Mudassir Kuloo
Srinagar, Feb 1: Jammu and Kashmir finance department has proposed over Rs one lakh crore budget for the new Union Territory.
“In absence of elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, the budget has to be approved by the Parliament. We have proposed a budget of over Rs 1 lakh crore for the new Union Territory,” said an official of finance department.
Last year, State Administration Council headed by the then Governor Satya Pal Malik had approved Rs 88,911 crore budget for Jammu and Kashmir.
J&K administration has already discussed budget proposals with the Union Finance Ministry to avoid any last minute hiccups. The budget will be presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and has to be passed by both the houses of Parliament.
“Where the Legislative Assembly is dissolved, or its functioning as such Assembly remains suspended, on account of an order under section 73, it shall be competent for the President to authorize, when the House of the People is not in session, expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir pending the sanction of such expenditure by Parliament,” reads the J&K Re-organization Act 2019.
The Union Territory of Ladakh hasn’t been granted the Legislature and it will continue to receive budgetary allocations from the central government.
On Saturday, Union Finance Minister proposed allocation of Rs 30,757 crore for Jammu and Kashmir, and Rs 5,958 crore for Ladakh for fiscal 2020-21.
This is for the first time that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been allocated separate funds since erstwhile state has been reorganized into two Union Territories.
Earlier Jammu and Kashmir was passing the budget in January in order to give ample time to heads of departments, district development commissioners and other officials to ensure optimum utilization of financial resources.
With reorganization of state of J&K, the administration had to divide the budgetary allocation in the middle of the fiscal in order to ensure that developmental works continue without any hiccups.
