Under Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewable Mission (JNURM), a Sewerage Project for the Jammu city was undertaken in 2008 by the concerned department of the State Government. The old city project, as per plan, comprises of 26.53 kms of Trunk Sewer Line and 65.50 kms connections for disposal of entire sludge, bath room waste etc to maintain proper sanitation of the city. The major components of the Project included 27 MLD Sewerage Treatment Plant at Bhagwati Nagar, Trunk Sewer Line and Lateral Lines. The project started in 2008, was scheduled to be brought to completion in 2010. Nine years have passed by when the project was taken up. During this period, the project jumped three deadlines and still one is not sure whether it will be completed in one and a half year from now, which is the next deadline.
The main reason of deferment of this project after 2014 is no release of funds. This is what the executing authority has often stated. Authorities claim that hundred per cent work on Sewerage Treatment Plants and laying of Main Trunk Line as well as 70 percent Lateral Line were completed three years back. However, the next stage of the executing agency providing household connections remained pending because of non-availability of funds. According to the estimates of the executing agency it requires Rs 13.6 crores for lying of pending 20 km Lateral Line and Rs 15 crores for providing household connections.
We are not going to comment on the policy of the Central Government as to why the JNURM project was cancelled and why its repercussions on the ongoing projects in the States including our State were not taken into account and why an alternative arrangement was not suggested for reviving the work. That discourse lies beyond the scope of this editorial. However, a question is raised and the State authorities have to produce an answer. When the project was started in 2008, the deadline suggested for its completion was 2010, but it had to be jumped and then three more deadline also had to be jumped before the Modi Government took over in 2014. The onus, therefore, rests with the State Government which was unable to bring the project to completion within time frame. Somebody in the State administration has to accept the responsibility and if at all a commission of inquiry is installed into the sordid history of the Sewerage Project, the first party to be subjected to questioning would be those who were at the helm of affairs but failed to bring the project to completion.
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