KL News Network
Srinagar
National Conference on Thursday condemned the State Government’s immature and unbecoming act of demolishing the existing foundation stone of the Arzan Garzun Water Storage Scheme near Chrar-e-Sharief that was laid by three Former Ministers on 26th June, 2014 during the tenure of the previous State Government. NC State Spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu said this shameless incident had exposed the PDP-BJP Government’s ineptness and called into question its ethics and intentions in governing the State.
“The Arzan Garzun Water Storage Scheme was sanctioned by the UPA Government in 2014 for an estimated cost of 25 crores. The funds were released then and work was started after the then Finance Minister Mr. Abdul Rahim Rather and the then Irrigation Minister Shri Shyam Lal Sharma laid the foundation stone in the presence of MoS Irrigation Mr. Nazir Ahmed Khan Gurezi and Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control Department on the 26th of June, 2014. Thousands of locals also took part in the foundation stone laying ceremony”, the NC Spokesperson said.
The NC Spokesperson said the present Agriculture Minister, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura got that foundation stone removed illegally through his henchmen and went to the location on the 5th of December and fixed another foundation stone with his own name inscribed on it. “The irony of this act is that the Agriculture Minister has used the same frame and the same pedestal to affix the new foundation stone in the presence of barely twenty to twenty five individuals – most of them being Government employees who were forced to be a part of this act of impropriety and illegality under an unprecedented security cover”, the NC Spokesperson said in the statement issued from National Conference Headquarters on Thursday.
“It would be in place to mention here that neither the present Irrigation Minister nor his Deputy were present during this ‘ceremony’. None of the top officials of the Irrigation Department were present in the so-called ‘function’. This unprecedented act of deceit and shamelessness has exposed the present coalition government and its hollow claims of development. With this childish act and incidents of similar nature, the present coalition government has made a laughing stock out of itself”, the NC Spokesperson added.
“Unfortunately the present PDP-BJP Government brought work on the scheme to a grinding halt and re-laying of this foundation stone cannot fool the people, nor can it absolve this Government of its inaction and inefficiency”, the NC Spokesperson said.
