Multi-disciplinary teams to submit monthly progress reports
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 2: To mitigate the hardships being faced by the people living in the vicinity of International Border and Line of Control due to shelling and firing by the Pakistani Rangers as early as possible, the State Government has directed the Deputy Commissioners of five border districts to ensure early start of work on individual and community type bunkers so as to meet the deadline of two years fixed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Moreover, Divisional Commissioner Jammu has been directed to constitute multi-disciplinary team in each district for physical verification of work on regular basis and furnishing monthly progress report for onward submission to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that in compliance to the directives of the Department of J&K Affairs of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs received vide Communication No. 17012/1/ 2018-K-II dated May 8, 2018, the Home Department of the State Government has conveyed approval/sanction to the Deputy Commissioners of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch districts for construction of 12165 individual and 1347 community type bunkers.
“The Deputy Commissioners of these five districts shall ensure early start of the work through Public Works Department (PWD), which shall allot the work through e-tendering mode after following due codal procedure and ensure adherence to the estimates, specifications and design as proposed vide Divisional Commissioner Jammu’s reference Letter No. 301/bunkers/ 1671-78 dated October 23, 2017”, read the communication of the Home Department, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
Apart from conveying approval/sanction for construction of bunkers on war foot basis, the Home Department has also forwarded the copy of additional conditions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to these five Deputy Commissioners for strict compliance.
“The building norms for all areas up to five kilometers from borders shall be specified and priority shall be given to the bunkers which are nearest to the existing Border Out-Posts (BOPs)”, the Home Department said, adding “every bunker should be within three kilometer from the border and first line of sight from International Border/Line of Control”.
Total 1347 community type and 12165 individual type bunkers should be constructed strictly as per the locations identified and conveyed vide Letter No.301/893/bunkers/III/2534-39 dated February 9, 2018 and Letter No. 301/893/bunkers/ III/2715-2721 dated February 27, 2018, reads the communication of the Home Department.
Conveying that the funds will be reimbursed from Security Related Expenditure/ Relief and Rehabilitation as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Home Department has asked the Deputy Commissioners to ensure that work is not funded by any other source/ scheme of the Government. “All bunkers shall be geo-tagged and a proper Management Information System (MIS) shall be put in place where the requisite details shall be uploaded on a regular basis”, the Home Department said.
At divisional level, a committee comprising of Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Chief Engineer R&B Jammu and concerned Deputy Commissioner will monitor, supervise and review the progress of construction of the bunkers and will also furnish physical and financial progress report on monthly basis to the Home Department.
The Divisional Commissioner has also been asked to constitute multi-disciplinary team in respect of each district, which shall physically verify the bunkers/assets on regular basis and furnish a monthly progress report, sources said while disclosing that a time-frame of two years has been fixed by the Ministry of Home Affairs for completion of work on all the individual and community type bunkers to that people are saved from the hardships being caused by firing and shelling from across the borders.
It is pertinent to mention here that Ministry of Home Affairs has approved Rs 415 crore for construction of bunkers in these five districts of Jammu. “The work in all probability will begin in the month of July as e-tendering process by the PWD will take minimum one month time”, sources said.
In view of 1,252 ceasefire violations by Pakistan during the current year, the Home Ministry has called for expediting the construction of bunkers along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) to protect the border residents.
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