PM’s Development Package: JK has received Rs 23,275 Cr so far

Srinagar, Jan 01: Government of India has released Rs 23,275 crores out of the Rs 80,000-crore Prime Minister Development-Package (PMDP) announced for Jammu and Kashmir in November 2015.
Of it, the state government has, till November, spent Rs 19,887 crore, the official documents accessed by The Kashmir Monitor revealed.
A major chunk of the money, the documents say, has been spent by the state on upgrading the connectivity between Kashmir and Jammu.
Unlike other areas, projects approved by Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have seen cent percent utilisation of the allotted funds, the documents show.
For instance, the 4-laning of Srinagar-Banihal, Qazigund-Banihal, Chenani-Nashri, and Jammu-Udhampur sections saw full expenditure of the released Rs 1774.72 crore, Rs 2151.60 crore, Rs 4700.47 crore, and Rs 2619.44 crore, respectively.
Similarly, on Udhampur-Ramban and Ramban-Banihal roads, the released Rs 598.61 crore and Rs 234.50 crore were spent entirely. The projects are undertaken by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Interestingly, such speedy expenditure, the documents reveal, was not seen when it came to other intra-region connectivity projects largely undertaken by the state government.
As it stands, projects including Srinagar-Shopian-Qazigund (2-lane and bridges) and construction of semi ring roads in Srinagar and Jammu cities saw zero utilisation of the respective Rs 34.30 crore and Rs 4.14 crore released by the centre.
Similarly, when it comes to power, the J&K government did not utilise any of the Rs 654.70 crore released to the state under PMDP, even as the state, especially Kashmir, struggles to cope with the gap between the demand and supply of electricity.
The money, the documents say, should have been used for “augmentation of infrastructure for distribution systems including capital cities, tourist destinations” and was over and above the normal entitlement of J&K for other central schemes related to improving electricity.
Horticulture, among many other sectors, presented a similar picture as the state spent only Rs 46.86 crore of the released Rs 122.89 crore.
To mention, the state was supposed to add its 10 per cent share to the PM’s Development Package.
However, so far, the government has only released Rs 410 crores (20%) against the expected Rs 2,122 crore it was supposed to provide.