Omar reviews dist CAPEX, calls for timely completion of development projects

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday chaired a review meeting to assess the progress of district Capex, Constituency Development Fund (CDF) works, Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) projects and the overall fiscal position of Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was attended by Advisor to the CM Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary to the CM Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary (Finance) Santosh D Vaidya, Secretary (Rural Development & PR) Ajaz Asad, all Deputy Commissioners, Director General (Accounts & Treasuries), DG (Resources), DG (Budget) and other senior officers of the departments concerned.

Officers stationed outside Jammu joined the meeting through video conference.

The Principal Secretary (Finance) presented a comprehensive sector-wise view, outlining achievements, bottlenecks and the required course of action. Reviewing the expenditure under district Capex, including centrally sponsored schemes. The Chief Minister examined the status of administrative approvals, tendering and works awarded for the 2025–26 financial year. He underlined the need for every department to work within fixed timelines, avoid procedural delays and ensure that both the ongoing and the newly sanctioned works progress swiftly.

Calling for “stepping up revenues across all streams and exercising strict control over avoidable expenditure,” Omar urged the departments concerned to sustain the momentum.

The CM reviewed sectoral progress of recommended works, along with MLA-priority works and the findings of the November physical verification reports. He stressed the importance of rigorous field-level monitoring and asked all Deputy Commissioners to ensure that quality standards, transparency and timely submission of utilisation certificates remain non-negotiable components of implementation.

Reviewing the progress under SASCI Part-I, the officials covered the ongoing and freshly initiated projects across departments. Omar directed the officers concerned to accelerate the execution, address bottlenecks proactively and fast-track institutional reforms mandated under SASCI. He noted that SASCI forms the backbone of the J&K infrastructure and governance improvement agenda, and delays undermine the very purpose of the scheme.

Omar directed all districts to expedite Capex execution and complete tendering and award of works without delay. On the CDF front, he called for stronger coordination with MLAs to prioritise impactful works.