Jammu and Kashmir has once again secured the third position in terms of building road network after Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, a significant development indicator after the abrogation of Article 370. All habitations with a population of more than 1,000 as per 2011 Census, were provided road connectivity in the 2021-22 fiscal.
Official figures from the ministry of rural development show that 2,967 projects have been completed under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), covering a distance of 17,798 km and connecting 2,096 habitations. After the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, the union territory has improved its performance in terms of the length of roads constructed annually, moving up the rankings from 12th to third position for two consecutive financial years.
According to ministry data shared by information and public relations department of the UT, under all-India rankings for the PMGSY, the region held the ninth rank in FY 2016-17, 11th in FY 2017-18, 12th in FY 2018-19, ninth in FY 2019-20, improving to third in FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22. The ranking has only improved since 2019.
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, said in the last three years, the budget allocation for J&K has continually increased. For works being executed through the UT administration, details of funds allocated and expenditures incurred for development of national highways in each of the last three years are as follows: Rs 70 crore allocated, of which Rs 52 crore spent in FY 2020-21; Rs 90 crore allocated, of which Rs 68 crore spent in FY 2021-22; and the highest in last three years, Rs 390 crore allocated, of which Rs 101 crore spent in FY 2022-23.
In April 2023, Gadkari in a press briefing in Srinagar had said, “We are working on such a mission that in the coming three to four years, we will make the Jammu and Kashmir road network equivalent to that of America.”
The J&K administration said it has been successful in its endeavour to build better roads in the UT. “J&K is amongst the top performers in terms of achievements made under PMGSY, reflecting the dedication of J&K government to reach out to unconnected habitations with road connectivity, strengthen and expand the intra-UT road network.”
On the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, the ‘Naya Jammu and Kashmir’ has transformed from an underdeveloped and terrorism-hit region into one of the most vibrant places in India. Central government statistics show that the road length in the UT has increased to 41,141 km till March 2022, which was 39,345 km in 2019.
According to a report of the ministry of home affairs, it takes only six to seven hours to travel between Srinagar and Jammu on the renovated Srinagar-Jammu national highway. It earlier took 12 to 14 hours to cross the 300-km distance between the two cities. Before 2019, between Jammu and Doda, travel time was 5.5 hours, which has been reduced to 3.5 hours; meanwhile, travel time between Jammu and Kishtwar takes only five hours, which was 7.5 hours earlier.
The average macadamisation of roads was 6.54 km per day but now it is 20.68 km per day. According to official data till March 2022, the public works department resolved 356 complaints on ‘Meri Sadak’ and 32 complaints on the centralised public grievance redress and monitoring system (CPGRAMS), a website where people can submit complaints at any time.
The government has expanded road networks, especially in rural and far-flung areas. Many targets have been met under different schemes like PMGSY, Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF), NABARD, road sector, cities and towns (Macadamisation), languishing projects and pothole-free road schemes, implemented for the construction, improvement and upgrade of roads and bridges.
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