Rs.2,500-cr ADB loan for Jammu and Kashmir

JAMMU - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned a loan of Rs.2,500 crore for infrastructure development in Jammu and Kashmir, where militancy had brought economic and reconstruction activity to a complete halt in the 1990s.

This loan will be made available from next June, and would be in addition to a loan of Rs.1,618 crore, that has already been provided and of which only about 48 percent has been spent.

These funds are being utilised for construction of roads, water supply schemes and drainage system in various cities and towns.

“In short, Jammu and Kashmir has now almost Rs.3,500 crore for development projects,” a senior official engaged in finalising the loan details with ADB told IANS.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA), which was supposed to have spent Rs.1,618 crore by June 2010, has spent only 48 percent in the past four years.

“The ADB has agreed to extend the loan utility period up to June 2011,” the official said.

The state had sought central government help for rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed during the peak of militancy when schools, colleges, tourism infrastructure and bridges were targeted in the 1990s.

Additionally, road connectivity, water supply schemes and drainage systems have also to be developed.

Over the past few years, implementation of various projects was hit by frequent changes at the helm of affairs at ERA, the executing agency.