*Fails to utilize Rs 376 cr financial assistance
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 28: Due to sheer slackness on the part of Jammu and Kashmir Government, millions of people of the rural areas are being deprived of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities despite huge financial assistance from the Union Government under two major flagship schemes. The intensity of apathy can be gauged from the fact that despite being criticized on the closure of every financial year for inept handling of these schemes nobody is ready to mend the ways.
These schemes—National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation are aimed at providing safe and sustainable portable drinking water to the people in rural areas and bring improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and eliminating open defecation.
However, the objectives of both these flagship schemes could not be achieved up to the desired level in the rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir so far mainly due to non-seriousness and slackness on the part of those, who are required to implement these schemes.
Under NRDWP, the Union Ministry is providing financial as well as technical assistance to the States to provide safe drinking water to the rural population. In respect of J&K, funds on 90:10 basis are provided. The responsibility of planning and execution of water supply schemes under NRDWP entirely vests with the State Government.
“While States, which are more sensitive to this issue, are investing more funds from their own exchequer, the Jammu and Kashmir is unable even to spend the money being given by the Union Minister year after year”, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
This can be gauged from the fact that under NRDWP, J&K failed to utilize an amount of Rs 141.95 crore in 2012-13 and Rs 59.11 crore in 2013-14. However, during the just concluded financial year (2014-15), the unspent balance crossed record of all the previous years as concerned authorities failed to utilize Rs 310.15 crore.
Due to its failure to utilize the funds provided by the Union Ministry, the State could cover only 379 habitations under NRDWP as against target of 804 habitations during 2014-15 financial year.
“What to talk of covering habitations under NRDWP, the concerned authorities of State even failed to establish water quality testing laboratories, which is also one of the components of this scheme, despite availability of huge funds”, sources regretted while disclosing that four districts of Jammu and Kashmir are affected with contamination due to iron and one district is affected due to fluoride contamination.
Under Swachh Bharat Mission, financial assistance is provided to accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas to achieve the vision of Swachh Bharat by October 2, 2019, motivate communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions to adopt sustainable sanitation practices and facilities through awareness creation and health education and develop community managed sanitation systems focusing on scientific solid and liquid waste management for overall cleanliness in the rural areas.
Under this scheme, the unspent balance in 2012-13 was to the tune of Rs 11.63 crore and this figure increased to Rs 18.45 crore. But in the just concluded financial year, the unspent balance crossed record of all the previous year and it was recorded at Rs 66.76 crore, sources informed.
Under SBM (G), only nine school toilets, one Anganwadi toilet and 23 sanitary complex could be constructed during the just concluded financial year.
Stating that unspent balance and failure in achieving the targets year after year has been viewed very seriously by the Union Ministry, sources said, “it is high time for the concerned authorities of the State to shun slackness otherwise State may be deprived of financial assistance under NRDWP and SBM (G) as Union Government cannot allow J&K to continue inept handling of flagship schemes”.
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