Gadkari to lay foundation stone for 25 national highway projects in Jammu

New Delhi: Union of Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will lay the foundation stone for 25 national road projects with a total length of 257 km with an investment of Rs 11,721 crore in Jammu on Wednesday. These projects will provide all-weather connectivity between the Jammu Valley and Kashmir. These are strategically important for the rapid movement of the defense forces as well as the agricultural, industrial and socio-economic progress of the region.

The projects will link all major roads leading to various district headquarters and help create employment and self-employment opportunities. The projects will include the rehabilitation and improvement of some sections, the construction of the viaduct and the tunnel and the rectification of black spots.

Meanwhile, in a bid to promote entrepreneurship and boost employment in Jammu and Kashmir, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday handed sanction letters for Rs 306 crore to 145 beneficiaries of various central programs linked on credit to Jammu.

Sitharaman reached Union territory on Monday as part of the Centre’s outreach program. On the second day of her visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the Minister of Finance also announced a number of new programs and initiatives for the Union territory, including the launch of the Tejasvini and Hausala programs of J&K Bank, Shikhar and Shikara of the Punjab National Bank. (PNB) and the SIDBI cluster development fund for Rs 200 crore.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the Tejasvini program focuses on providing financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to girls between the ages of 18 and 35 to start their business. The Shikhar program focuses on meeting credit requirements up to Rs 2 crore for the hospitality, tourism and tourism industry. Under the Shikara program, credit of up to Rs 15 lakh for the purchase / repair of Shikaras is provided in the Kashmir Valley.

Sitharaman also laid the foundation stone for the construction of Rural Self-Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) in Shopian and Baramula and inaugurated J&K Bank branches in Salal, Bagga and Budhan in Reasi district. Under the aegis of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the registration certificates of five FPOs were delivered along with a rural market sanction letter to Asha SHG.

For fiscal year 2020-21, it was announced that NABARD for Jammu and Kashmir is increasing its commitment under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) from Rs 787 crore to Rs 1,500 crore, which will contribute to the creation of rural infrastructure for faster economic growth, the finance ministry said.

To further accelerate economic growth, banks will also increase their ground credit in Jammu and Kashmir from the previous year’s level of Rs 14,735 crore to Rs 16,000 crore in the current fiscal year.