PDP supremo Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday questioned the Jammu and Kashmir government’s proposals for Ring Road and Satellite Townships, seeking transparency on the projects’ beneficiaries.
The party said in a post that Mufti has raised concerns over the government’s proposal to construct 30 satellite townships along the Srinagar Ring Road, a project that would require approximately 1.2 lakh kanals (15,000 acres) of land, predominantly prime agricultural and horticultural areas.
“Ring Road project, satellite township, for whom are these projects being done? Please tell us…agricultural land must not be destroyed for this…he should stop this…”,” she added.
The PDP chief also appealed to the government to shed more light on the aforementioned projects and echoed the concerns of the farmers. She also requested the government to save the agricultural land.
The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister also voiced her concern about the alleged “fear” among the people even after the formation of the government.
“It is my request to Omar Abdullah, what is not in your hands, to achieve it, it will take time, and we will work for it together but the things that are in your hands, the environment of J&K, destruction happening to the land of J&K, our farmers can’t even talk because they are afraid that they will be put in jail if they do that. Even after a govt was formed here, people’s fear has not gone…,” the former JK CM told reporters here.
The Jammu and Kashmir PDP in a series of posts criticized the government’s priorities, asserting that such large-scale projects under the garb of “development” appear to serve interests beyond the local population.
“Why is the government so eager to dangerously alter the landscape of Kashmir without assessing the irreversible environmental damage? This fragile ecosystem sustains local livelihoods, and reckless decisions threaten to destroy the very foundation of our economy and natural beauty,” she said.
Mufti underscored that development cannot come at the expense of Kashmir’s future.”True progress respects the balance between growth and environmental preservation. The government must address why these projects are being forced on Kashmir without adequate consultation or concern for long-term consequences,” she said, as per the PDP. (ANI)
