Sr. bureaucrats may join talks
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 31: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is in New Delhi on four-day visit during which he is scheduled to meet senior functionaries of the Central Government to brief them on security and financial aspects of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sinha is scheduled to stay in the Union capital till Wednesday.
Official sources told the Excelsior that since budget of Jammu and Kashmir has to be tabled in the Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during ongoing budget session, Lieutenant Governor could have discussions on the budget and expectations of the Union Territory.
“Senior bureaucrats from Jammu and Kashmir are also reportedly accompanying Sinha to New Delhi for discussions on budget and security situation with the Central Ministers and other functionaries,’’ sources said.
Budget session of the Parliament had started on January 29 with Address of President Ram Nath Kovind to join sitting of the two Houses while Nirmala Sitharaman will present Union budget at 11 am tomorrow.
As Jammu and Kashmir doesn’t have the Legislature in absence of elections to the Assembly, it’s budget has to be tabled and passed in the Parliament.
Apart from budget-related discussions, the Lieutenant Governor could also meet some Central Ministers to discuss security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, both in the hinterland as well as the Line of Control (LoC) where Pakistan army has been regularly resorting to ceasefire violations.
The Jammu and Kashmir Government has reportedly projected budget for next financial year of 2021-22 to the tune of around Rs 1.25 lakh crore, which will be higher than current fiscal year, according to sources.
Top officials of the Finance Department of the J&K Government have already held meetings with Government Departments to ascertain their requirements before giving final touch to the annual budget, sources said.
Jammu and Kashmir’s budget for third consecutive year is all set to see steep rise and will be pegged around Rs 1.25 lakh crore though it has to be given final touch.
Describing Rs 1.25 lakh crore worth budget for Jammu and Kashmir as “quite significant”, sources said it will lead to massive infrastructure development with new projects coming up.
The Finance Department officials have also held various meetings with the officials of the Union Finance Ministry to project their detailed requirements. And, response of the Finance Ministry has been quite good, sources said.
Jammu and Kashmir’s annual budget has seen steep hike during past three years. In 2019-20, J&K had 88,911 crore worth budget which went up to Rs one lakh crore for 2020-21 and is now expected to touch Rs 1.25 lakh crore in the financial year of 2021-22.
Regarding current financial year of 2020-21, sources said because of the financial discipline maintained by the Finance Department in Jammu and Kashmir, there has been no financial crunch. There has been full cooperation of the Union Home and Finance Ministries to Jammu and Kashmir Government in implementation of the budget proposals, the sources said.
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