FM Sitharaman inaugurates projects worth Rs 165 crore in J-K

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday inaugurated development projects worth Rs 165 crore in Jammu and Kashmir.

These include Jhelum and Tawi flood recovery projects, officials said.

The Union minister inaugurated work pertaining to health, education, urban infrastructure and disaster management -- amounting to Rs 130.49 crore, an official spokesman said.

He said the minister also laid foundation stone for UT-level emergency operation centre and SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) control building at Budgam -- amounting to Rs 34.88 crore under the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP).

The spokesman said the sub-projects are part of the JTFRP which is assisted by a credit of USD 250 million from the World Bank.

The project was started in J-K in the aftermath of the devastating floods of September 2014 which severely affected low lying areas of Anantnag, Srinagar and adjoining districts, causing immense damage to housing, livelihood, and roads and bridges.

The project aims at both restoring essential services disrupted by the floods and improving the design standard and practices to increase resilience, the spokesman said.

He said the high social impact of JTFRP was felt in the COVID-19 pandemic response by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, wherein an amount of USD 50 million was allocated and utilised by activating the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) under the project.

Medical equipment worth Rs 290 crore and 30 oxygen generating plants at a total cost of Rs 75 crore were procured, thereby, giving a boost to the health infrastructure to cope with the challenges posed by the pandemic, he said.

In a significant step towards self-reliance of artisans of the Union territory, many artisan clusters were developed under this project with an objective of reviving the traditional crafts and providing gainful employment opportunities to youth, the spokesman added.