23 Big-Ticket PMDP Projects Completed In Jammu Kashmir, 7 More Due By Fiscal Year End

Srinagar: Nine years after the Prime Minister’s Development Package was announced for the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, the development projects have seen progress with 23 of them completed while seven more are expected to reach the completion stage by the end of this fiscal, said an official citing legal challenges and acquisitions for the previous delays.

The reconstruction package comprising Rs 80,068 crore with 63 projects was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 7, 2015. But after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, nine projects worth Rs 21,441 crore were transferred to Ladakh while one project was dropped. The remaining 53 developmental projects with a budget of Rs 58,477 crore stayed with the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.

“By October 2024, 23 projects (six by the Government of India and 17 by the J&K Government) were completed and 12 projects (six by the Government of India and six by the J&K Government) were substantially completed,” said the J&K government’s latest Economic Survey Report.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) set up for Rs 2000 crore and Rs 1000 crore Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Jammu were completed as part of the Prime Minister’s package along with almost 70 per cent of the work on the four-laning of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

These projects have taken the total projects completed to 66 per cent with over 97 per cent of funds already expended on the projects.

The breakup of the funds, according to the official document, shows that Rs 52,859.14 crore were sanctioned all these years for these projects while Rs 51,340.34 crore has already been utilised.

Some of the projects that are pending and will progress beyond this year are expected to be completed next year. They include both road and tunnel projects.

Of them, the key projects include the Jammu and Srinagar Semi Ring Road. Jammu’s Ring Road is 98 per cent complete, but the tunnel work stands at 46 per cent, according to an official document. The project is set to be ready by June 2025.

Apart from it, the 13.150-kilometre-long under-construction strategic Zojila Tunnel provides round-the-year access to Ladakh. While 58 per cent of work has been achieved, the project is expected to be ready by September 2026.

Besides, some other key projects include the Panthal-Magarkote Tunnel and the Digdole-Khooni Nallah Tunnel for reducing distance and making the entire Srinagar-Jammu highway all-weather, which are expected to be completed in 2025-2026.

“Many projects took time or missed deadlines due to delays in the acquisition of land or clearance from forests, etc. Also, some litigation caused some delays,” said an official of the Public Works Department.

But now, the projects are progressing and are expected to be finished as per the deadline, he added.

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