Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday lambasted the Congress for allegedly neglecting Ladakh over the past six decades and said various initiatives like railway line and biggest solar park are in the pipeline for the region for its overall development. She assured all the pending defence issues, including rent for the land which is under the army’s use, would be resolved as she listed out various steps taken by the Prime Minister Narendra Mod-led government for the region.

The Ladakh region usually remains cut-off from the rest of the country for nearly six months annually due to closure of the 434-km long Srinagar-Leh national highway during winter.

“I am not making any promises because it is a violation of the model code of conduct in view of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. I am speaking about the initiatives taken by the Modi government for the welfare of the people of the Ladakh region,” she said addressing an election rally in support of party candidate Jamyang Tsering Namgyal here.

Namgyal is locked in a four-cornered contest from the Ladakh seat, where the campaigning ended this evening and the focus shifted to May 6 polling which will also decide the fate of Congress candidate Rigzin Spalbar and two independents - Congress rebel and former MLA Asgar Ali Karbalai and journalist-turned-politician Sajjad Hussain.

All-weather railway line

“The work on the detailed project report for an all-weather railway line between Himachal Pradesh to Leh has started. The railway line once completed will provide an all-weather connectivity to the region which is presently dependent on a road through Kargil which only opens in summer,” the defence minister said.

Solar park

She said the planning for the biggest solar power park in Leh has already been started by renewable energy which will not only provide electricity to the region, but also make Jammu and Kashmir energy a surplus state.

Sitharaman said she took charge of the defence ministry in September 2017 and visited Ladakh at least four times to witness the fast changing development scenario.

Drawing a parallel between Northeast and Ladakh, she said both the regions faced neglect during six decades of the Congress rule and only came up for a focused development during the last five years.