SRINAGAR: Construction of nine new polytechnic colleges in Jammu and Kashmir has remained pending since the government of India established them six years ago.
In 2012, the government established 18 new polytechnic colleges in the erstwhile state and allocated Rs 8 crore to each college. Besides, Rs 4.3 crore was granted for purchasing equipment and an additional Rs 5 crore was budgeted by the state government for the colleges.
While nine colleges were completed, half of them are still incomplete for want of funds. This has prompted the college authorities to operate out of rented accommodations. They include Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramulla and Shopian in Kashmir and five in Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban and Udhampur in Jammu region.
Director Technical Education, Dr Ravi Shankar Sharma told Kashmir Reader that the funding for the polytechnic colleges has almost “stopped”.
The scheme, according to him, under which the colleges were being constructed, has been entrusted to Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) last year putting a halt on the works. As a result, funds amounting to about Rs 20 crore are pending, said Sharma.
Earlier, the colleges were announced by the Ministry Human Resource Development (MHRD).
However, the additional funds worth Rs 5 crore from the state government for the institutions stands released in maximum cases, the director added.
An official said that the security lockdown in Kashmir also delayed the ongoing construction on some colleges, which were to be made operational in the current academic session.

Irshad Khan