Panel fails to submit report despite repeated directions of Law Minister

*Completion date extended to March 2017
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 27: Making mockery of the Government, a committee constituted to look into unprecedented escalation in cost of the upcoming Legislature Complex at Jammu has failed to submit its report despite repeated directions of the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs since March this year. In the absence of findings of the panel, the Government may not be able to take decision with regard to sanctioning of additional funds for the project, whose completion has now been extended to March 2017 from the earlier deadline of December 2016.
The new Legislature Complex coming up near the Civil Secretariat Jammu was approved at a cost of Rs 104 crore by the 13th Finance Commission and its foundation stone was laid in the year 2010. However, work could not be started on time because of failure of concerned authorities to shift different utilities on the land.
Though the work on the project picked up momentum in the middle of 2012 when cumbersome free area was completely handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation Limited, the same had to be shelved for a brief period in the month of December 2012 when portion of existing Legislature Complex collapsed due to heavy rains.
Early this year, the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation submitted revised Detailed Project Report mentioning that project would be completed at a cost of Rs 192 crore instead earlier cost of Rs 104 crore. However, they (JKPCC authorities) failed to give any plausible reason for such a whopping hike in the project cost.
This led to formulation of a committee comprising of former Chief Engineer R&B, Kashmir, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, Senior Architect Farooq Ahmad Naqashbandi and some other experts to look into the reasons leading to unprecedented escalation in the cost of the project. This committee was directed to submit its report by April 7, 2015.
However, the panel could not complete the task assigned to it within the fixed time-frame and the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Basharat Bukhari and R&B Minister Altaf Bukhari after inspecting the work on the upcoming Legislature Complex on June 8, 2015 directed the committee to complete the task as early as possible and submit its findings.
What to talk of completing the task immediately, there was no response from the committee for more than two months and the Minister for Law and R&B Minister while reviewing the progress on the project on September 15, 2015 directed the committee to submit report with its final recommendations by or before September 24, 2015.
Though one month has lapsed since the last deadline, the committee has failed to submit its reports thereby making the mockery of the repeated directions of the Ministers for Law and R&B, sources informed. “The dilly-dallying approach of the committee has been viewed very seriously by the Government and it is going to pass some directions within next some days”, sources added.
In response to a question, sources said that Government will take decision on sanction and release of additional Rs 88 crore only after analyzing the report of the committee and in view of delay in completion of task by the committee, this decision is also getting delayed. “No doubt, the JKPCC is carrying out work at the required pace but delay in decision on additional funds would create liability for the Government”, sources further said.
They also disclosed that earlier the project was scheduled to be completed in March 2016 but later its deadline was extended till December 2016 by the Minister for Law, Basharat Bukhari. “In the recently convened review meeting of District Development Board Jammu, which was presided over by the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, it was revealed that due to slow funding, the completion date is likely to be extended and project shall now be completed by March 2017”, sources informed.
When contacted, an officer of the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs confirmed that committee has yet not submitted its report. He admitted that panel has failed to meet several deadlines fixed by the Minister. “The transfer of those officers, who were members of this committee, may also be the reason behind delay in submission of report”, he added.
However, sources said that Government should expeditiously seek report of the committee vis-à-vis escalation in project cost and also ascertain the reasons behind extension of deadline for completion of project.

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