The Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh today directed the executing agencies to take into consideration the ecological and environmental concerns while executing the works under prestigious National Highway four- lanning project.The Deputy Chief Minister was speaking at a meeting convened to review the progress of work on the four-laning of Udhampur-Banihal stretch of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment, Choudhary Lal Singh, Chief Secretary Mr B R Sharma, Chairman, Pollution Control Board, and other senior officers, representatives of GAMMON India and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) were present.The Deputy Chief Minister directed the representatives of the GAMMON India to ensure that the environmental concerns of the forest department are kept in mind while undertaking the work on the four-lane project. He said that everyone should be concerned about the fragile environment and take necessary and corrective measures to ensure its preservation.
Dr. Singh also asked the officers to provide all necessary support to the executing agencies so that this vital stretch of the National Highway is upgraded for the convenience of the commuters with reduced travel time between the two capital cities. He said the prestigious project would also go a long way in connecting the State with the rest of the country by providing necessary and viable means of transportation besides giving a flip to the tourism sector.The Deputy Chief Minister also directed the officers to identify adequate number of dumping sites so that the debris is properly disposed of without harming the ecology of the area.Dr Singh also directed for speeding up the land acquisition cases to ensure that the owners get the compensation without any delay.The Minister for Forest and Ecology, Choudhary Lal Singh while speaking on the occasion directed the representatives of the executing agencies as well as the officers present to work in synergy to ensure that all necessary and corrective measures are put in place while undertaking the four laning especially the ecological part. He said all of them should collectively ensure that the fragile ecology of the state was preserved.