Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Mar 4: Minister of State for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Ajaz Ahmad Khan informed that construction work for widening of North South Corridor of National Highway 1-A from Lakhanpur, Kathua to Parimpora, Srinagar is going-on and is being executed by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Border Road Organization (BRO). Replying to a question of Dr BA Veeri in the Legislative Council the minister informed that the widening work on the stretch from Lakhanpur to Jammu (Kunjwani) has been completed, while as the work on Jammu- Udhampur road stretch is in progress and is expected to be completed by December this year.
The construction work on Udhampur- Cheneni road stretch is to be started, while as the work on Chenani- Nashri tunnel is going on in full swing and is expected to be completed by May, 2016, the Minister added.
Mr. Ajaz informed that the work on Ramban- Banihal section has not been taken up yet as the approval for the said stretch is pending with the Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways. He said as far as Banihal and remaining part of National Highway in Kashmir Division is concerned, there are two stretches namely Banihal-Srinagar and Srinagar- Uri which are being executed by NHAI and BRO respectively. The work on Banihal- Qazigund Tunnel is in progress and is likely to be completed by June, 2016.
The minister said that the land for construction of road between Qazigund – Srinagar stands handed over to NHAI. The work on the said stretch is in progress and is expected to be completed by the end of 2014, he added.
The work on Parimpora, Srinagar to Baramulla has not been taken up yet as no indent has so far been received by the Collectors concerned for acquisition of land, the minister said, adding that the work on Baramulla- Uri stretch is going-on as the land for the purpose stands handed over to the executing agency by the concerned Collector.
Mr. Ajaz said that as many as 33 chinar trees were coming under the alignment in Anantnag district, of which 18 have been felled down so far. Moreover, 58 chinar trees have been permitted to fell down in Pulwama district for which the permission was granted by the concerned Deputy Commissioners, he maintained.
Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, Ghulam Qadir pardesi, Showkat Hussain Ganai and Jehangir Hussain Mir, also raised the supplementary.
Meanwhile, Minister for Planning, Labour and Employment, Ajay Sadhotra today informed the House that slow pace of work is attributed to certain bottlenecks, like land acquisition, shifting of structures etc for which matter has been taken up with the concerned district administration.
The Minister was replying to a question of Muhammad Muzaffer Parray in the Legislative Council.
The minister informed that the National Highway Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri (NH-1) taking off from Parimpora (KM 6.75 to Km 14.20) is being developed from National Double Lane (NHDL) specifications to National Highway Four Lane (NHFL) specifications by project BEACON under PMRP. He said, the National Highway from Km 14.20 to KM 101 has been developed by Project BEACON to National Highway Double Lane specifications expect for a stretch of 1.69 kms. But there were court cases pending, causing delay in the work.
Ajatshatru Singh, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardhy and Jahangir Hussain Mir raised the supplementaries.
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