#JAMMU: The #Jammu and #Kashmir #HighCourt on Thursday fixed April 30 for the final hearing in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging absolute powers of the Lieutenant Governor to nominate five MLAs to the #Jammu and #Kashmir Legislative #Assembly.

The PIL filed by Advocate Ravinder Sharma, Ex-MLC and Chief Spokesperson #JKPCC came up on Thursday before the special Division Bench Comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Rajesh Sekhri.

The Petitioner Ravinder Sharma, who appeared in person, pointed out to the bench that no reply had been filed by the respondents despite numerous opportunities and requested for an early hearing in the matter, which was of great public importance.

Upon this, the bench directed the matter to be listed on April 30 for a final hearing, observing that no further opportunities are to be granted, if the pleadings are not completed before the next date of hearing. Meanwhile, Advocate S S Ahmed also appeared on behalf of applicants Ravinder Singh and Gurdev Singh, requesting the court to allow their request to intervene.

The PIL will now come up on April 30 and be heard finally, even if no reply is filed from the other side before that date. According to amended Section 15 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Lieutenant Governor has the power to nominate five members- two women, two Kashmiri Pandits, and one Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (#POJK) resident – to the J&K Assembly.

These five nominated members will have the same powers and voting rights as other MLAs of the J&K Legislative Assembly

PVC Card Type RCs to be issued first time in J&K; Pending DLs to be cleared in 90 days

#JAMMU: Minister for Transport, Satish Sharma, today inaugurated Centralized Driving License and Registration Certificate Printing Centre at Transport Commissioner Office, Jammu for printing of DLs and RCs.

While inaugurating, the Minister said that this is the first time in the history of J&K that PVC Card type RCs will be issued to the vehicle owners. He said that the pending DLs will be cleared in 90 days.

The Minister appreciated the efforts of MVD in providing rapid services to the public and expeditious redressal of their grievances.

The Minister also highlighted the achievement of Motor Vehicles Department like providing of Rs 5 lakh subsidy for replacement of old, polluting buses/mini buses; issuance of Aggregator Licenses under which licenses have been issued including national players also like OLA and Uber; Modern Institute of Drivers Training & Research (IDTR) and Automated Vehicle Inspection & Certificate Centre (ICC) are near completion at Kot Bhawal, Jammu and Samba respectively.

Satish Sharma further  highlighted the forthcoming initiatives of MVD under MoRTH guidelines. These included Automated Testing Station (ATS) under which Preliminary Registration Certificates have been issued to JKRTC for establishment of ATS at Jammu and Kashmir Valley; Vehicle Location Tracking Platform (VLTP) under Nirbhaya Framework for safety and security of women and children in Public Transport Vehicles; Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) for which J&K RVSF Policy is at the final stage of Notification under which old, obsolete, end of life vehicles shall be scrapped in a scientific and non-polluting manner; Accredited Drivers Training Centre (ADTC) which shall provide both theory and practical training to the aspiring drivers, after successful completion of which, the Driving Skill Test shall be exempted for issuance of DL by the RTO/ARTO.

The Minister said that DL/RC Printing Center at Srinagar would be made functional within 30 days to clear the backlog printing of DLs.

The Minister also appreciated the efforts of the Department for revising J&K Road Safety Policy. He directed all the stakeholders to adhere to road safety measures according to J&K Road Policy-2025, in order to reduce number of road accidents to 50% by 2030.

The event was attended by Niraj Kumar, Secretary, Transport; Vishesh Paul Mahajan, Transport Commissioner; Arun Kishore Kotwal, Additional Transport Commissioner; Jasmeet Singh, RTO Jammu; representatives of vendor and staff member of TC Office.

#JAMMU: In #Jammu and #Kashmir, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today informed the Legislative Assembly that his government has planned to fill 7253 vacancies, both Gazetted and Non-Gazetted by the end of the year.

CM also stated that 11 thousand and 526 selections have been made across these categories over the past two years. The CM, who holds the charge of General Administration Department (GAD), specified that 1502 Gazetted vacancies and 5751 Non-Gazetted vacancies are targeted for recruitment this year.

Responding to a query raised by MLA Satish Kumar Sharma, he provided a breakdown of the total 32 thousand and 474 vacancies across 38 government departments as on January 31, 2025 include 2503 Gazetted posts, 19 thousand and 214 Non-Gazetted posts and 10 thousand and 757 Class-IV (MTS) posts.

The Chief Minister outlined various measures undertaken to address these vacancies: 13 thousand and 466 Non-Gazetted vacancies were referred to J&K Services Selection Board #(JKSSB) in the past two years, with 9351 selections already completed. 2390 Gazetted vacancies were referred to J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC), resulting in 2175 selections over the same period.

10 thousand and 757 Class-IV (MTS) vacancies have been identified across departments and are under Finance Department scrutiny before being referred for recruitment. More than 6 thousand vacancies are ready for referral and will be sent to recruiting agencies shortly the CM said.

To ensure faster and more transparent recruitment, the CM said, the government has abolished interviews for posts up to Pay Level 5 through SO 180, dated 28.05.2020.

The CM said all Administrative Departments have been directed to refer available vacancies to recruiting agencies without delays. The CM emphasized that the J&K Public Service Commission and JKSSB have been directed to adopt a proactive, target-based approach for timely recruitment.

Commits to reduce road accidents, fatalities by 50% by 2030

#JAMMU: Aiming prevention of accidents and fatalities on roads, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, notified “The Jammu and Kashmir Road Safety Policy -2025”.

In an official notification issued in this regard, it was stated that the road transport is the most effective mode of transportation in J&K and the government recognises that the road safety demands an integrated and holistic approach to tackle road safety issues in the UT.

Highlighting the need to frame new Road Safety Policy, the notification briefed that there were over 22.66 lakh registered vehicles in J&K. During the year 2022, 6092 road accidents were reported in the UT in which 805 people lost their lives whereas in year 2023, 6298 accidents were reported and 893 people lost their lives.

As per data, 40% of all the accidents have occurred in districts of Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua. Accidental data analysis shows that number of accidents and fatality rate needs to be brought down making it imperative to promote preventive strategy for road safety.

Keeping in view the above data, the government with a vision to achieve the goal of reduction in road accidents as well as fatalities by 50% by 2030, reiterates its commitment to bring significant reduction in road accidents in J&K in   coordination with all stakeholders and government agencies.

It is further said that the government will create an effective institutional mechanism to strengthen the road safety measures  besides providing necessary support structure to enable each institution to play its role effectively.

The government will promote awareness regarding road safety among the key decision makers and government departments responsible for making provision of safer roads.  The initiative will facilitate them for planning and promoting road safety involving Motor Vehicles Department, Traffic Police and citizens through effective involvement of print, electronic and social media for creating awareness on Road Safety by highlighting the consequences of road accidents.

In the new Road Safety Policy, the institutional arrangements have been strengthened by constituting the State Road Safety Council which shall be headed by the Minister In-charge Transport and a lead agency headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Transport Commissioner.

The government will ensure that best practices are incorporated and  accident prevention and reduction strategies are adopted in a big way.

DRDCs shall conduct regular identification of accident-prone areas/black spots on the basis of accident intensity and severity after every six months. The corrective actions within six months for the identified accident-prone areas/black spots through proper planning design and construction techniques will be done.

The government will also establish an accountability mechanism for defaulting contractors and consultants regarding poorly constructed and maintained roads, including a process for black listing them.

The notification said that Development Authorities have already been entrusted with a responsibility to create more parking spaces. Parking policy will be notified to impress upon the vehicle owners to have parking space before vehicle is purchased. Further Municipal/Development authorities should charge for road side parking with charges increasing exponentially with time.

In order to reduce pressure on roads, the government will adopt innovative features to encourage use of Public Transport System instead of Private Transport System.

The government will also bring into effect a Non-Motorized Transport policy for J&K to specifically recognise the rights of non-motorised road users.

Expressing satisfaction with the Road Safety Policy 2025, Transport Minister, Satish Sharma, asserted that new policy will improve the quality of traffic enforcement in J&K in close coordination with J&K Traffic Police and Motor Vehicles Department.

He said that the government will ensure that the enforcement agencies are adequately trained and equipped to undertake their functions more effectively and professionally.

Nearly, 454 artisans registered for artisan card in Constituency

The government has sponsored 93 MICRO Industrial Units besides facilitating 34 units under PMEGP and JKREGP schemes for employment generation in Padder-Nagseni Constituency in the 2024-25 fiscal.

Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Choudhary, informed this while replying to a question raised by Sunil Kumar Sharma in the Legislative Assembly.

He informed that the department has registered the pass out trainees as Weavers and Artisans, held six awareness camps, registered 78 Artisans for Artisan Cards and 55 for Pehchan Card for availing benefits under various schemes, helping their on-boarding on e-commerce platforms.

The Minister said that the Entrepreneurship Awareness Programmes (EAPs) have been organized and 12 candidates from Padder Nagseni Constituency have been provided capacity building under the Hausla Programme in the current financial year. Besides, 2137 applications have been received under the Vishwakarma scheme.

 He informed that 329 artisans and 125 weavers have been registered in Padder-Nagseni Constituency who can avail benefit of the schemes being implemented by the department under Artisan cards.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that various schemes are being implemented by the department to support the local handicrafts, particularly Pashmina weaving and other traditional crafts in the Constituency.

He said that the facilities included 10 sanctioned training centres in Kishtwar district which provide training in various crafts viz; Crewel, Staple, Sozni, Carpet weaving, wheat Straw Craft and Handloom Weaving, of which, 01 training centre of Wheat Straw Craft is functional in the Padder-Nagseni Constituency. He added that besides training programmes, the department facilitates handholding of the weavers and the artisans through Credit Card Scheme 2020, Weaver Mudra Scheme, Karkhandar Scheme 2021, registration of cooperatives under Financial Support scheme and other initiatives.

 The Deputy Chief Minister said that 27 cases have been sponsored to various banks from Padder- Nagseni Constituency, of which, 15 cases have been sanctioned till date. He added that 03 cases have been sponsored to various banks under the Weavers MUDRA Scheme 2015 during the past three years.

He said that about 14 Cooperatives have been registered from the Padder sub division covering 154 artisans/weavers under the Financial Support Scheme for Cooperatives of Handicrafts and Handloom Department during the past three years. These artisans/weavers were practicing various traditional crafts viz; mix embroidery, stone jewellery, crewel embroidery, wheat straw crafts and weaving. An amount of Rs. 7.00 lakh has been disbursed among these cooperatives till date as first installment, he added.

He said that the department has also facilitated the participation of 04 Industrial Handicrafts Cooperatives from Padder Nagseni in National Level Exhibitions and 02 Industrial Handicrafts Cooperative Societies in Bhaderwah Fest, while 02 crafts viz; Kishtwari Loi and Wheat Straw Products are under submission to NABARD.

He added that a patch of land measuring 8 kanal has been identified at Matti, Padder for promotion of the Hotel Industry.

#JAMMU: The district administration Jammu has rescued nine homeless children from different parts of the #JammuCity in the past two days.

Three children in the street situation were rescued from the Gole Market area today during a rescue drive. The drive is being conducted to rescue children forced in begging, rag-picking and child labour.

Earlier yesterday, the District Task Force conducted a similar drive in Talab Tillo. Six children engaged in begging and rag-picking were rescued from the area. Among them were three boys and three girls. They were handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for rehabilitation.

All the rescued children have been placed in shelter homes, where they will receive proper care and support.

The district administration has urged the public to report cases of child labour and begging. Citizens can call or message on WhatsApp at 7006161996.

#JAMMU: In #Jammu and #Kashmir the Government has decided to allocate Rs. 3 crore annually for each Member of the Legislative Assembly (#MLA) under the Constituency Development Fund (#CDF) scheme.

That this decision, will enable MLAs to recommend and oversee the implementation of key development projects in their constituencies.

The funds will be used to support infrastructure development, public welfare projects, and essential services, with a clear focus on ensuring the timely completion of all approved works. The Finance Department has issued a detailed circular outlining the guidelines for the implementation of the CDF scheme.

Under these guidelines, each MLA can propose development works worth up to ₹3 crore annually to the District Development Commissioner (DDC) for execution in their constituency. Additionally, nominated MLAs have the flexibility to recommend projects in any part of the Union Territory. Projects under the CDF must be completed within one year. In areas with limited working seasons, such as high-altitude regions, the DDC, with the MLA’s approval, may extend the timeline, allowing work to be completed within two working seasons, but not exceeding two years.

The scheme encourages MLAs to recommend projects with costs not exceeding ₹10 lakh per work, although higher-value projects may be considered for certain infrastructure investments, provided they are completed within the specified time.

The fund will also support the construction of roads, irrigation facilities, power infrastructure, and housing upgrades for the underprivileged. Certain projects will not be eligible for funding under the CDF, including office or residential buildings for government departments, memorials, creation of posts, or any kind of revenue expenditure.

The funds will not be used for works related to places of worship either.

#JAMMU: In #Jammu and #Kashmir the government on Tuesday said that around 50 thousand #graduates passed out in the last two years while around 11 thousand selections were made by #JKPSC and #JKSSB during the period.

Replying to the question of Chandar Prakash Ganga, the Minister concerned said that 25 thousand and 428 and 23 thousand and 926 graduates passed out in 2023 and 2024 respectively while the selections made by JKPSC and JKSSB in the same period are 2175 and 9351 respectively.

So, a total of 49 thousand and 354 graduates passed out while 11 thousand and 526 selections were made in the last two years. In the private sector, the employment generated in the industrial sector in 2022-23 is 15 thousand and 719 and 29 thousand and 969 in 2023-24.

The Minister informed under private employment generated through self-employment and livelihood schemes, from the last four years, a total of 9.58 lakh self-employment livelihood opportunities have been generated through schemes like Mumkin, Tejaswini, PMEGP, REGP etc. Under MGNREGA, 3.01 Crore person-days were generated upto January 2025, which provided employment to 8.07 lakh households, the Minister said.