As the developmental activities in Srinagar have come to a standstill due to ongoing unrest, the state government on Wednesday said work on all stalled projects will be undertaken during winter to compensate lost time.
The various projects including road widening and construction of drains in the summer capital have missed deadlines due to the unrest. Officials said that delay in completion of these projects will result in cost escalation.
Minister for Roads and Buildings, A. R Veeri said that the due to prevailing situation work on various development projects has been badly affected.
“But we have now decided that construction agencies will undertake work on developmental projects even during winter months which earlier was considered as a lean period of construction activities,” Veeri told Kashmir Post.
“PDP government is committed to the development of Srinagar. We are aware that the developmental activities in Srinagar have been stalled and outstation workers have fled which further aggravated the issue,” Veeri said adding that he has undertaken a meeting with Roads and Buildings officials and directed them to continue work on all projects irrespective of weather conditions.
“Although only macadmization of roads cannot be done due to sub zero temperature. But other construction activities will be undertaken during upcoming months,” he added.
To mention, continuous shutdowns, curfews and restrictions in Kashmir for over three months have hit developmental works , with 50 percent of allocated funds for developmental activities remaining un-utilized.
As per officials of Roads and Buildings (R&B) department, more than 1000 works under various State and Centrally-sponsored schemes in all sectors including Health, Roads and Education have come to halt due to shutdown, curfews and shortage of laborers.
Officials said that around 50 percent of allocated funds reserved for developmental works in Kashmir are un-utilized.
As per officials, there are lesser chances of resumption of development works this year due to the fact that winters are fast approaching. “Winter months in Kashmir are considered to be off-season for macadamization and other construction activities,” they said.
Development projects in Kashmir were going on in full swing till July 8, the day Hizb Commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in South Kashmir’s Islamabad district, which subsequently lead to protests and civilian killings in security forces’ action.
Apart from developmental works that are being carried out by State government, the work on four-laning of Srinagar-Jammu Highway in south Kashmir and on Srinagar-Baramulla Highway by Border Roads Organization (BRO) has also come to halt due to unrest. Earlier also these projects have missed several deadlines.
As per officials, several key developmental projects undertaken by Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) in Kashmir, especially in Srinagar, including the vital Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover are facing delays and missing deadlines because of the prevailing law and order situation in Kashmir.
ERA officials disclosed that sanitary landfill site cell at Achan aimed at city waste disposal has been delayed due to lack of availability of soil forcing the Srinagar Municipal Corporation to dump the waste in open, leading to unhygienic conditions.
