Setting up of Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation Limited (JKIDFC) in 2018 by the then State Government was a grand initiative taken to resolve the issue of several pending and languishing projects, to virtually bring them back into ”life” by starting the work on them again from the point it was left for good. It is heartening to note that 50 percent of the total projects completed by the JKIDFC , as on date, are those ones which were left to their fate and practically no attention paid to them resulting in their plunging into utter dormancy for the period ranging from 10 to 20 years. We would stress upon the point that bold and professional steps taken with calculated risks but with an eye on better results, especially all in the interests of the people, is a reflection of not only better management and deliverance of good governance but how national assets are saved from getting wasted even after huge investments made in them. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, thus, has all the reasons to hope that people of Jammu and Kashmir shall start reaping the benefits from such completed projects, from now onwards.
It gives a sense of relief as also satisfaction that as many as 1100 projects, most of those with languishing status of two decades, under the initiative of “Languishing Projects” have been completed at a cost of Rs.1556 crores. In other words, if hypothetically speaking that just one fourth of as much amount was spent on them before leaving them to languish, stands not only retrieved but made to yield dividends . We note with quite satisfaction the speed with which these projects were arranged to be completed — 200 projects completed in the year 2020 and the rest with short intervals completed by January 2021. Jammu district has to its ‘credit’ having 186 such projects getting completed under the above scheme. In other words, we are afraid, it could be inferred that the “share” of number of such languishing projects having been more in respect of Jammu. We also observe and note that the projects pertain to almost all UT departments starting from Public Works Department, Power, Jal Shakti, Irrigation to Health, Sports, Flood Control, Tourism and the like.
We feel, a blend of initiatives, creating something novel to tackle a problem (like creating of JKIDFC) especially of the magnitude of the languishing projects , transparency, technology , adhering to timelines , setting and achieving targets with stress on fast tracking solutions, achieving such results is never difficult let alone being impossible . The UT is facing two hereditary problems , hereditary in the sense – which for decades together appear still to be deficient and short in supply and short of peoples’ expectations. Those are the areas of power and water supply. There could be numerous projects which must be either pending getting approved or being in the infancy of being raised pertaining to these two vital areas . Why cannot JKIDFC be asked to intervene in those projects of power and water supply which are undergoing periodic hiccups on account of non availability of timely finances and are suffering due to poor monitoring so that their early completion was made possible. The instant results of the performance of the JKIDFC have generated such a hope.
We had reported in December last year about some delay caused in completion of many such languishing projects by several departments and a serious note for the delay was taken by the Chairman of the JKIDFC even asking the concerned Administrative Secretaries to explain the reasons and to see how fast execution of the remaining works was done. What is, therefore, important is regular and periodic follow-up and monitoring which creates opportunities to set the things right well in time. Most of the projects, till they land in a virtual irretrievable condition, are not preceded by the exercise of regular monitoring. Projects are designed and made for the benefit of the people and when they are not completed in time and allowed to languish and wither, apart from denying the people reap the benefits therefrom, on the contrary more burden on the public exchequer is put by means of the factor of cost escalation.
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