Srinagar: Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture Production Department (APD), Atal Dulloo Friday chaired a meeting at the civil secretariat to devise a roadmap for implementing the A-Help Programme (Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production) in J&K.

An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that the meeting was attended by the Secretary of Agriculture Production Department, Representative of Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Gol, Representative of Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, GoI, Director Sheep Husbandry Kashmir/Jammu, Special Secretary Agriculture Production Department, Managing Director JK Rural Livelihood Mission, Director Animal Husbandry Kashmir/Jammu, Director Finance Agriculture Production Department, Deputy Director Planning Agriculture Production Department, Technical Officer of Agriculture Production Department and other officers. Jammu-based officers attended the meeting through Video Conferencing.

While chairing the meeting, Atal Dullo highlighted that the dovetailing and synergizing efforts of the Department of Animal husbandry & Dairying (DAHD) & Department of Rural Development (DoRD) especially in the context of the common objective of helping the farmers will go a long way in helping the farmers double their income. He directed the concerned officers to work in a coordinated manner so that a well-defined road map is prepared for the successful implementation of A-Help in J&K.

Atal Dulloo said that the success of the A-HELP scheme will depend on how well the scheme is implemented and monitored and said, therefore, well-defined yet flexible and participatory institutional structures will be put in place at all levels.

A-HELP is being implemented across the country by using the existing cadre developed under DAY-NRLM for livestock (Pashusakhis) by providing further training and accreditation as A-HELP workers and will be inaugurated in J&K in October.

Jammu: Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta Friday chaired the 5th Governing Council Meeting of State Health Agency (SHA) and reviewed its performance regarding the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)/AB-PMJAY Sehat here in the UT.

An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that the meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Finance; Commissioner Secretary, Labour and Employment; Secretary, Health; Secretary, IT; Principals of Medical Colleges, Srinagar/Jammu; Directors of Health Kashmir/Jammu, Nodal Officer, SHA; SGNO, SHA; and other officers of the concerned Departments.

Jammu-based officers participated in the meeting through video conferencing.

Mehta impressed upon the officers to ensure that each person is facilitated to obtain the available benefits. He asked them to work on registering each person under the scheme so that the end person receives free medical care as envisaged under the scheme.

The Chief Secretary also emphasized upon the health authorities to work towards creating the health history of the patients starting from those of students in our schools. He urged them to make it convenient for every person to register for the scheme at his doorsteps. He maintained that the scheme should be saturated fully in both urban and rural areas.

He exhorted upon them to conduct the Governing body meetings quarterly for timely confirmation of intervening decisions taken during this period. He made out that both audit and accounting of the scheme should be strengthened at every level for maintaining transparency in the effective implementation of this welfare scheme.

Mehta advised the health agency to study the claims of other states to make the scheme more sustainable and promising for the beneficiaries. He asked them to work out the best sustainable model in consultation with different stakeholders for extending the maximum benefit to the needy patients of J&K.

The ACS, Finance made out that the administration did its best to extend the health benefits uninterruptedly to the people. He reiterated that the administration endeavors to devise a policy that is in the best interest of the people.

In this meeting, the Council approved SHA for introducing ‘e-RUPI Concept’ as a pilot project in selected Tertiary Care hospitals in J&K. It was given out that the primary objective of using e-RUPI is reducing out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) borne by the beneficiaries on diagnostic tests not performed in these government-run health facilities.

The meeting was informed that among the 196149 received claims amounting to Rs 353.74 crore, 147180 claims amounting to Rs 236.84 crore had already been disbursed with 35536 claims under the process at various EHCPs.

It was further revealed that 25.74 lakh eligible beneficiary families have been insured for the current policy period. It was given out that a premium amount of Rs 1840 per family is paid by the government to provide free health care in 209 local hospitals (118 public plus 91 private) to our population across the 20 districts of J&K. Highest average claim size of Rs 18004 has been registered in this policy period from 15th of March to 31st August this year, as was informed in the meeting.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the Congress, veteran leader Karan Singh on Friday said his relations with the grand old party are almost zero.

“I had joined Congress in 1967. But in the last 8-10 years, I am no more in Parliament. I was dropped from the working committee. Yes, I am in Congress but there is no contact, nobody asks me anything. I do my own work. My relations with the party are almost zero now,” Singh told ANI.

Singh’s statement sparked speculations about him leaving Congress.
Karan Singh, son of the last Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir Hari Singh, had been a Union Minister.

Last month, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from the party He has been Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008.

In his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, he had targeted party leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, over the way the party has been run in the past nearly nine years.

In the hard-hitting five-page letter, Azad had claimed that a coterie runs the party while Sonia Gandhi was just “a nominal head” and all the major decisions were taken by “Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs”.

Azad had said he was submitting his resignation with “great regret and an extremely leaden heart” and severing his 50-year association with the Congress. He was earlier Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

Recounting his long association with the Congress, Azad had said the situation in the party has reached a point of “no return.”

While Azad took potshots at Sonia Gandhi in the letter, his sharpest attack was on Rahul Gandhi and he described the Wayand MP as a “non-serious individual” and “immature”.

In his first public meeting in Jammu after quitting Congress, Azad had announced to launch of his own political outfit that will focus on the restoration of full statehood.

NEW DELHI, Sept 16: Peoples Conference leader Sajjad Lone wanted to be Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister just before the dissolution of the Assembly in 2018 although he had only six MLAs, the erstwhile State’s last Governor Satya Pal Malik has said.
Throwing light on behind-the-scenes political manoeuvring that preceded the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly by him in 2018, Malik, now the Governor of Meghalaya, described Lone as the “blue-eyed boy” of the Centre.
He said he had asked Lone to write to him about the support he enjoyed in the 87-member House. Lone said he had six MLAs but “told me if you administer me the oath, I will prove my majority in a week”.
Malik spoke of the circumstances in which he dissolved the Assembly in November 2018 although PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had staked claim to form a Government with the support of the Congress and the National Conference (NC).
The PDP-BJP Government headed by Mehbooba had earlier collapsed in June 2018 after the BJP pulled out of the coalition.
Malik said he had told Lone, “That is not the governor’s role and I will not do it. The Supreme Court will flog me. The next day the Supreme Court will say you summon the House. You will lose. I will not do this.”
The Governor said it seemed that the PDP-NC-Congress combine may have had a majority but “foolishly” they had not held a formal meeting or passed a resolution or given a letter of support “to the lady (Mehbooba)”.
Malik told “The Wire” in an interview that he had spoken to the then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley about the situation and sought directions from the Centre. He said he had told Jaitley that if he got a letter from Mehbooba Mufti staking claim to form the Government, “I am bound to call her for oath”.
The Centre had not given him any advice and told him to do what he thought was appropriate. He had then dissolved the Assembly in November 2018, Malik said.
Mehbooba Mufti wanted to reach the Governor’s house with the support of 56 MLAs which included the Congress and the NC, but the letter could not be delivered as the fax machine of the Raj Bhavan in Jammu was out of order. (Agencies)

JAMMU, Sept 16: Senior Congress leader Karan Singh has responded to the Jammu and Kashmir government declaring Maharaja Hari Singh’s birthday as a public holiday.
Karan Singh said, “I’m delighted. It happened after a lot of effort. I congratulate the young generation of Jammu that carried forward the efforts. They did it together,nobody opposed.”
“When my sons Ajatshatru and Vikramaditya were members of the Legislative Council, they had made the House pass a resolution about the holiday. Nobody carried it forward. I’d like to thank PM Modi, I too had written to him for it,” he added.
Earlier, Karan Singh, son of Maharaja Hari Singh, had endorsed the demand of the locals to declare 23 September a public holiday.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to declare Maharaja Hari Singh’s birth anniversary on 23 September as a public holiday, an official spokesman said on Thursday night.
A notification in this regard will be issued soon, he added.
The announcement was made by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha following his meeting with a delegation comprising prominent political leaders, members of Yuva Rajput Sabha, civil society members, including head of J-K transport union, at the Raj Bhavan on Thursday, the spokesman said.

NEW DELHI, Sept 16: Union MoS PMO Jitendra Singh while speaking at the Republic Bharat Summit on Friday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for bringing its development model in areas including peripheral territories such as North East and Jammu and Kashmir. During the address, Singh also complimented Modi government for walking the talk and making out-of-the-box decisions.
Recalling PM Modi’s determination of bringing grassroot democracy across the country, the Union MoS gave the example of Jammu and Kashmir. “The formation of Zila Parishad in Jammu and Kashmir took place after 70 years with PM Modi’s vision. Modi government showed Jammu and Kashmir what is the true meaning of self-rule,” he added.
“I think when you look back, the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has walked the talk. PM Modi’s strength and his capacity to take out-of-the-box decisions really helped the current government to work for the country in an extraordinary way,” Singh said.
“PM Modi-led government has trusted the youth of the government. In less than 3 years, we have more than 60 startups in the Space sector. Earlier, nobody had the courage to break the taboo,” the Union minister said. “India’s first manned space mission will possibly take place by 2024,” he informed. (Agencies)

Srinagar, Sep 16 (GNS): At least seven persons suffered injuries after a truck collided with a passenger cab in Behramgalla of Surankote area in Poonch district this afternoon.

Reports reaching GNS that a truck bearing registration number JK08F 7247 hit a Srinagar-bound Xylo vehicle (JK14C 2788) in Behramgalla Surankote area, resulting in injuries to seven persons.

The injured persons identified as; Raysat Khan, son of Mohd Younis, Mohd Razak son of Lal Khan,Tariq Khan son of Abdul Quyoom, Shabina wife of Mohd Bashrat, Saleema Bi wife of Mohd Sageer, Moheen Khan son of Imtayaz Khan and Mohd Bashrat son of Khan Mohd, all residents of Mendhar, were shifted to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment.

SHO Surankote Rajveer Singh told GNS that soon after receiving information, a team was moved to the spot and the injured persons shifted to the hospital for treatment. “We have registered a case into the incident for investigations”, the official further said. (GNS)

In a major decision, the Centre is set to grant land ownership rights to West Pakistan refugees (WPR) in Jammu and Kashmir.

After the abrogation of Article 370, the Centre has initiated an exercise through which the ownership rights will be granted to the WPRs over lands measuring 46,666 Kanals that were allotted to them before the abrogation of Article 370.

Officials said these lands are in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts and were allotted to the WPRs in 1954 after they migrated to the Indian side of the International Border.

“The Union Home Ministry officials have discussed the matter with the revenue department officials of J&K who have initiated the exercise,” official sources said.

When J&K had special status under Article 370 and 34A, the West Pakistan refugees could neither own land nor apply for government jobs as they were not state subjects of J&K.

After coming to power in the Centre, the BJP government had given Rs 5.5 lakh per family as compensation to West Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) refugees.

After Article 370 was scrapped, West Pakistan Refugees, POJK refugees, Gorkhas and Valmikis have been declared as domiciles of J&K.

The lands on which the ownership rights will be granted to these refugees exist in Akhnoor, R.S. Pura, Bishnah in Jammu district, in parts of Samba district and Hiranagar district.