Arun Singh
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 13: In a bizarre incident, the Sunisar Mansar Development Authority (SMDA), which has miserably failed to make Mansar Lake as one of the top tourist destinations in Jammu region not only engaged 62 need based workers but simultaneously engaged contractors also for general upkeep and maintenance of assets. They also made payments for the same work during 2008-12 causing burden on state exchequer unnecessarily. Sources in the department told Early Times that with the deliberate negligence on the part of the Mansar-Surinsar Development Authority, it engaged 62 individuals and some agencies for the same work and gave payments to the tune of Rs 64 lakhs.
"Sunisar Mansar Development Authority had engaged 15 need based workers during 2008-10 and it increased the strength and engaged 51 more need based workers during 2011-12 in order to improve the efficiency for maintenance and upkeep of parks, lawns and picnic spots at the at Surinsar, Mansar, Purmandal and Utterbehni, ," they said further adding that despite increasing the number of need based workers, Authority engaged contractors for the same works allegedly to extend undue benefits to them.
Continue to drain state exchequer, Authority made payment of Rs 24 lakh to need based workers of their wages and expenditure on this account was debited to revenue realized by the Authority whereas it gave payment of Rs 39.63 lakhs to the contractors, they informed.
"Despite deplorable condition of Mansar Lake, the administration has not taken concrete steps to uplift the infrastructure at this destination. At times, the funds which are released for various projects are not used fully and sometime it remained unused in the bank account of the authority for years," sources divulged.
"The Mansar Lake had been ignored by the successive governments in the state to make it number one tourist destination by not creating requite infrastructure, the lack of hotels, best roads, restaurants are the main impediments which restrict the inflow of tourist to visit this place," they added.
They alleged that the faulty planning prepared by Sunisar Mansar Development Authority multiplies the problems to make it best destination to sustain the stay of pilgrims visiting Vaisho Devi, Amarnath at Jammu. |
