Villagers wait as politics and red tape stall Jatoli-Baluhi link road

In the heart of the Nurpur Assembly constituency, a simple village road has become a telling symbol of how bureaucratic delays and government apathy push essential rural infrastructure projects into oblivion. The much-needed Jatoli-Baluhi link road, stretching 2.275 km, was sanctioned under the MLA priority scheme in 2021-22 during the tenure of the Jairam Thakur government. Despite the official nod, not a single stone has been laid.

The project, approved under NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) through the efforts of former minister Rakesh Pathania, was expected to provide all-weather connectivity to the residents of Khazan gram panchayat. Instead, it has remained trapped in files and shifting governments.

Initially, the state planning department secured NABARD’s approval for a Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Rs 356.74 lakh. But in June 2023, a revised DPR worth Rs 398.54 lakh was submitted again for financial sanction. Since then, the tendering process has been caught in limbo, leaving the road’s future uncertain.

For villagers, the wait has been more than frustrating. It has been crippling. Heavy rains and recent landslides destroyed the existing kutcha path, cutting off connectivity for several days. Left stranded, residents turned not to the government but to a local NGO, the RB Jankalyan Foundation. Its director, Akil Bakshi, said: “The kutcha path was totally damaged and unsafe even for pedestrians. We had to press a JCB machine into service just to clear debris and restore some access.”

The stopgap relief, however, is far from a long-term solution. Rohit Pathania, up-pradhan of Khazan panchayat, stressed that the pucca link road would directly benefit nearly 150 families in Ward No. 4 alone. “The state government must expedite formalities and start work at the earliest. Connectivity is not a luxury here, it is survival,” he urged.

Meanwhile, the issue has taken a political turn. Local MLA Ranbir Nikka accused the Sukhu-led Congress government of neglecting BJP constituencies. “This road was sanctioned under NABARD’s RIDF through MLA priorities. The government is deliberately delaying the project for political reasons. Such discrimination only punishes ordinary villagers,” he alleged.

For now, the road remains an unfinished promise, highlighting how development projects meant to transform rural lives can be derailed by bureaucracy, political rivalry and official inertia. As villagers trudge the damaged kutcha paths, their wait for a pucca road continues — uncertain and unending.