Mega development underplayed by Oppn, vested interests: Dr Jitendra
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Aug 21: Union Minister of State in PMO with independent charge of North Eastern States, Dr Jitendra Singh along with Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha today inaugurated Phase-I of much awaited Jammu Ring Road Project.
While Dr Jitendra Singh described it a dream project for Jammu hit out at opposition parties and some vested interests in the UT who, he said, are suffering from political myopia and hence were underplaying the mega developmental projects which are under construction in J&K at present, Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha expressed satisfaction over the inauguration and termed roads as vital for any society to progress.
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Dr Jitendra Singh said it is a proud moment testifying evident development on ground in the last one year under the Narendra Modi Government but the opposition parties and some vested elements in the UT who are suffering from political myopia are underplaying the developmental projects in J&K. These leaders who belied the people for seven decades are baffled over the mega developmental projects started in J&K by Narendra Modi Government and hence they are hell bent to mislead the masses every now and then for their vested interests, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh while describing the Ring Road first major NHAI Project after Chenani Nashri tunnel, which was dedicated on the name of veteran Jana Sangh leader and a great patriot, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee who laid down his life in J&K for the total integration of erstwhile State with rest of India, said that the first phase of project was delayed for some months due to COVID -19 pandemic and lockdown.
He expressed the hope that the rest part of project will be completed in the stipulated time frame. Dr Jitendra Singh said besides, there are other three major projects for J&K which will be ready in next three years in the UT. They included the Metro Rail Project in Jammu, Railway to Kashmir via Reasi, Katra-Amritsar, New Delhi Corridor and Bamboo Clustering Manufacturing for livelihood in Kathua district.
Maintaining that PM Narendra Modi is keen for rapid development of J&K to create job avenues for the youth of the UT, he said it was because of his (PM’s) personal interest that Metro Rail was sanctioned for capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar on priority basis.
He, while terming the Bamboo cluster another dream project for J&K said it will create job avenues for vast majority of J&K youth. He said it is not possible to provide Government jobs to every youth in the country but Modi Government is creating employability avenues for the youth and the Bamboo cluster is the part of the same scheme. He lauded J&K Chief Secretary, B V R Subrahmanyam’s role in this regard.
Dr Jitendra Singh, while taking a dig at opposition Congress for hoodwinking public opinion about the development in J&K referred to Shapur Kandi Project which was kept in cold storage by previous Congress-NC Governments for decades. He said Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh visited the project twice after MoU was signed by J&K with Punjab Government for construction of the project but his party leaders in the UT are crying hoarse about the development because of their shortsightedness.
Dr Jitendra Singh also brushed aside the charges of some fringe political groups about the continuance of discrimination with Jammu region and said that with the abrogation of Article 370 and 35 (a) on August 5 last year and with the carving out of UTs on October 31 last year every sort of discrimination has ended.
He said on many developmental projects the pace of work is more rapid than Kashmir valley. In this regard he made a reference to Biotech Park of Kathua. He said, while the park in Kathua is near completion the work on it could not yet be started in Kashmir valley.
He termed the abolition of interviews for the candidates for Class IV and Class III posts a great achievement of the Modi Government as the candidates seeking 95 percent marks in written tests were earlier rejected during interviews. To make the youth of the country a part of Vikas Yatra (developmental journey) of Modi Government, the PM had promised in 2014 that interviews will be abolished.
In his address, Lt. Governor Manoj Singh urged the executing agencies for early completion of the entire project and assured incentives to the executing agencies and officers for completing projects within stipulated time period.
The Lt Governor hoped that the newly inaugurated road would help reduce pollution, decongest Jammu city and will catalyze economic and industrial growth across the region. He also reiterated the Government’s resolve for providing basic amenities across the length and breadth of the Union Territory.
The LG also commended district administration of Jammu and Samba for timely land acquisition and prompt removal of bottlenecks in the execution of the project.
Designed to keep up with needs of the growing city, the Jammu Ring Road will help ease chaos and traffic within the city by connecting peripheries of the city directly, reducing distance and travel time between other districts of the UT.
The 8-kilometer stretch between Akhnoor road, Kangrail and Bhalwal was inaugurated in the presence of Member of Parliament (RS), Shamsher Singh Manhas; Member of Parliament, (LS) Jugal Kishore Sharma and Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam.
Others present on the occasion also included Mayor JMC, Chander Mohan Gupta; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Sanjeev Verma; IGP Jammu, Mukesh Singh; DC Jammu, Sushma Chauhan; Deputy Mayor JMC, Purnima Sharma; Regional Officer NHAI, Hem Raj and other senior officers of various departments.
The phase-1 of Jammu Ring Road was scheduled to be finished by March 2020 but was delayed due to COVID crisis. The 58.255 km Ring Road will be completed in December 2021 at an estimated budget of Rs 2024 crores. The foundation stone of the project was laid by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in May 2018.
The Ring Road will pass through Raya Morh, Patti, Bari Brahmana, Murallian, Miran Sahib, Lalyal, Alora, Sohanjana, Gho Manhasan, Karloop, Kangrail, Bhalwal, Kot, Kheri and Jagti near Nagrota. Total 60 villages- 54 of district Jammu and 6 of district Samba will be connected once the project finishes.
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