'Assorted' accommodation for Kmr-migrant employees

Naeem review progress on over 14000 bunkers

SRINAGAR: The state government today decided to develop "assorted" accommodation where migrant employees under the Prime Minister's special package will live alongside other employees of the state government.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by state Public Works Minister Naeem Akhtar here to review the progress for creating additional accommodation for Kashmiri migrants.

"It was decided in the meeting that instead of creating isolated residential accommodation for the Kashmiri migrants, the state government would develop assorted accommodation at various places where the 'Move and Non-Move Employees' and Kashmiri Migrants employed under the PM's Special Package would be housed jointly to revive the age-old Kashmiri composite culture and tradition," an official spokesman said.

He said it was informed in the meeting that the state government has already identified land at some places and detailed project reports for these are in the process of being issued.

The apartments should have facilities like multi-purpose hall, parking facilities, playground, proper green-cover with mixed population to reflect the cultural diversity of J&K," the minister said.

He directed the officials of the department to appoint a nodal officer for centralising the process of project implementation.

Earlier in the meeting, Akhtar reviewed the progress of construction of Safety Bunkers and Evacuation Shelters along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in the Jammu region.

Of the over 14,000 bunkers sanctioned by the Centre, at a cost of over Rs 400 crore in the frontier areas of Jammu and Kashmir to safeguard the lives of people, 13,029 would be individual bunkers and 1,431 community bunkers.

Evacuation sheds will also to be constructed along the LoC and IB to deal with emergencies during cross-border shelling, the spokesman said. The bunkers are to be constructed by the roads and building department which has already approved the proposal, including design and specifications and tenders to start construction will be issued soon, an official said.

"While 7,298 bunkers are being constructed along the LoC in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, 7,162 underground bunkers would be constructed along the IB in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts," the spokesman said.

He said the capacity of the 160 square feet individual bunker would be eight people, and that of the 800 square feet community bunker would be 40 people. The meeting was informed that the hilly terrain of districts like Poonch substantially increases the head-load while bunkers in low-lying areas need water-proofing, which increases the cost from the Rs 2.50 lakh per bunker fixed by the Centre.

The Works Department will write to the Ministry of Home Affairs to approve 30-40 percent hike in cases where changes are required in specification due to difficult geography or the cost of ferrying material to the construction site is high, Akhtar said.

The spokesman said nearly all tenders for individual bunkers have been issued in areas of Jammu, Samba, Poonch and Rajouri. The Minister directed the officers to ensure that the respective Deputy Commissioners fast track the process of site clearances.

Once the construction is over, the bunkers will be geotagged in consultation with Rural Development Department as per existing norms, officials said.