Srinagar, May 6 (IANS): Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday enlisted various breakthrough initiatives of the UT government for furthering the economic growth and holistic development of Jammu and Kashmir.

Terming the lack of adequate infrastructure in the past as a major hurdle in the growth of J&K's seconomy, Sinha said that significant steps were taken by the government in the last three years to eliminate the impediments, expedite decisions on approvals for timely implementation of projects.

"We have achieved the historical milestone of 50,726 projects within a year, which is five times higher than 2018 figures of 9,229 projects. Speedy economic reforms and focused attention on infrastructure development have infused new energy right across the economy, which have directly resulted in reviving investment activity and investor sentiment," Sinha said.

He said the revival of different sectors of economy such as handicraft, industrial investment, tourism and unprecedented pace in building infrastructure has given the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir enviable strength and self-confidence.

"Artificial boundaries were created within the system, which have been removed to ensure growth with equity so that every citizen of J&K benefits from the fast economic development, rapid social change and J&K's prosperity.

"In the connectivity sector, earlier only 6.54 km roads were being built every day, which has now been substantially increased to 20.68 km per day. Approximately, Rs 1 lakh crore is being spent on road and tunnel infrastructure, which are opening up new vistas for the people living in the far-flung areas," Sinha said.

In 2018-19, only 9,229 projects costing Rs 67,000 crore were completed. Subsequently, in 2020-21, 21,943 projects with an expenditure of Rs 63,000 crore were completed.

The FY 2021-22 set a new record by completing 50,726 projects. The present infrastructure is expected to expand at a much more accelerated rate in the coming days, he said.