‘Blue eyed getting benefits for no work’
Arvind Sharma
Jammu: All the tall claims of government regarding promotion of tourism in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly after the first lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fall flat as almost all the tourism development authorities of Jammu region have no staff to run the day to day affairs, official sources informed.
“The CEOs of all the tourism development authorities of Jammu region have since long been requesting the concerned higher authorities for providing staff in their respective stations but they have turned a deaf ear towards the matter,” official sources informed the Northlines while wishing not to be named.
Sources informed that there are eight (8) tourism development authorities in Jammu region which were created not only to explore the tourism potential of Jammu province but also to promote tourism in different ways across the country.
“Due to acute shortage of staff, all these tourism development authorities of Jammu region are almost defunct and have not been serving the purpose for which they were created by spending mammoth amount by the government,” they informed.
They said, although, the staff for these tourism development authorities of Jammu region has been recruited by the government but due to vested interests and for doing favors to the blue eyed, the concerned authorities in the tourism department are sleeping over the matter despite knowing well the fact that the tourism development authorities are lying defunct.
“The worst are the Patnitop Tourism Development Authority, Mansar Tourism Development Authority, Rajouri Tourism Development Authority, Bhaderwah Tourism Development Authority and Kishtwar Tourism Development Authority,” they informed.
The official information accessed by the Northlines revealed that there are CEOs in place in all the 8 tourism development authorities of Jammu region but the senior assistants, junior assistants and other category staff has not been provided by the government in the tourism development authorities of this region due to the reasons well known to the concerned authorities.
Senior assistants, junior assistants and other category staff was recruited by the government 11 to 12 years back to strengthen the tourism development authorities of Jammu and Kashmir and to promote tourism besides exploring the tourism potential but sadly the Jammu region has been neglected, sources said.
“Most of the senior assistants, junior assistants and other category staff recruited for 8 tourism development authorities of Jammu region has been attached in the department’s Jammu office,” they informed adding, “these people have been marking their attendance in the department’s Jammu office and drawing their salaries from their respective stations”.
Many senior assistants and junior assistants recruited by the government for tourism development authorities have also got their promotions and other service benefits but they have so far not attended their duties at their respective stations for which they were recruited by the government, they said.
They informed that Bhaderwah, Patnitop, Rajouri and Mansar areas of Jammu region are the upcoming tourist destinations. In Bhaderwah, the shootings for Bollywood movies and web series have been going on. Rajouri, famous for seven lakes, and Patnitop are the major potential tourist areas of Jammu region if explored and promoted well.
“But due to defunct TDAs, the tourism promotion and its potential exploration have come to a standstill,” official sources informed.
