Srinagar: The High Court today directed the J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) to report whether the government is interested in construction of two bridges on river Sindh in Kangan or is just playing with the public.
The direction was passed by a division bench on a public interest litigation filed by Samaj Sudhar and Forest Protection Committee through advocate R A Vakil.
According to the PIL, Tengchatri and Akhal bridges were to be constructed by the JKPCC on river Sindh in Kangan area of Ganderbal district. The work on the bridges had started in 2012 but the JKPCC didn’t complete the construction even after twelve years, the petitioner said.
The petitioner said the way the Corporation is working gives an impression that it is not interested in providing the facility of the bridges to the public.
Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Moksha Kajuria Kazmi after hearing the PIL referred to the status report by the Deputy General Manager J&K Projects Construction Corporation Limited, unit Ganderbal and Bandipora. The report was filed pursuant to the court order of July 2021.
According to an earlier report by the JKPCC the World Bank aided projects in Kashmir were being constructed smoothly but many other infrastructure projects funded by the state were getting delayed due to the paucity of funds.
The judges observed the status-report “simply narrates the story shifting burden from one authority to another without any sense of responsibility that it has to complete the construction within a time bound period”.
The Court has not even required any status report rather an affidavit indicating, whether the bridges have been completed and made functional, the division bench said.
“The simple language used in the above order of the Court has not been comprehended by the authority and it has come forward with the status report and not with any affidavit whatsoever”, remarked the bench.
“The Court is unable to appreciate the attitude of the authorities that too in carrying out and completing the projects of public importance”, it observed.
It granted a month’s time to additional advocate general to file the affidavit of the Managing Director, JKPCC. The report should specify the progress of the work of the two bridges.
The report should “clearly indicate, whether the Government is actually interested in constructing the said bridges or is just delaying the matter and is playing with the public”, the court directed.
