The 40 kilometer Udhampur-Ghordi road and 28 kilometer Mantalai-Dudu road, which have been a long pending public demand, will be constructed at a cost of Rs.159.03 crore through Central Road Fund (CRF) of the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH). This amount will be in addition to Rs. 131 crore sanctioned for construction of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in Chenani Assembly segment of Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Lok Sabha constituency. The total amount sanctioned for construction of roads under PMGSY in district Udhampur is Rs 300 crore. This was disclosed here today by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh during a meeting with a team of political activists from Chenani Assembly constituency of J&K led by the local MLA Dina Nath Bhagat. The requisition for the construction of this road was submitted to the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and was duly recommended by the Union Minister of MoRTH, Nitin Gadkari. However, the DPR and other requisite formalities from the J&K State Government are awaited, following the completion of which, the funds could be released. In case the State Government submits the papers on time, the project could be taken up in the current Plan itself. Dr Jitendra Singh thanked Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for his liberal patronage to all the projects submitted to him. He recalled that the budget approvals for Keediyan-Gandhyal inter-State Bridge and the Juthana Bridge in district Kathua were also possible because of personal intervention of Gadkari. He also thanked Gadkari for the state-of-the-art Chenani-Nashri tunnel and the proposed Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway. Referring to rural roads falling under category of PMGSY, Dr Jitendra Singh said, most of roads under this category have been cleared for the districts of Kathua, Udhampur and Doda, for which he appreciated the cooperation from Union Minister of Rural Development, Narendra Singh Tomar. In addition, from his MPLAD fund, Dr Jitendra Singh also announced an initial amount of Rs. 10 lakh for construction of Yatri Niwas at Dudu in Chenani Assembly constituency. Dina Nath Bhagat lauded the efforts of Dr Jitendra Singh and his continuous follow-up with various Ministries at the Centre, which had made it possible for most of the public demands from the area to get addressed on time. He said, as an MP, Dr Jitendra Singh was not only always easily accessible but also always ready to personally follow up every issue. Bhagat also submitted a requisition for a Degree College in Chenani which, Dr Jitendra Singh said, he would endorse and submit to the Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar. However, a formal official requisition will be required from the Higher Education Department of State Government, he said. Beant Gupta, Hans Raj, Kasturi Lal Gupta, Social Activists & Akhtar Hussain ex-sarpanch Latti among others, also accompanied MLA Dina Nath Bhagat.
