Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 18: Minister for R&B and Parliamentary Affairs, Abdul Rehman Veeri today said that State has been sanctioned Rs 2800 crore under Phase- 10 of PMGSY while 86 roads for the first time have been approved for up-gradation by the Centre under this Scheme.
Replying to the question of Congress member Sham Lal Bhagat and subsequent supplementaries of PDP member Firdous Ahmed Tak and BJP member Vibodh Gupta in the Legislative Council today, R&B Minister said that Central Govt has sanctioned Rs 2800 crore to the State under Prime Minister Grameen Sadak Yojna. And for the first time with the efforts of State Govt, 86 State roads have been cleared for upgradation. Many existing road will have their facelift with the funds provided under the scheme, he added.
Veeri said there was need to devise some method to bound the contractors to complete the contract work from cutting to black-topping and the Government is seriously thinking on it. Many complaints have been received where contractors abandoned the works of stage -I after cutting and many were not prepared to take over the works of Stage -II. On the suggestion of Fordous Tak to handover these roads to RDD the minister did not agree and said R&B have the expertise and initially cutting work was with RDD but after a cabinet decision it was transferred to R&B. He said there was no shortage of manpower as well.
Responding to another question, the Minister said 84 schemes have been sanctioned in district Ramban and Doda during the year 2016-17 which include 49 schemes under PMGSY ( Phase- X), eight under NABARD and 27 under District Plan. He said construction of road from Damtop Chanderkote ( Bagliar) to Chilli and up to Kund was taken up under NABARD for a length of 6 km at the cost of Rs 345 lakh. This amount stand fully utilized. The minister admitted that this road is still incomplete and only one km is black topped. He assured the member that roads to Topneel, Kuwas will be taken up under PMGSY, if fall under guidelines.
In response to another question, Veeri said there are 1171 habitations in the State including 176 habitations of Chenab region which have been inadvertently left out in the original core network. The matter has already been taken up with Ministry of Rural Development (GOI) for incorporation of these habitations in the core network of PMGSY, but the sanctioned it yet awaited.
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