Failure of the admin
The September 2014 deluge has left an indelible imprint on the minds and psyche among the people in the state. The floods were so devastating in nature that even after the passage of almost five years the people get goose bumps whenever there is a heavy downpour and the talk of floods fills the air.
Besides, the change in weather patterns also provides us a grim reminder that the flood threat remains as valid as it was in September 2014 as the state machinery has failed to get things work in a professional way.
Rather the administration has acted in a criminal way as the resources that were available to tackle any such eventuality have not been harnessed. This is evident from the fact that the government’s capacity to spend funds on infrastructure projects has come into question as it has spent only Rs 71 crore of the Rs 1500 crore funded by the World Bank for reconstruction of infrastructure damaged in 2014 flood and for enhancing the state’s disaster management capacities.
The deadline for completion of the Jehlum Tawi Flood Recovery Project is 30 June 2020. Spending more than Rs 1400 crore in 13 months appears to be unthinkable given the performance so far.
Notably, the World Bank had set target of awarding projects worth $100 million till 31 March 2019. The officials claim achieving the targets but on ground the situation is not witnessing any change.
Approved in 2015, the project became effective from 19 April 2016. It was to be completed in four years by the Project Implementation Units that had been set up in different departments.
The inefficiency of the government is primarily responsible for slow progress of the project. A lot of time was consumed in preparation of detailed project reports. The tendering process is also very lengthy and hectic and the administration has slept over this crucial project.
The higher level of water in the Jhelum has alarmed the administration as well as during the last week the Divisional Administration sounded an alarm for all the district officers and asked them to be ready with all contingency plans and proposals to deal with any kind of a situation.
The reminder to the ground level officials about the dangers of floods and their preparation plans however, seems cosmetic as the magnitude of the September 2014 floods has made us realize that these measures fall short of the actual requirements.
The actual requirements that always escape the eye of the officials is the details about the plans that have been drafted to provide a diversion to the water in case the level rises to alarming levels in Jhelum during the summer months or whenever there is a heavy downpour.
This is where the officials fail and fail miserably. The diversion to the rising water levels has to be planned and for this the existing water bodies can prove to be the immediate remedy that is available. But the officials of various departments who exercise control over these water bodies do things according to their likes and understanding.
The ground situation tells us that we are sitting on yet another volcanic situation and if a situation like the one that surfaced in September 2014 remerges, then we are headed for another catastrophe.
KV Network
