‘10 % spl allowance for employees in remote areas’
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 17: Highlighting the resolve of PDP-BJP Government to focus on the most neglected and remote areas of the State and address the issue of regional and sub-regional discrimination as raised from various quarters, Minister for Finance Dr Haseeb Drabu today announced constitution of ‘Task Force’ to study the reasons for development deficit in the State’s hard areas like Doda-Kishtwar, Poonch- Rajouri and Gurez and suggest measures for boosting infrastructure development in such neglected areas.
While replying to the discussion on Budget 2018-19 in the Upper House of State Legislature here today, Drabu said, “ The Government would make development deficit in remote areas of the State, a part of the terms of reference of the proposed State Finance Commission so that a holistic view is taken on the issue and sufficient allocation of funds is made accordingly.”
He said there are many hard-to-reach areas in the State, extending from Kupwara to Kathua, which have faced neglect over the years and need special attention and focussed development and attention with additional resources.
Dr Drabu said the Finance Commission will also be involved in the process and its recommendations would be sought for the up-liftment of these remote areas. To study various aspects and recommend short terms and long term measures for ensuring over all development of these neglected areas, experts not only from J&K, but also from outside the State will be involved in the process, he maintained.
While acknowledging the problems being faced by the people in the hard-to-access areas of the State, Drabu announced a special duty allowance of 10% of basic pay for the State Government employees posted in such areas adding that the Government will also work to bring these hard areas at par with the other ‘developed’ areas.
Referring to the implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations for the employees of PSUs and autonomous bodies, the Finance Minister said the Government has no objection if these organizations implement the Pay Commission report at their own, subject to availability of resources.
Making mention of bringing more beneficiaries under the ambit of various social security schemes, Dr Drabu said that additional funds to the tune of Rs 15 crore each shall be added to the existing corpus for old age and widow pension. He announced that the widowed daughters of the Government employees will also be eligible for pension as earlier announced for their married daughters.
The Finance Minister also proposed merger of marriage assistance and various other scholarship and welfare schemes for girls to make these more comprehensive and productive. He said the Government will come up with a consolidated welfare scheme for which the additional incentive shall be added with Aadhaar linkage to avoid possible duplication. He said he State Government in the last three years has been putting in financial resources for generation of employment in the State.
He proposed to revisit the Fixed Travel Allowance (FTA) provided to engineers working in the Government departments to make it rational saying that currently FTA for these employees is a meagre Rs 30 per month. He announced that the Medical allowance of the former Legislators will be brought at par with the sitting MLAs/MLCs, increase in car loan from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and also giving leverage to the members if someone did not availed the car loan facility, he can utilize the amount for availing home loan up to Rs 20 lakh.
“It took this Government three years to restore the rotten fiscal system, put in place a sustainable public expenditure policy and set the State’s economy on the path of steady recovery and revival,” Drabu said adding that State has landed in a serious fiscal crisis because of various reasons like protracted political turmoil, 2014 floods, 2016 disturbances, demonetisation and GST.
“When I talk of fiscal crisis, let me make it clear, I am not talking about the Government finances, but the entire economic system involving every section of the society,” he said.
The only way to set the State’s economy on the recovery path is to enhance autonomous public expenditure, which is the basic theme of this budget, he added.
Drabu said the fundamental intent of making it a stakeholders’ budget is to generate income across various levels of society, pump public money into the system and push economic revival through a sustained effort.
“That is why we have announced various measures in this budget so that money keeps continuously flowing and circulating in the system…,” Drabu said.
Defending his decision to extend various financial benefits to Government employees, he said there are 4.5 lakh staffers and every employee has a family of at least five persons.
“That means that a population of around 25 lakh souls is directly linked to the Government. If they spend, the economy improves, if they save money, it also helps,” he said.
He said the focus of the renewed fiscal policy is to restore dignity of the State and make it relevant for the times.
“This is perhaps the first budget that is not about the Government departments but the stakeholders encompassing every section of the society including poorest of the poor, marginalised, employees, traders, industrialists, agriculturists, women, girls, students, youth and destitute.
Drabu further said that proposed Uniform Labour Code would be a landmark initiative for the welfare of the labourers in the State. He said the code, consisting of all Labour laws of the State, will set out a framework for terms of employment and service of the workers.
“The bane of multiple labour laws has been their poor implementation and the resultant inadequate impact on the ground.
“Labour law reforms are critical to ushering in real ease of doing business in the State, besides, of course, addressing the aspirations of the labour class,” he said.
Drabu said the Government has recently increased the minimum wages of un-skilled, skilled and highly skilled workers and the move will raise the market wages prevailing in the State thereby increasing the incomes of the poorest. He said these reforms have been long overdue.
“A Multi-disciplinary Committee has been set up to frame the J&K Employment Code for the State,” Drabu said, adding the proposed Employment Code shall set out the framework for terms of employment and service of all the workers except domestic workers and agricultural labour and a strong, independent and separate labour judiciary.
Drabu extended gratitude to the Central Government for extending major incentives under Industrial Development Scheme to J&K and also bringing the State’s services sector under its ambit.
“The extension of landmark Industrial Development Scheme to J&K and extending its benefits to the Services sector will give a huge boost to the investment in the State,” Drabu said.
He said it is for the first time that the State’s services sector has been under the ambit of Industrial Development Scheme. “Under the scheme, Central Capital Investment subsidy of 30% would be provided for plant and machinery including buildings for hotels,” Dr Drabu said.
He said under the scheme 3% interest subsidy for 5 years and 100 percent insurance subsidy will be also available to the industry and the services sector.
“All new industrial units in manufacturing and services sector operational in the State will be eligible for various benefits under this scheme”, Dr Drabu said and added that the scheme will have two key components: 100 percent insurance cover and considering buildings of the hotels as plant machinery thus enabling them to 30 percent capital subsidy.
Earlier, Ghulam Nabi Monga, Naresh Gupta, Sham Lal Bhagat and Muzaffar Parray from Congress, Qaiar Jamsheed Lone and Showkat Ganai from NC, Saifuddin Bhat and Zafar Iqbal Manhas from PDP and Ramesh Arora from BJP spoke on the Budget.
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