JAMMU, Dec 19: Minister for Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs, Relief and Rehabilitation, Syed Basharat Bukhari, reviewed the progress on Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) in a meeting with State Government officers, here.
To be financially assisted by the World Bank, the $250 million Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project is slated to go into the execution phase in coming months. Meanwhile, state government is preparing and putting in place the needed resources for project work to start on ground.
The project will support the recovery efforts of the State Government and also increase the overall disaster resilience in the state.
Mr Bukhari held discussions with senior officers on various components of the project. He stressed on ensuring that DPRs prepared by various departments are according to the World Bank guidelines.
The preparations with respect to Restoration & Strengthening of livelihoods were also reviewed by the Minister. He said under the project, vulnerability assessment of non-farm livelihoods will be done & options to increase access to finance and insurance for non-farm livelihoods will be developed.
The Minister asked Commissioner Secretary, Industries and Commerce, to work out priority investment plan for non-farm livelihood based on World Bank's suggestions.
While reviewing another important project component of reconstruction and strengthening of critical infrastructure, the Minister said that the component will support the reconstruction/restoration of damaged public buildings, such as hospitals, schools, higher education buildings, fire stations, and selected block and district offices, and other important public buildings.
He sought details from PWD department on the structural assessment reports prepared with regard to Lal Ded and SKIMS/JVMC Hospitals affected by the flood to determine structural integrity.
Mr Bukhari also asked them for a priority list of roads and bridges for the project.
Status of drainage master plan, DPRs developed by SMC, UEED, separation of storm water drainage and sewage, and upgradation of treatment plants and pumping stations were also examined during the meeting.
Commissioner Secretary, Relief & Rehabilitation, Mr. Navin Kumar Choudhary, Commissioner Secretary, Industries and Commerce Mr. Shailendra Kumar, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Srinagar, Mr. Showkat Ahmad Zargar, concerned Chief Engineers, Director Industries & Commerce, Kashmir, Director Finance, Relief & Rehabilitation, Special Secretary, Relief & Rehabilitation, Director Estates and other senior officers were also present in the meeting.
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