| As private builders flourish, JKHB fails to develop new colonies in Jammu, Srinagar | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
srinagar, Sept 5: Tasked to provide affordable shelter to all and develop housing colonies in both urban as well as in rural areas of the State, the Housing Board has failed to develop any new residential colonies while private developers have flourished during last few years.
Sources believed that the Lack of competent officials, policy and vision have forced the department to take backstage.
Sources told Early Times that the Department has not developed any colony in the last two decades in Jammu as well as the Srinagar. "Years before Housing board had developed three colonies in Jammu, it has been long full stop since then resulting in proliferation of unauthorized colonies," sources maintained.
One of the officials of the housing board said that department was assigned to provide affordable shelter to all by developing housing colonies in both urban as well as in rural areas of the State including construction of apartments under self financing schemes.
"Administrative ineptness, lack of planning and execution process, absence of accountability, lack of vision and non adherence to timelines are all operating in a vicious circle, hence no results are visible at the end of the day," sources maintained.
The six housing colonies were planned to be set up at Tathar in Jammu, Battal Ballian in Udhampur, MeenCharkan in Samba, village Mujagund in Srinagar, Rambirgarh in Srinagar and village Tullibal in Sopore, sources said.
Sources said that the population of the Jammu city has increased manifold in the last two decades, due to migration. In addition to, there has been huge influx of people from hilly districts of the Jammu region to Jammu city in search of better education and job opportunities.
Taking advantage of the reluctant attitude of the housing board authorities, private builders have developed dozens of colonies, and some have got registered with the authorities.
"Most of the residential colonies in Jammu city developed by the housing board have been converted into commercial hubs of the city, whether it is Gandhi Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Trikuta Nagar or Janipur and Roop Nagar. People have converted their houses into big or small showrooms and shops and most of them have shifted their residence to the outskirts of the city," a housing expert in Jammu said.
According to sources, thousands of kanals of agricultural and forest land in outskirts of the Jammu city has been converted into housing colonies by private builders, which was likely to create major civic problem in future.
However one of the top officials of the housing board told early times that the department has accelerated the housing projects. "Some good news regarding the housing colonies will come up in next 15 days. We are now planning to develop colony at various places and some more colonies will come up in near future," he claimed. |
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