Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, June 13: The long wait of Jammuites has not ended as the construction of much talked about Jammu International Convention Centre (JICC), the work on which was started over 17 years back has failed to meet deadline again.
Rs 24.61 crore project which was started way back in 1998 by the then Government of Dr Farooq Abdullah is still under construction and has passed many deadlines of completion since then. The constant delay of the project has generated a lot of resentment among the people who term it a result of discriminatory attitude towards the Jammu region.
After a constant delay of over 15 years, the authorities last time had given a dead line of completing the project by December end 2014 but even after a lapse of over six months the project has not been completed and 20 percent work is still incomplete.
Sources said the lack of interest from the Government in completing the work on much talked about JICC has been a cause of concern for the people also who accuse the authorities that they never took the project seriously.
It may be recalled that ICC Jammu was to be constructed on the pattern of SKICC, Srinagar and the work was started in 1998 on this prestigious project. But it suffered an initial delay of two years as the security forces who were camping on the site of the project took complete two years to shift from the area and handed over the site to Hospitality and Protocol Department which is constructing the project.
People while questioning the Government’s sincerity in the completion of project said that when SKICC, Srinagar which was constructed during the tenure of former Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah in 1977 was completed in a stipulated time frame why the ICC Jammu has not been completed almost in two decades.
It may be recalled that the then Farooq Abdullah Government had decided in 1998 to construct ICC, Jammu on the pattern of SKICC, Srinagar and the work on the project was started on the same year by the Hospitality and Protocol Department.
The Centrally air conditioned ICC Jammu has a seating capacity of over 400 people. It besides two seminar halls, a VIP lounge, Chief Minister’s room, restaurant, cafeteria and an exhibition centre will also have a business centre.
According to sources, there were many allegations over the delaying of the project and one of them was the Finance Ministry which delayed the sanctioning of the funds. Sources said the lack of interest over the speedy completion of the project can be gauged from the fact that the funds allocated for the project were diverted towards other projects.
Earlier, after security forces agreed to shift from the land after a gap of two years, the project suffered another delay due to paucity of funds. Later, the work was started but it was again stopped for years together due to a dispute between the Department and contractor. The matter was however resolved only after the intervention of the court of law after a gap of over five years.
However, after the Omar Abdullah Government took over in 2008, he took a keen interest in construction of this prestigious project for Jammu and work was resumed on it with the intention of completing the project as early as possible. Later, the company which was assigned the electric works of the project abandoned the work delaying the construction further forcing the authorities to cancel the contract and assigning the electrification work to SICOP.
After assigning the electrification work of the Project to SICOP, the Department set a deadline to complete the Project by December 2014 but this dead line was not also met and the project is yet to see the light of the day.
The engineer who looks after the project informed Excelsior that the work is going on and the Project will be completed soon. However, he failed to give a dead line saying that he too was under the orders of transfer and can’t make a commitment.
When contacted Director Hospitality and Protocol, Tariq Hussain said that work is going on over the project and it will be completed by October end or beginning of November this year. He said physically 90 percent work of the project has been completed and the Department is on the job. Admitting that the project was delayed for about 18 years, he said there were various reasons for the same but now the Department is firm to complete the project as early as possible.
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