Tourism Development Authorities worst affected
*Need of having separate wing projected before CM, CS
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 21: Notwithstanding the fact that tourism is the mainstay of J&K’s economy, several tourism sector works across the Union Territory are getting delayed because of slackness on the part of the Engineers of the Roads and Buildings Department, who are not taking requests from the Tourism Department and Tourism Development Authorities seriously.
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Official sources told EXCELSIOR that ever since the Tourism Department has been deprived of its Engineering Wing majority of the works are not getting executed well in time leading to low fund utilization and inordinate delay in making the facilities available to the tourists.
“Following reorganization of the Engineering Wings of different departments, the Tourism Department has suffered a lot as except for release of work-wise funds to the concerned Engineers of the R&B Department it has no major role to play in getting the projects/ works executed in a time-bound manner”, sources said.
Quoting an example of current financial year, sources informed that several tourism sector works under Capex Budget have yet not been tendered by the R&B Engineers while as work is at a snail’s pace on several other projects, which were somehow started because of persistent requests from the Tourism Department.
“The tourism sector works are not major ones like that of other departments particularly R&B as such Engineers don’t give much preference to them and ultimately the Tourism Department and Tourism Development Authorities face difficulties in improving the facilities for the tourists”, sources further said, adding “the situation is worst in the Tourism Development Authorities which have been left with no other option but to knock the doors of the R&B Department engineers even for carrying out small repair works”.
They further informed that in respect of several projects even the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) have not been formulated although only few months have left for the closure of the current financial year. “Moreover, it is difficult to carry out major works during the winter months as such whether all the projects planned for execution during the current financial year will be completed before March ending 2025 remains a million dollar question”, they added.
“Now, the Administrative Secretary of the Tourism Department has taken up the prevailing situation with the Administrative Secretary of the R&B Department and both have decided to conduct zone-wise reviews from next week so as to ensure that maximum projects get completed before the end of current financial year”, sources informed.
They disclosed that need of having separate wing for the Tourism Department and Tourism Development Authorities has already been projected before the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and they have sought some details from both Tourism and R&B Departments before taking any decision.
“It has been projected before the Government that at least bare minimum engineering staff should be kept at the disposal of Tourism Department so that projects are executed well in time. In the meanwhile, detailed instructions are required to be issued to all the Engineers of the R&B Department to give due importance to the projects/works of the Tourism Department”, sources said.
Pointing towards recent Government instructions to the Tourism Development Authorities to check violations happening in tourist destinations in terms of illegal constructions or that of the Master Plan, sources said, “this can become possible only when sufficient manpower is placed at the disposal of these Development Authorities, which at present are acutely understaffed”.
“Even for updation of existing Master Plan and preparation of new ones the Tourism Development Authorities are entirely dependent upon the Town Planning Organization, which again is understaffed, as such all these issues are required to be resolved as early as possible so that planned development is ensured in the areas under the Tourism Development Authorities”, sources stressed.
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