Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reviews progress of development projects, CSS & capex budget implementation at Anantnag

• Assures support for priority works and inaugurates new Tehsil Office at Shangus

ANANTNAG: Continuing his extensive tour of districts, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today chaired a comprehensive review meeting to assess the developmental scenario, ongoing projects and implementation of government schemes in District Anantnag. The Chief Minister took detailed stock of the progress under District CAPEX 2025–26, Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), and other flagship programmes.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Ministers Sakina Itoo, Javed Rana, Javid Dar, and Satish Sharma, Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, District Development Council Chairperson Anantnag, Members of the Legislative Assembly Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed (Anantnag), G.A. Mir (Dooru), Altaf Ahmad Wani (Pahalgam), Abdul Majeed Bhat (Anantnag West), Zaffar Ali Khatana (Kokernag), Dr. Bashir Ahmad Veeri (Srigufwara–Bijbehara) and Reyaz A. Khan (Shangus–Anantnag East).

Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Dheeraj Gupta, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Fakhruddin, heads of departments, district officers, and other concerned officials also attended the meeting. At the outset, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Fakhruddin gave a detailed presentation highlighting the status of development works, ongoing projects, and performance of various departments in the district.

During the review, the Chief Minister underscored the need to accelerate development works with regular fortnightly monitoring, ensuring timely utilisation of funds and preventing lapsing of funds. He directed that all core infrastructure - healthcare, education, tourism, and horticulture initiatives be strengthened to enhance livelihood opportunities and economic growth.

Emphasizing inter-departmental coordination and rigorous project monitoring, the Chief Minister directed officers to ensure time-bound completion of all ongoing works and effective delivery of public services.

In his address, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called upon the district administration to expedite implementation under the CAPEX budget, noting that current expenditure levels were low. He instructed the Deputy Commissioner to conduct fortnightly reviews to ensure full utilisation of allocations by December, ensuring timely execution of works under SACSI and cautioning against any lapsing of funds.

Reiterating his government’s commitment to development, the Chief Minister assured that all significant and priority works would be taken up for implementation. He urged legislators to make optimum use of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for local projects, citing the construction of marriage halls as one such viable initiative.

Speaking on the SASCI scheme, the Chief Minister said: “There is a big responsibility on us under SASCI. We must ensure full expenditure of the funds received by December to secure the next instalment. I urge the Deputy Commissioner to monitor progress weekly, address slippages promptly, and keep my office informed of any issues. I do not want a single SASCI project to suffer due to implementation delays.”

He further directed that utilisation of available funds be prioritised and assured that all legitimate public demands raised during the meeting would receive due consideration. “As we have done in the past year, we will continue to take up and execute as many developmental works as possible in the coming year,” he added, complimenting the district team for their efforts so far.

Earlier, the public representatives presented various constituency-specific issues and developmental demands for redressal. On the occasion, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah e-inaugurated the Tehsil Office Building at Shangus and dedicated it for public use.