In November 2012, the then Minister In-charge PHE, I&FC, floated with great fanfare the Rs. 70 crore Tawi Lake project announcing that the project would be completed within two years. Now it is ending May 2014, and as per the reports emanating from experts, the lake may not come up in yet another year or two. The project was given enormous media hype so much so that Pakistan got alerted and protested that forming a lake on Tawi was violation of Indus Water Treaty. The issue was magnified beyond proportion and the World Bank, which is a guarantor in the Indus Water Treaty, advised that Pakistan send a fact finding mission on spot. Actually the fact finding team did visit the site and made a report. The World Bank cleared the project stating that it did not violate the Indus Treaty in any way. The prestigious project seems to be doomed for one reason or the other. It has already jumped three dates and is likely to jump several more dates. It may not be brought to completion even by the end of 2015. When the Minister inaugurated it in 2012, he did not make any mention of funding constraints bedevilling the project. But now authorities concerned are coming up with the excuse that funds have not been released by the Union Government and the work on the project has come down to snail’s pace, actually stopped in certain areas. They say that under 13th Finance Commission, the State was to receive Rs 25 crore but just Rs 6.25 crore was received during first year. Nothing was provided this year. In this way balance of Rs 18.75 crore was still to be received. It is difficult to accept that the centre has actually deferred the amount for a long time. At the same time, concerned authorities say that about 50 crore rupees have been spent so far on various aspects of the project and yet the project is nowhere near 25 per cent of completion. This is a contradictory statement. Actually 17 nullahs carrying dirt and pollution of the city flow into the river Tawi and these are to be diverted. Without this massive programme of diversion the idea of creating a lake is futile because all the dirt will flow into the river and thus if it fills the lake, it will become the biggest source of pollution endangering human health. Nothing has been done in regard to diversion of these nullahs. Various pretexts are advanced by the Flood and Irrigation Department under whose aegis the project is being executed. The refrain of this pretext is that rains have extended over a longer period and the river overflowed with rain water and as such mechanical and public works tasks could not be complied and so forth and so on. There are a number of connected works that have to be taken up simultaneously to make the creation of lake a reality. Embankments, parapet walls, iron gates, diversionary routes etc. and the auxiliary works have to be done. It is no use telling the people that such and such percentage of a particular work has been done. The project has not to be executed in parts or by piecemeal planning. It has to go in one full go. Only then can we say that the project is on the rails. Otherwise, it is a divisive effort unlikely to bring any solace to the people of the city. If there is paucity of funds, this should have been sorted out at the very outset. One does not feel convinced that the Central funding exhausted and the project was brought to halt owing to the funds having dried up. There are many other projects in which the story runs along the same theme. The Government authorities have to do some introspection. Is our planning up to date? Is our expertise dependable enough to deliver the goods? Have we the adequate and skilled man power to undertake the construction of the project? Is the flow of funds ensured? These are some of the basic questions a layman will ask. And above all is there accountability? If yes, then that mechanism should move and come into force. The Government has raised the hopes of the people of Jammu that a major sources of entertainment would be coming up in Jammu that would have healthy impact on social life of the city. But alas it seems this is only a dream that may or may not be fulfilled. Thanks to the intransigence and incompetence of those who have been entrusted with the task of bringing the project to completion.
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