Delays in PMGSY schemes

Delays in implementing various Centrally sponsored schemes for our State have become the order of the day. We have copiously written on the subject, and still more will have to be written in the interests of the public good. Unfortunately, the importance of the issue is not being recognized though it is well known that at the end of the day delays are detrimental to the interests of the people. Unless the matter of recurrent delay in the execution of centrally sponsored schemes is scientifically discussed and analyzed, it may not be possible to overcome the problem. But it should be noted that Jammu and Kashmir cannot be isolated for these lapses. There are other states also that are faced with the problem of delayed execution. However in the case of our State, the matter is more serious.
The case in point is of the project called Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), a prestigious project floated by the Central Government. The guiding force behind the project was that efficient road network was needed for connecting rural India on all India level. This is not a small project and its impact on development and all other aspects of life are more than what one may imagine. J&K, too, has had its share of the PMGSY.
However, when the Union Ministry of Rural Development was examining the accomplishment of the scheme in various states, it came to know that implementation of the scheme in the case of Jammu and Kashmir was far below satisfaction. Consequently, it took up the matter with the State Government. The Union Rural Ministry has found that projects worth Rs 2715 crore, being done under this scheme have been suffering delays.  In this way, the pending schemes are more than three times than the execution capability of the State. We learn that a terse communication has been sent to the State officials telling them that such a large pendency of road network was not acceptable, and that it should ensure the construction of rural roads is completed within the time frame. Curiously, it seems that the concerned functionaries at the State Rural Development Department are not properly briefed on the progress of the scheme in the State because they have come out with contradictory statements in response to the letter from the Union Ministry of Rural Development. According to one statement most of the works have been either completed or undertaken, while another statement says that the work has got stuck up owing to unexpected delay caused in the acquisition of land.
The question of acquisition of land has been cited as the main reason for delays not only in the PMGSY but in most of the schemes sponsored by the centre.  This is the reason why we have been suggesting the Government to examine the reasons on the ground for usual inordinate delay in the completion of programmes on time.  The functionaries at the State Rural Development Department have complained that while in many states people volunteer to offer their land for using it for implementation of Centrally sponsored schemes, in J&K the situation is the reverse of it. Take for instance the railway project or the 4-laning of the National Highway-A1, land acquisition problem caused inordinate delay and litigation ensued. The reason is that we have the Land Acquisition Act in the State according to which a person whose land is acquired has the right to go to a court of law to seek higher compensation for his land for various reasons. This is how endless litigation takes place and the Government or the executing authority cannot begin work as long as the case is not decided by the court of law. When we say that the Government should constitute a committee for considering the reasons for delay in execution of certain plans, we mean that the issue of hassles in land acquisition should draw the attention of the committee and on that basis it can suggest reforms in the Land Acquisition Act. In other words, this Act may need amendments in a way that resolves the problem of delays in court verdicts. This is possible.
In final analysis, we feel there should be much more serious commitment on the part of State Roads &  Building Departments in accelerating the speed  of rural road building projects and the pendency should be brought down to minimum. There is also the need of more interaction between the State  R&B, Rural Development Department and the Union Ministry of Rural Development so that bottlenecks if any are removed at the earliest.

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