PDP-led Govt ‘dumps’ Srinagar for Central Road Scheme

Of 119 projects submitted by the J&K Government to New Delhi for funding under the Central Road Fund scheme, only two projects for Srinagar district figure in the list, indicating how much the development of J&K’s summer capital is the priority of the PDP-led Government.
The information disclosed by the Roads & Buildings department in the recently- concluded Assembly Session reveals that the State Government sought Rs 35 crore for Srinagar out of more than Rs 1700 crore it asked from the Government of India under the CRF scheme.
According to the information, the R&B department has pushed for funding of more than Rs 1700 crore for 119 projects under the CRF for 2016-17. However, the State has sought only Rs 35.33 crore for just two projects in Srinagar: construction of 230 meter span second bridge over river Jehlum near Doordarshan Kendra and motorable Bridge at Natipora.
An official said the State Government should have at least recommended Rs 170 crore for Srinagar to “give the state’s summer capital its due share.”
“Going by the population norms, the share of Srinagar works out to Rs 170 crore from Rs 1,700 crore,” he said. “It is surprising that Srinagar figures below 18 districts in the size of funding.”
Another official said this clearly shows that Srinagar is being discriminated in road sector.
Srinagar is the second most populous district of Jammu and Kashmir, housing 12.5 lakh souls or 10 percent of the state’s population.
“Srinagar should have been given preference keeping in view the fact that it is the state’s summer capital and an important tourist destination. But it is unfortunate that the district is being neglected,” the official said.
He said Srinagar needs massive funding for road infrastructure in the wake of devastation caused to the sector by the 2014 floods.
“The coverage of Srinagar district under PMGSY and NABARD is almost negligible given that these schemes are rural-specific. So Srinagar should have been given preference under the CRF,” he said.
For some districts, the funding sought by the R&B department is six times more than what has been proposed for Srinagar.
According to documents, the R&B has submitted projects worth Rs 180 crore each for two districts.
“What is more perplexing is that State Government has sought more funding than Srinagar for some districts whose population is almost 10 times less than the summer capital,” an official said.
When asked why the State Government sought less funding for Srinagar, the Minister for Roads and Buildings, Abdur Rehman Veeri, said the funding under the scheme is sought region-wise.
“We have sought equal funding for Jammu and Kashmir regions,” he told Kashmir Post on Thursday. “We don’t seek district-wise funding under the program.”
A senior official in R&B department said they might have to re-fix priorities under CRF as Centre has agreed to the funding of Rs 1000 crore only under the program.
“The issue of CRF funding was discussed in the meeting held between Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari earlier this month,” he said.
When contacted, Chief Engineer Roads and Buildings department Abdul Hamid said they have submitted projects to the Government as per need.
“There is no question of disparity,” he said.