I have already laid the economic survey report on the table of the House. Hon’ble Members may have noted that GSDP of the State for the year 2008-09 is estimated at Rs. 34, 805 crore and the per capita income works out to Rs.30,665 at current prices.
The average of the growth rate of our economy at constant prices for the last five years works out to just a little over 6% per annum which is 2% behind the national average. In the year 2002-03, our growth rate was 5.13% which was higher than the All India average figure of 3.84%.The growth rate for the current year at constant prices has been taken as 7% as against last year’s achievement of 6.12%.
On the side of improved infrastructure, we now have the extended railway line in the Valley from Qazigund to Baramulla and an upgraded Srinagar International Airport, which were dedicated to the people of the State on 14th February, 2009 by Shrimati Sonia Gandhi Ji, Hon’ble Chairperson of the UPA. We have sanguine hopes that the work on the railway line to connect the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country and four-laning of Jammu-Srinagar National High Way shall also be expedited by the Central Government. Construction of Mughal Road is already going on under PMRP. While an inland container depot is already in existence at Jammu, a similar Inland container depot is under construction at Rangreth in Srinagar at a cost of Rs.22.32 crore. We also hope that the temporary Air Cargo facilities available at the airports of the State shall be expeditiously upgraded by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The government is also pursuing the case for up gradation of Jammu Airport with the Ministry of Civil Aviation. All these improvements in infrastructure are bound to provide the much needed boost to the economic activities within the State.
