Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, June 13: Preponing the deadline from 2022 to 2019 for completion of all the works of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Phase I, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and its National Rural Road Development Agency (NRRDA) has reprimanded Jammu Kashmir Government for slow pace of progress on the pending projects and asked the State to focus on balance habitations, particularly in its nine districts, which have less than 40 percent connectivity.
During the recently held Regional Review meeting of PMGSY, which was chaired by Joint Secretary (RC), MoRD & DG, NRRDA, Rajesh Bhushan, the State was made clear that all the balance DPRs of 304 unconnected habitations should be submitted to NRRDA within next two months and to see that all the works of PMGSY-I (new connectivity) are completed before the end of financial year 2018-19.
Accordingly, Jammu Kashmir has been asked to achieve the average number of 33 habitations to be connected every month in 2017-18 so as to achieve the 100 percent physical target by March 2018, officials sources said, adding that target length of road works, to be constructed during 2017-18 is 1,800 kilometers.
As per Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System (OMMAS), nine districts of Jammu and Kashmir have less than 40 percent connectivity, which need special focus. These districts include Doda, Kathua, Poonch, Kargil, Kupwara, Rajouri, Srinagar and Udhampur.
Informing that NITI Aayog is reviewing 100 worst perfuming districts in the country to submit a report in this regard to PMO, the J&K has been advised to focus on these districts and to reconcile the OMMAS in respect of these nine districts.
Under PMGSY, Jammu & Kashmir has completed 1,383 roads/bridges, out of 2,527 sanctioned and 7,118 km length constructed out of 13,672 km sanctioned. The State has to still complete 1,144 roads/bridges. Nearly 6, 554 km of the sanctioned length is still pending for completion.
Asking the State to reduce this gap, sources said that the NRRDA told J&K to hold review meeting with PIUs and contractors regularly at State Rural Roads Development Agency (SRRDA) level and fix targets for completion of on-going road works in a time bound manner. Further, sources added, State has also been asked to submit the plan of action month-wise/ road-wise, phase-wise as well as stage-wise of all incomplete road works to MoRD/NRRDA.
During the review meeting, it was informed that the State has 514 road works (approximately 2,531 km length) pending for more than 4 years. However, Chief Engineer JKRRDA, who represented the State in the meeting, said that out of two road works of 2004-05, one has already been completed and the other one was in progress while out of 32 road works of 2005-06, 20 will be completed by March 2018 and remaining 12 by March, 2019. Similarly, he added, 49 road works of 2006-07 will be completed by March, 2018 and out of 120 road works of 2007-08, 75 will be completed by March, 2018 and remaining 45 works by March, 2019. Out of 293 road works of 2011-12, 46 will be completed by March 2018 and remaining 247 by March, 2019.
On this, the State was advised to seriously focus particularly on roads pending for 2 to 4 and more than 4 years, sources said.
Further, in the review meeting, the J&K was also reprimanded for poor road maintenance performance during the period 2012-13 to 2016-17. During the current year, no maintenance of road works was made against the required fund of Rs 6.53 crores.
Expressing concern over poor road maintenance, the NRRDA also asked J&K to immediately notify Rural Road Maintenance Policy, which was yet to be notified, and credit adequate funds for maintenance in its SRRDA account. Seeking efforts to achieve 100 percent expenditure by end of the current year, Director (Projects-II), NRRDA, Mahesh Hirmesh asked the State to review maintenance works/bill quarterly or monthly basis so that payment to contractors are also released timely.
Further, sources said that the high-level meeting also reviewed the quality and inspection issues with an observation that in case of 26 works, payment was made to the contractors even as the project was never inspected by the State Quality Monitor (SQM). Jammu and Kashmir has 621 balance inspections by SQM against the annual target of 746.
Besides, the State was suggested that interim Action Taken Reports (ATRs) should be submitted immediately with the certification that all the recoveries have been made from the erring contractors against the defective works so that rectification can be taken care with new contractors,
In the review meeting, sources said that the J&K was also asked to release its balance programme fund’s share of 2016-17 and to upload the same on OMMAS with a warning that lack of full State share being credited would make it very difficult for the Union Ministry to release further fund to the State under PMGSY.
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