APRIL 22: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, chaired a high-level review meeting with the Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD) to assess the progress of various urban development schemes across Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary H&UDD, Commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations, MDs of Housing Board, NULM, and other senior officials.
The Chief Secretary lauded the department’s ongoing urban transformation initiatives and emphasized the need for timely execution, strong inter-departmental coordination, and effective monitoring mechanisms. He urged that infrastructure projects must ultimately improve the living standards of urban residents.
He directed the department to expedite key utility works, including water supply under AMRUT and sanitation facilities under SBM (U). A detailed review was held on Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT 2.0, PMAY-Urban, PM eBus Sewa, DAY-NULM, SBM 2.0, CITIIS 2.0, and related projects.
Commissioner Secretary H&UDD, Mandeep Kaur, presented an overview of completed and ongoing works across urban local bodies (ULBs), highlighting steps taken to improve sanitation and beautification of cities. CEO Srinagar Smart City, Owais Ahmad, shared updates on 161 projects under execution, including Souq Market at Batamaloo, Jhelum Waterfront Phase-2, and road and amenity development works.
CEO Jammu Smart City, Devansh Yadav, shared progress on 127 projects with a budget of ₹3581 crore, including Tawi Riverfront, Oceanarium at Bagh-e-Bahu, and Canal Road-Talab Tillo Street Development. Nallah interception and diversion works along the Tawi banks have been completed.
Under the PM eBus Sewa scheme, 100 electric buses each for Jammu and Srinagar have been approved with significant funding support from MoHUA. DPRs for depot and power infrastructure have been prepared and approved by the Central Steering Committee.
MD Housing Board, Shahbaz Mirza, informed that under PMAY-U, over 27,000 houses have been completed, and the scheme’s expansion is underway in all 78 municipal bodies. A digital app-based survey has also begun to identify houseless families.
SBM-U 2.0 projects for waste management and sanitation are progressing, and all 78 ULBs have been declared “Safaimitra Surakshit Sheher.” Updates were also shared on PMSVANidhi loan disbursements and the new Deendayal Jan Aajeevika Yojana (Urban).
A revamped online building permission system is being rolled out, and a water transport project from Anantnag to Wular Lake is being developed with Kochi Metro’s collaboration.