Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 2: Shocking it may sound but it is a fact that one Government department has accused another of encroaching upon an area in order to provide ‘undue benefit’ to certain influential persons and encroachers.
This incident has come to the fore at a time when encroachment of State land across Jammu and Kashmir has already become a matter of serious concern and many departments faced wrath from the State High Court in number of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) seeking retrieval of such land from the encroachers.
In the latest case of encroachment, the encroacher is the Roads and Buildings Department and the complainant is the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control. In order to allegedly confer undue benefit upon the influential persons having huge chunk of land in Tawi Island and those illegally possessing the State land in the area, the R&B Department has ‘damaged’ a portion of newly constructed 4th bridge on River Tawi and constructed approach road to the island and adjoining areas.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that with the prices of land in Tawi island and adjoining areas sky rocketing due to the construction of 4th bridge on River Tawi, pressures were being mounted for providing connectivity to the area from this bridge although there was no such provision in the works plan. Had there been any such proposal in the original works plan, there would have not been parapets or protection railing on the bridge at this particular spot and provision for connecting the bridge with approach road would have been kept, they added.
Succumbing to the pressure from the political circles and influential persons, the concerned authorities of the Roads and Buildings Department damaged the railings, parapets and pedestrian way on the left side of the bridge and by carrying out some land filling exercise constructed an approach in blatant violation of engineering parameters.
This act on the part of R&B Department received criticism from various quarters including the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control, which vide communication dated March 18, 2014 conveyed concern to the R&B Department, sources said, adding thereafter the issue was also brought to the notice of the Divisional Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner Jammu and other concerned authorities. However, no action has been taken on the communications of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
In the last communication to the Chief Engineer, R&B Department dated April 16, 2014, the Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control Department said, “the Executive Engineer, Flood Control Division Jammu has intimated that left side guide bund of Waddi Tawi near Karnaila Chak is being encroached upon by your department by way of construction of approach road without obtaining prior permission from the Irrigation and Flood Control Department under J&K Water Resources and Management Act, 2010 and Rules 2011”.
“You are requested that the concerned Executive Engineer/agency may be directed to stop work forthwith till permission is obtained from our department as per the provisions of the J&K Water Resources and Management Act”, said the communication, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
Interestingly, neither the R&B Department stopped the work nor other authorities, who were forwarded copy of this last communication of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, bothered to look into the issue, sources said.
When contacted, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Shantmanu admitted that there was a dispute between R&B and Irrigation and Flood Control Department. “It is required to be seen whether the approach road from the bridge was in the original plans and has been constructed by strictly following the engineering parameters”, he added.
Chief Engineer, R&B Jammu, Sheikh Hamid, however, said that his department has done nothing wrong. “Providing shortest road link to the Tawi island and adjoining areas was a long pending demand and even raised in District Development Board meeting”, he further said, adding “we will construct proper intersection and rotary to avoid mishaps on the road, which is also one of the apprehensions of some sections of the society”.
“We have taken up road from the dead portion of the bridge in order to provide shortest connectivity to more than 20 villages”, he said, adding “if some ‘influential’ persons are also benefited due to this road that doesn’t mean that it was constructed for them only”.
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