Anantnag: The proposed mini-secretariat here in Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district looks unlikely to see the light of the day as the construction of the project has remained abandoned for well over two years now.
The project, aimed at bringing administrative services to the doorstep of people in Tral and cutting down their travel time to avail such services, was sanctioned in the year 2017.
“Rs 7 crore was earmarked for the construction of the two-storey building,” a senior official in the administration told Kashmir Reader. “It was meant to provide some relief to the general public, who have to travel more than 25 kilometres to Pulwama town for any and every administrative work.”
The project was first delayed due to the unavailability of suitable land for construction. It took more than a year for the Horticulture department to finally hand over 16 kanals of land for the purpose.
The project was then handed over to Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) for the execution of work. The JKPCC took up the work in April 2018 and started constructing the building.
“Initially, one crore rupees were released for the project and the work was started, albeit at a slow pace,” a source in the JKPCC told Kashmir Reader. However, the project was altogether abandoned in March of 2020, after a basic structure was built.
Since then, no headway has been made on the project and the building lies abandoned. Kashmir Reader talked to the Deputy General Manager of JKPP for Pulwama, Shabir Ahmad Najar, who said that 30 to 40 percent of the work was completed on the project.
“We have sent the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for administrative approval, as you must be aware that it has been made mandatory for any funds to be released for any project,” Najar told Kashmir Reader.
He said that the work can be re-started on the project only after funds are released. “I hope it happens soon,” he said.
The general public in the Tral area is aghast at the abandonment of the project. “We were happy that we won’t have to travel all the way to Pulwama for redressal of our grievances or execution of simple administrative services every citizen needs from time to time,” the locals told Kashmir Reader.
They said that they have been seeking answers from the administrative officials, but to no avail. “No one seems to know anything about the abandonment of the project,” the locals lamented.

Suhail A Shah