JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday announced a series of welfare measures towards improving the living standards of the Union Territory’s poorest families and other vulnerable sections of the population, enhancing women empowerment and strengthening the education sector.These measures are proposed in a zero-deficit budget presented by Mr. Abdullah who is also the finance minister of the UT in the Legislative Assembly here. The ₹ 1,12,310 crore outlay for the fiscal 2025-26 also emphasises accelerated growth and inclusive development.It is after a gap of seven years that J&K’s annual budget was presented in the Legislative Assembly. The last budget of the erstwhile state of J&K was presented by then finance minister Haseen Drabu in the Assembly in February 2018. After J&K was brought under the Centre’s rule in 2018, its budget allocations would be passed by the Parliament.In August 2019, J&K was split up into the Union territories of J&K and Ladakh after the Centre abrogated Article 370. However, the President’s rule was withdrawn in J&K on October 14 last year, paving the way for the formation of a new government in the UT which had earlier witnessed its first assembly elections in ten years.The Chief Minister said, “I stand before you today to present my first budget as finance minister, marking the first budget of a collective government in seven years. While it is an honour, I am acutely aware of the weight of responsibility that comes with being the custodian of J&K’s finances at this crucial juncture.” He asserted J&K is on the threshold of a new era of peace and prosperity, with a semblance of normalcy returning after over three-and-a-half decades of turmoil.The total net budget estimates of J&K for the fiscal 2025-26 include the provision for ways and means advances and overdraft and the expected revenue receipts are ₹ 97,982 crore and capital receipts are ₹ 14,328 crore. The UT’s own revenue both tax and non-tax revenue, is estimated to be ₹ 31,905 crore.The Chief Minister said a total of ₹ 41,000 crore is to flow as Central assistance and ₹ 13,522 crore as centrally sponsored schemes and the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) to the UT.He announced 200 units of free electricity and 10 kilogram of free ration every month for all families under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) from April 1. This, he said, will ease the financial burden on economically weaker sections.Under the Marriage Assistance Scheme, financial aid for eligible beneficiaries has been raised from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000, ensuring better support for underprivileged families. All women in J&K will be eligible for free travel on government-operated transport, including e-buses, starting April 1. “The initiative aims to enhance women’s mobility and access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities,” he said.In his budget speech, Mr. also proposed enhancement of pension to vulnerable sections of the society including old-aged persons, widows, divorcees and especially abled persons. As per the announcement, the pension has been revised to ₹ 1,250 crore for persons below 60 years of age, ₹ 1,500 crore for persons aged between 60 and below 80 years and ₹ 2,000 for persons aged 80 years and above.In the budgetary allocation, the government has also set a target for itself of setting up 98 water testing laboratories across J&K this year to improve water quality monitoring and public health safety.He said that a National Law University (NLU) will be developed in the region, with a budget allocation of ₹ 50 crore for its establishment “to enhance legal education and provide better academic opportunities for students”Mr. Abdullah asserted that these measures are part of the government’s commitment to social welfare, women’s empowerment, and education reform in J&K.He, however, also announced a series of economic and tax reforms aimed at bolstering revenue generation, infrastructure development and social security while underscoring the need for fiscal prudence. “Because of our fiscal reforms and central support, the fiscal deficit will be reduced, bringing us closer to our Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) target,” he said, projecting J&K’s economy to grow at 7.5 percent in 2024-25, with an estimated Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth of 9.5 percent in 2025-26.He proposed petrol rebates by ₹ 1 per litre and high-speed diesel rebates by ₹ 2 per litre while increasing the tax rate on aviation turbine fuel to 5 percent. He introduced new levies on non-transport vehicles purchased outside J&K but registered within the UT through authorised dealerships. He said that such vehicles will now be subject to a 12 percent road and token tax, along with a 3 percent green cess on top of existing charges, the measure, he claimed will mitigate revenue losses and provide a level-playing field for local automobile dealers.J&K PCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra termed the budget as “pro-people” and “positive”. He said that though a detailed assessment is needed to identify potential gaps, it appears all major social sectors have been addressed, with a focus on the welfare of the poorest families.However, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Abdullah government of failing to fulfil its election promises as the budget proposals “expose massive gap between the National Conference (NC)’s poll manifesto and its governance”.The NC, a party spokesman said, had assured 200 units of free electricity to every household but has now restricted the benefit to only AAY ration card holders. “Out of 16 lakh ration card holders in J&K, only 95,000 will benefit from this scheme, which is merely 5-7 percent of the total population. This is a clear betrayal of public trust. Also, as many as 127,000 AAY ration card holders were deleted from the list before the announcement which put a question mark before the government’s intent,” the spokesman said. He added, “The people of J&K deserve honest governance, not broken promises and deception.”Main opposition party BJP also criticised the budget, saying it lacks provisions for daily wage labourers, the unemployed, and marginalized communities such as OBCs, SCs, and STs. “What has Omar Abdullah kept in this budget for daily wage labourers and the unemployed?”, asked Leader of Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma while speaking to reporters here. He alleged, “None of the promises they made to the people are reflected in the budget”.
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