J&K set to witness massive transformation on developmental front
3000 MW power capacity to be added by 2024-25
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 4: The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is all set to witness massive transformation on the developmental front in the next two-three years as Rs 56,261 crore worth projects of different sectors sanctioned under Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) and several major power projects are slated to be completed by then. This has become possible due to persistent efforts of the present dispensation to remove all the bottlenecks.
The Prime Minister’s Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir was announced in the month of November 2015 and it consists of 63 projects concerning 15 Ministries of Government of India. The Package was sanctioned for overcoming development deficit in different parts of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
As per the official document available with EXCELSIOR, by June 2018 only seven projects under PMDP were completed. However, following bifurcation of the then State into two Union Territories the execution of projects gained momentum as the Lieutenant Governor’s administration not only removed the impediments but also accelerated the pace of work.
Due to this, 21 projects have been completed till June 2021 and 12 more projects are likely to be completed by the end of current financial year (2021-22). During the next financial year (2022-23), 14 more projects will be completed. With this, 54 projects of PMDP worth Rs 56,261 crore will be completed in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Some of the major projects which have been completed are Rambagh flyover in Srinagar, Qazigund-Banihal Tunnel and Jhelum Flood Mitigation Project (Phase-I). The IIT Jammu has started functioning from own campus while as work on AIIMS Jammu is apace. The work on Ring Road Jammu will be completed by March next year.
The intensity of the accelerated work on PMDP projects can be gauged from the fact that in June 2018 the expenditure was only 26% while as the same has increased to 62% in June 2021.
As per the document, Kashmir valley will get rail connectivity with rest of the country by December 2022 following completion of work on world’s highest railway bridge in Reasi district. The highest railway bridge is being constructed over River Chenab at a height of 359 meter from the bed level and it is higher than Qutab Minar and Eiffel Tower.
As far as hydropower sector is concerned, only 3500 Mega Watts of potential was realized in last 70 years while as 3000 Mega Watt capacity will be added by 2024-25, which means that power generation capacity to be doubled in three years and trebled in seven years.
Stating that 3000 Mega Watts capacity projects worth Rs 22628 crore have been revived and put on track, the official document said that Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) for another 4674 Mega Watts capacity addition have been signed by the Government of J&K UT. The work on Pakal Dul (1000 Mega Watts) and Kiru (624 Mega Watts) Hydroelectric Projects has commenced with anticipated completion by 2024. Similarly, bottlenecks in Ujh and Shahpur Handi mega multipurpose projects have been removed.
The power transmission projects which are going to be completed during the current year are 400 MVA, 220/132 KV transformer at Gladni (December 2021); 50 MVA 132/33 KV transformer at Gladni (December 2021); augmentation of Mir Bazar sub-station from 320 MVA to 445 MVA (November 2021); erection of 160 MVA, 220/132 KV transformer at Delina (November 2021) and first ever GIS Station (160 MVA) of Transco to be completed at Lassipora by August 31, 2021.
As per the document, Light Metro Rail Transit System for Jammu and Srinagar cities will be completed by March 2025 at a cost of Rs 10,599 crore. In Jammu, the corridor will be Bantalab to Bari Brahamana Railway Station, which will have 22 stations while as in Srinagar, the corridors will be Indra Nagar to HMT Junction with 12 stations and Osmanabad to Hazuri Bagh with 12 stations.
As per the document, in June 2018 projects worth Rs 7000 crore were incomplete. However, in order to complete these projects Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation was created and it raised Rs 8000 crore from the market to complete the long pending unfinished projects.
By March 31, 2021, 1100 projects worth Rs 1555.16 crore were completed. Five projects completed were languishing for more than 20 years while as 15 projects completed were languishing for more than 15 years and fate of 165 projects was hanging in balance for more than 10 years.
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