Delayed Projects

The habit of delay in completion of various kinds of developmental projects, including those related to physical infrastructure and connectivity, seems to have returned to Assam. As reported in the lead front-page news story in the Sunday edition of this newspaper, construction of a number of road and bridge projects, which are crucial for improving connectivity in the state, has been lagging much behind schedule. Some of these projects have remained incomplete for even up to a period of five years. This newspaper, quoting official reports, has also given a list of some of the prominent road and bridge projects across the state whose completion appears to be far behind the schedule fixed by the government. Important to note, the BJP, during the run-up to every election—be it for the Lok Sabha or for the assemblies of the Northeastern states—in the past ten to fifteen years, had particularly made an issue of how inordinate delay in completion of various developmental projects in the region had become a trademark of the Congress. This newspaper had in August reported that altogether 826 projects worth over Rs 50,000 crore have run behind schedule in the Northeastern region and that the central government has agreed that the slow pace of the projects has impeded developmental activities in the region. While there could be several reasons behind this phenomenon, a laid-back attitude on the part of a section of government officials as well as the contractors has been identified as one of the foremost factors that has pushed connectivity in the state into a precarious situation. It has also come to light that many contractors get work orders at very low bidding just not to miss contracts and then miserably fail to complete project work, following which they leave the work half-done or incomplete. It is also a fact that many times inexperienced contractors get contracts, resulting in failure to complete the work in time. Sometimes, the feasibility of projects is overlooked, especially when political mileage plays a role, leading to the failure of projects. There are also suggestions that even a section of engineers allegedly prepare estimates of projects as per the interests of contractors, ignoring the feasibility aspect. The state government too has a responsibility, and it is not always necessary that the Chief Minister has to take a call on every issue, big and small. It is also for the elected representatives to become proactive and keep track of the implementation progress of various developmental projects and schemes within the jurisdiction of their respective constituencies. Political parties and other organizations too must be able to play a vigilant role and exert pressure from time to time in order to ensure that projects do not miss their deadlines. Individual citizens can also become part of the campaign for timely implementation of various developmental projects by way of asking questions, whether through social media and the print media, or by way of submitting queries under provisions of the Right to Information Act.