Kiru,Ujh projects reviewed
Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 21 : Having completed DISHA meetings of four out of six districts in his Lok Sabha constituency, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today concluded the current cycle of DISHA meetings by convening separate meetings for the two remaining districts of Kathua and Kishtwar respectively, through Virtual medium.
Among the major national projects reviewed during the meetings were Kiru and Pakkal Dul power projects of Kishtwar and, Ujh Multipurpose and Shahpur kandi projects of Kathua.
During the meetings, Dr Jitendra Singh issued clear instructions that the lists for the proposed PMGSY roads in rural areas and the roads constructed through Central Road Fund (CRF) should essentially include the priority and preference of local body representatives including Sarpanches, Block Development Council (BDC) Chairmen and Councillors. He said, the Modi government has taken a historic initiative of conducting the local body elections and we would be failing in our duty if the opinions and views of the elected office bearers of these bodies are not given priority. He also added that as far as possible, the road projects proposed by Sarpanches and BDC Chairmen should be given top priority without any reservations.
During the Kathua meeting, the Minister was also updated about the current status of other national projects including Bio-tech Industrial Park and Seed-processing Plant. He was informed that both these projects will become functional very soon.
Dr Jitendra Singh issued instructions for holding a meeting with the officials of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Border Road Organization (BRO) for expediting various road and bridge projects. He expressed satisfaction that in the last month, as many as six new bridges were inaugurated in the border areas of the district, thus providing a huge relief to the small villages along the border, particularly during the rainy season.
Dr Jitendra Singh was informed that the land acquisition process for the construction of the prestigious Katra-Delhi Express Road corridor involving widening of the National Highway from four lane to six lane between Pathankot and Jammu had been initiated. He asked for resuming the work on the Highway Village, which had been stalled due to the survey for widening of National Highway from four to six lane.
In the Kishtwar DISHA meeting, prestigious national power projects of Pakkal Dul 1000 Megawatt and Kiru came up for review. The Minister was informed that after his intervention, the work at Kiru project was started last week in spite of the constraints of lockdown and COVID pandemic.
Dr Jitendra Singh received an update on the new Airport approved for Kishtwar under the Government of India’s UDAAN scheme. He asked the Deputy Commissioners and Councillors to immediately come to a consensus and select the land for laying the foundation stone of the centrally funded first-ever Saffron Park. The status of centrally funded new Ayurvedic College was also updated.
Deputy Commissioner Kathua O P Bhagat and Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Rajinder Singh Tara made Power Point Presentations during the two DISHA meetings respectively. BDC Chairman and Councillors of the local bodies also attended the two DISHA meetings.