The Budget for the Union territory of J&K will be presented before Parliament later this month that will set the contours of UT’s economic environment. The provision of Rs 30,757 crore grant for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the next fiscal in the Union Budget proposals, may help the much needed economic revival of J&K UT.
The fresh allocation by the finance minister is yet another addition to many economic packages announced previously for Jammu and Kashmir.
The announcement of a gas pipeline is a welcome step. Let us hope it really materialises on ground given the experience that the region has with regard to train services and other infrastructure build-up.
The gas pipeline project for the region will be a part of the Centre’s plan to add more areas to the gas distribution network across country.
Finance Minister, who quoted a Kashmiri poem by Dinannath Koul during her Budget speech, also proposed to set up a central university in Leh, the first higher educational institute for the people in the newly carved out Union territory.
While the Budget proposals, by and large, welcomed in Jammu part of J&K UT, the moods in Kashmir valley, however, remained lukewarm. Local trade and political leadership expressed reservations that the Union government had done not sufficient to people in the region which has undergone a severe economic crisis since the past many years.
J&K traders felt that they were not called for a pre-budget meeting, something that was a norm earlier that would have a positive impact on local residents. Besides, the region faces a major connectivity issue with a dilapidated highway and slow internet services that impact business and development in the region touted as a major tourist destination.
The region is yet to get connected through railways and a major issue in the region remains the electricity upgrade. There have been such announcements in the past too but given our experience there is no tangible development.
He says agriculture and farm sector with core competencies could have been developed immediately rather than focus on tourism and industry, both of which face long-term ramifications due to the outbreak of pandemic and lack of infrastructure in roads, highways and internet connectivity.
After the abrogation of Article 370 and subsequent bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories, a severe lockdown imposed for months which was followed by another lockdown in the wake of outbreak of coronavirus pandemic dealt a severe blow to the region’s economy and huge economic losses.
