Minister for Animal, Sheep Husbandry and Fisheries, Abdul Ghani Kohli today said that improving road connectivity to remote areas is priority of the Government, adding that connecting villages and remote areas holds key to socio-economic transformation of the State.
The Minister was speaking at meeting which he chaired to review the progress of road projects under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in Kalakote Constituency of Rajouri district.
He directed the NABARD officers to accelerate the pace of work on all ongoing road projects in the Constituency.
Chief General Manager NABARD, Engineers of various wings of NABARD and concerned officers attended the meeting.
On the occasion, the Minister said that better roads would not only make travel and transportation easy but will also provide a boost to the agriculture and horticulture sectors and improve the living standards of the people of far-flung areas.
He said that the road projects taken in hand by NABARD in Kalakote, once completed, will also give a fillip to tourism activities in the area as many beautiful destinations of Rajouri district will be linked with the road network.
The Minister emphasized on improving the quality of life and economic well-being of people living in remote areas and exhorted upon the officers to ensure that the quality norms are strictly adhered to and timelines are met so that there is no cost escalation and the projects are completed well in time.
He hailed the efforts of the NABARD for completing various projects in a time bound manner and asked them to work with utmost dedication and zeal.
Later, several deputations called on the Minister and apprised him about their problems and issues. The Minister gave them a patient hearing and assured them that their problems would be redressed in a phased manner.