Srinagar, June 29: Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Wednesday took stock of the recommendations made by the Committee constituted by the government for looking into the issues of decongestion of Jammu and Srinagar cities and identifying suitable areas for rehabilitation of the families whose houses have come under road widening and other infrastructural development programmes.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, Minister of Housing, Nasir Aslam Wani, Political Advisor to the Chief Minister, Devender Singh Rana, Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal, Principal Secretary Agriculture, Iqbal Khandey, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, BB Vyas, Commissioner Secretary Finance, Sudhanshu Pandey, Commissioner Secretary Housing, Suresh Kumar, Commissioner Secretary Forests, Shant Manu, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal and other senior officers.
 Speaking in the meeting the Chief Minister underlined the need of gradual shifting of government offices from the city limits to outskirts to decongest the city areas and ease the movement of traffic. He said while constructing new office complexes the government departments should shun the practice of creating non-productive infrastructure. He said land is shrinking in the cities and towns due to growth of economic activities and construction of residential houses; as such its optimum use is need of hour.
 The Chief Minister also emphasized on rehabilitation of the families and commercial establishments which have come under the infrastructural development programmes and widening of roads so that these are properly rehabilitated. He said that this aspect should be given top priority.
 Omar asked the Housing and Estates Departments to take initiative for construction of new flats for Government employees so that they are shifted from the tourism infrastructure in Srinagar city. “A plan to this effect is needed to be formulated early”, he said underlining the need of handing over the tourism infrastructure back to the department which is under the occupation of Government employees.
 Reviewing the proposals of J&K Housing Board for construction of new housing colonies in Srinagar and Jammu cities, the Chief Minister constituted a sub-committee under the Chief Secretary to finalize the possible modalities for construction of such colonies.
 The Chief Minister said that while construction of new colonies is essential to meet the housing requirements of the people, the environmental requirement, land use, funding pattern and other necessary aspects are to be analyzed and a concrete proposal formulated to move ahead smoothly in this direction.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 IST