Disappointment' in Kashmir Following Union Budget Allocation

Srinagar: Trade leaders and the political leadership in Kashmir are “disappointed” after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated Rs 35,581 crore in Budget 2022 for the union territory without any special announcement for the region, which the locals said they were hoping for.

In the annual Budget presented in the Parliament on Monday, Rs 33,923 crore has been allocated to meet revenue deficit gap and resource gap of the UT.

Of the total allocation, Rs 279 crore has been granted as UT disaster response fund, Rs 476.44 crore grant towards equity contribution for 624 MW Kiru and Rs 500 crore support for capital expenditure. The central government has also allocated a rehabilitation package worth Rs 273 crore for Dal and Nageen lakes in Srinagar.

Sheikh Ashiq, president of a leading trade body in the region Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI), told NewsClick that they were expecting a “big announcement” for the revival of businesses in the region.

“We did not see any business support initiatives apparently. We are not able to locate any support in the budget even though we were expecting a big announcement for the revival of business here as we have faced certain situations here,” Ashiq said.

Another key trade body, Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), expressed their anguish over the Budget of 2022-23 stating that it offered nothing to “boost demand” in MSME’s Sector.

In a statement, the FCIK said that though the ECGLS Scheme has been extended up to March 2023 with an additional Rs 50,000 Crores infusion, the infusion of capital without work in the MSME’s sector was not going to generate the results.

“The earlier Rehabilitation Scheme has not served the purpose as the paid-up interest and installment has been capitalised and rescheduled and the industry was expecting financial support for the closure of businesses due to the lockdown imposed by the government since August 2019,” FCIK Joint Secretary General Zubair butt said.

Butt added that the regional industry sector was expecting a “stimulus” from the Budget but have been “disappointed.” “The existing industry is turning towards sickness and the prospective entrepreneurs are keeping distance from setting up new units,” he said.

The political leadership in the region also said they were hoping for a respite amidst the economic slump that Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing for more than a year now. National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said they had pinned hopes for economic measures to revive the economy.

“Overall, for the people of J&K, we did not see anything even as we had expectations from the Budget. We hoped for some packages to boost the economy and aid our ailing financial situation but there is no such announcement,” he said.

Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M Y Tarigami lashed out at the BJP-led government terming the budget a “huge disappointment”.

“The common people expected from the finance minister to address the issues which are connected with their welfare and survival. This is a huge disappointment for those who are suffering because of the rising inflation, price rise, and virtually chronic unemployment,” Tarigami told NewsClick.

The former MLA from South Kashmir’s Kulgam constituency said that these issues have crippled the life of the common masses both from rural and urban areas with the middle class as well as the salaried class bearing the brunt.

“People are suffering from starvation and they want relief from the government. The government has sold our assets to corporates and the purchasing capacity of the common man is dwindling. To sum it up, it is a huge disappointment,” he added.

Like Tarigami, Congress leader Kadfeen Choudhary also termed the Budget 2022 “detrimental for the middle class.”

“As far as the allocation to Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, it is unfortunate that the people here have been asked to remain contended with mere tokens,” he said in a statement.

Choudhary also pointed out that contrary to the claims made following the abrogation of Article 370, nothing has been done for the region’s development. “Jammu and Kashmir is not Dal and Nigeen alone. There is no assiduousness in the budget for the crises-ridden state,” he said.