J&K’s development projects worth crores in limbo
Srinagar, Oct 1: The legislators in Jammu and Kashmir are caught between empty coffers and angry voters.
Around a year after the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly’s return, the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) rue stalled developmental projects worth thousands of crores of rupees, accepting their failure in not being able to execute development works while finding themselves at the receiving end of the growing public frustration.
From broken bridges in south Kashmir’s Shopian district to parched taps in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, the vision of development under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) for Jammu and Kashmir seems to be a blurred one.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, MLA Kupwara and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader, Mir Muhammad Fayaz, said that the PMGSY Division, Kupwara, should have at least eight Junior Engineers (JEs) and a separate Executive Engineer, but boasts of just two JEs, while the additional charge of the division is given to another Executive Engineer.
“We don’t have Chief Engineer PMGSY, Kashmir, whose charge has been given to Chief Engineer, PMGSY Jammu. Similarly, we don’t have Chief Engineer, central Kashmir, or a Chief Engineer, south Kashmir. Their charge has been given to the Chief Engineer, north Kashmir,” he said.
Launched on December 25, 2000, across India and in 2001-02 in J&K, PMGSY is a countrywide plan that aims to provide all-weather road connectivity in rural plain areas with a population of above 500 persons and hill states and union territories with a population of 250 persons and above.
The fund-sharing pattern of PMGSY in J&K is 90:10 between the Government of India (GoI) and the J&K government.
The MLA Kupwara said that work on the projects sanctioned in April under the PMGSY had yet to commence.
He said, similarly, works sanctioned in March under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), too, were yet to start.
NABARD is India’s apex development bank, established in 1982 under an Act of Parliament to promote sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development.
It is instrumental in agricultural financing, infrastructure development, banking technology, promotion of microfinance, and rural entrepreneurship through Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Joint Liability Groups (JLPs).
“The failure to start work on these projects not only impacts the people but also mars our credibility as MLAs,” Fayaz said. “The legislators in J&K were elected after 10 years, and people had pinned hopes of them carrying out developmental works in their areas.”
He said that the failure to carry out development works was not only confined to the Rural Development Department but also with the Health and Medical Education and Jal Shakti Departments.
“All the schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission, including 50 schemes of the mission in Kupwara valued at crores of rupees, are stalled while people are desperate for drinking water, and this is true in every constituency,” the MLA Kupwara said.
He said that after the National Conference (NC)-led government assumed power, it made a House Committee about the issue, but nothing positive had happened about it during the past 11 months.
“The government has even withheld the amount of the contractors that is due to them for the developmental works carried out in the previous dispensation,” Fayaz said.
He said that the dual structure of governance should not impact such development works.
“These are all issues that the J&K government can deal with itself,” the MLA Kupwara said. “And the irony is that any MLA who voices these concerns instead of being listened to by the J&K government is accused of being someone’s ally.”
He said that no MLA among the 90 legislators could say that even a single paisa had been released for any water supply scheme in this dispensation.
At the heart of stalled development is a machinery of governance slowed by vacant posts, unapproved proposals, and frozen funds, leaving legislators with little to show their constituencies while finding themselves helpless watching files gathering dust in Srinagar and New Delhi.
MLA Shopian Shabir Ahmad Kullay, an independent, told Greater Kashmir that while the failure to utilise the PMGSY and NABARD funds could be understood, it was difficult to comprehend why development works were not being undertaken under the Union Territory (UT) CAPEX and District CAPEX.
The funds under the UT CAPEX are allocated for developing infrastructure and long-term assets.
These funds are planned and approved for specific financial years, like the District Capex Plan for 2025-26, which involves sector-wise allocations for developmental works under the particular districts.
These funds support various projects across departments, including tourism infrastructure, culture, and general development, with releases and expenditure monitored by the Finance Department, whose portfolio is held by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself.
“In February, we were asked to identify priorities for developmental works under the departments like Irrigation and Flood Control, Health and Medical Education, and Public Works (Roads and Buildings) Department, in our constituencies,” the MLA Shopian said. “However, so far, nothing has happened about it. We didn’t get any funds under the UT CAPEX or the District CAPEX. And when we raised the issue with our concerned Deputy Commissioners (DCs), they informed us that they had no funds for these works.”
He said that Kashmir recently witnessed floods, yet the victims in the Shopian district had not received any compensation so far.
“In the recent floods, the bridges were destroyed, and we are told that the government can’t pay anything more than Rs 2 to 2.5 lakh for reconstructing the bridges. This is insanity. Which bridge can be constructed at such a meager cost?” Kullay said.
He said villages that were just 5 km from Shopian town were still unconnected.
“I took up their issue, yet not a single paisa has been spent for constructing a road to connect the village,” the MLA Shopian said. “Previously, we used to get funds for macadamisation of 20 km to 25 km in our constituency every year, for which around Rs 15 crore used to be approved. Now every constituency is getting funds for macadamisation of just 4 km.”
He said no new works had been carried out under the PMGSY and NABARD this year.
“We don’t know why the Centre is stopping the funds to the J&K government and why the J&K government is expressing its helplessness in carrying out necessary developmental activities. I believe the funds will be sent at the end of the financial year, and after we fail to spend the amount within the deadline, hundreds of crores of rupees will be surrendered,” Kullay said.
He said that the MLAs had failed to deliver as they had no power and no funds to carry out developmental activities for the people.
“In Shopian district, most people are either directly or indirectly dependent on horticulture, which was hit this year due to the natural calamity and closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, but nothing has been done by the government for the affected farmers so far,” the MLA Shopian said.
Ahead of the J&K Legislative elections last year, the promises of development were trumpeted on across Jammu and Kashmir.
Today, those promises echo in the hollow silence of stalled projects and idle offices.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, senior Congress leader and MLA Dooru, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, said that in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, recommended roads for which Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) had been sent had not received approvals.
“Maybe the Administrative Department did not fill the DPRs or filled them without taking proper care of cross-checking the figures,” he said.
The J&K government should recommend the proposals and the Centre should approve them without wasting time so that development reaches the people at the grassroots level,” the MLA Dooru said.
He said that the development works under NABARD, too, had slowed down.
“Projects sanctioned last year under NABARD are yet to start,” Mir said.
He said when engineers are asked to prepare DPRs, they do not project the cost by conducting a survey on the ground.
“Later on, we see a difference in cost, and the DPRs have to be reworked, wasting important time in the process,” the MLA Dooru said.
He said that the MLAs had highlighted the need for carrying out development projects through the Planning Department and their respective DCs.
“Unfortunately, the DC is under the control of the Lieutenant Governor,” Mir said.
While he brought the issue to the notice of the DC, MLA Pulwama Waheed-ur-Rehman Para in a post on microblogging site ‘X’, flagged it by tagging Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, and the office of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
“Projects worth Rs 10,000 crore under PMGSY-IV, NABARD, and CAPEX remain stagnated in J&K. Key positions in the Roads and Building Department lie vacant - 11 promoted SEs and 50 plus EXNs unposted for months. Divisions are run by officers holding multiple charges; offices are dysfunctional. Further, it has been months since the posting orders of Executive Engineers (Civil and Mechanical) and SE (Civil) were issued, yet no action has been taken. With half of the financial year already over, how does the government plan to execute work without officials in place?”
