Field agencies least bothered about Govt’s explicit directives, not sharing information

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 13: Making mockery of the repeated directions of Government on physical verification of infrastructure projects, several field agencies and officers have either not been sharing required information with the inspecting officers or trying to block the same on one pretext or the other. Due to this, the objective behind monitoring of developmental projects and schemes has remained a distant dream till date.
“Monitoring is a continuous process which commences with the concept and ends with the completion of project. Moreover, it is a process to cross check the performance against the targeted plan and collect information from the project implementing agencies with the objective to improve practices and procedures for ensuring optimum utilization of resources”, said Economic Survey for the year 2013-14.
“The effective monitoring is further imperative as it results into completion of the projects and programmes in a fixed time-frame and within the ambit of Detailed Project Report (DPR)”, the document said, adding “in order to achieve this objective the Project Appraisal and Plan Monitoring Division of the Planning and Development Department has been monitoring the physical performance and financial expenditure of the projects on monthly/quarterly basis with the line departments implementing the developmental activities, programmes and projects”.
In order to bring improvement in the implementation of developmental schemes/ projects in the State and attainment of Plan objectives, the Planning and Development Department during the current financial year initiated a new intervention to assess the physical status of infrastructure projects taken up by developmental departments in the State under Plan and Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
Accordingly, the Planning and Development Department vide Order No.61 dated July 2, 2013 mandated the Additional District Development Commissioners, Regional Joint Director (Evaluation) Jammu/Kashmir and District Statistical and Evaluation Officers with the assignment of monitoring and conducting physical verifications of infrastructure projects in a specified manner within the stipulated time frame.
As the findings of these physical verifications were required to be reviewed/monitored periodically and shared with the concerned departments for initiating appropriate remedial measures, the Planning and Development Department, at the time of issuing order, directed all the departments/field agencies to cooperate and provide necessary assistance to the inspecting officers so as to ensure 100% physical verification of the assigned projects.
However, inputs received from the inspecting officers carrying out physical verification indicated that some field agencies/officers have not been showing seriousness in this regard. They are either reluctant to share the required information sought by the inspecting officers or trying to block the same on one pretext or the other thereby causing obstructions in the smooth conduct of verification process of the infrastructure projects.
What to talk of monitoring by Additional District Development Commissioners, Regional Joint Director (Evaluation) Jammu/Kashmir and District Statistical and Evaluation Officers even the independent monitoring through NABCONS has not been yielding desired results.
According to the Economic Survey, 34 projects of Roads and Buildings, Health and Medical Education Departments, 17 of PHE and Irrigation and Flood Control Department were taken up for monitoring by NABCONS in 2011-12. Though field visits have been completed yet the monitoring reports are still awaited.
“However, in case of 53 projects identified for 2012-13 first visit has been completed and departments have been apprised with the good practices adopted”, the Survey said. Though the Economic Survey said that 1870 projects of School Education Department are being assigned to NABCONS for 3rd Party Monitoring during the current financial year involving cost of Rs 35.37 crore yet it has not indicated as to how many of these projects have been assigned till date despite the fact that financial year is all set to be over.

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