Are agreements entered into between the authorities and the executing agencies like companies and contractors in respect of building and constructing projects followed meticulously ?Are post construction of such projects maintenance and supervision aspects forming part of such agreements actually taking place? Are quality and standard of work, material and level of expertise in matters of technical and engineering aspects really ensured to be on the same lines as per the agreements? Last but not the least, are timelines of such projects completion always adhered to and in default provisions of penalties agreed to be charged and recovered? If these terms and conditions are seen in respect of the works involving over Rs.54 crores on 66 kms of Udhampur -Pancheri- Landhar Road under PradhanMantri Gram SadakYojna (PMGSY) including constructing bridges numbering six , it would be observed that almost all chief provisions of the agreement have been violated by the contractors . They have not only compromised with the quality standards but have sub let the work to those who possessed inadequate or no expertise or exposure in undertaking such types of works. So far Rs. 794 croreshave been spent on various roads including the one under reference in the area but without any perceptible improvement or progress on the ground.
Not only has the vital work been sub-let to novices in the ‘trade’ but the work has been going on at a very slow pace and in piece meals thus having no regard for what was basically agreed upon at the time of the work having been allotted to them . It is more than a year and a half on this project and the result is just 20 to 25 per cent of the job only having been completed so far. Why is it that most of such projects which are centrally sponsored and funded as well, as in the instant case, being treated so casually in Jammu and Kashmir and often put in “no body’s baby” category? Those in charge of supervising and providing all logistics towards construction and completion of various types of works under the prestigious scheme locally are generally found wanting in possessing the requisite interest in the concerned projects. If it would have not been the case, how could the concerned authorities look with clouded eyes at no maintenancework been initiated on the said road stretch. The sum total of the entire story of this road is that the inhabitants of the area are left to fend for themselves as in reality, the condition of this road is the same that existed four decades ago.
We often voice our concern over the absence of the officers visiting such projects on the spot itself to take stock of such glaring discrepancies taking place conveniently as also agencies too responsible to undertake the work have strict periodic monitoring as their working standard which could ensure quality work on the ground. That is why, it is often seen that just a downpour or so exposes the quality of the material used and the standard of inept supervision under which the work of constructing roads and bridges get exposed. The entire stretch has become accident prone and many lives have been lost in accidents because of poor or no maintenance by the executing agencies which is highly undesirable.
For indulging in corrupt practices and minting money , we are afraid, various loopholes and measures to be adopted , if not a modus operandi, are often resorted to which can be seen in one instance of ChobbuNullah between Kainthgalli and Pancheri, a 200 metres of sliding patch which has been turned into money minting stretch by the R&B authorities as lakhs of Rupees are “shown spent” on its maintenance not for a year or so but years in a stretch but actually not even a fraction of what is claimed to have been “spent on” is repaired or made. The interesting part of the corrupt and unfair means to suspectedly make money out of this stretch is that even after 10 years of lakhs of Rupees spent (read illegally earned) on it, it continues to be in tatters and in bad shape. A fit case of probing in entirety from corruption and embezzlement angles, the higher authorities must seriously look into the entire state of affairs ofUdhampur- Pancheri – Landhar Road ‘project’.
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