Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has underscored the need for the speedy completion of flood protection works on the Jhelum in view of the coming rainy season and directed the officers to run both the phases of the comprehensive flood management plan.
The Chief Minister was addressing the first meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) to monitor the dredging and completion of the comprehensive flood management works on the river.
Mehbooba who heads the CSC reviewed the status of the ongoing works of the Phase-I of the Comprehensive Flood Management Plan, costing around Rs 400 crore. She also reviewed the status of the preparation of the detailed project reports for the Rs 1,684 crore Phase-II. She directed the immediate induction of two cutter suction dredges for which an amount of Rs 26 crore had already been sanctioned.
The meeting was informed that since the visit of the Chief Minister on February 2 this year, desilting and dredging on the river had picked up pace considerably. While 3,300 vulnerable spots on the river had been plugged under the State Disaster Response Fund, an area of 1,300 kanals of land had been retrieved from the illegal occupation and 40,000 trees, planted illegally which were disrupting the smooth flow of water, have also been cut since then, the meeting was told.
The CM asked Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control along with Minister for Education, who also represents the Lal Chowk constituency in the Assembly, to jointly have periodic inspections of the dredging spots on the river and ensure establishment of a convergent working atmosphere on ground between the project executing agencies and the people.
Complete flood protection works on time: Mehbooba Mufti
