UT on road to rapid infrastructure, energy, economic growth: L-G at R-Day function

Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced significant progress in infrastructure, energy and economic sectors during his Republic Day speech.

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He stated that eight tunnel projects across the Union Territory are in advanced stages and are expected to be completed by December 2025, ensuring year-round connectivity to remote areas. Key tunnel projects include Sudhmahadev-Dranga and Singhpora-Vailoo tunnels.

Sinha highlighted ongoing developments on major highways, including the Baramulla-Kupwara-Trehgam National Highway (NH), Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri NH and the Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch NH. He also mentioned the completion of the Banihal bypass and progress on the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, which will reduce travel time between Delhi and Katra to just six hours. The Zojila tunnel construction is also underway, along with the ongoing development of Srinagar and Jammu Ring Roads.

In the energy sector, Sinha said that hydropower projects like Pakal Dul, Kiru and Ratle will be operational by 2026, adding 3,014 MW to the region’s capacity. Four additional projects (Dulhasti-II, Kirthai-I, Kirthai-II and Uri-II) with 1,818 MW generation capacity are in the pipeline. The L-G also noted improvements in transmission and distribution infrastructure and announced plans to provide uninterrupted power supply to the Shri Amarnathji shrine via underground cabling.

On the economic front, Sinha emphasised the growing support for start-ups in J&K, with local businesses now receiving equity funding from institutional investors. PM Ekta Malls are being developed in Srinagar and Jammu to empower local artisans. He also spoke about the government’s efforts to boost the MSME sector through the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) initiative. The L-G noted that Srinagar has been recognised as a ‘World Crafts City’ by the World Crafts Council and designated as part of the Creative City Network in the field of Crafts and Folk Arts by UNESCO.

He further said that efforts are being made to promote ‘Brand J&K,’ focusing on products like Pashmina, saffron and other handicrafts. Sinha that emphasis shall be further laid on facilitating the Geographical Indication (GI) tagging of traditional products.

“13 crafts are in advanced stage for GI registration during current financial year including, crewel, chain stitch, namdha, willow bat, gabba, shikara, tweed, wagoo, samba calico printing, Kishtwari loi, Jammu phulkari and Kishtwari binna (Wheat Straw). Besides, seven new Crafts are targeted to be registered namely houseboat, Jammu copper ware, Jammu dogri suit, Jammu brass ware,” L-G Sinha noted.