SRINAGAR: Peoples Conference President and Handwara MLA Sajad Lone on Thursday urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to immediately resolve the ongoing dispute over contractor rates, warning that continued delays could result in the loss of Kashmir’s limited working season for road construction and other developmental works.
In a statement, Lone said the Valley’s already short working window for executing infrastructure projects, particularly road macadamisation, was being further constrained by external economic factors and administrative inaction.
He said global market disruptions, including the ongoing Iran–US conflict, had affected supply chains and triggered volatility in the prices of petroleum-linked inputs and other materials required for road construction.
Lone said that despite the Government earmarking funds under various Roads and Buildings (R and B) and other development schemes, work had yet to begin on the ground even though July was already well underway.
He attributed the delay to a deadlock between contractors, who are seeking a revision of rates in view of rising input costs, and the Government, which, he said, has so far not agreed to revise the rates, bringing road macadamisation and related development works to a standstill.
Criticising the Government’s approach, Lone said budgetary allocations and statistical figures could not substitute for visible progress on the ground.
“The Government should not hide behind budgetary allocations and statistics to mask the failure to deliver tangible outcomes,” he said.
Lone appealed to the administration to break the impasse without further delay and ensure that developmental works commence immediately, warning that failure to resolve the issue could result in the loss of the Valley’s limited working season and push key infrastructure projects into the next year.
