JAMMU, Jun 06: JAMMU: Asserting that the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir has changed after the abrogation of article 370, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dr Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said appropriate people will have to take call for holding Assembly elections in the J&K UT.
“We were going through insurgency and now law and order situation has improved,” the union minister, Dr. Hardeep Singh Puri, said adding, “appropriate people will have to take call on holding Assembly elections here in J&K”.
The union minister stated this while addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters, Jammu in connection with the party’s on-going ‘Maha Jan Sampark Abhiyaan’ launched by the BJP after completion of 9 years of Modi Government at the Centre.
Meanwhile, asserting that the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir has changed after the abrogation of Article 370, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said there is fast-paced progress in multiple sectors post Art 370 and 35 A thus resulting in improved investments.
Meanwhile, the union minister said the technical survey on the 175-km Gurdaspur-Jammu gas pipeline has been completed.
The final decision on the Gurdaspur-Jammu Gas Pipeline will be taken this month. “We are evaluating bids and technical surveys have been done,” Dr Puri said.
The Union Minister said the real estate summit is on the cards in Srinagar shortly after the successful first-ever such event in Jammu in December 2021.
Puri, who was here to highlight the nine-year achievements of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government, said the petrol and natural gas regulatory board is evaluating the bids with regard to the Gurdaspur-Jammu gas pipeline project.
Talking to media persons at BJP headquarters here, he said, “The technical survey has been done and financing (of the project) is underway. The final decision will be taken this month only”.
The pipeline will enhance the energy security of the region by facilitating the transportation of natural gas from Gurdaspur in Punjab to Jammu. It provides a reliable and cleaner energy source to meet the growing energy demands of these regions.
The minister said the gas pipeline in 2014 was about 14,000 km long. “We have set a target of 33,500 km and have already managed 23,000 km,” he said.
Referring to the December 2021 first Real estate summit in Jammu, which opened the Union Territory to the country’s investors — who signed 39 MoUs worth nearly Rs 19,000 crore for the development of housing, hotel and commercial projects, Puri said the ministry is holding one more summit in the coming times in Srinagar.
“The real investment potential of the region will be explored fully. The general feeling among the outside analysts was that the 21st century belongs to Asia but they have changed their opinion and are now saying that the 21st century belongs to India.
“Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and we are proud of it,” he said, adding the Union Territory has great significance for the country and has witnessed a lot of development over the past nine years.
On frequent hikes in petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices, the minister said India is importing 80 per cent crude oil and 50 per cent natural gas from outside to meet its requirements and therefore the prices of these entirely depended on international prices.
“Prime minister reduced the central excise duty twice in November 2021 and May 2022. The BJP-ruled states also joined in and provided concessions to the public but the states run by non-BJP parties made no concession,” he said, adding the fuel prices in BJP-ruled states are lower than the non-BJP-ruled states.
(Inputs from PTI)
