Jammu, Dec 11: Suggestive of the laidback approach in the government set up, about 900 habitations across the state identified six years back under ‘Core Network’ for connectivity under the prestigious Prime Ministers Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) scheme  are yet to be provided the proposed road link.
 The reason being that as many as 29 Programme Implementation Units (PIU)s   established to implement the  scheme  in JK face shortage of hundreds of junior engineers.
 At the moment there are 17 PIUs in Jammu Division and 12 in Kashmir valley. The failure on part of the government to make available adequate manpower is delaying construction of several roads already cleared by the central government.
 “About 900 habitations identified about six years back under Core Network for connectivity with the nearest urban centre are yet to be provided the proposed road link- the reason being that the government has failed to engage the required man power” said a source.
 Sources maintained that central government has recently turned down the R&B schemes under Phase VIII of PMGSY for faulty projects and for not conforming to Government of India (GOI) specifications and all this was because of manpower shortage.
 Official sources said that though few hundred engineers were engaged by the government in October this year, but these were far less than the required manpower in view of the fact that a large number of road projects are already running years behind the schedule. 
 They said that union Rural Development Ministry has repeatedly expressed its dismay over the poor implementation and failure of the state government to utilize the funds released under the scheme.  Sources said official formalities at various levels have clogged the entire delivery mechanism.
 “To make provision for the manpower is sole responsibility of the respective states as PMGSY does not provide for any staff arrangement. If the Government wants to derive full benefit of the Bharat Nirman programme it will have to strengthen these units without wasting further time”, said a senior officer. 
 PMGSY was started in Jammu and Kashmir way back in 2000 with the aim to develop a massive  road network  to connect  all small habitations with the nearest urban centres.
 The failure   of the government  to implement the prestigious scheme     even drew flaks from the ruling party  MLAs and MLCs  , particularly those representing  the mountainous districts of Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri in Jammu and Kupwara, Bandipore, Islamabad (Anantnag) in Kashmir division.
 Executing agencies and contractors in these districts have been found abandoning the construction works half way in violation of terms of contract but are not penalized by the government due to vested interests. Even roads completed in various areas are never repaired or maintained by contractors who are duty bound for the same under terms of agreement.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 IST