Developmental projects

The BJP government has been dispatching Union Ministers to Jammu and Kashmir not only to monitor the progress and development but also to inaugurate many such projects completed in the recent past.

Recently Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, in presence of Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Shri Manoj Sinha, inaugurated works pertaining to Health, Education, Urban Infrastructure, and Disaster Management worth Rs 130.49 crore and laid the foundation stone for Union Territory Level Emergency Operation Centre and SCADA control building at Budgam, Kashmir (amounting to Rs 34.88 crore) under the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP).

The sub-projects are part of the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) which is assisted by a credit of $250 million from the World Bank. The project was started in Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the devastating floods of September 2014 which severely affected low-lying areas of Anantnag, Srinagar, and adjoining districts causing immense damage to housing, livelihoods and roads and bridges. It has been under implementation by the Government of J&K as part of the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) for J&K since its effective date of 19.04.2016. The project aims at both restoring essential services disrupted by the floods and improving the design standard and practices to increase resilience.

The high social impact of JTFRP was felt in the COVID-19 pandemic response by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, wherein an amount of $50 million was allocated and utilized for the COVID-19 response, by activating the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) under the project.

Medical equipment worth Rs. 290 crore and 30 oxygen generating plants at a total cost of Rs. 75 crore were procured thereby giving a boost to the health infrastructure to cope with the challenges posed by the pandemic.