Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 26: In what could be termed as mockery of the highest decision making body, Jammu and Kashmir State Road Development Corporation is existing only in the files of the Roads and Building (R&B) Departments during the past 15 months despite the same having been cleared by the State Cabinet. Due to this, the objective of nodal agency for executing major roads and allied infrastructure projects could not be achieved till date.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that in order to give thrust to multifaceted growth in transport infrastructure, the State Cabinet on May 30, 2012 accorded sanction to establishment of first ever Jammu and Kashmir State Road Development Corporation. The proposal in this regard was worked out by the Public Works (R&B) Department in consultation with Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, who was also holding the portfolio of R&B at that time.
The State Road Development Corporation was supposed to promote surface infrastructure by taking up road works, including tunneling and appurtenant structures and take up projects on Build-Own Transfer (BOT), Build-Own-Operate and Transfer (BOOT), Build-Own-Lease and Transfer (BOLT) under Public Private Partnership (PPP) as well as major projects entrusted by State and Central Governments, sources said.
Its objective was also to act as nodal agency of the State Government for execution of major roads and allied infrastructure projects, prepare and develop plans for the State road sector and identification and selection of projects based upon economic, social, technical and commercial criteria.
Moreover, the establishment of Corporation was given nod by the Cabinet in order to encourage private sector participation in transport infrastructure, raise resources for the identified projects and undertake projects outside J&K either in joint venture or alone, sources informed.
While according nod to the establishment of Corporation, the Cabinet had observed that it (Corporation) will have the responsibility of attracting Viability Gap Funding from Union Ministry of Road and Transport and Planning Commission besides reducing dependence on State exchequer in respect of maintenance of State Highways and Major District Roads.
“However, all these objectives could not be achieved till date despite lapse of 15 months as the Corporation exists only in the files of the R&B Department and no requisite exercise was carried out in order to give practical shape to the decision”, sources said, adding “the Corporation fails to get formally established despite the fact that no financial burden was involved in the same and the minimally needed staff had to be provided by internal adjustment by the Administrative Department of R&B”.
“Why the Minister Incharge Roads and Buildings, who is the Chairman of the Corporation and Minister of State for R&B, who happens to be Vice-Chairman of the Corporation, failed to give practical shape to the Cabinet decision remains a million dollar question particularly when Jammu and Kashmir, which is a hilly and tough terrain State, is in the need of a nodal agency for executing major roads and allied infrastructural projects”.
When contacted, a senior officer of the R&B Department on the condition of anonymity confirmed that Corporation has failed to come up practically despite Cabinet nod. “We are in the process of getting the Corporation registered with Registrar of Companies following which the other requisite formalities would be completed so that Corporation gets established in real sense”, the officer added.
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