Srinagar: Kashmir Valley has been witnessing many lapses on the developmental front. The reasons are many, but as of now the officials have been citing the unrest in Kashmir as the main reasons for delay in completion of projects.

The projects that have been witnessing delay in completion have been telling upon the promises made by the government to ensure completion of these projects that are critical to the overall development of the state.

The major projects which have been witnessing delay are the four laning of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and some crucial projects like the Rambagh fly over bridge in Srinagar.

 The valley’s longest flyover and a major project that was conceived to ease out the traffic woes in the City is to be constructed from Jehangir Chowk to Rambagh. However, the project has already witnesses missing of three deadlines.

Announced in 2009, the construction on the flyover, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at an estimated cost of Rs 359 crore, began in 2013, but the project is far from completion.

The latest was December 31, which was set by the government for the completion of phase one of the flyover –from Tulsi Bagh to Barzulla Bridge. However, Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (JKERA), which is executing the project, had said it would be thrown open for traffic by mid-February 2018. The agency later cited winter as a reason for not getting the black topping work done and delayed the completion deadline to May 2018.

Another key project that would have eased out traffic congestion in the city is the grade separator near TRC Junction here.

The foundation stone of the project was laid by former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 2015 and the project, to be built at a cost of Rs 17.85 crore, was to be completed by December 2016.

However, the agency missed the deadline and a visibly small project is still under construction. The authorities have now pushed the deadline to June 2018.

A major project that too has been marred by the missing deadline syndrome is the four laning of Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

The work on the project in Kashmir region has been going on at a sluggish pace with the project missing several deadlines, so much so that High Court had to intervene.

The work on Srinagar-Qazigund stretch was started in 2011 and the deadline to complete it was June 2014. The project executing agency not only missed the deadline but sought extension after extension.

So many extensions later, the project is yet to be completed and officials say it would take three to four months more.

As of now the project seems to be missing one deadline after another. This project which is considered as a key project connected with the overall growth of Kashmir and Ladakh region needs a serious rethink. The government needs to initiate serious measures and ensure accountability among officials who fail to monitor these projects and ensure their timely completion.

Guest