Jammu, Srinagar Ring Roads: Nearly Rs 1,700 crore compensation disbursed, 1,400 cases pending

The Jammu and Kashmir government has disbursed Rs 1,695 crore in compensation for land acquired for the Ring Road projects in the twin capital cities, while nearly 1,400 cases are still pending owing to litigation or other issues, officials said.

The work on the two projects -- 58.25-km Jammu Ring Road connecting Raya Morh in Samba district to Jagti near Nagrota in Jammu and 60.84-km Srinagar Ring Road covering six districts of Pulwama, Budgam, Srinagar, Srinagar, Baramulla and Bandipora -- started in 2018. The projects are in the final phases of completion, the officials said.

They said a compensation amounting to Rs 2,106.70 crore has been awarded for land acquired for the Ring Road projects. Of this, Rs 1,784.45 crore has been released, while Rs 1,695.37 crore has been disbursed so far.

An amount of Rs 89.08 crore is yet to be disbursed, and Rs 322.25 crore remains pending to be received, the officials said.

In Jammu division, they said a compensation of Rs 322.21 crore has been awarded. Of this, Rs 270.11 crore has been released and Rs 244.43 crore disbursed. An amount of Rs 25.68 crore is yet to be disbursed, while Rs 52.10 crore is pending to be received.

In Kashmir division, compensation amounting to Rs 1,784.49 crore has been awarded. Of this, Rs 1,514.34 crore has been released and Rs 1,450.94 crore disbursed so far. An amount of Rs 63.40 crore remains to be disbursed, while Rs 270.15 crore is pending to be received, the officials said.

The officials said the compensation amount is shared between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the J&K government in the ratio of 90:10.

On pending cases, the officials said a total of 1,398 land owners' compensation cases are yet to be disposed of across both divisions.

They said that in Jammu division, 150 cases are pending -- 112 in Jammu and 38 in Samba districts.

In Kashmir division, 1,248 cases remain pending, including 905 in Ganderbal, 247 in Budgam, 57 in Srinagar, 32 in Bandipora and seven in Baramulla, the officials said.

The pendency has been attributed to non-deposit of balance funds by the indenting department, court litigations, title disputes, and other land-related disputes.

The officials said compensation in dispute-free cases is being disbursed regularly through the Bhoomi Rashi portal, while disputed amounts, including Rs 28.20 crore in certain title cases, have been deposited before the high court.