Hardly a week passes when we are not constrained to find fault with one or the other department and certainly against our liking. The fourth estate is the watchdog of a democracy. We would like to perform the task of keeping watch over how the Government handles affairs of the State. However, as conscientious citizens, it is painful to note that the administration of the State has passed into incompetent hands. A visionless administrative structure cannot take society anywhere close to progress and prosperity. Our entire administrative structure has become redundant and unsustainable. Each department has turned into Pandora’s Box revealing the ugliest visages lying hidden and unnoticed.
In umpteen editorials, we have drawn the attention of the Government to the sad reality that the administrative machinery has miserably failed in responding to the promptings of the Central Government to divert attention towards the issue of implementing various developmental schemes in the State for which the concerned Union Ministries are ready to provide funding, technical and expert advice and the roadmap for effective implementation. But despite prompting and cajoling and even warnings, not a blade of grass moves as if the entire bureaucracy in the State is affected by palsy. We have often said that recurring inability of the State Government to implement Centrally sponsored schemes is a serious matter and the reasons for this phenomenon should be found out and analyzed. The attitude of the State Government towards practical implementation of most of the important developmental schemes sponsored by the Government of India has been either casual or intentionally disruptive. This gives rise to many doubts. When the Centre asks for status report on some major project, the reply from the State Government is evasive or incoherent. In many cases, funds allocated for a specific scheme are diverted to other projects which are not mandated by the concerned ministry of the Union Government. Again in many cases of Central projects, major chunks of allocation remain unspent. This is a paradoxical situation. On the one hand political leadership vociferously laments the backwardness of the State, lack of industries, unemployment, redundant infrastructure and other debilities. But on the other hand, the State Government is unable to fully utilize funds, expertise, advice and guidance on a mega developmental scheme that would make vital difference in the quality of life of the people. Why this paradox, is what people are unable to understand. Keeping in mind the ambivalence of political leadership in the valley, an inference is drawn that the State Government is not interested in letting the Central Government make a good impression on the people. In other words, it wants that people should remain deprived so that they are goaded into creating disturbance and turmoil that go in the interests of our enemies. It is painful to draw such irrational conclusions. But why should the Government give opportunity to the people, and even right thinking people, to entertain negative ideas and draw unwanted inferences?
Take the case of two schemes floated by the Central Government viz. National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Nobody will contest the importance and need of pure drinking water to our vast rural population. Nobody will disagree with Central Government’s project of proper sanitation to the rural regions of the country and the state. There are still villages and habitats in our rural areas where womenfolk carry pitchers of drinking water on the heads for two to three kilometers just because pure drinking water is not available to them. Any State Government run by any political dispensation should have paid whole attention to the implementation of the two schemes to mitigate the suffering of the people. Owing 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 for providing clean potable water for drinking. 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. 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. How sad it is to note that under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the State Government could build only nine school toilets, one Anganwadi toilet and 23 sanitary complexes during the just concluded financial year and surrendered Rs 66.76 crore sanctioned by the Central Government for the scheme. This one example speaks volumes about the incompetence and irresponsible attitude of the State Government in regard to developmental projects floated by the Union Government. This is the reason why we have repeatedly suggested that the Union Government should constitute a committee to find out the reasons why the State Government gives such a non-serious treatment to the centrally floated developmental schemes.
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