The central government Wednesday proposed Rs 1.08 lakh crore budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the 2021-22 fiscal, the highest ever budget for J&K.
According to the Budget document, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated “the creation of UT of J&K has ushered an era of hope and positivity. The people of J&K today look forward to a future free of corruption and separatism. We now have one nation, one constitution and one law. All 890 central laws have now become applicable to J&K. Unjust and discriminatory laws have been removed. 205 state laws have been repealed and 129 laws have been modified. All sections of people in J&K can look forward to justice and fairness.”
As per the document, the total receipts of 2021-22 are estimated at Rs1,08,621 crore. Of these, Rs 97,141 crore are revenue receipts, Rs.11,480 crore are in the form of borrowings and Rs.22,211 crore are Ways & Means Advances. Its own revenues are estimated to be Rs 24,485 crore. In addition to this, Rs 30,757 crore are to flow as central assistance to UT of J&K. “Given these receipts, the total expenditure is estimated to be Rs.1,08,621 crore. Of this, capital expenditure would be Rs.39,817 crore and revenue expenditure Rs.68,804 crore.”
Fiscal Indicators:
The tax/GDP ratio is projected at 8.10 percent for 2021-22 which is higher than the previous year of 7.08 percent. Debt/GDP ratio for previous years has consistently remained below 48% which is within FRBM limits. (c) GDP growth for the year 2021-22 has been projected at Rs.2,01,054 crore which shows a growth of 7.5%.
Further, Rs 200 crore has been earmarked for DDCs in the budget. This means each DDC will get Rs 10 crore each in 2021-22.
Similarly, Rs 71.25 crore have been proposed as ‘development fund’ for 285 block development councils. This means each BDC will get Rs 25 lakh as development fund.
For the Industries and Commerce Sector, an allocation of about Rs.648 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.291 crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
For the Road and Bridges Sector, an allocation of about Rs.4,089 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.467 crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
For the School and Higher Education Sector, an allocation of about Rs.1,873 crore
has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.523 crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
For Jal Shakti Department, an allocation of about Rs.6,346 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.5,102 crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
For the Power Sector, an allocation of about Rs.2,728 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.119 crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
For the Health and Medical Education Sector, an allocation of about Rs.1,456 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs 188 crore more than previous year’s Budget Estimates 2020-21.
For Agriculture and Horticulture Sectors, an allocation of about Rs.2,008 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.695 crore more than previous year’s budget allocation.
For the Rural Sector, an allocation of about Rs 4,817 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs 342 crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
For Tourism and Culture sectors, an allocation of about Rs.786 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.509 crore more than previous year’s budget allocation.
For the Housing and Urban Development Sector, an allocation of about Rs.2,710 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.1,432 crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
For the Social Security Sector, an allocation of about Rs.174 crore has been made for the year 2021-22 which is Rs.59 crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
In 2020 also the Union Finance Minister presented J&K’s first budget as Union Territory in Parliament.
The original grant for the financial year 2020-21 was Rs.1,01,428 crore
For 2019-20, the number was 88,911 crore, it was the last budget of the state of J&K before it was downgraded into two union territories. At that time also there was no elected government, the budget was passed by then State Administrative Council which was headed by last governor of J&K State, Satya Pal Malik.