Minister of Public Works Naeem Akhtar today sought cooperation from all departments so as to fast track the ongoing work on various highway projects in the state.The Minister was speaking at a meeting to review the pace of work on various highway projects in the State.The Minister was informed that out of 2264 kms of highways in the state, 326 kms have been entrusted to NHAI for development. The Minister stressed on the coordination between NHAI, R&B, revenue, excise, tourism and other departments for smooth and fast progress on the works.The representatives of NHAI made a detailed presentation on the status of works in the state and major issues confronting them. The meeting was informed that a physical progress of 68.25 percent has been achieved on Srinagar-Banihal stretch, 65.20 percent on Qazigund-Banihal stretch, 19.03 percent on Udhampur-Ramban stretch and 3.26 percent on Ramban Banihal stretch of the highway.
The NHAI officials raised various issues confronting their work and the Minister gave on the spot direction to resolve the same. He directed the officials to increase the pace of work on the Qazigund road tunnel so that it is thrown open for traffic by next year.The Minister said that the entire Highway is extremely vital for the state and it should be made a model for the entire country. He directed the NHAI to work in tandem with Tourism and Floriculture department for landscaping of the highway. He said that besides exotic plants, Chinars, willow and various fruit trees also need to be planted along the road to make a beautiful highway. He also directed the Tourism department to identify various spots for development as spots of public conveniences.The Meeting was attended by Secretary R&B, Secretary Tourism, Chief Engineers R&B Kashmir and Jammu, representatives of NHAI and other officials.