4000kms of roads to be upgraded: minister

The Jammu and Kashmir government plans to upgrade 4000 kilometres of roads with funds from central schemes.
The government has in its kitty Rs 4800 crore from the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and the Central Road Fund (CRF) for the current fiscal.
"The state government has Rs 2800 crore under PMGSY, another Rs 1000 crore under the same programme for works in the pipeline and Rs 1000 crore under CRF," an official spokesperson said after a meeting chaired by Public Works Minister Naeem Akhtar here today.
The meeting, convened to finalise projects in the road and building sector with officials and others, was told that the Public Works Department planned to macadamise around 4000 kms of road length across the state.

The minister said workforce and machinery had already been mobilised for the road upgrading programme across the state this year.
"Preference will be given to cities, towns, tourist resorts and areas which were not covered under road upgradation because of the unrest last year," Akhtar said, referring to widespread unrest triggered by the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in 2016.
The minister urged the people to keep a close watch on the standard of the work in progress in their areas, stressing that improved road communication and education were vital to the socio-economic growth of a community.