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| Harsh gets harsh, genuinely | | Meeting: Minister, DC Udhampur keep legislator, officers waiting for two hours | | Early Times Report
Udhampur, Aug 3: The Deputy Commissioner of Udhampur Ajay Khajuria today had to face worst music of times for forgetting to carry a pre-scheduled meeting with the local legislators and officers from at least two districts and at the same time being in attendance of the Minister for Road and Buildings away from the meeting venue.
The legislators and officers were given two different sets of time for a meeting to discuss progress on road projects under Prime Minister’s Grameen Sadak Yojna, NABARD, ERA and ADB under execution in Udhampur district. Legislators were told to be at the DC officer complex at 11:30 AM while the officers, many of them had to rush from Jammu, and were asked to there before 11AM. The meeting was to be chaired by the Minister for Roads and Buildings Ghulam Mohammad Saroori.
Sources told Early Times that while all officers from Revenue, Health, Education and Forests took seats in the meeting hall well before 11AM, the MLA Ramnagar Harshdev Singh reached at 11:30 (time given to legislators) and on seeing officers felt apologetic for being late. However, soon he realized that he was well in time but the officers were given a pretty advance time.
The Minister and the local District Collector (host of the meeting) were no where around the venue. The legislator and the officers waited till 12:30 but still there no signs of the meeting. The Minister was reportedly away at the Dak Bangalow meeting his party workers and the Deputy Commissioner was there in attendance bothering little about people invited to the meeting. Feeling humiliated and dishonoured as a legislator, Harshdev, who traveled all the way from Jammu to attend meeting, left the venue but not before making the Deputy Commissioner realize the status and protocol of the legislators.
The Panthers Party MLA called up the Deputy Commissioner Khajuria and lashed out at him for disrespecting the legislators and wasting time of officers who had to wait in vain for an hour and half. Sources said that many officers waiting for nearly two hours were feeling even more infuriated than Harshdev but none of them could dare to speak lest they earned wrath of the ‘higher-ups’.
When contacted, Harshdev told Early Times that “under ‘inspiration’ from political bosses, ignorant of conduct and civility, the bureaucracy has been taking liberties with the legislators”. He added, “the Deputy Commissioner should have made it a point to see that meeting begins at the scheduled time and the Minister, being in knowledge of the programme, should have been more particular”. The chalta hai attitude of the Ministers make the bureaucrats to take legislators lightly, which is a dangerous portend for the democratic institutions, said the MLA who has been awarded at least twice for being the best legislator.
Meanwhile, before leaving the ‘meeting’ Harshdev left behind a note for the Minister and the Deputy Commissioner which asks serious questions about allotment of works and contraction of road projects under various schemes in Udhampur district. “Various projects under PMGSY were tendered upto six times but works have not been allotted”, reads one of the questions seeking explanation from the DC and the PWD.
The meeting, however, began in the afternoon which discussed the road projects. KC Bhagat of Congress (Chenani) was the only legislator who joined the meeting which was also attended by the officers of various departments. A team of Forest department led by Conservator Arun Tickoo has especially gone from Jammu to attend the meeting as various road projects involved forest clearance.
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