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Journalism of Courage
8220;PROJECTS are conceived and initial work is also carried out but many of these never see the light of the day. The funds meant for these projects are diverted back to source because projects remain unfinished. There is an urgent need to ensure that projects should reach completion stage.8217;8217;
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee probably didn8217;t have his own Lucknow constituency in mind when he said these words at the Charbagh Stadium on Thursday, but they could apply well there. Between November 25, 1998, and October 22, 2001, Vajpayee has laid the foundation stones of 14 major projects worth Rs 427 crore, but only Rs 115.4 crore has been spent so far.
Among these projects were the power sub-stations that would have helped improve power supply in at least Uttar Pradesh8217;s capital. All of the 10 sub-stations that Vajpayee laid the foundation stone for in November 1998 8212; projects worth a total of Rs 40 crore 8212; were supposed to have been functional by July 2002. But only five have been completed so far. 8216;8216;Work is going on, but we cannot give the projected date for completion,8217;8217; said a Power Corporation official.
Similar is the tale of Lucknow airport8217;s runway extension project, the foundation stone of which was laid by the PM on February 3, 1999. The 2,000-feet extension project, budgeted at Rs 33 crore, has managed to spend only Rs 6.65 crore so far. Officials at the Civil Aviation Department, when contacted, claimed that the job would be completed by January 31, 2004.
While red-tapism is the main reason for delay in projects, the personal whims of ministers heading departments concerned are also said to play a significant role.
Consider the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Road Project, which Vajpayee laid the foundation stone for in 1998. The project to link villages with 1,000-plus populations with the main road was initiated when Kalraj Mishra was PWD minister. Nearly 10,000 villages were covered under the project, when Sharma was replaced by party colleague Om Prakash Singh in office. The project 8212; rechristened by Singh as Rural Development Scheme 8212; came to a standstill.
8216;8216;The PM lays the foundation stone, but it is the local leaders8217; responsibility to ensure the projects are completed. Had the projects been completed in time, the PM would have not expressed concern at their fate publicly,8217;8217; said a senior BJP functionary.
Interestingly, a section of the UP BJP alleges that while Vajpayee represents the entire constituency of Lucknow, the development projects are being diverted to Lucknow West, an assembly segment represented by Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon. His proximity to the prime minister is well known; critics allege he uses this lever to use most of the Rs 2 crore annual MP Local Area Development Fund for the development only of Lucknow West.
Consider this: Of the 50 beautification projects for the PM8217;s constituency, 38 are concentrated in Lucknow West. Sources said that of the Rs 10 crore that had accumulated in Vajpayee8217;s MP fund since 1996 when he was first elected MP from here, Tandon8217;s constituency accounted for the expenditure of Rs 5 crore, while the other five assembly segments received between Rs 50 to 75 lakh.
Tandon, when confronted with these figures, only said, 8216;8216;This is wrong projection. Development works are being done wherever required.8217;8217;
Piqued by the neglect of other areas at the cost of one assembly segment, Vidyasagar Gupta, party MLA from Lucknow East, wrote to the PMO, presenting the 8216;8216;real picture8217;8217;, but received no response. He said, 8216;8216;None of 10 Lucknow civic hospitals are functioning. Patients haven8217;t received any medicines from there in the last several years. If the state can spend lakhs on public parks, the hospitals can at least be made functional.8217;8217;
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