Public Exchequer Bleeds as Transparency Collapses in J&K’s Public Works Department
Avinash Azad
A serious case of corruption and official impunity has surfaced in the Public Works (R&B) Department, Pir Panjal Range, Rajouri — where payments have been released for a road project that practically does not exist.
Despite repeated interventions by the Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the PWD portfolio and represents the constituency as MLA, departmental officers have stonewalled action, defied the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and seemingly colluded to shield the guilty.
Though this scandal had erupted few months back, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah resuming office at the Civil Secretariat Srinagar after the biannual Darbar Move, once against promised accountability. In a post on his official handle ‘Omar Speaks’, he wrote: “The focus now is clear — action, accountability, and reaching every individual through good governance and development. Let’s make these six months count.”
But the ground reality, as exposed in this report, tells a troubling tale of the collapse of accountability in J&K’s public infrastructure sector.
RTI Blocked, FAA Orders Ignored
An online RTI application (Reg. No: CZONE/R/2025/60001) was filed on January 15, 2025, via the JK RTI Portal, seeking details about road and bridge works undertaken in the PW(R&B) Sub Division Nowshera, including the NABARD-funded Kochian Mangla Mata to Namb Karali road.
When the Public Information Officer (PIO) failed to respond, a first appeal (RAJOU/A/25/60001) was filed on February 20, prompting the First Appellate Authority (FAA) — the Superintending Engineer, Rajouri Circle — to issue clear instructions (Order No: SER/R\&B/69/8658/60 dated March 10, 2025) directing the PIO to furnish the information.
Nearly two months later, the PIO continues to defy the order, signaling a deliberate effort to block scrutiny and violate statutory obligations under the RTI Act, 2005.
Fake Road, Real Payments: A Phantom Project
In January 2025, The Hidden News published an investigative report following a site inspection conducted on November 18, 2024, by the Superintending Engineer and his team. The findings were damning:
🔍 Key Observations:
i The sanctioned 4-km road was fragmented into five disconnected segments.
ii Only basic shingle work had been carried out on four shorter sections.
iii The longest 1.7-km stretch remained untouched — no earthwork, no alignment, no culverts.
iv Road grade and alignment were non-compliant, rendering the project functionally useless.
In an official communication, the Superintending Engineer termed it a “clear case of wasteful expenditure”, seeking accountability from the Executive Engineer, Nowshera Division.
Deputy CM Raised Alarm — Department Looked Away
What makes the matter more serious is that the Deputy Chief Minister, despite being the local MLA and the PWD Minister, was misled with a doctored internal presentation that masked the true status of the project. After personally flagging the irregularities and ordering action, his concerns were ignored.
Instead of initiating accountability, the department has taken to suppressing information and burying the matter — in what appears to be a coordinated cover-up.
RTI in J&K: A Law in Ruins
This episode is emblematic of the larger collapse of the RTI framework in Jammu & Kashmir. Ironically, it was Omar Abdullah, during his earlier tenure as CM, who had championed RTI Act (2009) in his second term, Omar unveiled e-RTI filing service in J&K to improve transparency.
But today, with no active monitoring, zero penalties, and bureaucratic arrogance, RTI applications are routinely ignored.
“There is no accountability anymore. RTI applications are gathering dust. Officers no longer fear consequences,” said a senior transparency activist tracking RTI compliance in J&K.
Who Will Act Now?
With the Chief Engineer’s office ignoring both the RTI and FAA’s orders, and the Deputy CM’s authority being undermined, key questions remain:
i. Why has no action been taken, despite documented evidence of corruption?
ii. Why is the PIO being protected, in open defiance of the law?
iii. Who is shielding the officers responsible for defrauding public funds?
iv. Will Chief Minister Omar Abdullah intervene, or will this be another case swept under the rug?
This is no longer just an issue of bad governance — it is a case of institutional fraud, where fake roads earn real payments, ministers are defied, and the public is betrayed. The Hidden News will continue to investigate this case until the truth is exposed and accountability is enforced.
