Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 21: It is good news for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as its 12 districts have figured in the list of top performing 30 districts of the country in PMGSY sector.
The districts which have achieved this distinction in J&K include- Doda, Udhampur, Anantnag, Rajouri, Baramulla, Budgam, Kupwara, Reasi, Kathua, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam.
Among the 31 States and Union Territories, the J&K has topped the list. Despite lockdown, the J&K completed 1544 kms of road length against the target of 7500 kms and connected 28 habitations against the target of 327, followed by Himachal Pradesh, which completed 1089.63 kms length against the target of 4960 kms, connecting 26 habitations against the target of 230 as on October 21, 2020. Karnataka, Harayana and Goa have remained at the lowest, with zero performance.
The PW(R&B) authorities in J&K had already declared that 2020-21 performance in this sector, would break previous records in achieving physical progress of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) since June 15, 2020 after the Unlock- I was announced to relax the restrictions enforced on construction activities in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
As on September 20, J&K had completed more than one thousand kilometers of road length, which is 13.57 % of the target length and maximum among the achieved physical progress by all 31 States and Union Territories of India, this year.
Sources further revealed that against the 7,500 kms targeted road length during the financial year 2020-21, the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Road Authority (JKRRA) had completed road length and connected 25 inhabitants by Sept 20.
Giving break up the sources said that achieved physical progress in three months includes 830.94 kms road length in Jammu division and 713.10 kms in Kashmir division. Doda district with 185.77 kms road length and Udhampur with 178.87 kms in Jammu Division have remained at the first two top places.
In respect of physical progress in Jammu division, Doda district is followed by Rajouri (131.60 kms), Reasi ( 70.42 Kms), Kathua (65.57 kms), Poonch (47.75 kms), Jammu (40.86 kms), Ramban (44.63 kms), Kishtwar ( 47.12 kms) and Samba (17.11 kms).
Pertinent to mention here that maximum performance of J&K in PMGSY had been 1800 km road length during the financial year 2015-16. In 2016-17, 1738 kms road length was achieved and 235 habitations were connected by completing 84 schemes with an expenditure of Rs 399.68 crores while in 2017-18, 1757 kms road length was achieved by completing 151 schemes and connecting 140 habitations with an expenditure of Rs 902.12 crores.
In 2018-19, 226 schemes were completed and 216 habitations were connected while 1559 kms of road length was achieved by spending Rs 1069.39 crores. In 2019-20, 189 schemes were completed and 146 habitations were connected while road length of 1169.94 kms was achieved with an expenditure of Rs 1168.93 crores, the sources added.
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