Seoj Dhar Cable Car Project awaits Finance Deptt approval
Posts reduced from 21 to 14, only 9 officials in place
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 5: Over 20 years after its establishment, Bhaderwah Development Authority (BDA), the Government body responsible for promoting tourism and planned development in the scenic area, finds itself struggling to function effectively due to severe shortage of staff. Moreover, much-talked about Seoj Dhar Cable Car Project remains confined to the files of the Finance Department.
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The Authority was constituted vide Cabinet Decision No.154/10 dated September 23, 2005 to create necessary tourist infrastructure for selling the area as a cultural, scenic and adventure tourist spot and to use potential of Bhaderwah as an inter-mediate destination between Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir valley and Punjab for economic development of the region.
Initially, Authority was having jurisdiction over 48 villages of Tehsil Bhaderwah and the same was extended to 27 more villages in the year 2007. In 2010, the jurisdiction of Bhaderwah Development Authority was extended to additional 84 villages of two erstwhile Tehsils of Thathri and Bhalessa, which aggregates to 159 villages under its jurisdiction.
At present, the Development Authority’s jurisdiction covers a vast area of 1239.66 square kilometers. Since its inception, the Authority has created tangible assets in the shape of gardens, resorts, huts, restaurants, tourist complex, youth hostel etc.
At the time of its creation, the sanctioned strength of staff was 21 including officers and technical staff in the engineering wing. However, following the reorganization of engineering staff during 2023-24, its sanctioned strength was reduced to just 14 posts. Out of these, only 9 positions are currently occupied leaving several key posts vacant.
“This drastic reduction and under-staffing have paralyzed the Authority’s ability to plan, execute and monitor developmental and tourism projects under its jurisdiction”, official sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “the available manpower is grossly insufficient to oversee such a wide geographical spread”.
An insider in the Development Authority, requesting anonymity, said, “with just a handful of employees, it’s practically impossible to monitor works across so many villages. The engineering section is the worst hit. Even basic maintenance and follow-up of tourism assets suffer”.
He further said, “the staff crunch has also impacted the Authority’s ability to maintain existing infrastructure such as tourist huts, rest houses, gardens and youth hostels, many of which were created during the Authority’s early years”, adding “lack of maintenance and poor management have left several of these facilities in deteriorating condition”.
“Unless the vacant posts are filled immediately, and the engineering wing is revitalized, the Authority will remain ineffective despite its vast jurisdiction and resources. The Government should conduct a comprehensive review of staff deployment and functional capacity in all Development Authorities, warning that such administrative neglect undermines the region’s tourism potential and wastes public funds”, sources said.
Meanwhile, the much-talked about Bhaderwah-Seoj Dhar Ropeway Project has remained confined to the files of the Finance Department.
The project was identified as one of the five priority ropeway projects under the Parvatmala Pariyojana of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), proposed to be executed through a Joint Venture between the National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
“As per the Government Order No.373-PW(R&B) of 2023 dated September 6, 2023, the Seoj Dhar Cable Car Project (seven kilometers in length) is to be executed by NHLML in line with Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on April 23, 2022”, sources said, adding “the draft agreement submitted by NHLML was earlier referred to the Finance Department for concurrence.
The file was returned with certain observations related to environmental aspects, which were duly examined at the departmental level”.
“At present, the matter is under consideration in the Finance Department”, sources informed, adding “modalities for the formation of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) are being finalized after which the process of obtaining statutory clearances including environmental and forest approvals will be initiated”, sources said. “Keeping in view the lengthy procedural formalities required to be followed, no time-frame can be specified for the start of work on the Bhaderwah-Seoj Dhar Ropeway Project”, sources remarked.
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