DPRs for majority of components yet to be prepared
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 8: In a testimony of dilly-dallying approach, the Government has failed to start work on World Bank-funded Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project, which was approved over one year back, as Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for majority of the components are yet to be prepared. Moreover, no attention is being paid towards morphology of rivers, which otherwise is imperative to understand changes in behavior of major water bodies in flood-prone Jammu and Kashmir.
In the aftermath of devastating floods of September 2014 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Government of India requested assistance from World Bank and after numerous visits by the team of World Bank the Union Government and World Bank signed 250 Million US Dollar credit agreement under the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project in January 2016.
The project, which was vigorously pursued by former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is funded by credit from the International Development Association, the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm with a maturity of 25 years including a 5 year grace period.
This ambitious project has seven components—reconstruction and strengthening of critical infrastructure, reconstruction of roads and bridges, restoration of urban flood management infrastructure, restoration and strengthening of livelihoods, strengthening disaster risk management capacity, contingent emergency response and implementation support.
It was stated with much hype during the signing of agreement that the project will help in restoring critical infrastructure disrupted by the floods using international best practice and infrastructure will be designed to improve resilience to future flooding and landslide as well as seismic risk. It is officially stated that the project is aimed at focusing on 20 flood affected districts—Anantnag, Baramulla, Budgam, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Srinagar, Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Poonch, Rajouri and Udhampur.
However, despite lapse of more than one year work on the project has yet not commenced although Steering Committee and Project Management Unit have been constituted to supervise the project implementation arrangements, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
It is pertinent to mention here that Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, who is also Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project, have specifically been asked by the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to closely monitor the arrangements so as to ensure early start of work on the project.
Disclosing that Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for majority of the components have yet not been prepared, sources said that for certain components even consultants have not been engaged till date despite the fact that this is the foremost step. “Even consultancy services for preparing feasibility for flood mitigation and comprehensive river management measures have not been engaged till date”, they added.
“The Expression of Interests for consultancy services to prepare feasibility and DPR for flood mitigation has received good response and process of evaluation is going on”, said an officer of Project Management Unit when contacted, adding “it is a fact that work on none of the seven components has begun till date as time is being consumed in meeting the guidelines of the World Bank”.
When asked about start of work on seven components of the project, the officer explicitly said, “it is difficult to specific time-frame in this regard”. The delay in start of work on the project is notwithstanding the fact that its foundation stone was laid by the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in the month of November last year.
Moreover, no attention is being paid towards conducting morphology of rivers and other major water bodies despite the fact that such an exercise helps the authorities concerned in tackling floods.
“An understanding of the morphology and behavior of the rivers is pre-requisite for a scientific and rational approach to different river problems and proper planning”, sources said, adding “the morphology of a river channel is a function of a number of processes and environmental conditions including the composition and erodibility of the bed and banks”.
It is pertinent to mention here that keeping in view the importance of morphology study of rivers and water bodies, the Central Water Commission (CWC) under the Union Ministry of Water Resources had in the month of March 2009 issued detailed guidelines for conduct of morphology studies of rivers and water bodies particularly those which have the history of causing floods.
These guidelines were brought to the notice of all the States where floods during the rainy season are a regular phenomenon and J&K was among such States as almost all the rivers in J&K and other water bodies are known for causing devastating floods during the monsoon season. But, till date no attention has been paid towards this vital aspect.
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