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| Kashmiri journos flay rent increase | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Feb 25
After refusing to treat Journalists as the fourth pillar of democracy the Jammu and Kashmir Government has doubled the rent of flats and quarters allotted to newsmen.
Surprisingly the Government had increased the rent by 100 per cent in 2002 and during the last six years not a single journalist had been informed about the revision in the rent. It was in January 2008 that some newsmen, who had gone to the Estates Department to deposit rent, were told that they had to pay 100 per cent more with retrospective effect.
Even the Director Estates confirmed that no journalist, including former legislators, had been informed about the rent revision during the last six years. The result is that number of journalists have to clear the arrears ranging between Rs.17, 000 and Rs.35,000.
A number of journalists had brought the issue to the knowledge of Chief Secretary, Mr B.R.Kundal, who, despite having the image of taking prompt steps in redressing peoples’ grievances, ignored to intervene. In one case he forwarded the application to the Director Estates, Mr B.A.Runial, who expressed his inability to rectify the wrong. He said that only the General Administration Department was competent to modify the order.
A delegation of members of Kashmir Press Association, led by Mr G.H. Kaloo, Editor Mirror of Kashmir, had met Chief Minister,Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad,in Jammu recently. The members submitted a memorandum listing some of the difficulties they faced, in which the issue of 100 per cent rent increase was also discussed. However, so far the Chief Minister too has kept the matter under the carpet.
Some of the journalists had conveyed to the Chief Secretary that they were prepared to pay increased rent from January 1, 2008 in case the Government was not ready to modify the earlier order but this demand was not yet accepted.
Journalists have requested the Chief Minister to intervene and study the facilities state Governments in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh provided to working newsmen and editors. |
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