Rs 1,695 Cr disbursed for J&K Ring Road projects, nearly 1,400 land cases still pending

The Jammu and Kashmir government has disbursed over Rs 1,695 crore as compensation for land acquired for the Ring Road projects in the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, while nearly 1,400 landowners’ cases remain unresolved due to litigation and other administrative hurdles, officials said.

The two infrastructure projects the 58.25-km Jammu Ring Road , stretching from Raya Morh in Samba district to Jagti near Nagrota, and the 60.84-km Srinagar Ring Road , passing through Pulwama, Budgam, Srinagar, Baramulla and Bandipora districts were launched in 2018 and are now in their final stages of completion.

According to official data, compensation amounting to Rs 2,106.70 crore has been awarded for land acquisition under the projects. Of this, Rs 1,784.45 crore has been released , while Rs 1,695.37 crore has already been disbursed to affected landowners. A further Rs 89.08 crore is yet to be paid, and Rs 322.25 crore is still pending receipt from the concerned authorities.

In the Jammu division, compensation totalling Rs 322.21 crore has been sanctioned. Out of this, Rs 270.11 crore has been released and Rs 244.43 crore disbursed . About Rs 25.68 crore remains unpaid, while Rs 52.10 crore is yet to be received.

For the Kashmir division, compensation of Rs 1,784.49 crore has been awarded. Of this, Rs 1,514.34 crore has been released and Rs 1,450.94 crore disbursed so far . An amount of Rs 63.40 crore is pending disbursement and Rs 270.15 crore remains to be received.

Officials said the compensation cost is shared between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the Jammu and Kashmir government in a 90:10 ratio .

On the issue of pending claims, officials said 1,398 land acquisition cases are yet to be settled across both divisions. In the Jammu division, 150 cases are pending 112 in Jammu district and 38 in Samba . In the Kashmir division, 1,248 cases remain unresolved, including 905 in Ganderbal, 247 in Budgam, 57 in Srinagar, 32 in Bandipora and seven in Baramulla .

The delays have been attributed to non-deposit of balance funds by the indenting department, court cases, title disputes and other land-related issues. Officials said compensation in dispute-free cases is being released regularly through the Bhoomi Rashi portal , while disputed amounts, including Rs 28.20 crore in certain title cases , have been deposited with the High Court.