Central government has allocated Rs 700 crore for developing 3,000-km roads covering 467 habitations across Jammu and Kashmir for the year 2019-20 under Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme.
Union ministry of rural development has issued an order inthis regard before the imposition of code of conduct in view of upcoming LokSabha elections.
According to the central government order, the state ofJammu and Kashmir has to contribute 10 percent as the state share of theallocated amount which is pegged at around Rs 77 crore.
The central government has allocated total Rs 22,000 crorefor construction of roads under PMGSY during 2019-20 across India.
However in Jammu and Kashmir, the state government has beenurging the central government to provide additional allocation for landacquisition citing state’s meagre financial resources.
In this regard, state government has already approachedcentral government for seeking special dispensation of Rs 1724 crore for landacquisition under Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme.
According to a senior public works department official,under Phase X-XII of PMGSY scheme, the centre has not provided funds for landacquisition, as was done for earlier phases.
“Given the state’s poor fiscal health it is unlikely thatgovernment could allocate Rs 1,724 crore for land acquisition of this centrallyfunded scheme,” he said adding that funding for earlier 9 phases included fundsfor land acquisition.
But now as the central government has asked state tocontribute its own funds for land acquisition, state has approached centreagain seeking funds as a special case keeping in view state’s poor economiccondition.
“In view of this scenario, chief secretary has already takenup the issue with union government,” he said adding that if funds are notprovided for land acquisition, projects coming up in these phases will be badlyimpacted.
Since the inception of the PMGSY scheme, 3,501 connectivityprojects, including roads and bridges, have been taken up in J&K at acumulative cost of Rs 12,800 crore.
However state government’s sluggish approach has earned itcentre’s ire a number of times. Recently, a strongly worded letter was sent tochief secretary J&K. “The slow pace of construction by state is much belowthe national average and is a cause for serious concern. For the next sevenmonths, the state would require to construct roads at an average rate of 10 kmper day,” the letter had stated.
According to officials, last year former governor NN Vohraalso expressed serious concern over the fact that 2,400 km of roads under PhaseIII-IX of the PMGSY costing Rs 1,500 crore are yet to be completed.
The PMGSY is under the authority of the Union ministry ofrural development and began on 25 December 2000.
During November 2015, following the recommendations of the14th Finance Commission, the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalisation ofCentrally Sponsored Schemes, it was announced that the project will be fundedby both the central government (60 percent share) and states (40 percentshare).
In 2017, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and itsNational Rural Road Development Agency (NRRDA) had also reprimanded JammuKashmir Government for slow progress on the pending projects and asked thestate to focus on balance habitations, particularly in its nine districts,which have less than 40 percent connectivity.