‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’, goes the doggerel. It applies aptly to the 129- crore rupees NBCC project of bringing the city of Jammu under the sewerage scheme. So dismal is coordination among various state agencies that have a role in the ambitious project that even after five years of scheme being floated North-Eastern Jammu is yet to see a spade driven into the earth. There is rivalry, shirking responsibility and passing the buck syndrome galore among various agencies. Authorities are impervious of prolonged inconvenience they cause to the general public. One agency brings accusations against the other only to absolve itself of responsibility. The authorities are circumspect to the extent of becoming helpless spectators and not duty conscious actors. While North-Western region of Jammu city has witnessed some progress in laying sewerage line, the interiors of North-East (old city) remain untouched. The claim of NBCC authorities that they are finding it difficult to get the work in interior areas started because of huge underground network of utilities particularly of Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department is not tenable. Why did it not take up this important aspect of the work for thorough discussion before signing contract with Housing and Urban Development Department?
For floating any big project of the type of laying sewerage lines in the entire city, even a layman will say that not one but many agencies are involved. All of these agencies have their respective projects and plans and scheme which they execute as per their programme. But when a scheme that is bound to have impact on individual projects, whether of PHE or Telecom or Municipal Corporation, the heads of these organizations have to meet and discuss even the smallest item connected with the scheme. They have to rise above their individual departments and plans and areas and plan on National level. In the case of laying comprehensive plan of sewerage for the entire city it seems the project has been taken in a casual fashion.
The functioning of NBCC has come under severe criticism. The excuse that the public has obstructed continuation of work at one place or the other is telling the half truth. Of course there is public resentment when digging is taken up and left half way for months at end thus causing much inconvenience to the public in their mobility to attend their daily work. The public would want a time bound completion of work and not that a portion is dug and left half way. There should be protests by the people because they have a right to demand a time frame for the project so that they are exposed to minimum inconvenience. The public is not at all interested in the debate or argument and counter argument among various agencies NBCC, UEED or PHE etc. They are not even concerned which Department is involved and the doors of which Department they should knock at. The public is not a begging lot to knock at all doors so that its voice is heard. Public means people and people mean power. The people have the right and power to ask for enquiry into this grievous example of incompetence, inefficiency, negligence and dereliction of duty on the part of various Government functionaries. The fact of the matter is that more often than not people suspect nexus among the concerned agencies in this type of projects. Delaying tactics are employed to procrastinate the project in terms of time length and then demand revision of estimated expenditure owing to cost escalation. This is the old trick of the cronies to fill their pockets. If the contractors and sub-contractors have disappeared and left the work undone or done only in part, why should not they be black listed? Why alternatives were not considered and implemented? Is there a nexus between the contractors/sub-contractors and the functionaries? Who is going to answer these questions?
Sewerage Project for Jammu was a Centrally sponsored project for which the Union Government made financial contribution. If Centrally sponsored projects are not executed as desired and within the time frame, the Government should make a frank confession of its inability to execute it and then ask the Central Government to take the project in its hands. The Minister holding the charge of Urban Development must intervene without loss of time and see that the logjam is removed before the public decides to stage large scale protests
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