Srinagar: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday allocated Rs 35,581 crore to Jammu and Kashmir in the Union Budget 2023-24.
According to the budget document, of the total amount of central assistance allotted to the Union Territories, J&K is entitled to a portion.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, and Delhi were also included in the distribution of funds.
J&K has received a total of Rs 35,581.44 crore in funding of which Rs 33,923 crore is in the form of central aid. This allocation is significantly less than the revised projection for the current year, which is Rs 44,538.13 crore.
The government assistance provided to the union territory consists of a special fiscal support of Rs 9,486.13 crore and is intended to fill the resource deficit.
The J&K administration will have to spend the money designated for disaster mitigation in order to cover the costs associated with the long-term repair of infrastructure that was harmed by the 2014 floods as well as the rehabilitation, preservation, and restoration of Srinagar's Dal and Nageen lakes.
The money would also be used to fill the funding gap for infrastructure projects in J&K as well as equity contributions for the 624 MW Kiru hydroelectric project, the 800 MW Ratle hydroelectric project, and the 540 MW Kwar hydroelectric project.
The budget allocated Rs 5987.14 crore to Andaman and Nicobar Islands as against Rs 5508.05 crore allocated in 2022-23.
Rs 5436.10 crore has been allocated to Chandigarh as against Rs 5131.12 crore in the current fiscal.
The budget allocated Rs 2475 to Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Rs 5,958 crore to Ladakh, Rs 1394.75 crore to Lakshadweep, Rs 1,168.01 crore to Delhi and Rs 3,117.77 crore to Puducherry.
