Avinash Azad
The J&K government faced tough questions in the Legislative Assembly on Monday as MLA Inderwal Payare Lal Sharma demanded answers on the stalled Singpora-Vailoo Tunnel and other key projects.
The response was a stark admission of failure: bids for the vital tunnel linking Anantnag and Kishtwar were annulled for “administrative reasons,” and the project, once greenlit under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, is now defunct after the scheme’s closure by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on August 8, 2024.
The government pinned hopes on a re-sanction under MoRTH’s NH(O) scheme, with NHIDCL pursuing approval, but offered no timeline for fresh bids. Worse still, it confirmed no plans exist for the Changer, Bhoonda, Choidraman, Warwan, Dardpora, or Vailoo tunnels, leaving Chenab Valley’s connectivity in limbo. Critics slammed the administration for bureaucratic delays, with locals decrying yet another broken promise on a lifeline project mired in uncertainty.
