Srinagar, Aug 10 : Ahead of the Assembly polls being held in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) before the end of this year, the Union Territory administration is gearing up to ready Assembly complexes in Srinagar and Jammu, officials said.

An official statement said that the J&K Chief Secretary, Atul Dulloo chaired a meeting on Saturday to draw a plan for making Legislative Assembly complexes at both Srinagar and Jammu ready for holding its sessions after holding of elections here in the Union Territory.

"Those present include Principal Secretary, Estates; Principal Secretary, Finance; Commissioner Secretary, IT; JK Resident Commissioner, Delhi; Secretary, R&B; Secretary, Transport; Secretary, Law; Secretary, Legislative Assembly; Director, Estates, Kashmir, and other concerned officers."

"During this meeting, the Chief Secretary impressed upon the concerned to taking immediate steps for renovation/refurbishing of these Assembly complexes at both Srinagar and Jammu in a time-bound manner."

"He reiterated that the facilities like the functionality of the sound system, internet connectivity, fire safety, functionality of lifts, giving facelifts to the buildings and provisioning of allied amenities should also be taken in hand and completed at the earliest. He asked for looking into the steps to renovate the Chambers of Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Leader of Opposition as well, besides making provisions for their official vehicles and residential accommodations. Dulloo also called upon the concerned to carry out repairing works of the MLA Hostels in both the cities."

"He made out that all the amenities required should be installed within the available time window till the culmination of Assembly elections, as and when announced by the Election Commission of India."

"He observed that pre-emptive steps should be initiated on the part of the administration to make preparations ahead of the elections so that there are no hindrances in the smooth functioning of this pillar of democracy once it gets formed after the conduct of elections here in J&K," the official statement added.

/IANS