PRIs/ULBs get Rs 1313 cr, DDCs Rs 200 cr, BDCs Rs 71 cr, JMC/SMC Rs 100 cr, Lakes Rs 373 cr
Education Deptt gets highest allocation of Rs 11,832 cr, Home Rs 10,831 cr
Kashmir to be connected with rail next year, Metro to be rolled out in 2022-23
Own revenues pegged at Rs 25,314 cr, Rs 35,581 cr to come as Central help, Rs 29,750 cr as PMDP
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 14: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today presented Rs 1,12,950 crore worth budget for Jammu and Kashmir for next financial year of 2022-23 in Lok Sabha which was dubbed as “growth oriented” in which economy is expected to grow at 7.5 percent but fiscal deficit stood at Rs 9570 crore.
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Education Department got highest Rs 11,832 crore followed by Rs 10,831 crore for Home Department. Rs 200 crore have been provisioned in the budget as Development Fund for 20 District Development Councils (Rs 10 cr for each DDC) and Rs 71.25 crore for Block Development Councils (BDCs) (Rs 25 lakh each). A total of Rs 1313 crore have been kept for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). JMC and SMC will get City Grants of Rs 100 crore while Rs 200 crore have been kept for Smart City projects. Rs 373 crore will be given for Dal Nageen lake Development and Conservation.
There has been an increase of over Rs 4000 crore in the budget as current fiscal year’s budget was Rs 1,08,621 crore.
Sitharaman also presented Rs 18,860 crore worth supplementary grants for current year of 2021-22 also.
She said the Jammu and Kashmir budget for 2022-23 will again cross Rs one lakh crore mark, which is an indicator of the Government’s commitment to make Union Territory a model of development.
Total budget estimates are Rs 1,12,950 crore (net) out of gross budget of Rs 1,42,150 crore (including Ways and Means Advance of Rs 29,200 crore) of which developmental expenditure is of the order of Rs 41,335 crore.
Sitharaman said out of Rs 1,12,950 crore , Rs 71,615 crore will be used for revenue expenditure (Government expenses) and Rs 41,335 crore on capital expenditure (development purposes). Similarly, the revenue receipts will be to the tune of Rs 1,02,322 crore and capital receipts at Rs 10,628 crore. She added that 37 percent of the earmarked budget will be spent on infrastructure development projects.
With receipts and expenditure matching, the budget will be zero deficit. Also, there has been no Additional Resources Mobilizations (ARMs) which means no new taxes have been imposed in the budget. However, the budget showed fiscal deficit at Rs 9570 crore but said the economy in Jammu and Kashmir will grow at the rate of 7.5 percent.
After debate followed by the Finance Minister’s reply, the Lok Sabha passed Jammu and Kashmir budget tonight which will now go to the Rajya Sabha for discussion and passing.
In her budget speech, Sitharaman said Kashmir will be connected to rest of the country through rail network by next year.
“Elevated Light Metro Rail in Jammu and Srinagar cities is expected to be rolled out in 2022-23 and the project will be completed by 2026. This will reduce traffic congestion in Srinagar and Jammu cities,” she added.
The budget has a provision of Rs 400 crore for CRIF roads, Rs 2400 crore for PMGSY roads, Rs 1000 cr for NABARD scheme and Rs 28 crore for Mughal road.
There is a provision of Rs 70 crore for new circuits including Mansar, Surinsar & Sufi circuits besides construction of Water Parks in twin cities of Jammu and Srinagar.
The Government has listed four major sectors for revenue and capital expenditure of the total budget.
In capital expenditure i.e. development, the Government proposed Rs 2387 crore for Administrative Sector of which 52 percent is expected to be incurred on the Home Department. Rs 4716 crore have been proposed for Social Sector, 31 percent of which is likely for the Health and Medical Education Department. Rs 26,146 crore were earmarked for infrastructure sector with 31 percent proposed for Public Health Engineering Department while Rs 8085 crore will be spent in economic sector of which 57 percent will be used on Rural Development Department.
In Revenue Expenditure i.e. the Government expenses, the total budget proposed for Administrative Sector is Rs 13,216 crore. Again 73 percent of this is expected to be incurred on Home Department. Rs 23060 crore were allocated for Social Sector, of which, 47 percent is expected to be used on Education Department.
Total revenue budget of infrastructure sector was pegged at Rs 29583 crore and 62 percent of it will be spent through the Finance Department. In economic sector, the Government has proposed revenue budget of Rs 5756 crore with 29 percent to be incurred on Forest department.
The Finance Minister said the budget will focus on good governance, deepening grassroots democracy, accelerated development and inclusive growth, facilitating investment and industrial growth, infrastructure development for improving quality of life and employment, youth initiatives and women empowerment and broadening social inclusion.
Own revenues of Jammu and Kashmir (both tax and non-tax) are estimated to be Rs 25,314 crore. In addition to this, Rs 35,581 crore will flow as the Central assistance and Rs 29,750 crore under Centrally Sponsored Schemes/Prime Minister’s Development Package.
The tax/Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of Jammu and Kashmir for 2022-23 has been projected at 8.18 percent which is just higher than previous year’s 8.17 percent.
“Debt/GDP ratio for 2022-23 is estimated at 50.84 percent. GDP for 2022-23 has been projected at Rs 2,03,716 crore which indicated growth of 7.5 percent over the previous year,” the Finance Minister said.
“Budget 2022-23 reflects the felt needs and aspirations of the people of J&K and commitment of the UT administration for peace, progress and prosperity. the Immediate goal is to accelerate the pace of economic development”.
The Education Department has been allocated the highest Rs 11,832.77 crore followed by Rs 10,831.18 crore for the Home Department.
Rs 797.34 crore have been allocated for the General Administration Department.
The higher allocation for the Home Department, under which the Jammu and Kashmir Police comes, indicated the Government’s priority in maintaining peace in the Union Territory, which has been facing over three decades of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
Rs 1129.59 crore will go to the Planning Department and Rs 232.43 crore to the Information Department
Rs 8768.09 crore have been allocated for the power department, Rs 1002.98 crore for the Industry department and Rs 2835.39 crore for the Agriculture Department.
Rs 6296.57 crore have been earmarked for the Public Works Department, Rs 7873.34 crore for the Health department and Rs 3202.71 crore for the Social Welfare Department.
Sitharaman allocated Rs 507.9 crore for the Tourism department, Rs 5443.17 crore for the Rural Development Department and Rs 646.93 crore for the Horticulture Department.
Highlights
l Provision of Rs 200 crore for capitalization of J&K Bank.
l Rs 20 cr for establishment of highway resting places.
l Rs 100 crore for festival promotion.
l Rs 70 crore for new circuits including Mansar, Surinsar & Sufi Circuits besides, construction of Water Parks in twin cities of Jammu and Srinagar.
l Rs 7750 crore under Jal Jeevan Mission for achieving the objective of 100% piped water supply to each household.
l Rs 357 crore for Solid Waste Management in 2 Municipal Corporations and 76 ULBs.
l Rs 200 crore for procurement of Machinery and Equipments and Rs 400 crore for procurement of drugs in health sector.
l Rs 5 crore for insurance of passenger vehicles as part of Business Revival Package and Rs 25 crore as subsidy for replacement of old vehicles.
l Rs 120 crore for encouraging use of renewable energy (Solar Energy).
l Rs 150 crore have been provisioned for development of new housing colonies.
l For Nasha Mukt Abhiyan, Rs 15 crore have been provisioned.
l Rs 600 crore for Border Area Development Programme.
l Rs 1206 crore for Equity Component of Kiru and Ratle Power Projects under execution.
l Rs 200 crore for heritage preservation and development of Sufi/Religious Sites.
l Fast tracking clearance of investment proposal under new industrial policy with adequate provision for incentives.
l Rs. 150 crore provided for development of new Industrial Estates.
l Power Generation capacity to be doubled in next three years.
6 lakh Smart Pre-paid meters to be installed.
l Rural connectivity high on agenda.
l Focus on high-end tourism/ golf tourism.
l 6000 Kms of road length to be black-topped.
l 500 Kindergartens to be established in Goverment schools.
l Old Age Homes for all districts of UT.
l 400 new and 300 existing Panchayat Ghars to be constructed and renovated.
l Elevated Light Rail System at Jammu and Srinagar being rolled out. Likely completion by 2026.
l Conservation of Dal-Nageen lakes high on agenda.
l Providing financial support to youth for undertaking self-employment.
l Revitalization of Overseas Employment Corporation.
l Job fairs for facilitating employment in private sector.
l Rs 200 crore for “Mission Youth programme”.
l Digitization of Police Stations and installation of CCTVs in Police Stations.
‘Normalcy achieved, earlier it was fake’
Sitharaman attacks Cong over
series of tweets on KPs
Responding to the discussion on J&K budget in Lok Sabha, Nirmala Sitharaman attacked the Congress over a series of tweets issued by its Kerala unit relating to the Kashmiri Pandits who were displaced from the Valley during the 1990s following the outbreak of militancy.
Sitharaman said the tweets by the Congress with the hashtag #KashmirFiles vs truth on Sunday said that Kashmiri Pandits on their own left the Valley and not because they were forced.
“Our party’s (Congress) belief is that it was not because of terrorism but the movement was due to lure of financial benefit and land offer in Delhi….Another belief is there is a long battle between separatist and those who stand for India,” she said quoting the tweets.
She also said Congress was an ally of the Government at the time of the exodus and the then Chief Minister left people to fend for themselves when terrorism was on the rise.
She alleged that under the Congress regime, the then Prime Minister met a separatist who had allegedly killed an Airforce officer and later conceded the same to a foreign TV channel.
MPs of the Congress, NCP, TMC and the National Conference walked out of Lok Sabha in protest against the remarks made by the Minister after the Speaker did not allow the opposition members to intervene.
Sitharaman said normalcy has been achieved after the abrogation of special status to J&K while prior to that it was “fake normalcy”.
The Government in August 2019 abrogated many provisions of Article 370 resulting in the revocation of J&K’s special Status. With this, the state of J&K was bifurcated into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh.
“J&K was not normal under Article 370…There was fake normalcy prior to abrogation of Article 370….Post abrogation there is no fake normalcy,” she said.
Sitharaman said 890 central laws became applicable in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370.
“Removal of Article 370 was necessary, it was delayed…We have fulfilled that promise given to the people of J&K,” she said.
Backdoor entry has stopped and there is transparency in appointments, she said, adding the system is getting better day by day.
The Government is committed to the development of J&K and for the homecoming Kashmiri Pandit, several steps have been taken.
She assured the House that the Government will fulfil the promises made with respect to the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits.
Reeling out numbers, she said, the Government has built 1025 transmit accommodations while about 1,500 are under the process of construction.
The Minister said 40,000 projects were completed in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021-22 and connectivity in the Union Territory is improving.
The Union Territory has witnessed a 90 percent decrease in ceasefire as it reduced from 900 in 2020 to 98 in 2021, she said, adding, terrorism has been contained and infiltration has declined significantly.
About investment, she said, an investor-friendly J&K campaign has paid off.
“Rs 44,177 crore investment proposals have already been received. Employment potential from that is 1.80 lakh…Most of the investment proposals are from outside,” she said.
Capital expenditure has increased in all sectors, she said.
A record 50 lakh tourists visited J&K between October (2021) and January (2022), she added.
The Finance Minister said that the budget 2022-23 for J&K is more than Rs 1 lakh crore mark again, which is an indicator of commitment to make J&K a model of development.
This is an inclusive budget and all the sectors will get focussed attention, she said, adding, the Government of J&K shall endeavour to double the farmer’s income.
The investment proposal under the new industrial policy shall be cleared on a fast track basis and the power generation capacity is being doubled in the next three years, she said.
Earlier, Opposition members objected to the Government move to present the J&K Budget and discuss it in the House on the same day, contending that members will not get adequate time to study the proposals.
Congress member Manish Tewari and RSP member N K Premachandran objected to the motion moved by Sitharaman, alleging it was in violation of the rules of procedure of the House.
“Some rules are beyond the amending powers of the House,” Tewari, a Congress member from Anandpur Sahib, said.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said the discussion will take place after two hours.
Rajendra Agarwal, who was in the Chair, said the business for the day was approved by Speaker Om Birla during the Business Advisory Committee meeting.
Premachandran, the member from Kollam, said the Minister had also sought a discussion on the budget proposals and the supplementary demand for grants together, which would go against the rules.
Tewari and Premachandran sought a ruling from the Speaker Om Birla on the issue.
As the House re-assembled in the post-lunch session, Sitharaman said the then UPA Government had presented and discussed the Budget for NCT of Delhi in 2014 on the same day.
“That time the Chair allowed it, and this time also the Chair may kindly allow, it is my appeal,” Sitharaman said.
BJD member Bhratruhari Mahtab, who was in the chair, noted the Speaker had rejected the contention of Tewari and Premachandran, saying that the supplementary demands for grants for J&K presented in Lok Sabha were for the 2021-22 and could be taken up together with the Budget for 2022-23.
Mahtab said the Speaker had also mentioned that it was not for the first time that budget for a state had been presented as discussed on the same day.
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