Bandipora: The government departments in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district owe around Rs 1 crore water tax to the Public Health Engineering department.
The official documents of the PHE reveal that the last outstanding amount till March 2020 was Rs 72,64,288 which has now risen to Rs 1,00,10,000.
The aggregated data on water tax till March 2020 reveals that among the 101 government offices owing water tax are schools, courts, hospitals, and banks.
The offices with over Rs 1 lakh outstanding are DC Office mini-secretariat with an outstanding cost of Rs 1,35,533, In-charge Officer SK Stadium Bandipora with Rs 2,14,395, Veterinary Officer Animal Husbandry Bandipora with Rs 2,17,785, Executive Engineer R&B division Bandipora with Rs 2,52,080, BDO Bandipora with Rs 1,46,431, Assistant Engineer PMGSY with Rs 1,50,281, DFO Forest Division Chitternar with Rs 1,43,665, BMO Health Department (5 Posts) with Rs 1,28,120, Executive Engineer Electric Division Bandipora with Rs 1,39,348, Principal Forest Training School Bandipora with Rs 1,96,225, Chairman Municipal Council Bandipora with Rs 1,85,0481, Chairman Municipal Committee Bandipora (3 posts) with Rs 1,90,048, Tehsildar Bandipora (2 Posts) with Rs 1,00,297, and Principal NM GHSS Kaloosa with Rs 1,26,088.
Moreover, 31 Government Middle and Primary Schools including Army Goodwill School, Government Polytechnic College, Principal Degree College Patushai and one KGBV are the defaulters.
Further in the crucial category of important departments, four Public Healthcare Centres (PHCs), 5 J&K and Grameen Banks, one SHO office, two posts of judicial magistrate first class, the court of Munsif residential quarter, DC office residential quarter, DC office guest house, Tehsildar Bandipora (2 posts), all have an outstanding cost below Rs 1 lakh each on water tax for several years.
Other departments with an outstanding in a range from Rs 3000 to Rs 90,000 include Executive RE Wing Bandipora, Assistant Director Planning Bandipora, District Panchayat Officer Bandipora, Director Sericulture, Project Manager Watershed, Chief Horticulture Officer, Incharge Officer SICOP Bandipora, Chief Agricultural Officer Bandipora, AEE Electric Maintenance, AEE STD SD Ajar, Assistant Agricultural Officer Bandipora, Post Master’s Office, Sub Division Engineer BSNL, Range Department Forest Office, Incharge Station Fire and Emergency Bandipora and Ajas, Deputy Director Forest Protection Force, STD Receiving Station Bandipora, Assistant Sericulture office, Assistant Engineer STD Ajas and others.
The documents further reveal that the total outstanding has risen from Rs 72,64,288 to Rs 9,29,200 up to March 2021 and for March 2022 it is 10,10,000, and the total outstanding of Government departments as per the documents is Rs 92,03,488.
Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Owais Ahmad said, “I will look into the matter on an urgent basis.”
Executive Engineer PHE Bandipora, Khaliq Qurashi said, “The outstanding amount is over Rs 1 crore and is due for several years now. The PHE has been sending bills annually to all the departments.”