Jammu
Deputy Chief Minister, Kavinder Gupta on Sunday inspected pace of progress on Jammu campus of Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) coming up at Jammu Industrial Estate, Bari Brahamana.
The spokesman in a statement said that this was the first visit of Kavinder Gupta to the Institute after assuming the charge of Minister for Industries and Commerce.
The Deputy CM examined the blueprint of the project and inspected the present status of the work. He directed the executing agency to expedite the pace of work to meet the set deadline, the spokesman said.
The spokesman said that Kavider complimented JKEDI for the good work it has done and urged the management to ensure the completion of the project as per the schedule so that the youth of Jammu in large numbers can avail the benefits of the schemes being implemented by the Institute.
On the occasion, Director JKEDI, Dr. M I Parray briefed the Deputy Chief Minister about various components of the upcoming project.
Deputy Chief Minister was informed that the Jammu campus of JKEDI is coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 87.13 crore with a four-year deadline set for its completion in all respects. The project includes the cost of 63 Kanal land acquired from JK Minerals Ltd. The campus will have incubation centre, a hostel, library and other interactive facilities for young entrepreneurs, the spokesman said.
The infrastructure which primarily includes an Administrative Block, a Public Relations & Counseling Section, a Model Career Centre (MCC), a Guest House, Hostel Building and a Centre for Training and Skill Development (CTSD) besides security posts are scheduled to be completed in three phases.
The spokesman said that the foundation of the campus was laid by the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti on July 09, 2017 and the work of Phase-I comprising of Administrative Block, Public Relations & Model Counseling Centre, Guest House, and other allied works to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs. 21.06 crores, commenced on November 14, 2017.
Out of this, the construction of Public Relations Office and Model Counseling Centre was completed in the month of February 2018 and it was re-inaugurated by the Chief Minister, on February 26, 2018, which enabled the Institute to start its operations from the new campus. The guest house and other allied works in phase-I of the project are expected to be completed by July 2018, he said.
The project has been designed to create an efficient, aesthetic environment, set amongst gardens, to respond to the aspirations of the people, in architecture, respecting the region, all cased in a sustainable solution.
In the second phase, the hostel building shall be constructed for the aspiring entrepreneurs who come to attend various training programmes from the remote areas of Jammu division at an estimated cost of Rs. 19.34 crores. The construction under phase-II of the project is scheduled to be completed within a period of one year.
In the third phase, the Centre for Training and Skill Development and Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA) will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 42.48 crores.
The Dy Chief Minister congratulated the Director JKEDI, Dr. M I Parray and the staff of the Institute for their efforts in encouraging the culture of entrepreneurship in the State. He urged upon the institute faculty to further strengthen their efforts so as to make people realize that there are ample opportunities of earning a livelihood for the educated youth of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, besides government jobs. He hailed the role of the department in opening up new employment avenues by enhancing the skills of educated unemployed youth thus empowering them to take up self-employment and entrepreneurship as their career, the spokesman said.
