No fewer than 16 water works projects were approved for Bandipora district that have been abandoned for no specified reason. Local MLAs brought the matter to the notice of the authorities. In 2011, the matter figured in the District Development Board. The case lingered on. A year later in June 2012, legislators vehemently protested against the carelessness of authorities to move the matter and induce the contractors to resume completion of the works in hand. All that was done was to constitute a Committee under the chairmanship of the District Development Commissioner of Bandipora, which would study the current status of the projects and submit a report. The committee competed it assignment and submitted the report to the Commissioner Secretary GAD and copies to all concerned departments involved in the schemes. A year is about to go by when the report was submitted and no action whatsoever has been taken. The report has stated miss-utilization of Government funds by the executing agency in connivance with the concerned contractors of the schemes.
Nearly a year has passed by and no action has been taken. No enquiry has been instituted into the allegation of misuse of funds. Is it because some people with vested interests are involved that are using political clout to cover up the entire episode? It has to be remembered that the water works taken in hand were meant to bring relief to the population of the district facing difficulties of access to drinking water. A democratic Government’s primary duty is to cater to the needs of the people at large. Service to the people and meeting their legitimate demands make sense when we talk of democracy. But what can be said of a system in which public interest is advertently sacrificed for personal interests. It is a case not only of misuse of public funds but also of mouse of public trust. It is after expiry of nearly a year that the Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control studied the report. He feels it is a serious matter and would consider what action he would take in the matter. This case is an eye-opener for the Government because it embodies the sordid story of rank inefficiency dogging the Government institutions. The entire effort of sponsoring 16 projects of water works in the district boils down to enquiry after enquiry with action either elusive or non-existent.
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