Passenger fare in commercial vehicles hiked by 19 per cent
NAFED supported high density plantation scheme being implemented
Jammu: Administrative Council at a meeting chaired by UT’s Lt Governor Manoj Sinha here on Thursday approved the adoption of e-Office system to have paperless working in all administrative departments of civil secretariat and move offices outside it, besides allowing 19 per cent fare hike by all commercial passenger vehicles and introducing the high density plantation in horticulture sector among other things.
Pointing out that the adoption of e-Office system was aimed at improving efficiency in disposal of official business in-line with the spirit of Digital India, an official statement here said that its time bound roll out at an estimated cost of Rs 67.62 crore will be a step towards the introduction of paperless office, besides saving on the cost of shifting official records twice a year between two capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, as also avoid wear and tear and loss of official records during transportation. Moreover, the establishment of DR site outside J&K will ensure safe custody and retrieval of data in the events of unforeseen disasters, it added.
The project entails setting up wired LAN for Civil Secretariat, Jammu and Srinagar for providing high speed and uninterrupted connectivity, setting up of dedicated 2 Gbps internet lease line for both Secretariats for providing 100 per cent uptime, setting up of MPLS network for e-Office to create a secure Wide Area Network (WAN), providing gap infrastructure, setting up of dedicated near data centre in Srinagar to provide zero downtime experience to e-Office users in Srinagar in the rare event of loss of connectivity, and handholding and training of officers/officials.
In another decision, the Administrative Council approved a 19 per cent fare hike for all categories of commercial passenger vehicles. The decision has been taken on the basis of cost analysis based on fuel rates, toll tax, operational and maintenance cost, and losses incurred due to COVID-19 lockdown; undertaken by the transport commissioner for the consideration of the Fare Revision Committee, it said, adding the previous fare revision in Jammu and Kashmir took place two and a half years ago and it remained unchanged ever since.
The administrative council also approved implementation of high density plantation scheme in the horticulture sector with the support of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED). The farmer-centric scheme will be implemented for apple, walnut, almond, cherry, litchi, and olive among others over an estimated area of 5500 hectares of suitable agro-climatic zones for six years with effect from March 2021 to March 2026, the statement said, adding that the scheme also provides for 50 per cent subsidy to orchardists for the establishment of high-density orchards accompanied by a loan facility for raising 40 per cent of remaining capital.
The scheme will also provide subsidies to the growers on account of expenditure related to micro-irrigation, plant material, and anti-hail nets. Under the scheme, preference will be given to farmers with landholdings of less than 4 kanal.
The scheme will be implemented with the support of NAFED which will provide end to end support to the growers and will assess the suitability of available land for undertaking high-density plantation.
NAFED will also install a high-tech laboratory for certification of the horticulture produce on international standards, virus indexing laboratories, and will arrange for imports of the specified qualities and species from identified countries.
It further approved a proposal to register the J&K Academy of Art, Culture, and Languages as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The decision will align the Academy with the administrative changes brought in Jammu and Kashmir after its reorganization in 2019.
The reorganization of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture, and Languages is based on the existing models of central bodies like Sahitya Academy, Sangeet Natak Academy and Lalit Kala Academy.
The new Society will be governed through a Governing body under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, and will also have other administrative authorities including General Council, Central Committee, and Finance Committee.
The Administrative Council also approved the proposal to create additional 30 posts to operationalize the newly sanctioned 200 bedded Maternity Hospital at Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, besides construction of office accommodation of UT Taxes Department at Railway Station Check Post P-side, Jammu at an estimated cost of Rs 22.06 crore.