Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 9: Construction on the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) building has been halted for two years due to a lack of funding with officials saying that they are awaiting administrative approval for the amended project cost.
The facility, which will be built in South Kashmir’s Pampore area, would provide district teachers with training and help them enhance their performance. However, the project has been stalled for the past two years due to a shortage of funds, leading teachers to conclude that the government’s unwillingness to complete the facility disproves its assertions that the Valley’s education system is improving.
Since its inception in 2011, construction has progressed slowly, causing the project to become overstretched. Even after ten years, the project, which was supposed to be finished in two to three years, is still unfinished.
With an estimated cost of Rs 4.78 crores, the project was handed over to the Roads and Building Department (R&B), and construction continued at a steady pace until 2014. However, the work was disrupted frequently after that, and it was finally halted two years ago.
“There has been no progress on the project for the last two years. The construction work was progressing well until 2014, but after that, the Government practically abandoned the project, “said a teacher who works at the DIET office.
Slow funding, according to officials, is to blame for the delay, with the construction being suspended because of escalating expenses. To address the issue, the Department of Roads and Buildings created a new, thorough project report and sent it to the appropriate authorities. “We have submitted a new DPR and are waiting for approval. Work will resume once approval is received,” Manzoor Ahmad, Junior Executive Engineer Roads and Buildings Department Pampore, said.
An official with knowledge of the project’s details, however, blamed the executing agency for the slow pace of work, saying, “Initially, the whole amount of money was provided to the agency, but they failed to complete it. No organization provides funding all at once, but the funds for this initiative were distributed equitably.”
The main reason for the project’s abandonment, according to an official from the education department, was the government’s refusal to finish projects started by their predecessors. “It has been over ten years since the foundation stone was laid. Yet there has been no progress on the project for the last two years,” an official remarked.
The institute presently operates from a makeshift building at a local government High School for men.
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