An important requirement for the development of rural India is that of road connectivity. All successive Governments at the Centre have emphasized the importance of developing connectivity in rural India as their first priority. For movement of men and material roads, bridges, culvert, by-passes are important components of a new road building projects. The same is true about our State. We have many far-flung areas over the mountains where roads meant for vehicular traffic do not exist. At best, there are tiny footpaths connecting the villages. In view of this situation prevailing in many states and districts in the country, including J&K State, the Government of India created the National Rural Road Development Agency (NRRDA) which floated the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yogna to take up development of roads in three Himalayan States, namely Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand.
During regional review meeting of the PMGSY roads held in New Delhi recently, it was revealed that J&K has not been able to achieve more than 35 per cent of the annual target of PMGSY. In comparison to the achievements of this project in the States of Punjab, (23 %), Uttarakhand, (14 %), Haryana and Himachal Pradesh (33 %), J&K has the lowest achievement of just 9 per cent. The achievement is in terms of average length of construction in kms per day till October this financial year. The question is why J&K has such a deficient performance when other states have shown very satisfactory record? The concerned officials hark back to oft-repeated excuses of land disputes, pending forest clearances and abandoning of road projects by contractors. This is not the solitary scheme of the Central Government in which there is dismal shortfall in performance. In most of the centrally sponsored projects, the same situation prevails. What is more, the State Government has failed to submit the Audited Balance Sheet for the previous year (2014-15) of the PMGSY road projects initiated in J&K State. NRRDA has expressed its serious concern on the J&K State failing to forward the Audit Balance Sheet with the result that it may not be possible for it to release further installments. Only two states, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir had failed to submit it. Incidentally, the J&K has a backlog of 867 pending final bills of the contractors of PMGSY roads works. The NRRDA has, therefore, asked the State Government to clear the liability within three months. Again in comparison to other states, J&K has the largest number of pending bills. Haryana projected the 83 pending bills, Himachal 139, Punjab 115 while Uttarakhand projected just 82. All these States have been directed to settle these claims and clear pending bills in three months, by the end of January 2016. Obviously, this speaks of the inefficiency and lack of serious interest with the State Government in regard to the rural road development programme floated by the Centre. This is a very unhappy situation. Of all the states mentioned above, it is J&K that needs an extensive network of roads because it is a hilly and land locked region. In these columns we have taken up this issue at least twice during last couple of months bringing it to the notice of the Government that work on the PMGSY is going on at snail’s pace. Every time we are told that non release of funds at proper time has been the cause of non completion of the project. However, when full details of the case are analyzed, we find that non-release of funds has not been the real reason. The real reasons are inefficiency on the ground and inability of the State to submit the Balance Sheet. Every time when authorities are contacted, the reply is that the matter has been taken up and may move within a week. Pursuing the matter with all seriousness, NRRDA has instructed the J&K to submit monthly completion plan for all balance on-going works with current stages. Moreover, J&K will submit proposal for approval of Ministry regarding habitations reconciliation based on Rural Sanitation Drinking Water Supply (2001 Chapter) or National Rural Habitation Survey (2003 Chapter) by ending of December 2015. The J&K has also been directed to establish balance field laboratories by December 2015. This is a clear signal to the J&K State that while the Centre will be frugal with funding new schemes of development and would not let the State suffer on account of paucity of funds, but it means business in so much as it wants the accounts for all expenditures and the Utilization Certificates. Therefore we may suggest the State Government to change its old mental frame and understand that the Government in New Delhi means business. The era of farcical excuses has gone and what matters is the work done on the ground.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel