Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Apr 5: A decade after its announcement, the Government’s ambitious residential housing project for Kashmiri migrant employees at Vessu in Kulgam district remains incomplete, with only partial progress achieved due to repeated administrative and funding hurdles slowing execution.
Responding to a question by MLA Ghulam Ahmad Mir in the Assembly, the Government said the project was initially conceived in 2015 following directions from the then chief minister. “Initially, in the year 2015, the construction of the proposal for 512 flats at Vessu, Qazigund was envisaged,” the Government said.
A committee set up that year identified about 30 kanals of land at Vessu for building transit accommodation for Kashmiri migrant employees under the Prime Minister’s package scheme. However, the plan was later modified after migrant employees pushed for larger homes. During visits by the then chief minister in May and June 2015, employees “strongly demanded individual residential accommodations (2BHK) to enable them to reside with their families,” the Government said.
Following this, the proposal was revised from one-bedroom units to two-bedroom flats. But due to limited land availability, authorities said “it was feasible to construct only 208 units at the site,” instead of the originally planned 512.
The Government acknowledged procedural lapses in the early stages of the project. “The works for the construction of 208 (2BHK) flats were executed through JKPCC without Accord of Administrative Approval,” the Government said.
Funding of Rs. 25.36 crore was released in phases up to 20 November 2018. “However, funding got halted beyond 20/11/2018 due to the deficiency of the Accord of Administrative Approval and Technical Sanction,” it added.
Authorities later asked the executing agency to submit detailed project reports (DPRs) to regularise the process. The DPR for the project-titled Construction of Transit Accommodation for Migrant Employees at Vessu, Kulgam-was technically vetted at an estimated cost of Rs. 6,462.65 lakh.
The proposal eventually received post-facto administrative approval in early 2022 after decisions by the Administrative Council and issuance of Government orders.
Providing an update on progress, the Government said that “as on date,” 128 of the 208 flats have been completed, while the remaining 80 are at various stages of construction.
Officials said the unfinished units are “expected to be completed during the financial year 2026-27.”
The Vessu project is part of a wider housing programme under the Prime Minister’s Development Package (2015). Across Kulgam district, a total of 592 flats are being constructed at three locations-Vessu, Chowgam and Mirhama.
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