.
“We have received approval from the Ministry of Environment for ‘Hangul Conservation Plan’ which will be executed in next five years and is divided into three parts - Research, Survey and Census,” says Chief Wildlife Warden, A K Sirivastava.
He said the census will be conducted in Feb-March this year in collaboration with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun inside Dachigam National Park, which has been the traditional breeding ground of this rare specie of deer, besides in Bandipora, Kupwara, Aawoora and other places where these animals have been sighted.
Shrivastava said for the implementation of project, the Wildlife department will be receive Rs one crore during the current financial year which will be used for putting in place the requisite infrastructure, including setting up a breeding place, construction of guard huts, watch towers, pasture improvement, and conducting surveys.
Some research will also be done to see how to use latest techniques for conservation of Hangul, said Chief Wildlife Warden.
“We have started construction of an enclosure for the first breeding place in Shikargah Wildlife Conservation Reserve in Tral on an area of about five-acre as per the guidelines of Central Zoo Authority (CZA)," Shrivastava said, adding the CZA has already released Rs 42.5 lakhs for the breeding programme.
"Besides the enclosure, the infrastructure to be set up for the breeding plant will include guard-huts, watch-towers, cabins for officials, pasture improvement, fencing and construction of road for round-the clock monitoring and management of Hanguls," he said.
Although Chief Wildlife Warden said the infrastructure is expected to be ready by the March-end, Wildlife Warden Dachigam National Park, Intisar Suhail, says it is already late for the programme to start and now we are planning to start it in Feb 2010.
Under the conservation plan, the Wildlife authorities are planning to breed the Hangul in captivity. “Once the fawns grow, they will be released into the forests after being fitted with satellite radio-collars so that the experts can monitor their activities," Shrivastava says.
“The programme can take place only in Dachigam National Park and will start from February 2010 as this is the only month suitable for conducting the activity,” said Suhail, adding that in February the animal is found in lower areas while as by the month of March the Hangul usually moves towards upper reaches.
Confirming that besides the Dachigam National Park Hangul is present in other areas as well, Suhail informed “some three years back I received message form Ganderbal area that the animal has been sighted there and after reaching the spot I myself found give Hanguls, which might have come down through Kangan canal.”
He said three of the five animals seen there were captured by the Wildlife people and were later released in Dachigam National Park and Pahalgam zoo.
The population of Hangul, one the pride of Dachigam National Park, has declined drastically in the last 28 years, bringing the animal on the verge of extinction. According to a census carried out by the WII, during 1980’s, the number of Hanguls inside the Dachigam park was believed to be about 3,000-5,000, which declined to 197 by 2004.
In 2008 census carried out by WII in collaboration with Wildlife department here, the population of Hangul was found at 178.
This decline in the Hangul population is attributed to the increasing human interference in their habitat. Experts blame poaching, excessive livestock grazing, frequent forest fires, and the growing rate of predation from leopard as the major reason for declining Hangul population.
Hangul is the only surviving race of the Red Deer family of Europe in the sub-continent since the ‘Shou’ (Cervus Elaphus Wallchi) of Bhutan is now considered extinct by experts. Hangul stags are prized for their magnificent antlers (horns), having 11 to 16 points.
The animal was enlisted as an endangered species in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 1996.
We Lack the Courage of Conviction
Afshana highlights a weakness that has taken its toll
(Ms. Syeda Afshana, 35, was born in Srinagar. She attended the Vishwa Bharti High School in Rainawari, Srinagar, and the Government Women's College in Srinagar where she received a B.Sc. degree. She completed her Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the Kashmir University in 1999 and was the Gold Medallist (first position holder) in her graduating class. She is currently a Lecturer in the Media Education Research Centre (MERC) of the Kashmir University and pursuing her doctorate on the role of internet after 9/11.)
Conviction, right or wrong
"He who believes
is strong;
he who doubts
is weak.
Strong convictions
precede
great actions."
(Louisa May)
We all are made of convictions. A certain set of beliefs that guides our actions day in and day out. Whether those convictions are appropriate or wicked, is not the point of argument. That how much sure and convinced we are about them makes the row.
This is perhaps the cruelest tragedy. Most of us barely own up our convictions, strong and loud. We stand nowhere in holding our viewpoints very dear. With each passing day, we change our say and style.
Perhaps, we are never confident about anything we claim to believe in. From religion to politics, we keep on 'fine-tuning' our beliefs in tandem with the prevailing situations. At times, the petty self-interests entice us to take a volte face. However, we hardly seem to comprehend and realize the larger ramifications of our continuous U-turns upon some section of people, or for that matter, the whole society.
Teachers, they say, are the builders of nation. What happens when this 'special creature' breaks the valid norms and becomes a tool for initiating and establishing a wrong precedence? It may raise certain eyebrows or kick up a lot of dust or just get hushed up slowly. But if the same wrong is undone under the influence of some, with the 'wavering' teacher taking another stand over the issue, it smacks of fickle-mindedness. Independent thinking and decision-making get stripped off from such a person who has no conviction to stand for his/her act. And in the process, the mockery is made of our educational degrees and discourses.
The same vacillation is depicted in our relations and associations. Our friends and foes are never permanent. We cross over the floor ad nausuem. We befriend our worst rivals and betray our best pals. Again, since there is no moral principle on which we can base our love and hatred, friendships and rivalries, we continuously construct and deconstruct our relationships/acquaintances as per the demands of timely interests.
Small wonder, we keep shuttling between camps. Today here, tomorrow there. A big lobby, a small lobby; a powerful lobby, a dominant lobby—we keep revolving in deception. We obey our bosses, and we get a reward from them. We oppose our bosses, and we get a prize from their opponents. Both ways, our loyalties are not lasting but our interests are secured. No matter we lose the image of credibility.
Our politicians have 'colourful' conviction. It is pink before elections; and dark post elections. The different versions of 'promises' and 'pledges' eventually throw up a plethora of shocking surprises for the common masses. Doublespeak mars the reputation of turncoat politicians but it adds to the panorama of their flimsy convictions. Hollow slogans of 'autonomy' and 'self-rule' prove as nothing but the gimmicks of vote-bank polity.
And then, how our leaders delude their convictions is equally astonishing. Having a cozy style of living, from palatial houses to expensive healthcare, globe-trotting to NRK life partners, the noisy symbols of 'achievable nationhood' and 'third option' have failed to prove the conviction of being wedded to the struggle, to the suffering masses, and to the numerous half-widows and orphans. Again, a camouflage of convictions has been the slippery ground for all the heat it has generated, and for all the moments of absurd theater it has provided.
Our intellectuals seem immersed in the sea of swindling. Rather than the hard and solitary work of writing and thinking and achieving an output that far overshadows their cheap publicity, they have succumbed to mediocre culture, haranguing aimlessly on stages and podiums than arguing their ideas in books or in the pages of magazines or newspapers.
We also have a creed of apparently broad-minded fellows, who swank their 'knowledge' at every occasion, but ultimately turn out to be the petty obstructionists who leave no stone unturned to gag the minds and mouths of others by raising trivial objections. They are actually the people with a yellow streak and sham high ground.
Our current crop of young generation is absolutely ignorant about the meaning of conviction. Goalless and confused, they are trapped in the miasma of western impressions. Their worldview is bereft of any conviction, and their world itself is quite a godless midget.
There is nothing new about all this. We seem destined to hurl anathemas at each other, for the very disgusting and deceptive acts of ours. The high point is that we don't have courage of conviction. We cannot concede our faltering. We cannot acknowledge our misdoings.
A weary and weird state of affairs around, does call for some kind of redemption. A quest is to be made. The grim and pessimistic journey through the abyss has to have an end. We cannot resurrect our past glory. We can, however, try to locate our history profoundly and get connected with our roots. By this, the best ever moral lessons can be unearthed for the heady ideas and convictions to rule us and our dealings.
(Ms. Syeda Afshana, 35, was born in Srinagar. She attended the Vishwa Bharti High School in Rainawari, Srinagar, and the Government Women's College in Srinagar where she received a B.Sc. degree. She completed her Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the Kashmir University in 1999 and was the Gold Medallist (first position holder) in her graduating class. She is currently a Lecturer in the Media Education Research Centre (MERC) of the Kashmir University and pursuing her doctorate on the role of internet after 9/11.)
Conviction, right or wrong
"He who believes
is strong;
he who doubts
is weak.
Strong convictions
precede
great actions."
(Louisa May)
We all are made of convictions. A certain set of beliefs that guides our actions day in and day out. Whether those convictions are appropriate or wicked, is not the point of argument. That how much sure and convinced we are about them makes the row.
This is perhaps the cruelest tragedy. Most of us barely own up our convictions, strong and loud. We stand nowhere in holding our viewpoints very dear. With each passing day, we change our say and style.
Perhaps, we are never confident about anything we claim to believe in. From religion to politics, we keep on 'fine-tuning' our beliefs in tandem with the prevailing situations. At times, the petty self-interests entice us to take a volte face. However, we hardly seem to comprehend and realize the larger ramifications of our continuous U-turns upon some section of people, or for that matter, the whole society.
Teachers, they say, are the builders of nation. What happens when this 'special creature' breaks the valid norms and becomes a tool for initiating and establishing a wrong precedence? It may raise certain eyebrows or kick up a lot of dust or just get hushed up slowly. But if the same wrong is undone under the influence of some, with the 'wavering' teacher taking another stand over the issue, it smacks of fickle-mindedness. Independent thinking and decision-making get stripped off from such a person who has no conviction to stand for his/her act. And in the process, the mockery is made of our educational degrees and discourses.
The same vacillation is depicted in our relations and associations. Our friends and foes are never permanent. We cross over the floor ad nausuem. We befriend our worst rivals and betray our best pals. Again, since there is no moral principle on which we can base our love and hatred, friendships and rivalries, we continuously construct and deconstruct our relationships/acquaintances as per the demands of timely interests.
Small wonder, we keep shuttling between camps. Today here, tomorrow there. A big lobby, a small lobby; a powerful lobby, a dominant lobby—we keep revolving in deception. We obey our bosses, and we get a reward from them. We oppose our bosses, and we get a prize from their opponents. Both ways, our loyalties are not lasting but our interests are secured. No matter we lose the image of credibility.
Our politicians have 'colourful' conviction. It is pink before elections; and dark post elections. The different versions of 'promises' and 'pledges' eventually throw up a plethora of shocking surprises for the common masses. Doublespeak mars the reputation of turncoat politicians but it adds to the panorama of their flimsy convictions. Hollow slogans of 'autonomy' and 'self-rule' prove as nothing but the gimmicks of vote-bank polity.
And then, how our leaders delude their convictions is equally astonishing. Having a cozy style of living, from palatial houses to expensive healthcare, globe-trotting to NRK life partners, the noisy symbols of 'achievable nationhood' and 'third option' have failed to prove the conviction of being wedded to the struggle, to the suffering masses, and to the numerous half-widows and orphans. Again, a camouflage of convictions has been the slippery ground for all the heat it has generated, and for all the moments of absurd theater it has provided.
Our intellectuals seem immersed in the sea of swindling. Rather than the hard and solitary work of writing and thinking and achieving an output that far overshadows their cheap publicity, they have succumbed to mediocre culture, haranguing aimlessly on stages and podiums than arguing their ideas in books or in the pages of magazines or newspapers.
We also have a creed of apparently broad-minded fellows, who swank their 'knowledge' at every occasion, but ultimately turn out to be the petty obstructionists who leave no stone unturned to gag the minds and mouths of others by raising trivial objections. They are actually the people with a yellow streak and sham high ground.
Our current crop of young generation is absolutely ignorant about the meaning of conviction. Goalless and confused, they are trapped in the miasma of western impressions. Their worldview is bereft of any conviction, and their world itself is quite a godless midget.
There is nothing new about all this. We seem destined to hurl anathemas at each other, for the very disgusting and deceptive acts of ours. The high point is that we don't have courage of conviction. We cannot concede our faltering. We cannot acknowledge our misdoings.
A weary and weird state of affairs around, does call for some kind of redemption. A quest is to be made. The grim and pessimistic journey through the abyss has to have an end. We cannot resurrect our past glory. We can, however, try to locate our history profoundly and get connected with our roots. By this, the best ever moral lessons can be unearthed for the heady ideas and convictions to rule us and our dealings.
Should Government Salary be Hiked and why are Kashmiris only Dependent on Government Salaries?
Two reports - one by Arjimand, and the other by the Greater Kashmir - describe the Catch-22 situation in Kashmir where sarkari naukari is the only highway to good life
(Mr. Arjimand Hussain Talib, 34, is from Srinagar and matriculated from Tyndale Biscoe Memorial School in 1991. He subsequently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Bangalore University. He is also an alumni of the International Academy for Leadership, Gummerbach, Germany. Arjimand writes regular weekly columns for the Greater Kashmir and The Kashmir Times since 2000 on diverse issues of political economy, development, environment and social change and has over 450 published articles to his credit. His forthcoming book: "Confronting the Myths: A Critical Analysis of the Political Economy of Jammu & Kashmir" will be published soon.)
Where is the Money?
We seem to be living in some very interesting times. The war of world’s major economic philosophies is perhaps at its crescendo. Market-driven capitalism – largely led by the United States – has been made to look stupid by the on-going global economic downturn. Socialism seems to be grinning, quietly making its way to the bastions of capitalism again, though not in totality.
Today, China seems to be saying: look we told you so always. Europe is saying: see we told you always welfare state is not so outdated. The Americans seem shouting back: OK fine, we agree we were not always so right! Interpret it in whatever way, the fact is that lakhs of people are losing jobs around the world at a rate which is unheard of in recent times.
In these interesting times, what a State like ours – which has lived through one of the most radical forms of socialism - would have to say? Perhaps something like this: see we always said socialism is not that bad. See, we always said jobs in the private sector are not that secure. See, we always said government jobs would ultimately prevail!
The entire debate surrounding the global economic downturn has some unmistakable linkages with the salary hike issue of our government employees. Chief Minister and his finance officials are trying their best to make New Delhi understand why it was important for the latter to fund the hike. They seem to be drawing inferences from the current global fashion of bailouts, right from big banks to multinational corporations. New Delhi looks unimpressed.
So far all that New Delhi has committed to is ‘help’ our State in exploring ways and means in generating greater revenue to fund the hike. To say the least, a salary hike for the government employees is long overdue. The current rate of retail inflation – the official inflation reflects only wholesale inflation – is just impossible to live with. With the kind of salary government officials draw makes meeting of two ends impossible. But the question is wherefrom would the money come for this hike?
Let us try to understand our situation this way. J&K State is akin to a joint family, which is a classic case of aamdani athani, kharcha rupayya. Let us assume our State is a joint family of 30 people: father, mother, three unmarried daughters and ten sons – all with their own set of complex aspirations. Five sons are married and live with their five wives and ten children. Only five of the sons earn – the total monthly income being Rs 25,000. The family’s expenditure is around Rs 2 lakhs. To meet this, we borrow Rs 75,000.
We have assets which could have given us great income – somewhere around Rs 10 lakhs. But a powerful neighbour of ours controls them. So he gives us Rs 1 lakhs to cover our expenses – on grounds of “generosity”. We already have a long-standing debt – at a staggering Rs 20 lakhs. Payment of interest to our creditors every month is a must. So from our total income of Rs 2 lakhs, we end up giving about Rs 40,000 to them. Our debt is never re-paid actually. One big reason for that is that the family spares almost nothing to invest. So income remains static and limited.
There are many other interesting facets to this story. Five of the 30 members of our family are totally jobless. There are another ten, who are employed by the father for taking care of the household issues (read government employees). The family elder has a commitment to the family: ten people in all circumstances would get secure salaries from the family income - Rs 50,000 every month. The irony is not that the other five jobless are hardly asked to move out, earn and contribute to the family’s income.
The family is today faced with a serious problem. Its ten self-employed members are demanding a salary hike, for which the family needs an additional Rs 10,000. If not granted, there might be a rebellion. The problem is that there is no money.
The house is already in a shambles. Repair for the house alone needs Rs 10 lakhs every year, which never come. Five married sons demand face lift to their rooms. New bathrooms need to be built. The roof is damaged and needs urgent care. The family’s approach road to the outside world is in a shambles. So whenever family spends on the house maintenance it does not generate more income for it. The money spent simply goes to the hired service providers.
The family’s children require more money for education. But there is a problem: whatever their education, they have been assured since their birth that they need not to go outside and earn. The family will take care of their salaries; in return of their allegiance to the family head.
The options before the family are limited. It has either to ask the ten unemployed members to go out, earn and make money, or the elder has to demand from the neighbour a return of its assets. If assets are back, funding salary hike won’t be a problem. Or it has to be more creative and invest to make money in the long term, something it has never done. The easiest option is to borrow. More borrowing means more debt. And more debt means more from the family income will go into debt servicing. So would the family finally make a break from the traditions of the past? Send its sons to work? Invest?
Its looks a pity that from building a hospital to implementing Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, our Chief Minister requires to travel to New Delhi to get some money. The Planning Commission of India has given some tough advice to the State: resort to some greater taxation to generate more revenue. But is more taxation really an option? Where are the economic activities which are outside of the tax net? Why not revenue-oriented investment?
For our 4.5 lakh government employees, salary hike would need about Rs 1700 crore annually. Whenever implemented, its retrospective effect from January 2006 would need Rs 3,800 crore. Our annual salary bill today is around Rs 2700 crore. Almost forty per cent of this half goes into paying salaries of police alone.
Today J&K’s total debt stands at Rs 13,000 crore, which is piling up every passing year. We pay about Rs 1500 crore in debt servicing alone. That means our debt/State Domestic Product (SDP) ratio works out to around 75 per cent, which is too bad.
The fact is that we continue to live with a serious development deficit, because our economic philosophy is faulty. We can have two options: either live with lower taxes, smaller government and deregulation, or have a big government, higher taxes and tight State control – something we have now.
For now it seems we have no other option other than to tax further to make salary hike indeed possible. And that would only compound our economic catastrophe
Why is Govt the largest employer in JK?
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government employs nearly 4 lakh persons, a ratio of 34.6 employees for every thousand persons. Every year the government pays Rs 5000 crores as salary to its employees.
Officials say though the present government has not yet chalked out any plan for new creations and employment, the previous government had promised some 70,000 more jobs.
“The present government has not stated anything about new creations and we don’t know its mind about government jobs. But the fact is, in the given situation where we have no private sector investment, government jobs seem to be the only solution,” a senior official said.
“It is sad. But in Jammu and Kashmir government is considered to be the only employer. Elsewhere in the world the government employs people to run administration. Here it employs to create employment,” says former Finance minister, Muzaffer Hussain Baig.
He argues that people could earn a lot in sectors like poultry and sheep-breeding but no one comes forward to develop these sectors, making the government jobs only alternative.
In May 2008, the Ghulam Nabi Azad government announced creation of 70,000 jobs in the state. The officials of the Employment department say there are 3 lakh educated unemployed youth in the state. “The people usually now don’t come for registration in the employment exchanges as it is not mandatory under new guidelines of the Apex Court. But rough estimate is around 3 lakh,” said an official.
The Rajasthan government employs about 6 lakh persons. But it is about five-and-a-half times bigger than Jammu and Kashmir in terms of population.
Baig argues that government jobs would remain in demand unless people here develop entrepreneur temperament despite the state having locational disadvantage for investment.
However, Shakeel Qalander, president Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir disagrees. He cites the example of closure of veneer and ply-board industrial units. The Industries department had registered 85 such units in Kashmir valley, employing nearly 5000 people. However before registration of the units the Industries department had to seek clearance from the Central Empowered Committee. Following October 10, 2002 order of the Apex Court, the state government had to conduct a survey about the raw material used for making veneer and ply board. For the past seven years the Forest and Industries departments have failed to figure out who has to conduct the survey.
Qalandar says the state government should have conducted the survey and then pleaded before the CEC that the veneer and ply board industry of Kashmir had nothing to do with the forests but instead poplar, an agriculture product, was being used as raw material. But the government failed to do it and instead decided to close down the units. “This bureaucratic inefficiency renders private sector vulnerable and forces people to prefer government jobs,” says Qalandar.
But senior officials in the government describe the closure as isolated incident and argue that it should not be construed as yardstick. They say there are hundreds of units in other sectors that were closed down by the unit holders after getting subsidies. “The government job has become an additional income resource for most of the government employees making it lucrative among educated youth of the state,” says an official. He said government jobs have become so lucrative that those who are already in it demand enhancement in retirement age to retain “benefits of doing nothing and getting salary.”
The entrepreneurs however say the government has not created necessary infrastructure to build a strong private sector. The raw material, they argue, is being sent outside the state and by design Kashmir has been turned into a consumer economy. “It is such a consumer economy where it is not getting benefit of being a consumer even,” said an entrepreneur. He said whenever the infrastructure has been raised, the state has done it for its benefit and if people get benefit of the infrastructure they get it by chance of being in the vicinity.
Baig however refuses to buy the argument. He says when the government tried to build infrastructure in Gulmarg it was not allowed to do so. “Had it happened, we would have hosted international games here but it didn’t happen because some people made an issue of it,” he said.
However, the former Finance minister, Tariq Hamid Qarra, said the scarcity of power in the state was major stumbling block. He said the lack of power was making investment difficult. “There have been examples when investors left the state due to power scarcity,” he said. He argues unless the state was not compensated on account of the Indus Water Treaty and it is not made self-reliant in power the private sector investment would not come to Kashmir and the government has to be only employer.
State does well, still
Economists say that in spite of reliance on government jobs, the state does quite well in terms of socio-economic development. The literacy level (64.8%) is almost at par with the national level (65.4%). Its sex ratio (923/1000) is nearly at par with the national average (933/1000). The birth rate (19.9/1000) is lower than the national average (25.8). The death rate (5.4/1000) is also lower than the national average (8.5/1000). The infant mortality rate (45/1000) is also superior to the national average (68/1000). The official per capita income of Jammu and Kashmir is Rs. 12,399 and is lower than India’s Rs.16,707. But it is much better than Bihar’s Rs. 5108 or Orissa’s Rs. 8547. In the last 10 years JK’s poverty level has dropped from 25.17% to a mere 3.48%. The poverty level in India still hovers around 26%.
But, they say, there are hardly any public works contributing to the common good and higher productivity to show. Roads are in a terrible condition, the power situation is miserable. There is no public sanitation worth the name.
(Mr. Arjimand Hussain Talib, 34, is from Srinagar and matriculated from Tyndale Biscoe Memorial School in 1991. He subsequently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Bangalore University. He is also an alumni of the International Academy for Leadership, Gummerbach, Germany. Arjimand writes regular weekly columns for the Greater Kashmir and The Kashmir Times since 2000 on diverse issues of political economy, development, environment and social change and has over 450 published articles to his credit. His forthcoming book: "Confronting the Myths: A Critical Analysis of the Political Economy of Jammu & Kashmir" will be published soon.)
Where is the Money?
We seem to be living in some very interesting times. The war of world’s major economic philosophies is perhaps at its crescendo. Market-driven capitalism – largely led by the United States – has been made to look stupid by the on-going global economic downturn. Socialism seems to be grinning, quietly making its way to the bastions of capitalism again, though not in totality.
Today, China seems to be saying: look we told you so always. Europe is saying: see we told you always welfare state is not so outdated. The Americans seem shouting back: OK fine, we agree we were not always so right! Interpret it in whatever way, the fact is that lakhs of people are losing jobs around the world at a rate which is unheard of in recent times.
In these interesting times, what a State like ours – which has lived through one of the most radical forms of socialism - would have to say? Perhaps something like this: see we always said socialism is not that bad. See, we always said jobs in the private sector are not that secure. See, we always said government jobs would ultimately prevail!
The entire debate surrounding the global economic downturn has some unmistakable linkages with the salary hike issue of our government employees. Chief Minister and his finance officials are trying their best to make New Delhi understand why it was important for the latter to fund the hike. They seem to be drawing inferences from the current global fashion of bailouts, right from big banks to multinational corporations. New Delhi looks unimpressed.
So far all that New Delhi has committed to is ‘help’ our State in exploring ways and means in generating greater revenue to fund the hike. To say the least, a salary hike for the government employees is long overdue. The current rate of retail inflation – the official inflation reflects only wholesale inflation – is just impossible to live with. With the kind of salary government officials draw makes meeting of two ends impossible. But the question is wherefrom would the money come for this hike?
Let us try to understand our situation this way. J&K State is akin to a joint family, which is a classic case of aamdani athani, kharcha rupayya. Let us assume our State is a joint family of 30 people: father, mother, three unmarried daughters and ten sons – all with their own set of complex aspirations. Five sons are married and live with their five wives and ten children. Only five of the sons earn – the total monthly income being Rs 25,000. The family’s expenditure is around Rs 2 lakhs. To meet this, we borrow Rs 75,000.
We have assets which could have given us great income – somewhere around Rs 10 lakhs. But a powerful neighbour of ours controls them. So he gives us Rs 1 lakhs to cover our expenses – on grounds of “generosity”. We already have a long-standing debt – at a staggering Rs 20 lakhs. Payment of interest to our creditors every month is a must. So from our total income of Rs 2 lakhs, we end up giving about Rs 40,000 to them. Our debt is never re-paid actually. One big reason for that is that the family spares almost nothing to invest. So income remains static and limited.
There are many other interesting facets to this story. Five of the 30 members of our family are totally jobless. There are another ten, who are employed by the father for taking care of the household issues (read government employees). The family elder has a commitment to the family: ten people in all circumstances would get secure salaries from the family income - Rs 50,000 every month. The irony is not that the other five jobless are hardly asked to move out, earn and contribute to the family’s income.
The family is today faced with a serious problem. Its ten self-employed members are demanding a salary hike, for which the family needs an additional Rs 10,000. If not granted, there might be a rebellion. The problem is that there is no money.
The house is already in a shambles. Repair for the house alone needs Rs 10 lakhs every year, which never come. Five married sons demand face lift to their rooms. New bathrooms need to be built. The roof is damaged and needs urgent care. The family’s approach road to the outside world is in a shambles. So whenever family spends on the house maintenance it does not generate more income for it. The money spent simply goes to the hired service providers.
The family’s children require more money for education. But there is a problem: whatever their education, they have been assured since their birth that they need not to go outside and earn. The family will take care of their salaries; in return of their allegiance to the family head.
The options before the family are limited. It has either to ask the ten unemployed members to go out, earn and make money, or the elder has to demand from the neighbour a return of its assets. If assets are back, funding salary hike won’t be a problem. Or it has to be more creative and invest to make money in the long term, something it has never done. The easiest option is to borrow. More borrowing means more debt. And more debt means more from the family income will go into debt servicing. So would the family finally make a break from the traditions of the past? Send its sons to work? Invest?
Its looks a pity that from building a hospital to implementing Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, our Chief Minister requires to travel to New Delhi to get some money. The Planning Commission of India has given some tough advice to the State: resort to some greater taxation to generate more revenue. But is more taxation really an option? Where are the economic activities which are outside of the tax net? Why not revenue-oriented investment?
For our 4.5 lakh government employees, salary hike would need about Rs 1700 crore annually. Whenever implemented, its retrospective effect from January 2006 would need Rs 3,800 crore. Our annual salary bill today is around Rs 2700 crore. Almost forty per cent of this half goes into paying salaries of police alone.
Today J&K’s total debt stands at Rs 13,000 crore, which is piling up every passing year. We pay about Rs 1500 crore in debt servicing alone. That means our debt/State Domestic Product (SDP) ratio works out to around 75 per cent, which is too bad.
The fact is that we continue to live with a serious development deficit, because our economic philosophy is faulty. We can have two options: either live with lower taxes, smaller government and deregulation, or have a big government, higher taxes and tight State control – something we have now.
For now it seems we have no other option other than to tax further to make salary hike indeed possible. And that would only compound our economic catastrophe
Why is Govt the largest employer in JK?
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government employs nearly 4 lakh persons, a ratio of 34.6 employees for every thousand persons. Every year the government pays Rs 5000 crores as salary to its employees.
Officials say though the present government has not yet chalked out any plan for new creations and employment, the previous government had promised some 70,000 more jobs.
“The present government has not stated anything about new creations and we don’t know its mind about government jobs. But the fact is, in the given situation where we have no private sector investment, government jobs seem to be the only solution,” a senior official said.
“It is sad. But in Jammu and Kashmir government is considered to be the only employer. Elsewhere in the world the government employs people to run administration. Here it employs to create employment,” says former Finance minister, Muzaffer Hussain Baig.
He argues that people could earn a lot in sectors like poultry and sheep-breeding but no one comes forward to develop these sectors, making the government jobs only alternative.
In May 2008, the Ghulam Nabi Azad government announced creation of 70,000 jobs in the state. The officials of the Employment department say there are 3 lakh educated unemployed youth in the state. “The people usually now don’t come for registration in the employment exchanges as it is not mandatory under new guidelines of the Apex Court. But rough estimate is around 3 lakh,” said an official.
The Rajasthan government employs about 6 lakh persons. But it is about five-and-a-half times bigger than Jammu and Kashmir in terms of population.
Baig argues that government jobs would remain in demand unless people here develop entrepreneur temperament despite the state having locational disadvantage for investment.
However, Shakeel Qalander, president Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir disagrees. He cites the example of closure of veneer and ply-board industrial units. The Industries department had registered 85 such units in Kashmir valley, employing nearly 5000 people. However before registration of the units the Industries department had to seek clearance from the Central Empowered Committee. Following October 10, 2002 order of the Apex Court, the state government had to conduct a survey about the raw material used for making veneer and ply board. For the past seven years the Forest and Industries departments have failed to figure out who has to conduct the survey.
Qalandar says the state government should have conducted the survey and then pleaded before the CEC that the veneer and ply board industry of Kashmir had nothing to do with the forests but instead poplar, an agriculture product, was being used as raw material. But the government failed to do it and instead decided to close down the units. “This bureaucratic inefficiency renders private sector vulnerable and forces people to prefer government jobs,” says Qalandar.
But senior officials in the government describe the closure as isolated incident and argue that it should not be construed as yardstick. They say there are hundreds of units in other sectors that were closed down by the unit holders after getting subsidies. “The government job has become an additional income resource for most of the government employees making it lucrative among educated youth of the state,” says an official. He said government jobs have become so lucrative that those who are already in it demand enhancement in retirement age to retain “benefits of doing nothing and getting salary.”
The entrepreneurs however say the government has not created necessary infrastructure to build a strong private sector. The raw material, they argue, is being sent outside the state and by design Kashmir has been turned into a consumer economy. “It is such a consumer economy where it is not getting benefit of being a consumer even,” said an entrepreneur. He said whenever the infrastructure has been raised, the state has done it for its benefit and if people get benefit of the infrastructure they get it by chance of being in the vicinity.
Baig however refuses to buy the argument. He says when the government tried to build infrastructure in Gulmarg it was not allowed to do so. “Had it happened, we would have hosted international games here but it didn’t happen because some people made an issue of it,” he said.
However, the former Finance minister, Tariq Hamid Qarra, said the scarcity of power in the state was major stumbling block. He said the lack of power was making investment difficult. “There have been examples when investors left the state due to power scarcity,” he said. He argues unless the state was not compensated on account of the Indus Water Treaty and it is not made self-reliant in power the private sector investment would not come to Kashmir and the government has to be only employer.
State does well, still
Economists say that in spite of reliance on government jobs, the state does quite well in terms of socio-economic development. The literacy level (64.8%) is almost at par with the national level (65.4%). Its sex ratio (923/1000) is nearly at par with the national average (933/1000). The birth rate (19.9/1000) is lower than the national average (25.8). The death rate (5.4/1000) is also lower than the national average (8.5/1000). The infant mortality rate (45/1000) is also superior to the national average (68/1000). The official per capita income of Jammu and Kashmir is Rs. 12,399 and is lower than India’s Rs.16,707. But it is much better than Bihar’s Rs. 5108 or Orissa’s Rs. 8547. In the last 10 years JK’s poverty level has dropped from 25.17% to a mere 3.48%. The poverty level in India still hovers around 26%.
But, they say, there are hardly any public works contributing to the common good and higher productivity to show. Roads are in a terrible condition, the power situation is miserable. There is no public sanitation worth the name.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
