Jammu
Crores of rupees swindled by Irrigation Department Rajouri but people still waiting for relief; Will DC Rajouri enquire into the matter?
Crores of rupees swindled by Irrigation Department Rajouri but people still waiting for relief; Will DC Rajouri enquire into the matter?
POONCH TODAY NEWS
RAJOURI/NOWSHERA: Many tainted officers in the office of Deputy Commissioner Rajouri and the officials of the Irrigation Department have looted funds over the years meant for strengthening irrigation facilities in the district, but despite showing expenditure in crores, the common man is still deprived of basic irrigation facilities.
In Lamberi area of Nowshera tehsil, people, while talking to “POONCH TODAY” said that crores of rupees over the years were swindled by tainted officers of district administration Rajouri in the name of construction and renovation of many irrigation canals, but people are still depending on rain water for their harvest. They said that most of the irrigation canals are filled with mud after a few weeks, but officials of the irrigation department never bothered to clear the mud, thereby causing huge inconvenience to the people who are totally dependent on irrigation water for agricultural purposes. From Nowshera to Sunderbani, there are many unattended irrigation canals. As a result, people are facing continuous inconvenience in ploughing their fields due to the lack of water in the canals and also due to the dampening of mud and silt in the canals. On paper, tainted irrigation officials show repairing and renovation work done, but the ground condition speaks otherwise. Locals say that a few blue-eyed contractors used to get contracts for annual cleaning and renovation work, but they just do little work and, later, grease the palms of corrupt officers to pass the bill, thereby murdering the government exchequer. whereas the department is saying that due to highway work, many canals have been affected. It is pertinent to mention here that the high work was started a few months ago, but the poor performance of the Irrigation Department in Rajouri has remained in the news for the last fifteen years. Even the district administration of Rajouri never took to task those inefficient officers who were responsible for not ensuring efficient irrigation facilities for the people. Those tainted officials sitting in the Deputy Commissioner’s office, who are known for managing everything behind the curtains, need to be shunted out to make way for the most efficient minds in the administration so that justice is delivered to the people at their door steps. Will DC Rajouri inquire into the matter of poor irrigation facilities in the Lamberi area due to the poor attitude of irrigation department officials?
