Jammu & Kashmir

Srinagar, Feb 22 : Stating that the notified property tax rates in Jammu & Kashmir are lower than other States and Union Territories, the Jammu & Kashmir government on Wednesday said the tax implications are progressive in nature with minimum implication to small businesses and households.

In an informal interaction with journalists in Jammu, Principal Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, Rajesh Prasad said the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has notified the property tax with the aim to improve financial health of municipal bodies to enable them to provide better municipal services.

“Tax rates in UT of J&K are notified in such a way that tax implications are progressive in nature with minimum implication to small businesses and households,” he said, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

He further said J&K has notified lower property tax rates as compared to neighboring states/UT.

“Jammu & Kashmir is one of the last State/UT in India where property Tax was not imposed till date,” he said.

The bureaucrat said that property tax is linked with the stamp duty tax of an area, so property valuation of the different areas is captured differently. “A property in the old city area or Sarwal will be subjected to lower property tax compared to an upscale area like Gandhi Nagar,” he said.

He further said weightage to age of the property, use type and construction type, etc. is used to arrive at annual taxable value in a more comprehensive manner.

Under the new tax formula, residential houses with an area of up to 1000 sqft will be exempt from property taxes, he said.

“Residential property with built up area upto 1500 sqft are also discounted ensuring relief from Lower Income Group and Middle Income Group category residential houses,” he said .

He said the tax rates for other kind of residential properties have also been kept on the lower side vis-à-vis neighboring states/UT.

He said small commercial establishments especially shops upto size of 100sqft and 200 sqft are also provided relief with very minimal tax implications.

He said that most of the shops especially in neighbourhood areas and old markets fall in this category.

He said the property tax will not be burdening common citizen, as it is to be levied annually and can be paid in two equal installments,

“Further, as per Act 10% rebate can be availed by early submission of property tax,” he said.

He said the new property tax policy will help municipal bodies to generate avenue for better municipal services with minimum tax implications to residents.

“Better municipal services are expected to attract more investment and encourage more people to set up businesses in the J&K. Revenue generated from property taxes will be used to improve infrastructure, build new parks and playgrounds, and maintain existing as well,” he said—(KNO)

Waris Fayaz

Baramulla, Feb 21 : In a first, Mund Daji – a picturesque village in Rafiabad hills in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district – is all set to go for the Gala sporting event of the snow festival tomorrow, even as the officials said the arrangements are well intact.

The authorities said they are exploring and developing hidden tourist destinations to provide tourists with more options for recreation.

Mund Daji – a main attraction for the locals as well as non-locals – is located in the lap of mountains surrounded by green forests. The place is the last village of Baramulla’s Rafiabad belt and is geographically accessible from Kupwara, however, due to bad roads, people prefer the Dangiwacha route to reach the destination.

Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that in a bid to promote tourism, especially winter sports games, the extravaganza snow festival is being organized by the district administration Baramulla.

“The initiative for exploring the tourism potential of the unexplored areas and decentralisation of tourism, Skiing, Snow Cricket, ATV, Horse Riding, and Snow Trekking will be the hallmark attractions of the event,” an official from the district administration told KNO.

He said the snow festival will include sports competitions like snow cricket, snow volleyball and tug of war.

“All the necessary arrangements including parking, health facilities, transportation and other facilities are well intact and the locally famous tourist/picnic destination is all set to host the snow festival event tomorrow, he said, adding that elaborate security arrangements have been made and security forces would be deployed along the road stretch leading towards the venue.

Locals while thanking the administration for conducting such an event told KNO that they have “never seen it before”.

“It is a very happy moment for us as the area would witness a snow festival,” the locals said.

“Rafiabad belt, especially the areas like Kiter Daji, Mund Daji, Ladoo Ladura, Vijtop, etc have massive potential and can emerge as another tourist place after famous Gulmarg and other destinations, they added—(KNO)

Ramban, Feb 21: The 294-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed since last night due to landslides and shooting stones in Ramban district, leaving thousands of vehicles stranded on the highway, officials said on Tuesday.

An official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the landslides and shooting stones incident between Ramban to Banihal has shut the highway since last night. “The major landslide and shooting stone activity took place at Shalgadi, near Banihal,” he said.

He said the road clearance agencies have been pressed into the service to clear the debris but the continuous landslide and shooting stone activity have been hampering the road clearance operation. The official said almost 2,000 vehicles are stranded on both sides of the highway.

Moreover, the district administration Ramban and Himalayan QRT Ramsoo has made accommodation and dinner arrangements for stranded passengers on the highway.

“Around 80 stranded passengers have been accommodated at Ramsoo. More coming in. NH-44 remains closed,” Deputy Commissioner Ramban tweeted.

Meanwhile, the authorities have advised the commuters to undertake the journey on the National Highway only after confirming the status of the road from Traffic Control Units of Ramban, Srinagar and Jammu—(KNO)

Waris Fayaz

Baramulla, Feb 21 : As the Jammu and Kashmir Board exams for classes 10 to 12 are scheduled to commence from March 3, the students of Khaipora, Tangmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district are concerned about the examination centres which, as per them, have been set up 12 kilometres away from the village.

Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the students while demanding the examination centres for the upcoming board exams at Higher Secondary School Khaipora said the already proposed centres are at a distance of 12 km from the tehsil headquarters Tangmarg. They said the area is inaccessible due to a lack of transportation services.

“The centres for the exams have been set up at Katipora which is inaccessible as the area lacks proper transport facilities. In addition, Katipora is an isolated forest zone. Students who are going to appear in the exams will have to walk on foot and there lies every apprehension of wild animals attack,” they said.

Manzoor Ahmed, a local resident said, “For just a few students, the board has neglected the roll of 300 students at Higher Secondary Khaipora and proposed the examination centres at the far-off places which would cause great inconvenience to the students who have to be there from snow-bound areas.”

We fail to understand why the authorities have set up the centres so far even though the Higher Secondary School Khaipora qualified all the parameters of the examination centre, Ahmed said, adding that the majority of the students belong to the poor community and can’t afford the huge convenience fare to reach the Katipora examination centre.

The students and well as parents said that they had taken up the matter with the SDM Gulmarg, CEO Baramulla and others concerned, but to no avail. “If authorities fail to establish a centre at Khaipora, none of the students would appear in the upcoming exams as we can’t risk the lives of the children,” they added.

They have appealed to the Lieutenant Governor, board authorities, district administration and other concerned authorities to look into the matter as soon as possible, so as to avoid the losses of the precious year of the candidates who have to appear in the exams.

Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Baramulla, CL Sharma could not be reached for comments.

Notably, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of State Education announced the date sheets for annual/regular examinations for classes 10th, 11th and 12th. The exams for Class 10 and 12 are scheduled to begin from March 03, while for Class 11 from March 06, 2023—(KNO)

Srinagar, Feb 21: The administration of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory on Tuesday unveiled Rules for levying, assessment and collection of property tax in the limits of municipal councils and committees of the UT.

The Housing & Urban Development Department today notified “The Jammu and Kashmir Property Tax (Other Municipalities) Rules, 2023 “.

According to the notification, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), these rules, which would be applicable within the limits of municipal councils and municipal committees, shall come into force from April 01, 2023.

The Rules define the procedure for calculation of property tax.

According to the Rules, the Taxable Annual Value (TAV) of a property under the Municipal Act-2000 and the property tax due thereon for a financial year shall be calculated in accordance with a formula given in schedule-I to these rules.

The Rules state that the property tax on residential property would be 5% of Taxable Annual Value (TAV) while that of non-residential property be 6 % of Taxable Annual Value (TAV).

The property tax calculated in respect of a building shall hold for a block of three years unless any change to such calculation is necessitated on account of the circumstances envisaged in the Act for allowing revision in such calculation, the Rules state.

“The first block shall commence from 1ST April 2023, and shall continue to remain in force till 3 1 March 2026. The blocks shall be similarly calculated thereafter, “read the Rules.

According to the Rules, new buildings coming up after the commencement of the block shall have their property tax liability calculated with reference to the 1st day of the relevant block, and irrespective of their having completed three years, their liability to tax shall be calculated anew from the date of commencement of the new block of three years for the Corporation as a whole.

“Where a building is liable to property tax for only a part of the year, the tax due shall be proportional to the number of completed months and parts of month not completed shall be ignored,” the Rules state.

According to the Rules, vacant lands, not appurtenant to a structure/building shall be exempt from property tax if there is a Master Plan in force in the area, under which any construction/development on such vacant land is disallowed or if they have been put to agricultural use

“Similarly, all the properties of the municipality and all places of worship, including temples, masjids, Gurdwaras, Churches, Ziarats, etc. and cremation and burial grounds shall be exempt from payment of property tax,” the Rules state.

The Rules state that all properties owned by the Government of India / UT government shall be exempted from payment of property tax.

“However, service charge at the rate 3% of the taxable annual value shall be payable to the Municipality in respect of such properties,” the Rules state—(KNO)

Waris Fayaz

Sopore, Feb 20 : In Baramulla’s Sopore, Khrusi Nallah has come under extensive encroachment and the same is going on unabated with the administration taking no concrete steps in saving the Nallah from the encroachers.

The shrinking of Irrigation and Flood control (I&FC) departments Nallah and blockage of outlets due to encroachment is taking a hit on people’s crop cultivation and as per locals the back flow of water has damaged their paddy fields and orchards, resulting in less cultivation.

Locals while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that the Nallah Khrusi which originates from Puthkha to Lalad and then to Amargrah and finally merges with river Jhelum at Ningli in Sopore, but the outlet of this Nallah has been encroached which is creating immense problems for them, especially the inhabitants of Tarzoo, Darnambal etc.

They alleged that due to the shrinking of Nallah and encroachment particularly at its outlet has damaged their orchards, paddy fields and roads at few places. The department is doing nothing to save their own canal, as well as leaving people at lurch.

They urged the irrigation department to remove the illegal structures from the Nallah to restore its pristine glory. They also alleged that despite their repeated pleas, the concerned department has failed to restore this Nallah to its original shape.

“Khrusi Nallah has shrunk to such an extent now that it looks more like a drain. Authorities need to save the water body, otherwise it will only remain history in coming years”, said Aijaz Ahmed Dar, Patron Central Auqaf Tarzoo/Darnambal.

“At least 20-30 illegal structures have been set up at the Nallah bank illegally, which has shrinked the Nallah, thus leaving the inhabitants and orchardists at risk”, he said. “Tentatively they are facing the loss of at least 30-40% as their orchards, paddy land are losing its fertility due to the excessive water in their cultivating lands”, Aijaz said.

Aijaz, being head of the twin villages while narrating his helplessness, said he has been running from pillar to post from the past several years to save this canal but has failed to do so. “I have not spared a single office. I went to each and every one including Irrigation & Flood Control Department and Revenue Department etc. The survey was done a number of times and each time the encroachers were warned, but no concrete action is being taken by the department to save the canal”, he said.

Meanwhile, the Executive Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department, Sopore, Altaf Ahmed told KNO that they are aware about the matter and they have clear cut directions from the government to remove the encroachment. “We will surely act in this regard to save the water body and the encroachment would be removed soon”, he said—(KNO)

Srinagar, Feb 20 : Despite the government claims that Prescription Audit Committees are in place in J&K, most of the Jammu and Kashmir hospitals continue to witness mass medications leaving.

Experts believe that main reasons behind the mass medication include strict implementation of the Prescription Audit Report, medical corruption and freebies given to doctors.

Influenza expert and DAK president Dr Nisar Ul Hassan while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that implementation of prescription audit will ensure quality of the care and safety of the patients and more importantly it will do away with the irrational prescription.

He said that prescription is dictated by pharma companies because they provide commissions to the doctors and doctors prescribe unnecessary medications also.

“If you are visiting a doctor with viral infections, he will load your prescription with antibiotics and such drugs instead of giving relief, these drugs have adverse effects on patients,” he said. “If these drugs are given for a longer time, patients become prone for other diseases as well as they destabilize the gut flora which is very important to maintain your body against many infections as good bacterias are wiped out.”

Inappropriate use of antibiotics is responsible for alarming levels of antibiotic resistance in Kashmir valley, ” he said, adding more than two-thirds of antibiotics are unnecessarily prescribed for infections caused by viruses or conditions that are not linked to infection at all.

Dr Nisar said that with no regulations, chemists give antibiotics to everyone and even in hospitals patients are given antibiotics without appropriate testing to match their bacterial infection.

“Inappropriate and irrational use of antibiotics has turned Kashmir hospitals into breeding grounds for deadly bacteria that are resistant to all antibiotics,” he said, adding more than 80% of the bacteria are resistant even to last resort antibiotics.

Misuse of antibiotics gives rise to cancers as if good bacterias are wiped out, these also become the reason behind cancer epidemic especially breast cancer, he said.

Prescription audit is very necessary but as of now it is on papers only but not done on ground, he said.

Several other doctors to whom KNO spoke to said that unnecessary medicines and sometimes low quality medicines are being prescribed on account of freebies which mostly cause adverse effects and even remain ineffective due to low quality

They said that unnecessary and extensive use of antibiotics have promoted the emergence and proliferation of resistant bacteria and other pathogens, along with rising AMR, which in turn has resulted in inadequate treatment of common infections and such consequences necessitate the exploration of a variety of ways to combat this expanding issue of resistance.

Corrupt practices among a section of doctors have given rise to the mass medication in government-run hospitals as black sheeps are everywhere as they resort to mass medications just for freebies and commission, thereby putting lives of people at risk, they said.

They said that a prescription audit report and strict implementation is needed for an hour so that patients won’t have to suffer.

Meanwhile, a top health official told KNO that a prescription audit is already in place and every effort is being taken to ensure that no unnecessary drugs are being prescribed.

He said that there may be some discrepancies but the government is working to ensure strict implementation of PAC.

Spokesperson Directorate of Health Services Kashmir (DHSK) Dr Mir Mushtaq told KNO that this is an ongoing process and is being implemented on ground level.

He said that just a percentage of prescriptions is being audited as of now and random checking is being conducted.

“If there is any discrepancy, we will take action accordingly,” he said, adding that proper checking is going on in major hospitals, district and sub-district hospitals—(KNO)

Waris Fayaz

Sopore, Feb 20 : Three more drug peddlers have been arrested in Sopore town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Monday, officials said here.

A official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that three drug peddlers were arrested along with 672 tablets of Spasmoproxvvoan plus in Duroo village of Sopore.

He said the arrested peddlers tried to run away from the spot but the police party of Warpora Police Post caught them tactfully.

The official identified them as Shahbaz Ahmed Dangroo, Ishfaq Ahmed Chopan and Waseem Ahmed Hajam—all residents of Sopore.

He said a case FIR number 26/2023 under relevant sections of law has been registered at Police Station Sopore and further investigation has been started.

Notably, 4 drug peddlers were arrested in the last days in the Sopore town—(KNO)

Waris Fayaz, Sopore, Feb 20 (JK Revolution): Three more drug peddlers have been arrested in Sopore town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Monday, officials said here.

A official told JK Revolution that three drug peddlers were arrested along with 672 tablets of Spasmoproxvvoan plus in Duroo village of Sopore.

He said the arrested peddlers tried to run away from the spot but the police party of Warpora Police Post caught them tactfully.

The official identified them as Shahbaz Ahmed Dangroo, Ishfaq Ahmed Chopan and Waseem Ahmed Hajam—all residents of Sopore.

He said a case FIR number 26/2023 under relevant sections of law has been registered at Police Station Sopore and further investigation has been started.

Notably, 4 drug peddlers were arrested in the last days in the Sopore town—(JK Revolution)

Srinagar, Feb 20 : Authorities on Monday cancelled the results of 2 Border Battalions of Jammu and Kashmir Police Border Battalion after observing some discrepancies. However, the officials said that revised results will be issued within half an hour.

The examination for 1300 Constable posts in JK Police Border Battalion was conducted on October 26, 2022 while the results were declared on January 25, 2023.

As per news agency–Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Coordination, PHQ J&K, Danesh Rana said that the exam results for 1300 constable posts in 2 Border Battalions of J&K Police have been cancelled after discrepancies were observed due to technical fault in the software application of the implementing agency—M/S. Timing Technologies Pvt. India Ltd.

A notification issued in this regard by ADGP Coordination, reads that after the declaration of final result issued on 25-01-2023 in respect of candidates of UT of J&K who have participated in recruitment process for the post of Constable in 02 Border Battalions of J&K Police conducted in terms of the above referenced advertisement notifications, some discrepancies in the said result were observed.

“These occurred due to technical fault in the software application of the implementing agency i.e M/S. Timing Technologies Pvt. India Ltd. resulting in revision of the said result. The result, thus declared on 25.01.2023 stands withdrawn and cancelled ab-initio,” he said.

Rana told KNO that the revised results will be issued within half an hour—(KNO)