Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 25: Minister for Revenue Relief & Rehabilitation, Syed Basharat Bukhari today called for timely completion of World Bank funded flood restoration and management projects in the State.
The Minister called for expediting preparation of DPRs for flood recovery and management projects for Jhelum and Tawi to be executed under World Bank funding.
The Minister was addressing officers during a review meeting convened to discuss the measures being undertaken for the effective and speedy implementation of Rs 1500 crore World Bank funded Flood Recovery and Management projects for Jhelum and Tawi rivers.
Financial Commissioner Planning & Development Department, B B Vyas, Comm-issioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Shailendra Kumar, Commissioner Secretary Housing & Urban Development Department, Hridesh Kumar, Commissioner Secretary Health, Dr M K Bandari, Commissioner Secretary Irrigation & PHE, Sanjeev Verma, Commissioner Secretary Revenue, Relief & Rehabilitation, Mohammad Afzal Bhat, Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Bashir Ahmad Khan, CEO ERA, Vinod Sharma, Secretary Higher Education, Hemant Kumar, MD, JKPCC, Director Finance, Revenue, Relief & Rehabilitation and other senior officers were present in the meeting.
The Minister directed the officers to ensure that DPRs meant to be submitted to the World Bank be prepared within the shortest possible time and in consonance with the parameters laid down in the WB guidelines. He said special care should be taken to involve the experts of the related fields in order to make these DPRs broad-based and in tune with the measures to be taken in view of any eventuality which may arise due to floods and other natural calamities in future.
The Minister also directed for taking the necessary measures for making the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) fully functional and also ensuring proper staffing for the same. He also said that the State executives, divisional and district executives of the authorities should be put in place within the shortest possible time preferably within one week. He said necessary measures should also be taken to ensure that the structures which are to be constructed should be done keeping in view the seismicity of the area and other vulnerability analysis should also be done.
Syed Basharat Bukhari also directed for expediting the study for carrying out river morphology and embankment assessment of Jhelum, Tawi, other rivers and water bodies.
The meeting also discussed the projects prepared by the Industries & Commerce Department under Restoration of Livelihood in the State. Besides, the drainage projects of the Srinagar city to address the water logging problem being undertaken by SMC were also discussed.
It was also decided that regular meetings would be held on weekly basis in order to monitor the progress registered in these projects, so that bottle necks if any can be removed and necessary measures taken.
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