Published On:Wednesday, 22 October 2014
‘He should mind his own businesses Under fire Sham snaps at Taj
SRINAGAR: Even as the Election Commission of India (ECI) is scheduled to announce the assembly poll dates, two senior most Congress Ministers are at each other’s throat over allegations of mismanaging the Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
Days after his cabinet colleague Taj Mohiuddin said that standard operating procedures (SoPs) were not followed, Minister for Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Sham Lal Sharma Tuesday asked his party colleague to refrain from issuing the statements that do not fall in his (Tajs) domain.
“Taj Sahab is not a super minister and should not interfere in the I&FC department. I want to make it very clear that he should mind his own business as I am accountable to Chief Minister not him. He should not do politics only for the sake of politics,” Sham Lal Sharma told The Kashmir Monitor.
Sharma said he saw Taj Mohiuddin few days back at the Srinagar Airport carrying copies of a newspaper in which the Taj had targeted the I&FC department for its failure in dealing with the floods.
Taj Sahab along with personnel staff was carrying the newspaper copies and placed some copies on the table of the Srinagar Airport. I have nothing personal against him but I think it is not right on his part to interfere in the I&FC,” he said.
Sharma made the statement after Taj Mohiuddin blamed the I&FC department for its failure in dealing with the floods and said its officials did not follow the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) during the floods.
When asked that Taj Mohiuddin said he had predicted four years ago that this kind of flood would hit the State, Sharma replied, “He (Taj) is not a hydraulic expert. What has he done when he headed the I&FC department. He should have done something in those four years.”
He said he would have taken the responsibility if there was any leniency on his part during the Floods. “Everyone including Army is now giving opinion to save themselves and put blame on others.”
However, he admitted that there was a political interference which facilitated the constructions on the banks of water bodies.
“I am not denying that there is no political pressure which is creating hurdles in removing the encroachments. It will be unfair to deny it. But if we have to move ahead then we have to go for reforms, and as per minimum requirement we have to remove the encroachments despite political pressure and we need support from the civil society,” Sharma said.
He also admitted that people and the government were earlier least interested towards encroachments of water bodies. “But the recent floods have made us to think over the issue.” He said the carrying capacity of the river Jhelum was 35,000 Cusecs of water and the water was flowing 1, 12000 Cusecs during the floods as per the Central Water Commission. “But I said it was flowing at 1, 20000 Cusecs. We also have to see the volume and the quantity of the floods.”
Sharma said they have given the suggestions to the Urban Development Department for reviving the Master Plan. He said people and the government have to get the NOC from I&FC before any new construction is done. He said they have to strictly implement the laws. The Minister said they would carry out dredging of the rivers for which the proposal has been submitted to the Central Government.
“As State is prone to natural calamities the dredging process has to be started at the earliest to make the carrying capacity of 1, 25000. Two battalions of SDRF also have to be formed and I am sure the process is going on.” He said the priority of the State government was restoration and repairing of bunds, which got damaged due to the floods.
