Srinagar, July 12:
Advisor to Governor Khurshid Ahmad Ganai today chaired a meeting here to take stock of the progress on construction of Polytechnic Colleges in the State wherein he directed the executing agencies to expedite work on the prestigious projects and complete them by November 2019. The meeting was attended by Managing Director JKPCC M. Raju, Secretary Technical Education Zubair Ahmad, Additional Secretary Technical Education Niraj Kumar, Director Technical Education Dr. Ravi Shankar Sharma, Chief Engineer R&B Kashmir Sami Aarif, CE R&B Jammu Nasir Goni, General Manager (Central) JKPCC Harkewal Singh and other concerned.
During the meeting, Advisor Ganai enquired about the progress made on the construction of each Polytechnic College in the State. It was said that of 18 Colleges, 10 have been awarded to J&K Projects Construction Corporation, 6 to PWD (R&B) and one each would be built by Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora and Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri.
The expenditure registered on both the civil and mechanical components at each location was ascertained. Ganai instructed the executing agencies to expend the funds kept for both the components strictly as per the set plan. He was informed that some of the colleges have already been completed and handed over to the Technical Education Department while rest are in final stages of completion. Secretary Technical Education informed the meeting that colleges handed over to the Department have already been made functional. He also said that the Department has already initiated the process of purchasing machinery and equipment for rest of the colleges nearing completion. He assured that these would be started expeditiously after taking over from the executing agencies. Managing Director, JKPCC briefed the meeting that colleges at Udhampur, Kupwara and Bandipora would be handed over till August 15 this year while others would be handed over within the specific deadline. The concerned Chief Engineers also told the meeting that necessary steps would be taken to meet the deadline of November 2019. The meeting was also informed that each college was to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 13 crore but due to various issues like land disputes and other additional allied works, escalation of costs has been registered at many places. The Advisor called for reports against each such case and said that same needs to be diligently justified before the project committee for evaluation. The Advisor said that these colleges have an important role in producing professionals having requisite skills and technical training to meet the market requirements. He urged the officials to introduce those courses that have greater viability and demand among the student community.
