Srinagar 3 April: Jammu Kashmir Contractors Coordination Committee Chairman Ghulam Jeelani Purza has demanded the J&K government to conduct a high-level inquiry into the lapse of public funds to find out the reasons behind the loss of funds.
Speaking at an emergency press conference here today, he stressed on the issue of paying the pending bills of the contractors, while 345 contractors have been blacklisted and, adding that “this should be revised so that the families of these contractors are not forced to starve.”
In a statement issued to Ziraat Times today after the press conference, Mr Purza informed the government about the problems faced by contractors and said that this year’s funds lapsed, adding that “government employees were responsible for the fund lapses, which should be investigated at a higher level.”
He said that since the year 2019, it has been seen that funds are being provided by the government on time so that there is no disruption in the construction activities. However, these funds are not provided to the DDOs on time and the funds are withheld in the departments for no reason and are provided to the DDOs in the last days of March due to which they are worried that now what work do they have to put the funds in the eleventh hour, which further results in the lapse of funds.
He has appealed to the LG administration that there should be a high-level examination of the funds that are lapsed.
JKCCC Chairman further said that the government had promised them that the money of all the contractors would be released, but the due money has not been released yet. The money of the contractors is stuck in R&B, PHE and other departments, he said.
“Unfortunately, for the last three years, we have been running around government institutions. Our bills are pending for the year 2017 or 2018 or later, must be settled immediately so that we will get relief”.
Ghulam Jeelani Purza also talked about the 345 contractors who have been blacklisted and whose NOC did not come.
“They are being asked to bring verification from CID and bring NOC from police”, he added.
Mr Purza further said that “in order to deal with the insurgency that broke out here in 1990, the government made a policy for the rehabilitation of such stray youths, under which such youths were provided with contract cards, some were hired as temporary employees and some were given loans. It was provided and invested in business so that the youth can earn their livelihood.”
“Several times the Prime Minister has also said in a speech in Delhi that Kashmiris should be won not by bullets but by words and they need to be embraced”, he said adding “if the contractors are harassed in the name of NOC, their families will be forced to starve”. He has appealed to the LG government to reconsider this decision “as people are being alienated from the government by such tactics.”
