‘PM’s schemes being sabotaged’
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Feb 13: Taking Bureaucracy to task, BJP MLA from Jammu North and former Minister, Sham Lal Sharma accused them of not being interested to work for welfare of the people of J&K UT.
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Participating in the demand of grants for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Forests and Tribal Affairs Ministries in UT Assembly today, the MLA said “They (bureaucrats) should change their style of functioning, otherwise we know what to do.”
Sharma said PM schemes launched for welfare of the people have been sabotaged in J&K. He alleged that the bureaucrats are not sympathetic to the people of JK UT. “I know they (bureaucrats) are not competent)”
Pointing towards concerned Minister of PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Forests and Tribal Affairs, Javed Rana he said “I know that you are not responsible what happened but prior to you who were at the helm of affairs are responsible.”
Terming Jal Jeevan Mission as a big scandal, he said though Minister constituted the Committee but what it will find out. He said “MLAs are accountable to people and bureaucrats must keep in mind that they are accountable to us’’. He said they must be made accountable and once one or two are made accountable, the rest will come on line automatically, he added.
Sharma said Rs 13,000 crore were sanctioned and Rs 9200 crore have been spent. The Government needs to see the ground realities. He, while presenting figures, said out of 282 schemes in Jammu district asked: “Show me that 15 schemes out of them are functioning at present.”
Lambasting the officers, he said they make issues personal but no one has to write our ACRs but the day we start writing their ACRs the things will be different.
Again pointing towards Minister, he said “You are a Government which is an authority and nobody is above the State so there should be a loud and clear message to officers who are not working for the welfare and betterment of the people of the UT’’.
He suggested that the bureaucracy should mend its ways as they and public representatives should not be in a conflict zone.
On the issue of daily wagers, Sham Lal Sharma said over 400 crore wages of these hapless workers are pending with Government. Highlighting their plight, he said a trust deficit between them and Government is increasing day by day. Earlier, when the process for their regularisation was initiated, the figure of these daily wagers was 60,000 and now it is over one lakh, he added.
Strongly advocating for their regularisation, he said there are 10,000 schemes in the UT and if 10 daily wagers are absorbed per scheme, the Government can absorb all one lakh daily wagers in regular establishment.
The BJP MLA said in last five to seven years there were total disorder and definition of Government has changed and it has to be kept in mind that up to what extent the schemes framed by Government have percolated to ground.
Sharma said that there are two lakh kanals of Barren land in Shivalik belt which should be given to landless on lease and stress fruit should be grown on that land. He said the human wild conflict takes place as the animals don’t get food in their habitations and they encroach upon the urban areas in search of food.
The Shivalikas are now prone to floods and rain due to which floods come into rivers and nallahs. He stressed on construction of check dams along the rivers and nallas to collect the water. In Maharashtra rain-fed water is collected, then filtered and supplied to people. He demanded proper disilting of irrigation canals needs to be ensured.
On Gair Mumkin Khad, he said the report is pending about its definition. He said the report must be submitted in a time bound manner.
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