PM's dream of development in J&K becoming a reality, says Puri

SRINAGAR: Union Minister Hardeep S Puri on Monday said that the Prime Minister's commitment to the development of J&K is turning into reality and work regarding the same is in full swing. He stated that the PM's development initiatives in J&K have created an emotional bond between the people and the country.

"Central schemes directly benefit the people and I am glad that work is going on at the ground level," the minister added, said a press release.

Addressing the media persons in Srinagar today, Puri said people are investing in the economic development in the Union Territory of J&K because of the Central Government's farsighted decision to remove the bottleneck of Articles 370 and 35A.

Puri said that a new dawn of development has now set in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 which could be judged from the fact that 25 new National Highway Projects have been sanctioned to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 11,721 crore, 168 MoUs have been signed amounting to Rs 13,600 crore, seven new medical colleges have been sanctioned with medical seats increasing from 500 to 955, the world's highest railway bridge constructed in J&K, Vande Bharat Express is in operation from Jammu to Delhi and tourist footfall increased to more than one lakh.

Puri further said that under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, some 12 lakh LPG connections have been provided under PM Ujjwala, and 50,000 houses have been sanctioned under PMAY(U).

The minister also said that petroleum prices have seen a sharp rise from July 2021 to August, 2022 with a 43 per cent to 46 per cent increase in USA and Canada while India is the only country in the world where only a 2 per cent increase has been seen during that period. When many countries in the world are witnessing a shortage of fuel and exorbitant price rises, there is no shortage of fuel in India even in the remotest corners of the country, the Minister added.

Interacting with the district administration officers in Srinagar, Puri said that the centre is committed to achieving new milestones with respect to growth and development in Jammu and Kashmir.

The minister reviewed the progress of work on various development projects and work done as per government schemes like PM Awas Yojana, PM Ujwala, PM SVANidhi, SBM 2.0 and Amrut 2.0.