Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Apr 14: Even after more than a year since taking over the management of Sukrala Mata and Bala Sundri temples, the much talked about Shrine Board for running affairs of these two historic shrines in Billawar area of Kathua district, has failed to introduce reforms and improve facilities for the visiting pilgrims.
The inertia can be gauged from the fact that even laws and by -laws of the Mata Sukrala and Bala Sundri Shrine Board have not yet been formulated while the most important registration of the visiting pilgrims is also yet to be introduced.
Ever since coming into existence, the Shrine Board members convened very few meetings that too without yielding sufficient results as the decisions taken, if any, were not implemented by the administration, alleged one of the Board members on the condition of anonymity.
As a result, sources added, all developmental work on these two religious places are put on hold while the offering money is piling up in crores ever since the Shrine Board took over management in 2013.
It may be recalled that for development of these two shrines and on the consistent demand of people, Shrine Board for Mata Sukrala and Bala Sundri was formed on the pattern of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. After passage of a bill in this regard and approval of the Governor, a notification for the same was issued on April 25, 2013 while the 11-member Board was constituted on October 18, 2013. Divisional Commissioner, Jammu is heading the Board while Deputy Commissioner Kathua is the Vice Chairman and Additional Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Director Tourism, Jammu and Sub Divisional Magistrate, Billawar are ex-offico Members of the Board. Pawan Shastri, Zorawar Singh Jamwal, Neelam Vaid, Dr Narinder Vaid and Sham Lal Gupta are its non-official members.
Notwithstanding the enthusiasm shown initially by the non-official members, only five-six meetings of the Board have so far been convened while no major reform could be introduced because of legal hurdles and non-implementation of the decisions, if any, sources said.
The much talked about registration of the visiting pilgrims could not be introduced even after lapse of an year because no structure was raised to run the operation, sources explained and added that Tourism Department building near the Sukrala Mata shrine, which was identified for housing the Board and setting up a Registration Counter there, has not been handed over despite repeated requests in this regard.
The laws and by laws of the Shrine Board for running the affairs of these two historic shrines have also not been formulated so far. According to the sources, the tentative laws were prepared last year after seeking suggestions from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and other such institutions but no further action was taken on the same. The official members of the Board remained busy most of the year because of last Parliament elections, devastation following floods and rains in September, then Assembly polls and therefore major decisions could not be taken, sources explained and stressed the need to speed up the decision making as well as implementation of the same for facilitating pilgrims at the shrines.
When contacted, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, said that meeting of the Shrine Board would be convened soon for discussing the proposed reforms and taking stock of the developmental activities at the shrines. “So far, I am not aware of the activities undertaken by the Shrine Board or its decision as I took over only last month and remained busy because of the budget session of Legislative Assembly,” he added.
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