Short-sighted planning and poor monitoring riles affected villagers

SPECIAL FOCUS: The PMGSY Road Trouble at Lower Parbing




SUBASH RAI
GANGTOK, 14 Mar: Lack of proper planning by the concerned officials is the main shortcoming leading to the problems being suffered due to the Lower Barbing PMGSY road construction project. The under construction road from Ranka Rai Gaon to Rey Khola Swimming Pool area has become a hazard for the villagers as they are witnessing irreparable loss to their properties. The contractor assigned the job is also suffering problems because the villagers there are threatening to stop the work if the destruction continues.
The problem surfaced in the first week of February when phase-II of the construction started. It was Namgyal Bhutia, a resident, who first noticed that the alignment of the road was not following the original survey which had been endorsed by all villagers. [for background details, click here, here and here]

Finally, some reprieve after a fortnight of uncertainty

Meg Bahadur Rai clambers up to the road alignment where a departmental enquiry team
had arrived to investigate losses suffered by him due to road excavation work

SUBASH RAI
GANGTOK, 14 Mar: After close to a month of uncertainty, finally, on 09 March, 55-year-old Meg Bahadur Rai of Lower Barbing saw officials from Rural Management & Development Department and District Administrative Centre [East] along with the contractor arriving at his doorsteps to enquire after the loss caused to his property by the ongoing construction of a PMGSY road above his house. [click here and here for background details]
It was on 15 February that Mr. Rai, an MDR TB patient, had written to the area MLA, Menlom Lepcha, requesting an enquiry into the damages caused to his property by the construction of a PMGSY road from Ranka Rai Gaon to Rey Khola. The same day, the area MLA forwarded the letter to the District Collectorate [East] with directions for immediate action. Acting immediately, the SDM [Gangtok], Dr. AB Karki, served a notice to the Chief Engineer, RMDD directing him to submit detailed enquiry report within 10 days.