MUZAFFARABAD, Dec 1: Federal minister for Kashmir and Northern Areas affairs Abbas Sarfraz Khan on Saturday said the AJK Council was spending Rs230 million in Azad Kashmir on different uplift schemes, mainly the provision of clean drinking water and better communications facilities to the people of the state.
He said this at a function in Moolia village, some 27 kilometres from here, where earlier he inaugurated a suspension bridge over River Jhelum, built at a cost of Rs6.141 million provided by the AJK council.
The 430 feet long and 9 feet wide bridge, which connects Azad Kashmir with NWFP’s Abbottabad district, has been constructed under the supervision of the AJK local government and rural development department. Its loading capacity is three tons and it will facilitate around 30,000 population of different villages on both sides of the river.
Giving details of the projects being sponsored by the council, Mr Khan told the gathering that Rs15m were being spent on the improvement of Bhimbher-Jatli road, Rs2.9m on Dhaki lower Mirpur road, Rs11.6m on Mirpur-Kotli road, Rs17m on Azad Pattan road, Rs1m on a portion of Neelum valley road, Rs1.3m on Ambore refugee camp to Kappa Butt road and Rs25m on Rawalakot greater water supply project.
Apart from this, he said, the council was also establishing 13 industrial centres in the different camps of Kashmiri refugees at a cost of Rs7.3m.
The minister said that the construction of four big water supply schemes in Azad Kashmir was also under consideration of the council and announced that the work on them would be initiated shortly.
He pointed out that the council deducted 20 per cent of the taxes generated by it from Azad Kashmir on its administrative expenditures, and the remaining 80 per cent were provided to the AJK government. The federal government’s grant for the development activities in Azad Kashmir was in addition to that, he added.
The minister stressed upon the AJK government to take measures to provide good governance to the masses and root out corruption from the state. The government should promote the atmosphere of brotherhood, tolerance and unity in the liberated territory because it is the base camp of the freedom struggle, he said, adding that the unity of thought and action in Azad Kashmir was sine qua non for early success of the liberation movement.
“We will have to adapt ourselves according to the demands of the changed situation and focus our attention towards the common goal of freedom from Indian subjugation,” he said.
The minister, in response to some demands by the locals, assured them of establishment of a high school for girls and construction of a link road in Moolia village, besides provision of telecommunication facility in the surrounding areas.