Suhail Bhat
PULWAMA, Dec 21: It is more than 17 years since the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JK BOSE) notified land for the construction of its offices at three district headquarters of Kashmir but the department’s indecisiveness over “uniform design” for the buildings has stalled the projects.
Lack of required infrastructure has forced the department to operate from the rented accommodations thereby denting the public exchequer in the form of rent.
An official at the BOSE said a poor project management and abysmal governance were the major issues that have bogged down the project. “It’s because of the callousness of authorities that a project that was supposed to be completed in 3-4 years has been stretched to 17 years”, he said, adding that there are penalties and costs involved in delays and lags, which, besides the inconveniences caused to the people, add to various burdens.
While divulging details of the projects, another official of the BOSE said that in the 2001 the department identified land for the construction of the offices in three districts – Pulwama, Kupwara, and Budgam. He said after two years in 2004, the department decided to start the construction work. “But, before the construction work might have picked up the Board felt that a uniform design must be followed in the construction of all the offices”, he said, adding that the design is yet to come up.
He further said that with the estimated cost of Rs 41.20 lacks on the construction work of District Board Office Pulwama was first handed over to the Roads and Buildings department but the process hit a roadblock before it could have picked up and all the projects were stalled.
Locals, however, hold lax accountability, oversight, and corruption responsible for the delay in the completion of the projects. “Some officials are hampering the project as they do not want to kill the goose that lays golden eggs. They get their share of money from the house owners who rent out the accomodation”, Ghulam Nabi, a local from Pulwama said, adding the ultimate cost of the Government’s failure to complete the projects on time is borne by the people.
Veena Pandita, Secretary JKBOSE when contacted admitted that there has been delay in the completion of the projects. She said, “We are looking into the matter very seriously and a committee will be formed to look for out the reasons behind the delay.”
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