Rs 800-cr UN jobs project faces hurdle in Uttarakhand

Project director's transfer creates controversy; CM's order to stay transfer not obeyed

The Rs 793-crore UN-supported livelihood enhancement project in Uttarakhand is facing political and bureaucratic hurdle despite intervention by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to steer clear of the controversy over the transfer of Project Director Jyotsana Sitling.

The chief minister has asked the Forest and Rural Development Commissioner (FRDC) Vanita Kumar not to shift Sitling, who was recently transferred to her parent forest department. Interestingly, Kumar has also issued orders to appoint Madan Lal, a retired director of the agriculture department, as the new consultant of the livelihood project.

CM's Principal Secretary Dilip Kotia has already sent a letter to the FRDC for the withdrawal of the transfer of Sitling, who is considered to be an honest officer. But despite the intervention of Bahuguna, Kumar has not withdrawn the transfer order of Sitling, apparently due to the pressure from Rural Development Minister Pritam Singh. On the other hand, Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain has asked Sitling not to relinquish the charge of the livelihood project director, top officials confirmed.

Under a project sponsored by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), a UN body, the state government would receive funds totaling Rs 793 crore for livelihood enhancement project in the state. "Due to the stalemate, we have not received any funds so far," said a government official. Hence, the project has failed to take off in the state.

Going by the fate of various projects which were marred by alleged misappropriation of funds, suspicion has grown that a section of politicians, who are hands in glove with bureaucrats, are trying to hijack the project, said the official. When asked why the orders of the chief minister were not being obeyed, the official said "this is the matter of investigation".

In 2004, the Uttarakhand government launched a similar integrated livelihood enhancement project with the support of IFAD, but results were not very encouraging. "Though there are several reports on the previous projects, but, yes, the results were not desirable," admitted a top government official on the condition of anonymity.

However, the chief minister claimed that the IFAD's first project was successful saying it provided dividends to 42,690 people in five hilly districts.

The chief minister said the new Rs 793-crore IFAD project would cover 10 hilly districts to provide jobs to nearly 1.03 lakh rural families covering about 5 per cent of the total population of the hill state.