SME Times News Bureau | 22 Nov, 2021
Union
Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday inaugurated works pertaining to Health, Education, Urban
infrastructure and disaster management (amounting to Rs 130.49 crore)
and also laid the foundation stone for Union Territory (UT) Level
Emergency Operation Centre and SCADA control building at Budgam, Kashmir
(amounting to Rs 34.88 crore) under the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery
Project (JTFRP) during her visit to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
The
sub-projects are part of the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project
(JTFRP) which is assisted by a credit of $250 million from the World
Bank.
The project was started in Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of
the devastating floods of September 2014 which severely affected low
lying areas of Anantnag, Srinagar and adjoining districts causing
immense damage to housing, livelihoods and roads and bridges.
It has
been under implementation by Government of J&K as part of the
Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) for J&K since
its effective date of 19.04.2016. The project aims at both restoring
essential services disrupted by the floods and improving the design
standard and practices to increase resilience.
The
high social impact of JTFRP was felt in the COVID-19 pandemic response
by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, wherein an amount of $50 million
was allocated and utilized for the COVID-19 response, by activating the
Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) under the project.
Medical equipment worth Rs. 290 crore and 30 oxygen generating plants at
a total cost of Rs. 75 crore were procured thereby giving a boost to
the health infrastructure to cope with the challenges posed by the
pandemic.
In
a significant step towards the self –reliance of the artisans of Jammu
and Kashmir, many artisan clusters were developed under this project
with an objective of reviving the traditional crafts and providing
gainful employment opportunities to youth.
One
major recent achievement of the project has been the enlistment of
Srinagar city in the UNESCO world creative cities network. Srinagar
became one of the 49 cities worldwide to join the UNESCO Creative Cities
Network (UCCN) under the Craft & Folk Arts category which is a
moment of pride for all Indians.