DDC seeks names of XEns, AEEs for necessary action
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 26: Shocking it may sound but it is a fact that 25 road projects are lying incomplete in mountainous Doda district despite booking almost 100% expenditure during the past eight to 10 years thereby depriving the people residing in difficult terrain of the benefit of two major schemes of the Union Government.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that during the period between 2005-06 and 2010-11, a total of 16 road projects were sanctioned at a cost of Rs 15 crore under Central Road Fund (CRF) and NABARD schemes of the Government of India for execution by the Bhaderwah Division of the Roads and Buildings Department of the State Government.
Under these projects, a total of 37 kilometre road length had to be constructed for providing road connectivity to several unconnected areas of the Bhaderwah.
Similarly, during this period 9 schemes were sanctioned at a cost of Rs 30 crore under CRF and NABARD schemes for execution by the Gandoh Special-Division of the Roads and Buildings Department. Under these schemes, a total of 33.66 kilometre road length had to be constructed.
When the Roads and Buildings Sector was put to review by the District Development Commissioner (DDC) Doda, Simrandeep Singh today he was shocked to know that none of these 25 schemes aimed at providing road connectivity to unconnected areas has been completed despite lapse of several years, sources privy to the proceedings of the meeting said.
“The most deplorable aspect is that these projects have remained incomplete despite booking expenditure of almost 100% by the concerned divisions of the Roads and Buildings Department”, sources said, adding “the concerned engineers of these divisions have written to the Government for release of more funds for the completion of these 25 projects”.
The DDC came to know that against 37 kilometres blacktopped road length to be constructed in Bhaderwah, only 4 kilometres length has been completed and work on rest of the schemes has either been abandoned or not started at all, sources said. Similarly, against 33.66 kilometre blacktopped road length in Gandoh, only 1.78 kilometres length has been completed during the past eight to 10 years and other schemes have been shown as closed for want of funds.
In all, against 70 kilometres road length under 25 schemes of CRF and NABARD only nearly 6 kilometres blacktopped road has been constructed during the past eight to 10 years even after booking almost 100% expenditure, sources said, adding “these startling facts have raised several questions vis-a-vis performance and credibility of all those Executive Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers who remained posted in Bhaderwah and Gandoh during past eight years and had to complete the projects”.
According to the sources, the District Development Commissioner Simrandeep Singh has sought information from the Roads and Buildings Department about the Executive Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers who remained posted in these divisions from 2010 onwards.
The names of these Executive Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers will be recommended to the Government for initiation of action under relevant rules, sources said, adding in case of those engineers who have attained superannuation, recommendation will be made for withholding of their pension.
“It is a matter of concern that neither elected representatives of the people from the area nor the local administration ever bothered to bring inordinate delay in completion of these projects to the notice of top echelons in the Government”, sources regretted, adding “another shocking aspect is that senior functionaries of the Roads and Buildings Department never tried to ascertain why more funds are being demanded for completion of roads when nearly 100% expenditure has already been registered by divisions”.
Because of the poor performance of the concerned Executive Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers, vast population in unconnected areas of Bhaderwah and Gandoh has remained deprived of the benefit of Union Government funding, sources remarked.
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