Maiden visit of Cabinet Minister Javed Rana in the ‘Red Zone’ raises eyebrows on the double standard of the government 

Maiden visit of Cabinet Minister Javed Rana in the ‘Red Zone’ raises eyebrows on the double standard of the government

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH: Although the Omar Abdullah-led J&K government has shown intense concerns about the flood-like situation in different parts of the J&K, a cabinet minister of the same Omar Abdullah’s government, Javed Rana, in his maiden visit as a minister, visited the ‘Red Zone’ area near Sher-e-Kashmir bridge in Poonch and directed the Irrigation and Flood Control department to upgrade the ‘Joggers Park’ and prepare a DPR to extend the track up to police lines with a synthetic surface, offering Poonch residents a modern jogging facility with a scenic riverfront.

It is important to mention here that this is the same area that witnessed a devastating flood in 2014; as a result, the S.K. bridge was cut off from the Poonch city. The said flood demolished a number of structures and big buildings. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the district administration Poonch, vide its order no. DMP/J/3247-57 dated 31-12-2014, declared the area as a “No Construction Zone/Red Zone” and banned any type of construction/restoration of existing structures and related activities. In that order, the district administration admitted that many unregulated/illegal houses and commercial buildings came up in the Suran river basin, and these structures could not withstand the onslaught of high water current and caused obstruction in the free flow of floodwater and completely banned any type of illegal construction. But a few officers of the district administration, including the BDO office in Poonch, allowed illegal constructions and encroachments in the same area by indulging in hand-in-glove acts. Again in 2018, the Poonch administration vide no DMP/J/2037-40 dated 27-10-2028 warned against any type of construction in the same “Red Zone” areas by mentioning the same order of December 2014, but over the years, massive illegal constructions have taken place in the “Red Zone” area. Understanding the concerns of those who constructed their illegal structures in the said “Red Zone,” a former Deputy Commissioner allowed construction of a ‘Joggers Park’ as it was viewed as an indirect attempt to provide safe passage to all the illegally constructed structures in the ‘Red Zone.’ The said DC violated the orders of his two predecessors issued in 2014 and 2018, and it shows that the district administration introduced the concept of double standard and partiality to indirectly help all the encroachments for which a high-level inquiry is needed. As the different areas of the J&K have witnessed a flood-like situation, the earlier visit of Cabinet Minister Javed Rana in the ‘Red Zone’ is seen as an indirect attempt to protect all the illegal constructions. Just 100 meters from the ‘Joggers Park’ constructed on the directions of a former Deputy Commissioner, an irrigation canal and natural water resources are totally captured, but the concerned cabinet minister, who is also minister for Irrigation and Flood Control, failed to visit the same area, and it shows that the government is showing double standards on the issues of flood fury. On the one hand, the government has shown its concern over the flood fury in different parts of J&K, but on the other hand, a cabinet minister, who is also a seasoned politician, visited the said area and gave direction for the preparation of a DPR to extend the park in the same area that was banned for any type of construction by the district administration. Is this not an act of throwing taxpayers’ money into the Poonch River like the previous deputy commissioner did? Why did the cabinet minister fail to visit the area where his irrigation canal is openly captured in addition to the capturing of other nearby natural water resources? How such a huge chunk of the ‘Red Zone’ area was allowed to be encroached again after the affected flood-prone area was declared as “Red Zone” twice in 2014 and 2018. Were the office of BDO Poonch and the municipality involved in clearing site maps of various structures? If not, then how were such a large number of structures allowed to be built in the same ‘Red Zone’ in brazen violation of rules? Concerned minister Javed Rana has enough political experience, but the way he overlooked the sensitivity of the issue has raised a big question mark on his political wisdom. Despite witnessing the 2014 flood and recent flood fury in different parts of the J&K, the Poonch administration seems to have not learned any lesson. Rather than recommending people to stay away from the ‘Red Zone’ area, the cabinet minister has asked the Irrigation and Flood Control Department to prepare a DPR of the ‘Joggers Park’ up to the police line. It clearly shows that the government has different rules for different places. The cabinet minister Javed Rana needs to apply his wisdom to the ‘Red Zone’ issue rather than deviating from the concerns of his young chief minister Omar Abdullah on the flood-related incidents in J&K. If the cabinet minister Javed Rana and the Poonch administration fail to learn any lesson from the repeated flood furies, then the people of Poonch undoubtedly are at the mercy of God. If the riverbed area of Poonch faces a similar 2014 flood or a recent Jammu and Chositi (Kishtwar)-like situation in the future, then who would be responsible for any devastation?