A week after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement in Srinagar, the Union Cabinet today gave its nod to a grant of Rs 710 crore for land acquistion for expansion and upgradation of rural roads network in Jammu and Kashmir.
The payment will be a special one-time dispensation for Jammu and Kashmir to meet the cost of land acquisition covering compensatory afforestation, forest land, trees, private land and structures for completion of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) programmes.
The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Singh, decided that Rs 710 crores -- at 2013-14 prices -- would be released in two tranches to the state government under the PMGSY.
The Cabinet also approved the change in the nomenclature 'Hill States' under the PMGSY to 'Special Category states'.
This would include Assam on par with other north eastern states and would increase the central share from 75 per cent to 90 per cent for the state, an official release said.
The Cabinet also approved an expenditure of Rs. 2,866 crore for implementation of these proposals, it added.
Singh had announced Rs 710 crore grant to Jammu and Kashmir at a meeting with the Council of Ministers of the state during his visit to Srinagar last week.
