Only papers moved from one office to another
*BDC Chairpersons, MC members fuming over official apathy
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 17: In a testimony of administrative inertia and lack of coordination, several directions issued by the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have remained unimplemented even after the lapse of 10 months leading to strong resentment among the elected representatives of the people at the grass root level.
The then Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu while conducting whirlwind tour of Akhnoor area on January 18, 2020 visited ancient Buddhist site at Ambaran and historic Akhnoor Fort and laid stress on giving required impetus to the preservation and restoration of these heritage sites.
“The Ambaran site and Akhnoor Fort should be developed as major heritage tourism destinations as these sites have great potential for attracting tourists and boosting the economy of the area”, the then Lieutenant Governor had told the officers who were accompanying him during the visit.
Moreover, he had directed the concerned officers to take necessary measures to safeguard these heritage sites and take up the works on war footing to make them aesthetically pleasing.
“However, despite lapse of 10 months no major step has been initiated by any of the concerned authorities towards giving practical shape to the directions of the then Lieutenant Governor”, official sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “there is no discernible improvement in the restoration and preservation of these heritage sites and the work is still going on at snail’s pace much to the disappointment of the people who were expecting war footing work especially in the light of directions from the highest quarter”.
They further said, “the most shocking aspect is that none of the senior officers of the administration tried to ascertain follow-up action on the directions of the then Lieutenant Governor during the past 10 months and this is the clear testimony of the administrative inertia”.
Pointing towards the direction regarding shifting of PHE over-head tank out of the heritage area of the Akhnoor Fort, sources said, “during the past 10 months only tender has been floated and work allotted but ground work has yet not been initiated and the same is being attributed to the procedural delays”.
During the visit, the Chairpersons of the Block Development Councils and members of the Municipal Committee Akhnoor had apprised the then Lieutenant Governor about the issues and demands pertaining to early completion of Sub-District Hospital (SDH) building, shifting of Veterinary Hospital from the congested town area to the outskirts, road connectivity for Horticulture Mandi at Daskal and establishment of Sewage Treatment Plant for the town.
Accordingly, the Lieutenant Governor had passed directions to all the concerned authorities for initiating steps in a time bound manner so that all these issues are redressed promptly.
“However, during the past 10 months only papers have moved from one office to another and practically nothing has been done to translate directions of the then Lieutenant Governor into reality”, sources informed, adding “while Health Department officers are not in a position to specify the date for the completion of SDH building modalities are yet to be finalized for shifting of Veterinary Hospital”.
They further said, “similar is the fate of much needed proper road connectivity to Horticulture Mandi at Daskal and establishment of Sewage Treatment Plant for the town”, adding “the establishment of STP for the fast expanding Akhnoor town was announced several years back but till date only paper works have been completed and there is no activity on ground”.
“Had there been proper follow-up from the concerned authorities and supervision from the senior officers of the administration all these basic issues of the public would have been resolved till now”, sources said while disclosing that the BDC Chairpersons and members of the Municipal Committee Akhnoor are fuming over inaction on the explicit directives of the then Lieutenant Governor.
The dilly-dallying approach is notwithstanding the fact that the then Lieutenant Governor had clearly told the officers to remain sensitive to the demands of the people living in rural areas and hold regular meetings with the PRIs, BDCs and members of ULBs to ensure participatory administration at grass root level.
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