Pointing towards the slogans given by BJP that post Article 370 abrogation would witness empowerment of Jammu and its assured expeditious development in the new set up, Harsh Dev Singh, Chairman JKNPP & former Minister claimed that even the ongoing projects were wither stalled or abandoned after the Reorganization of the State. He regretted that the major development projects of Jammu including Artificial Tawi Lake and Barrage Project, Mubarak Mandi Heritage Project, Jumboo Zoo Project, Cable Car Project, Jammu Smart City Project, Development of Tawi Banks on Sabarmati pattern, New Medical Colleges, AIIMS Project etc. had failed to make any headway even after the division of the State and its Reorganization into two Union Territories (UTs) with several of them seemingly disbanded. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu. Making a mention of Tawi Lake Project, Singh said that neither any initiative has been taken by the govt. to restart the pending works nor has it imitated any action against delinquents accused of irregularities and bunglings in the construction of the existing structure. He said that it was further disturbing to note the statement made by Union Minister of State for Tourism on November 25 in Lok Sabha in response to an un-starred question by Local MP of Jammu that the UT Administration, J&K had no proposal for construction/completion of Artificial Lake on Tawi River which had been left half done by a Hyderabad based co named GVR infrastructure. Similar was the fate of Cable Car Project connecting Bahu Fort and Maharaja Temple which were the most significant places of religious tourism in Jammu City, he regretted. Further pointing towards the pathetic condition of Jumbo Zoo Project, Singh said that named after the founder of city king Jumbo Lochan, the mega project which was started with a great fan fare wore a deserted look. Approved at a cost of Rs. 121 crore, the project was initially allotted 3200 kanals of Forest land which was later increased to spread over 10000 kanals so as to become a major tourist attraction for the region. He regretted that the work on the project had been stalled for the past 2-3 years thereby exhibiting the government’s utter lack of concern and its most despicable apathy towards the projects of Jammu. Reminding further the BJP leaders of its tall sloganeering of development of Tawi River on Sabarmati pattern, Singh regretted the deplorable plight of ‘Suryaputri’ which had been converted into a garbage bin causing water pollution of serious magnitude. The condition of Jammu city is no better with anything more than a drop making our drains overflow. The lanes, drains, manholes, pipes all leaking mock at the slogans of making Jammu a Smart City, observed Singh adding that the govt. has miserably failed to live up to its promises. Commenting upon the deplorable plight of Health Sector in the region, Singh regretted the zero progress over AIIMS project and non seriousmess of the govt. in operationalization of new Medical Colleges announced by the Union Health Ministry in 2014. Inviting the attention of the govt. towards the stalled and abandoned projects of Jammu, Singh said that any further dilly dally over their completion could invite stiff reaction from the people of Jammu who were fatigued with the apologetic posturing of the saffron leadership. Surinder Chouhan, District President Jammu Rural, Parshotam Parihar, State Secretary-PTU, Kulbushan Attri & Raj Kumar were also present in the press conference.
