Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali today said that the Government was keenly working to expedite the relocation of oil depots from city area to less populated area. Speaking at a meeting convened to review the process of shifting of oil depots that are presently located near Railway Station in Jammu, the Minister Zulfkar Ali said that the present location of the depots is a matter of concern for the present dispensation. He said the depots are surrounded by residential areas the population of which has increased manifold over the years. Concerned Minister said that if something wrong happens there, it could lead to a big disaster, causing loses of human lives as well as property. The Minister said that keeping safety of people in mind, the shifting of the depots becomes imperative and government is working on a plan to accomplish this task.Suggesting the concerned officers to identify land away from populated area, the Minister said that initially the Government was mulling to identify land in district Samba for establishing new depots. However, he said that the idea was dropped due to certain reasons.
While directing the concerned agencies to expedite the process for land identification for relocation of the depots, the Minister said that the process should be completed in a time bound manner. He said that it would be better if everything, from identification, procurement and other legalities are completed by June next year. The Minster asked the concerned functionaries to ensure that the site identified for the relocation of depots was both people as well as eco-friendly step. He said that prefer should be given to barren or waste land, and if private land is acquired the owners are duly compensated. The Minister also stressed upon the representatives of oil companies to ensure that they prefer local populace for jobs at the new depots. He said that the move should provide employment to the locals and give some sort of boast to State’s economy.Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Inspector General of Police, Jammu, Dinesh Rana, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh, Director FCS&CA, G. S Chib, along with the representatives from various oil companies attended the meeting.