*Says Rs 42000 cr PMDP allocation to give necessary push
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 22: Stressing the need for expanding inter and intra-state connectivity, Minister for Public Works, Naeem Akhtar today said ironically even after 70 years of independence, connectivity continues to be the biggest challenge for Jammu and Kashmir.
“Kashmir must be only part of the world today, where people have to switch on the radio in the morning to know about the status of the road connecting them with the outside world,” Naeem Akhtar said while winding up the discussion on Demand for Grants of the Public Works and allied Departments in the Legislative Assembly.
He said with the efforts of the previous regimes and the present Government, there is now hope that by the end of this year, there will be improved connectivity between Kashmir and rest of the country with the accomplishment of the upgradation of major portion of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
He said there are connectivity issues not only between Srinagar and Jammu, but between various sub-regions as well which need to be addressed with focused resolve.
To further boost the connectivity in the State, the Minister said that an allocation of Rs 42000 crore has been earmarked under the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) for construction of National Highways and tunnels in the State. He said the prestigious Chenani-Nashri tunnel has been operationalized and 84 km long Mughal Road has also been completed that connects Bufliaz in Jammu province to Shopian in Kashmir province.
He said the Government of India has declared Kargil-Zanskar road, Srinagar-Shopian-Qazigund road and Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch road as National Highways – NH 301, NH 444 and NH 144 respectively while as in-principle approval has been accorded for declaring Dinga Amb-Challan-Udhampur road, Lakhanpur-Mahanpur-Basohli-Dunera road and Basohli-Bhaderwah-Doda road as national highways.
“The work on Z-Morh tunnel and road from Udhampur to Ramban and Ramban to Banihal is going on in full swing,” the Minister said, adding the Centre has sanctioned special maintenance package of over Rs 95 crore for road projects.
The Minister said the work for preparation of DPRs for realigned portion of Batote-Kishtwar-Sinthan-Khannabal, Chenani-Sudhmahadev-Goha-Khellani including 3.5 km long tunnel at Goha, Sudhmahadev-Goha tunnel and Singhpora-Vailoo tunnel is under process. For construction of tunnel on Mughal road, tender has been floated by NHIDCL for preparation of DPR, he added.
The Minister informed that the GoI has approved Phase-XI of Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) that includes 199 project proposals worth Rs 955.63 crore covering a road length of 1,211.31 km across the state.
Naeem informed the House that Government of India has agreed to sanction projects worth Rs 1200 crore under Central Road Fund (CRF). He said out of 230 sanctioned schemes under the plan, 73 projects have been completed at the cost of Rs 1,048.49 crore and 17 new schemes are targeted to be completed in 2018-19, he stressed.
“The work on prestigious Bhaderwah-Chamba road sanctioned under ISC has been completed,” the Minister said, adding the work is in full swing on 1,210 m span (double lane) pre-stressed bridge over river Ravi at village Keerian Gandialat the estimated cost of Rs 158.84 crore.
Stressing that the State has witnessed a twofold rise in macadamization of roads during the current fiscal, he said that Government has macadamized a total of 4,056.25 km road length in 2017-18 till November, 2017 including 1,330.02 km in Jammu and 2,726.23 km in Kashmir.
“The Government would macadamize a road length of 3,898.12 km in 2018-19 under different schemes”, he added.
The Minister said 511 bridges are under construction in the state and 18 bridges have been completed in current year while as 26 bridges are expected to be completed during next fiscal. He informed that 204 bridges, 117 in Jammu and 87 in Kashmir, are targeted to be completed upto 2019-20.
Under ‘Prime Minister’s package for flood damaged infrastructure’, the Minister said the work on 166 bridges has been completed while as 18 bridges would be completed by March 2018.
For ensuring quality of road projects, the Minister said Road Safety Audit Cell has been established in the Directorate of Design, Inspections & Quality Control (DIQC) as the nodal agency in the state for engineering aspects of road safety, besides pressing State Quality Monitors (SQMs) on the pattern of PMGSY into service for quality assurance of CRF roads.
Later, the House passed the grants.
Earlier, initiating the discussion, Syed Aga Ruhullah sought upgrading of Bus Yard Budgam and construction of the pedestrian path from Old Bus Stand to new Bus Stand, Budgam.
Sat Paul Sharma suggested the Government to construct concrete roads on the pattern of Mumbai to prevent erosion of blacktopping due to rains and snow.
G M Saroori urged new road projects under NABARD in far-flung areas of the State including Warwan, Dachan, Bani, Basohli and Sudmahadev. He sought early completion of Dak Banglow, school, hospital buildings being constructed by the R&B Department in Doda and Kishtwar districts.
Mohammad Yousuf Bhat urged the Government to take up up-gradation of roads in Shopian district as no major project in the area has been taken under NABARD and CRF last year.
Hakeem Mohammad Yasin asked the Government to expedite the pace of construction works on various bridges including Babapura, Dragger, Sail-bridge, Qumroo, Kangripura- Chill, Narigund Bridges in Khan Sahib Constituency.
Yawar Ahmad Mir urged the Government for rationalization of works with regard to road projects by prioritizing the neglected constituencies.
Mubarak Gul also sought liberal funding for Srinagar City under R&B sector. He sought immediate removal of bottlenecks, if any, on Circular Road Project for expediting the work on the project.
Davinder Maniyal called for laying more focus on rural connectivity and taking up more projects under CRF and construction and macadamization of important roads in his constituency.
M Y Tarigami urged the Government to take up projects under CRF, NABARD, BADP and other centrally sponsored schemes to upgrade the rural connectivity in far-flung areas.
Choudhary Mohammad Akram asked the Government for construction of tunnel on Mughal Road and Gurez and expediting construction of Primary Health Centre (PHC) building in his Constituency.
Noor Mohammad Sheikh suggested for formulating comprehensive Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the proposed projects like bridges, roads, buildings etc to avoid technical hitch during execution.
Mohammad Shafi Uri urged the Government for expediting construction work on the various ongoing road and other projects in his constituency and also asked them for their timely completion.
Bashir Ahmad Dar called for timely completion of all ongoing road and bridge projects in his constituency while as R S Pathania asked the Government to lay primary focus on rural areas and framing District Road Safety Action Plan.
Abid Hussain Ansari urged the Government to focus on Srinagar City and strive for early completion of construction work on Noorbagh Bridge to avoid cost escalation.
Mumtaz Ahmad Khan sought improvement and upgrading of roads of Gulabgarh Constituency. He also asked the Government for immediate starting of construction work on up-gradation and macadamization of Reasi to Mahore.
Choudhary Qamar Hussain urged the Government to expedite work on road projects in his constituency and liberal funding under Border Area Development Programme (BADP).
Sheikh Ishfaq Jabbar urged the Government to ensure transparent implementation of projects on the ground and claimed that there were some disparities in macadamization works in his constituency.
Vikar Rasool Wani suggested for construction of a tunnel from Batote to Magarkot and completion of developmental projects in a time-bound manner. Mohammad Khalil Bandh sought speeding up of the pace of work on ongoing developmental projects in his Constituency for timely completion.
Daleep Singh Parihar demanded the early execution of work on sanctioned projects while as Altaf Ahmad Wani complained about, what he said dilapidated condition of some important roads in his home constituency Pahalgam. He urged the Government to take up macadamization works on these important roads while stressing on the equitable development of the State.
Pawan Kumar Gupta demanded early completion of all ongoing developmental projects including roads in his constituency. He demanded for immediate issuance of forest clearance certificates to various road projects sanctioned under various centrally and state-sponsored schemes of Udhampur Constituency.
Syed Farooq Ahmad Andrabi demanded speeding up of construction work on all projects in Dooru Constituency while as Mohammad Akbar Lone drew the attention of the government towards, what he said deteriorating condition of Srinagar Bandipora road and demanded speeding up of upgrading work which was set to be completed by the end of December last year.
Mohammad Amin Bhat urged the Government to speed up pace of work on various ongoing R&B projects in Devsar Constituency for their timely completion.
Ali Mohammad Sagar urged the Government to ensure equitable development of all the constituencies and appealed the Government to take in confidence the concerned legislator while implementing new projects in a particular area. He also appealed the Government to lay special focus on the development of roads in Srinagar city.
Asgar Ali Karbalai enumerated important road projects of his constituency, which according to him are yet to be sanctioned or executed. He urged the Government to lay special focus on the development of roads and bridges in Kargil district.
Abdul Rehim Rather asked the Government to prioritize left out areas in coming financial year for macadamization. He demanded the construction of bridges in his constituency including one at village Halipora.
Ravinder Raina urged the Government to streamline tendering process, take action against contractors for delaying constructions allotted to them. He said such steps will ensure more efficiency in the working of the department and help to gain public trust.
Javid Ahmad Rana called for completion of incomplete roads and bridges in his constituency by providing liberal funding. He also urged the Government to clear liabilities pending in his constituency and find out reasons for cost overrun of some projects.
Shah Mohammad Tantray urged the Government to sanction road projects under NABARD in his constituency, identify road projects and bridges in his constituency that need to be constructed for the benefit of the local population.
Shamim Firdous demanded the construction of Barbar Shah Bridge in Srinagar, road widening from Bri-Kuj Chandpora to Barbar Shah Habba Kadal, demolition of unsafe structures on the road side in Habba Kadal especially at Chikral Mohalla, Babpora and near Habba Kadal Chowk.
Raja Manzoor Ahmad asked the Government to focus on increasing connectivity in far-off areas. He urged the Government to construct a tunnel to connect Kupwara with Karnah to by-pass Sadhna Top, he said the spot is witnessing frequent accidents.
Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi demanded early construction of Tengjan Demudull Bridge damaged in 2014-floods and Khudwani-Sangam road via Shamsipora in Homshalibugh Constituency.
Deldan Namgyal, Abdul Majid Padder, Abdul Rashid Dar and Usman Majid also participated in discussion.
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