State of the art IT park to be set up at Ompora

* ‘IT park is expected to generate 25000 jobs’

SA SAFVI

SRINAGAR, Mar 26: With an aim to attract multinational companies (MNCs) to set up their units in Kashmir, the state government is mulling over an idea of setting up information technology parks (ITP) in Kashmir.

A state-of-the-art information technology park will be set up at Ompora Budgam, which would be ready by the end of this year.

Speaking to Kashmir Times, minister for information technology, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, said that his department is expecting to generate 20000 to 25000 jobs through the MNCs expected to set up their units at ITP.

“We are expecting companies like Raheja, Panchsheel, Tata Consultancy et al to set up their franchises by the year end,” he said.

The minister had convened a meeting of officers of departments of Information Technology, Industries and Commerce and Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) at his civil secretariat office in Jammu today.

Ruhullah said that around 200 kanals of land at Ompora have already been earmarked for the establishment of ITP.

“I have also directed the officers of Industries and Commerce to identify more 200 kanals of land at Ompora for the purpose,” he told Kashmir Times. “We are planning to set up IT parks across Kashmir valley and Jammu to make Jammu and Kashmir IT-friendly state.”

The minister said that he has also asked the STPI to survey the area and submit concrete Detailed Project Report (DPR).

He said that the government was also contemplating to launch SWAN (state-wide area network) in the state.

“All block, tehsil, district level government offices will be connected through SWAN,” he said. “SWAN will facilitate the working in offices. The applicant will not have to move from one office to another, and any kind of record can be retrieved at any office.”