*Deptts sleeping despite no major financial implication
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Sept 30: Establishing that Jammu and Kashmir Government has not learnt any lesson from the devastating floods of September 2014 and has gone into the complacent mode, majority of the departments have yet not initiated any major step for implementation of recommendations of the Parliamentary Panel, which visited flood-affected areas of the State and pointed out shortcomings in dealing with natural disasters.
What to talk of plethora of recommendations involving huge financial implications, even those measures, which didn’t require funds and can be managed through internal arrangements, have not attracted the attention of those at the helm of affairs in many departments.
The Parliamentary Panel comprising Members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha visited different flood-affected areas of the State in the month of June this year and pointed out many shortcomings in handling the disasters. In order to ensure that J&K gears up its preparedness to meet the situations during and after the natural calamities, large number of recommendations were made.
The recommendations were of immense importance especially in the light of the observation of the Parliamentary Panel that the kind of pre-emptive measures taken by State Government were not sufficient to withstand the fury of the nature and the result was heavy casualties. The Parliamentary Panel had suggested the State Government to realize the consequences of nature’s fury and should not remain complacent at any time.
However, what to talk of those recommendations for which huge financial implications are involved, even those suggestions, which didn’t involve funds, have not been taken seriously by the official machinery till date, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
While pointing out that J&K was lacking trained manpower for mobilization of resources during the natural calamities, the Panel had suggested comprehensive planning for enhancing capabilities and training and updating of State Government machinery on continuous basis so that the same is always on alert mode.
Shockingly, only official communications have been exchanged till date and practically no training in this regard has began, sources revealed, adding “the State is still groping in dark as to whether such a training should be customized one at the district level or there should be State level uniform training”. In such a situation, the possibility of J&K getting caught on sleeping mode at the time of any disaster in future cannot be ruled out.
Moreover, while expressing displeasure as to why the local authorities allowed encroachments on a large scale, which led to disaster of such a magnitude, the Panel had recommended that the Government should bring into force building bye-laws keeping in view the topography of the State so that encroachments on river banks are avoided.
“Unfortunately, this recommendation has also not received due attention and encroachments on river banks remain a continuous affair”, sources further said, adding “even the State Government has yet not started discussion as to what should be the strategy for the existing encroachments on the banks of the rivers and other water bodies”.
Another aspect which drew the attention of the Parliamentary Panel relates to role of deforestation in inviting floods and keeping this aspect in mind it had suggested that Government must ensure that no more deforestation takes place. “However, the compensatory afforestation process is going on at the same pace as it was prior to the devastating floods of September 2014 despite the fact that the same was required to be geared up”, sources pointed out.
While referring to severe landslides particularly in different parts of Jammu region, which claimed numerous lives, the Panel had recommended that Government should immediately set-up an expert group of scientists and geologists for detailed study about the factors/reasons which could contribute in major landslides with the instruction to submit the report within stipulated timeframe. Shockingly, even expert group has not been constituted despite the fact that only an official order was required to be issued in this regard.
“The non-serious attention towards these minor recommendations has established that J&K has not learnt any lesson from the devastating floods of September 2014”, sources said, adding “if such an attitude is towards those recommendations which can be implemented without utilization of much funds what could be the fate of those involving huge financial implications can be easily gauged”.
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