J&K govt. restoring historical original glory of Srinagar city

Scoop News February 20, 2011

Srinagar, February 20 (Scoop News) – J&K Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today said ,“Srinagar being capital of the state is not only face of the state but situation which prevails in Srinagar and the developmental scenario which is initiated at Srinagar has its own ramification on the entire state. Therefore it is necessary not only to accelerate the development pace but also special attention needs to be given for development of Shehri Khaas to restore its historical original glory.”

. Omar Abdullah while presiding over the Srinagar District Board Meeting at SKICC said that we have to acknowledge that work started on certain mega projects in Srinagar is going very slow and quoted in this respect Hyderpora Flyover which is still incomplete inspite of work going on since one decade. He advised the concerned executing agency to speed up the work and hoped that in the month of April when ERA team will arrive Srinagar, the Flyover bridge from Jehangir Chowk to Natipora will be taken so that the traffic mess on the road is minimized. He also hoped that LAWDA will speed up the work on the plots for the rehabilitation of Dal dwellers and Satellite Township will also be developed without delay so that congestion in Srinagar city is reduced.

The Chief Minister announced that comprehensive Bypass road from Galandar to Narbal covering entire periphery of Srinagar is being developed and work on preparation of the project has been started. He said no doubt it will take time but this Bypass will prove fruitful for the development of the Srinagar city and thus reducing the traffic pressure.

Omar Abdullah said that whenever we had to go for new roads or widening, the work becomes costlier because of high land rates in Srinagar city adding that for this purpose land bank needs to be created so that scarcity of land does not become impediment for taking up projects and rehabilitation.

The Chief Minister acknowledged that the people living in Nishat and its periphery of Dal lake confront various problems on account construction as a result of High Court orders regarding movement of building material. He said steps shall be taken to minimize these in most genuine cases.

Underscoring the importance of Achan land, the Chief Minister strictly directed SMC authorities to take up the works on most priority basis so that any delay in the development of dumping site Achan may not result to any inconvenience to the people living in the area.

The Chief Minister while responding to the demands of MLA Batmaloo about electricity tarrif said it is very necessary that people should use only that electricity load which can be conveniently paid by them. He said that our government is already subsidizing electricity tarrif and annually bearing Rs. 1500 crore loss while our entire income is only Rs. 3500 crore. Once we will be able to realize all these loses, we can use them for development purposes.

The Chief Minister after reviewing the development scenario of Srinagar district announced an additionality of Rs. 10.76 crore for ongoing works in the district.

Minister for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Advisor to Chief Minister, Mubarak Gul, Minister of State for Tourism, Nasir Aslam Wani, Political Advisor to Chief Minister, Devendra Rana, Chairperson, State Commission for Women, Mrs. Shamim Firdous, MLAs, Dr. Mustafa Kamal, Peer Afaq Ahmad, Irfan Shah, M. Yaseen Shah, Javed Mustafa, Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, B.B. Vyas, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Dr. Asgar Samoon, Commissioner Secretary, H&UD, Suresh Kumar, HoDs, Chief Engineers and district and sectoral officers were present in the meeting.

Earlier, the Chief Minister was informed by the District Development Commissioner, Srinagar, Meraj Ahmad Kakroo about the development through power point presentation that out of approved outlay of Rs. 4547.24 crore, Rs. 2898.30 crore against the availability of Rs. 3934.82 crore have been spent on various development schemes. He was informed that under PWD sector, 238.3 kms road length has been blacktopped under all sectors while 19 bridges have been taken up for the execution. Under PMGSY, against 7.25 kms of road length in phase-IV, 6 kms have been achieved benefiting 2200 souls. Similarly in PHE sector, against the target of 14 WSS, 7 have been completed.

He was also informed that under Power sector, 670 transformers against the damaged 712 have been repaired. The meeting was informed that 25000 students have been provided free text books while 23000 students have been provided mid day meals. Accordingly, 17 school building have also been completed by way of renovation and repairs with other facilities. Under Health sector, 7 schemes including PHC Lal Bazaar, Laloo Sheshgari Bagh, Sub Centre Faqir Gujri Dhara is likely to be completed by the end this fiscal.