Srinagar, July 10: Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday accused the J&K government of failing to address the developmental slowdown in the Union Territory, alleging that stalled projects and unresolved contractors’ issues had affected progress across Kashmir.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Srinagar, Bukhari said the government had failed to provide effective governance and urged it to address the concerns of contractors who are on strike over pending demands.
“The biggest failure of the government is the stagnation of developmental works in Kashmir,” he said, adding that the demand for restoration of statehood should not be used as a reason to cover governance failures.
Bukhari said contractors’ grievances, including revision of the Schedule of Rates (SOR), updated bitumen rates and implementation of the Price Index Clause, needed immediate attention to restart stalled works.
“The biggest casualty of this crisis is development itself. Across the Valley, development work has come to a standstill,” he said, adding that the construction season in J&K was limited and valuable time was being lost.
Seeking a white paper on funds that have allegedly lapsed since the present government assumed office in 2024, Bukhari claimed that around Rs 7,000 crore of developmental funds had lapsed in the previous financial year.
He also criticised the mining policy, alleging that the outsourcing of mining leases had increased the cost of construction materials while local contractors faced difficulties in accessing legal sources of minor minerals.
Bukhari demanded that the government simplify contractor card renewals and CID verification processes, introduce a single-window system and clear pending payments for completed and verified works from 2016 to 2019.
