Jammu, Feb 03: Lambasting the earlier Central governments for ignoring the Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister of State for Defence Chaman Lal Gupta today said the Vajpayee-led NDA government is committed to the overall development of the state and has sanctioned several projects.
During the last five years of NDA rule, Jammu and Kashmir had benefited a lot as several centrally sponsored projects were implemented in the state, the Union minister said, while laying foundation stone of the approach road to Basoli bridge on Ravi river.
Listing the contributions of Vajpayee government for Jammu and Kashmir, Gupta said inclusion of Dogri language in the eighth schedule of constitution, sanctioning Rs 95 crore for upgradation of government medical college, expansion and modernisation of Jammu-Pathankot road, Rs 100 crore project to connect Ladakh with the rest of the country throughout the year, and Jammu-Udhampur railway project were a result of NDA's commitment towards the state.
The Union minister said the Central government was also keen to address the unemployment problem in the state and seven battalions of territorial army (TA) were being raised and nearly twenty thousand unemployed youth were recruited in the army and in the TA battalions.
Out of the seven battalions four were for Jammu region and the rest for Kashmir, he said and added that three more TA battalions would be raised in near future and out of these one battalion will be exclusively for Kathua district.
Gupta also laid the foundation stone for double-laning of Basohli-Bani road. Both the projects would be executed by the Border Roads Organisation.
Bureau Report