SRINAGAR: Fourteen developmental projects involving a total cost of Rs 24.62 crore are under execution in Baramulla town, with only three of the works completed so far, the Jammu and Kashmir government informed the Legislative Assembly on Friday.
Minister for School Education and Health and Medical Education Sakeena Itoo, replying on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to a question by MLA Javid Hassan Baig, said the projects have a total sanctioned cost of Rs 2,462.67 lakh. An expenditure of Rs 445.24 lakh had been incurred up to March 2026.
During the current financial year, Rs 25 lakh has been utilised against Rs 130.60 lakh released for the works, she said.
The minister said the remaining projects were progressing at different stages, with delays attributed to site-specific, statutory, court-related, security and inter-departmental issues.
On the proposed multi-level car parking facility near the R&B Office in Baramulla, Itoo said administrative approval was accorded on October 10, 2025, but work had not started as the land owned by the Public Works (R&B) Department was yet to be transferred to the Municipal Council Baramulla.
The site also has poplar trees that require valuation by the Forest Department before auction and removal. An old building on the site also needs to be assessed and disposed of as per the prescribed procedure.
She said the requisite formalities were under process and concerned agencies had been directed to complete them on priority.
On the construction of three entry gates to Baramulla, Itoo said administrative approval was accorded on September 20, 2025.
She said work on the Janbazpora and Khowjabagh gates was affected by objections from local residents, leading to changes in the proposed sites.
At Khowjabagh, work is underway at a newly identified site. At Khanpora, objections were raised by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), following which the approved drawing and location were modified.
Joint site inspections by BRO and R&B authorities were conducted on June 13 and June 21, 2026, after which revised locations were proposed, the minister said.
Work at the new Khanpora site had reached the column level before being stopped after BRO authorities conveyed that the location could not be permitted for continuation.
Itoo said steps had been initiated to identify and finalise alternative locations at Janbazpora and Khanpora so that the projects could be taken up without further delay.
On the double-storey office building of Municipal Council Baramulla, she said administrative approval had been accorded in December 2021.
The G+2 skeletal structure was completed in November 2024, but work was subsequently halted following High Court orders related to a land dispute involving the municipal council and an adjoining private property holder, besides security-related restrictions.
The work remained suspended until March 2026. It was resumed after the Municipal Council Baramulla submitted an affidavit undertaking compliance with security conditions prescribed by the military authorities.
The minister said truss work has now been completed and brickwork is around 80 per cent complete. The executing agency has been directed to maintain the pace of work and complete the remaining portion at the earliest.
Replying to a supplementary question, Itoo acknowledged that the projects had not been completed within their originally envisaged timelines.
She said the delays were largely due to issues related to sites, statutory procedures, court proceedings, security restrictions and coordination between departments, which affected the commencement or continuity of the works.
She assured the House that the concerned agencies had been directed to expedite pending formalities and speed up execution of the projects for the benefit of residents of Baramulla town.
