J&K govt cracks whip on road building firms for delays

Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Roads and Buildings Abdul Majid Wani on January 24 has cracked whip on construction agencies in the state. The Minister said that cost overruns due to undue and unnecessary delays in works shall have to be their exclusive liability.

Reviewing pace of progress on prestigious Rs 640 crore Mughal road project at a high level meeting of the officers and engineers, Wani asked the executing agencies to stick to the targeted time-frame for completion of development works as delays result in escalation of project costs, an official statement said.

The Minister asked the engineers concerned and executing agencies working on the Mughal road project to complete all the seven major bridges coming under the project by the end of May this year. He said Rs 55.75 crore have already been earmarked for construction of these vital major bridges.

Wani said that construction of the Mughal road is a big turnaround in the socio-economic emancipation of the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri besides giving boost to the tourism activities in the area. He instructed the engineers concerned to put in to use latest technologies for treatment of the avalanches and soil erosion prone stretches of the Mughal road, after conducting its geological studies.