Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 11: Chairing her first major review meeting after assuming charge of the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today hinted at reorienting the Planning & Development Department so that it is able to professionally handle preparation of quality DPRs (Detailed Project Reports), absence of which she said was real bane of project delays.
She vouched for a mechanism where ’empanelled consultants’ remove technical bottlenecks and fast-track DPR preparation which will enable the executing agencies to deliver projects on time. “If fund crunch was the problem in the past, nowadays it is the struggle over efficiently executing development projects and achieving desired results that hold us back,” she stated.
The Chief Minister made these observations in a high-level meeting called to assess the progress achieved on the commitments made by late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on several development projects when he was the Chief Minister of the State.
Besides the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh, the meeting was also attended by Minister for Public Works & Parliamentary Affairs, A. R. Veeri, Minister for Finance, Culture, Labour & Employment, Dr. Haseeb A. Drabu, Minister for H&ME, Bali Bhagat, Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar, Minister of State for Haj & Auqaf (IC), PHE, I&FC and I&C, Syed Farooq Ahmad Andrabi and Minister of State, Finance & Planning, IT, Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, CA&PD, Tribal Affairs, Relief & Rehabilitation and Labour & Employment, Ajay Nanda.
The meeting began with the Chief Minister asking the officers to show no laxity in completion of projects where time impacts are inevitable, because of the uniqueness of each project. She said the real efficiency lies in delivering public infrastructure within the stipulated timelines. “The officers are custodians of development and therein lay the huge expectations of the people on the development front,” the Chief Minister said while exuding confidence that the officers will put their best foot forward.
In the all-important R&B sector, Commissioner/Secretary, Rohit Kansal, briefed Mehbooba Mufti about the present status of 12 major commitments of the Chief Minister which include construction of Lakhanpur-Thein Road up to Ranjit Sagar Dam, emergency repairs of Batote-Kishtwar Road, Circular Roads in Pulwama and Anantnag districts, maintenance of Mughal Road, macadamization of cities and towns, construction of Pulwama-Lassipora Road and completion of work on Pantha Chowk-Zewan Crossing.
The Chief Minister stressed upon completion of all ongoing projects within the set timelines.
Kansal also updated the Chief Minister on the progress achieved on the 42 projects shortlisted in PHE, I&FC Departments.
While taking review of the works in the Power Development Department, the Chief Minister issued directions for ensuring regular electricity supply in the winter capital during upcoming summer season.
Principal Secretary Power, Dheeraj Gupta, brought into the notice of the Chief Minister the measures taken for removal of bottlenecks in procurement of essential items as per standardized procurement procedure.
The Power Secretary informed the meeting that power supply to Jama Masjid Srinagar will be augmented by installation of 250 KV DG sets and the work will be completed within the next two months at a cost of Rs.1.00 crore.
To ensure uninterrupted power supply to the picturesque Pahalgam resort, 11 KV and 33 KV lines are being laid which will be completed by the end of July at a cost of Rs.3.00 crore.
The department has also started the process for creation of transformer bank at Rajouri and Poonch districts for which Rs.1.00 crore have been released. The other works which are presently under execution include establishment of receiving station at Sultanpora, Shranz in Baramulla, dedicated power supply to IT Park at Rangreth, BGSBU in Rajouri, Ghani Stadium in Srinagar and Civil Hospital at Pahalgam.
The Chief Minister took a detailed review on the forward movement achieved on cross-LoC Trade and Travel at two crossing points of Salamabad in Baramulla and Chakan Da Bagh in Poonch, which she said were described by late Mufti Sayeed as the ‘show-window’ for travellers from across the LoC.
Commissioner/Secretary, I&C, Shailendra Kumar, highlighted the progress achieved in broadening the scope of cross-LoC trade. He said a fresh list of additional items to be included in the already approved list of 21 items has been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs which will be taken up for approval in the next meeting of the Joint Working Group between India and Pakistan.
On the smooth navigation from present barter system of trade to banking system for cross-LoC trade, Kumar said RBI has agreed to discuss the issue with Pakistan in the meeting of the Joint Working Group. He said for smooth movement of trucks in and out of the terminals at Chakan Da Bagh and Salamabad, tenders have been floated for procurement of full body scanners and the same shall be installed over the next 18 months.
In the Tourism sector, the Chief Minister obtained first-hand appraisal on developing Mantalai, in Udhampur district, as an International Yoga Centre and bringing several areas like Abdullian and Chamlyal within the ambit of border tourism, on pattern of Suchetgarh. She also stressed upon outsourcing high-end assets like Pahalgam Club, which will generate revenue that can be ploughed back in developing the highly-remunerative travel industry in the state.
On being enquired about the present status of the prestigious Jammu Ropeway Project, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Sandeep Nayak, informed the Chief Minister that on the instructions of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the hybrid system has been ordered to be replaced by imported system which matches international benchmarks. Fresh tenders have been floated and the work on the project will commence thereafter, he added.
On laying of new ropeways at tourist and pilgrim destinations like Mantalai and Shiv Khori the Chief Minister was informed that these are currently under the active consideration of the department and subject to clearance from Forest Advisory Board.
While reviewing the performance of the Education sector, the Chief Minister issued instructions for removing impediments in making IIT Jammu functional as early as possible.
Commissioner/Secretary School Education informed the Chief Minister that 144 schools have been identified in the state for upgradation as Model Schools where students will be taught with the help of modern e-learning tools.
In the health sector, Secretary H&ME, M. K. Bhandari briefed the Chief Minister about the present status of setting up new medical colleges at Anantnag, Baramulla, Rajouri, Kathua and Doda. She was also informed about establishing new nursing colleges in existing old hospital buildings in 10 districts at a cost of Rs.2.5 crore each. These districts include Baramulla, Sopore, Anantnag, Srinagar and Budgam in Kashmir valley and Kathua, Udhampur, Poonch, Basohli and Jammu in Jammu division.
For Model Health Centres and SDH Basohli and Dooru, Mehbooba Mufti directed the Health Secretary to provide manpower and equipment so that patients are provided best possible treatment.
While reviewing H&UD sector, the Chief Minister directed the department to fast-track work on Shopping Complexes at Chrar-e-Sharief, Anantnag, multi-tier parking at Panjtirthi and community halls at Bijbehara.
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