Action taken on complaint of irregularities in road construction under PMGSY, Chief Engineer in trouble:

Uttarakhand News: The government has taken a big step amid complaints about the quality of road construction works in Kumaon region under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). Chief Engineer of PMGSY Kumaon region, Almora, S.N. Singh has been sent back to his original department, the Irrigation Department, on charges of negligence and indiscipline in work. In his place, the Superintending Engineer PMGSY Circle Jyolikot will take charge for the time being. This action has been taken under the order issued by Chief Executive Officer URDA Himanshu Khurana on the instructions of Secretary Rural Development.

According to sources, the chief engineer was accused of not taking effective steps on the quality of works, lack of supervision, lack of control over subordinate employees and slow progress in compensation distribution work. However, the pressure of the opposition is also being said to be an important role behind this action. Questions were being raised by the Congress for a long time about the quality of roads being built under PMGSY. Complaints were also raised regarding the Danya Ara Salpad motor road and MRL 18 Kasialek-Budibana-Supi motor road.

No flaws were found in the roads about which complaints were lodged,
but the interesting fact is that no major flaws were found in the investigation report of the roads about which complaints were lodged. After investigation, the quality of the roads was declared satisfactory. Despite this, removing the concerned officials and issuing notices indicates that the government is taking decisions under pressure from the opposition.

Notice was given to the officials who did not take action on the complaints.
Show cause notices have also been issued to several other officials for not taking effective action on quality complaints. Notices have been sent to Superintending Engineer Vinod Kumar, Executive Engineer in-charge Gyanesh Chandra Upadhyay and Assistant Engineer K.N. Sati (PMGSY, Irrigation Section Almora). Meanwhile, a satisfactory reply within two days has been sought from Executive Engineer Meena Bhatt and Assistant Engineer Sanjay Tiwari (PMGSY PWD Section Kathgodam) regarding the complaints related to the MRL 18 motor road.

On this action taken by the government, Congress leaders say that the government did not ignore the issues raised by the opposition and listened to the voice of the people. Congress is now preparing to present this as a big issue in the area, so that the government can be cornered among the people in the upcoming elections.

Experts raised questions on the action
However, many experts are raising the question that if the quality of the roads was found to be good in the investigation, then why such strict action was taken against the officials? Has the government taken this decision only under pressure from the opposition? This situation is also raising questions on the working style of the government. If the officials are unnecessarily put in the dock, then it will also affect their morale and work.

Experts believe that transparency and accountability are necessary in development work, but at the same time, officials should be given an environment to work independently and impartially by keeping them free from political pressure. Otherwise, this can lead to a feeling of insecurity among officials working honestly.