Srinagar: Union Budget presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Tuesday has failed to impress Kashmir Inc, which was hopeful that the Budget will have a special package for Jammu and Kashmir.
President, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Sheikh Ashiq said that the Union Budget has failed to provide any succor to Kashmir’s business community who are facing losses for the last three years.
“Though we have not conducted a detailed postmortem of the annual statement, still by having a glance at the Budget highlights, there is nothing for Kashmir-based business community who are braving the brunt of COVID lockdowns and other losses.”
“Business community here had high expectations that a special financial package would be announced but that is not the case,” he said.
Chairman, Jammu, and Kashmir Hoteliers Club, Mushtaq Chaya said that the union government has completely ignored Kashmir’s tourism sector in the Budget.
“Though there are some initiatives which are welcome, overall our tourism sector has been neglected which is unfortunate. We had high expectations from the Budget, we were hopeful that this could provide much-needed impetus to Kashmir’s economy but the government has ignored our suggestions.”
President, Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir, Shahid Kamili said that the unemployment rate of 21 per cent in J&K has touched the highest in the country while in the Union Budget the government has targeted 60 lakh jobs through employment opportunities.
“We were also expecting a PM Development Initiative scheme for J&K as the North East is getting Rs 1500 crore for development of projects in the budget 2022-23. The revamping of the CGTMSE scheme will facilitate additional credit of Rs 2 lakh crore for MSME’s but pumping of additional finance will not boost the demand in-country and in J&K as it needs marketing support.”
President, Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation, Muhammad Yaseen Khan said Kashmir traders have witnessed an unprecedented loss during the last three years. “During our interactions with the government representatives we have put forth this point and they too acknowledged it during pre-budget consultations. But looking at the budget it seems our suggestions have been dumped.”
Chairman, All Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers and Dealers Union, Bashir Ahmad Basheer said that despite the fruit industry generating Rs 10,000 crore in revenue, this sector has been totally neglected.
“Our demand of imposing heavy taxes on import of Iranian apples has met a cold shoulder, the announcement of the MIS scheme too has been ignored,” he said adding that they are disappointed with the Budget.