MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 1: The federal government’s programme for improvement of watercourses has failed to witness any physical progress in Azad Jammu and Kashmir ever since its launch two years ago allegedly due to an official’s hankering for financial and administrative powers as well as indifference of the authorities concerned, Dawn has learnt.

According to sources, Rs336 million were allocated by the centre as AJK’s share in the five-year national programme and were meant to construct/improve 1000 water channels across the state.

However, according to insiders so far no development work has been undertaken on the ground and what is more frustrating is the fact that no government agency, either in Islamabad or in Muzaffarabad, has taken stock of the situation.

The project, the sources said, also envisaged appointment of 120 employees on contract basis which mainly included 8 posts of water management officer and 7 posts of assistant director (water management) in BPS-17, one post of deputy director water management (south) in BPS-18 and one post of director irrigation/project director in BPS-19.

Another BPS-18 post of deputy director irrigation (north) was occupied by Mr Basharat Durrani, an officer already on the agriculture department’s normal budget, who also assumed the charge of project’s drawing and disbursing officer (DDO).

Interestingly, over the past two years, none of the above-mentioned posts were advertised for appointments, except for the induction of 7 sub-engineers in BPS-11 early this year.

Sources said though recently an advertisement inviting applications for these posts was sent to the information department for publication in some newspapers, the post of project director/director irrigation was withheld as Mr Durrani wanted his own elevation against it without undergoing any formal procedure.

What was more intriguing was that the official did not want to leave the charge of his current post because it vested financial powers in him, sources said.

They disclosed that two former agriculture secretaries as well as the incumbent secretary had also recommended the elevation of Mr Durrani as project director besides retention with him of his current post but their summaries were rejected by the government.