Mehta reviews construction of vital road projects in JK

SRINAGAR, JUNE 02: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today reviewed the status of different road projects including national highways being laid out here in the UT.

The meeting was attended by the Principal Secretary, PWD; Divisional Commissioners; Commissioner Secretary, Forest; Commissioner Secretary Revenue; Secretary, PD&MD; Deputy Commissioners; MD, KPDCL; Chief Engineers of PWD, Jal Shakti, PDD; Representatives of BRO, NHIDCL and other officers of the concerned Departments.

The Chief Secretary (CS) urged the executing agencies to enshrine it as their goal to deliver all these projects on set timelines. He asked them that the erecting of crash barriers, sign boards, parapets on National Highways for the safety of travelers should be done before 15th of this month. He also advised the district administration to look into the availability of utilities like Eateries, Washrooms, etc on the National Highways for enjoyable ride over them.

Dr Mehta enquired about the status of five tunnels (T1-T5) being constructed on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway that are going to drastically reduce the travel time between these cities besides making the road more reliable. He asked them to expedite the work on these tunnels so that all of them are timely dedicated to public.

He enjoined upon them to move extra men and machinery for maintenance of this road till the works are completed. He also directed for minimizing the waiting time at toll plazas by opening all the lanes for vehicles and using updated RFID readers over there. He made it clear to all the DCs that there should be least traffic disruptions on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway with focus on clearing the route within an hour or two.

Regarding the availability of material for construction of new roads the Chief Secretary asked the concerned departments to provide online permissions for mining of minerals besides exploring the possibility of allowing them to transport the same beyond daylight hours.

The CS also directed the departments of PDD and Jal Shakti to immediately shift their utilities wherever required so that both the construction and providing of services to general public do not get affected. He also reiterated that the land acquisition process needs to be completed at an earliest. He directed both the district and divisional administration to resolve all the issues at their level and ensure the land is transferred to the departments without any further delay.