Union Secy conveys concern over dilly-dallying approach to CS
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 27: The failure of the State Government to submit the Annual Action Plan strictly as per the guidelines has created road-block in the release of funds under Border Area Development Programme (BADP) by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for the current financial year. Due to this, no fresh developmental activity could be initiated in any of the 11 border districts of Jammu and Kashmir till date.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that the State Government is supposed to submit Annual Action Plan under the Border Area Development Programme—-a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at meeting the developmental needs of the border areas, latest by May every year so as to pave the way for release of funds by the Border Management Division of Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
However, this year neither any adherence was paid to the time-line nor the guidelines while identifying the works and preparation of Annual Action Plan as a result of which not even a single penny has been released by the Government of India till date despite the fact that only five months have left for the closure of the financial year.
As against the requirement of finalization of Annual Action Plan in the month of May, the Plan of Rs 162 crore was approved by the State level Steering Committee headed by Chief Secretary B B Vyas on August 6, 2017—after a delay of over three months.
Disclosing reasons behind the delay in finalization of AAP by the Steering Committee, sources said that as per the guidelines of BADP the works to be carried out in the border areas are required to be identified by the administration of concerned border district in consultation with the local MLAs. However, the MLAs identified those works which were not meeting the guidelines of the scheme.
This led to issuance of directions for fresh identification of works strictly as per the parameters of the BADP and renewed exercises consumed much time, sources said, adding when the freshly identified works were forwarded to the concerned authorities, the latter stressed that focus should only be laid on areas falling up to 10 kilometers areas from the borders and not beyond as the Government of India wants to first meet the developmental needs of such areas on priority.
Subsequently, the plan had to be re-drafted strictly in compliance to the parameters of the scheme and as per the instructions of the MHA, sources said while disclosing that even after the finalization of Annual Action Plan in the month of August the Government of India refused to release the funds on the ground that concerned authorities should have conducted mapping of the works already completed, under completion and proposed under current year Annual Action Plan so as to enable the MHA to ensure proper monitoring of the developmental works.
“At present exercise is being conducted in all the 11 border districts to meet this requirement of MHA”, sources informed while expressing inability to specify the time-frame for completion of this process, adding “nobody knows when the funds under BADP for the current financial year will be released by the Government of India”.
Responding to a question, they said, “though the Planning Development and Monitoring Department has given authorization to the District Development Commissioners (DDCs) of border districts for start of works in anticipation of release of funds yet this step is not going to ensure timely completion of the works identified for the current financial year”. Moreover, how the identified works would be completed in remaining five months remains a million dollar question.
The Annual Action Plan of Rs 162 crore approved by the State level Steering Committee for the current financial year includes Rs 103 crore AAP of 11 border districts, Rs 25 crore AAP of the departments of Health, Housing, Public Works, PHE and Irrigation and Flood Control, Rs 17 crore of border guarding force and Rs 16 crore AAP for development of 27 ongoing and 14 new Model Villages.
It is pertinent to mention here that the main objective of the BADP is to provide essential infrastructure to the border dwellers through convergence of Central/State and BADP schemes. The programme is under implementation in 11 border districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, Poonch, Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora, Shopian, Leh and Kargil.
According to the sources, DDCs of the border districts have yet not come up with a paper on how BADP has helped the border areas in terms of desired coverage and socio-developmental outcomes despite issuance of directions in this regard by the State level Steering Committee headed by Chief Secretary a number of times.
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