Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 19: Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today reviewed the status of completion of several road and bridge projects in the State being undertaken by the R& B Department. She directed the Department to muster all resources to get the projects completed within time and in no way let the deadlines spill over.
Mehbooba asked for sticking to the project timelines in order to avoid cost and time over run. Also the benefits thought of at the conceptual stage do not reach the deserving people fully if projects get delayed or over run, she told the meeting.
The Chief Minister directed the engineers to give a proper thought to the designing and architectural pattern of the projects before starting the works. She said the race for creating concrete jungles should be avoided and instead aesthetically feasible designs be developed which are in tune with the local and historic building patterns of any area or region.
She was informed that the Department has fixed a target of macadamising 1000 kilometres road length in Kashmir and Jammu provinces this year while as several steps have been taken to ensure quality material are used in projects.
The meeting was informed that under Central Road Fund(CRF), 72 projects have been taken up in the State out of which 65 have been tendered out. Similarly, under PMGSY, 77% connectivity has been registered by May this year in the State which after the successful completion of Phase X would go up to 87%.
Also, the Department has developed a model Standard Bid Document (SBD) for all CRF projects to steer ahead the works of any administrative or legal bottlenecks.
Mehbooba also reviewed the pace on some important connectivity projects like Samba-Mansar road, Magam-Beerwah road, Ladoora-Achabal road, Gingal-Bijhama road, Rs. 158 cr Keerian Gandial bridge, Lisser road, Jothana bridge in Kathua, Sangam-Srigufwara road, Rs 76 cr Kotranka-Khwaas road, Awantipore-Tral road project and other works; many of which are likely to be completed by this year end or next year.
Meanwhile, the widening and upgradation work on 170 kilometers on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has been completed at a cost of Rs. 5011 crore whileas work is in full swing on the balance portion of the Highway, including some tunnels and by passes.
This was disclosed in a review meeting to monitor the progress of widening of National Highway held here today with Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti in chair.
The meeting was informed that 67% work on the 68 kilometre Srinagar-Qazigund stretch has been completed while as work is on to get the proposed Banihal tunnel through at the earliest. The tunnel is expected to be readied by the year end while as the entire stretch would be readied by next year, the Chief Minister was informed by the representatives of the project executing agency. Similarly, Pampore and Bijbehara by pass projects are almost completed and likely to be thrown open by next month, she was informed.
Terming the Srinagar-Jammu widening project as critically important for the State, the Chief Minister said on completion the project is going to change the entire profile of the State and its people. She asked the project implementing agencies to factor in this objective and complete their projects without delaying any further.
The Chief Minister was informed that the Jammu-Udhampur stretch of the National Highway has been completed while work is on at the Udhampur-Ramban and Ramban-Banihal stretches with varying degrees of completion.
Mehbooba specifically directed the project executing agencies to develop the vacant spaces and adjoining patches along the Highway with more greenery, plants and flowers to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the project. She also directed maintenance of the old National Highway by the NHAI till the new entire stretch is completed and operationalised.
The Chief Minister was informed by the NHAI authorities that they have decided to develop a quality wayside facility on the newly constructed highway after every 40 kilometres and also plantations would be made to make it one of the greenest corridors developed by them in the country.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister also reviewed the progress achieved on land acquisition and other initial procedures on the ambitious Srinagar and Jammu semi ring road projects. She was informed that bids have been invited for the Jammu project while work is going on the Srinagar project. All the land issues of the two projects would be settled by the end of next month, she was informed.
Minister for R&B, Naeem Akhtar; Chairman, NHAI, Y S Malik; Chief Secretary, B B Vyas; Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Rohit Kansal; Commissioner/Secretary, Revenue, Muhammad Ashraf Mir; Commissioner-Secretary, Forests, Mohammad Afzal Bhat; Secretary, R& B, Sanjeev Verma; Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu; IGP, Traffic, Jagjit Kumar; Deputy Commissioners of Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Ramban, Ganderbal, Jammu; representatives project construction companies; officers of NHAI and State Government were present on the occasion.
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