Budget of a Government is more of a technical subject. A lot of documents, overlapping at many places, are needed to be scrutinized before reacting to the budget proposals. It takes time. But in this era of social media explosion when the shelf life of any news has come down from months and days to a few hours, keeping pace affects quality of scrutiny. With these handicaps the instant reaction to the Budget proposals tabled by Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir Mr. Omar Abdullah is that the JK Budget 2025 is a Visionless, Directionless & Substance less document. Further it is a complete U-turn on most of the issues that NC was red flagging before elections. Broken promises is another area where budget proposals stare you in the face.
U-Turns of NC
All these years post 2019 historic decisions the National Conference in general and Omar Abdullah in particular has been very critical of LG- Administration and its policies. NC never appreciated any work, policy or programme undertaken and executed by the LG administration. Transparency and accountability in governance with the aid of technology actually transformed governance in Jammu Kashmir. From initiation to execution, administrative approvals to budget allocation of utility certification everything was criticised by Kashmir centric political parties including NC. Tourist arrivals and numbers were disputed. So was its impact on the local economy. Billing and metering was opposed vehemently. Protests were held to lodge disapproval. Economy in general and the unemployment scenario was attacked in particular, often using harsh language.
Now all of a sudden, the budget proposals tell us that the period in question was actually an era of peace, progress and economic expansion. “This improved environment is contributing to economic progress, with J&K’s economy expanding from Rs1,64,103 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 2,45,022 crore in2023-24” budget documents reveal. It further says, “With robust improvements in billing, metering, and digitization, non-tax revenue has risen to Rs 5,824 crore as of January 31, 2025, while tax revenue has reached Rs 11,650 crore—both set to exceed last year’s collections”.
With regards to tourism arrivals, budget documents say, “In 2024, we achieved a record 2.36 crore tourist visits, reaffirming J&K as 15 a premier destination. The Gulmarg Gondola alone attracted 7.68 lakh visitors”. “Additionally, offbeat destinations like Shiv Khori, Mansar-Surinsar, Patnitop, Doodhpathri, and Lolab are gaining popularity. The revival of border tourism in regions likeGurez, Keran, Karnah, and Suchetgarh is not only expanding our tourism footprint but also driving local economic growth” it goes on to say.
INDI alliance partners –both NC & Congress party were promising people that when in government they will throw smart electricity meters into Jhelum and Tawi rivers. But now the euphemism is that these steps are driving the turn around. Budget documents record, “…reforming metering, billing, and collection to strengthen the power sector. Under-recovery has dropped from Rs 6,552 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 5,244 crore in 2023-24, with a target of Rs 4,200 crore in 2024-25.”
Repackaging Central Schemes
The NC-Congress government through its budget proposals has not only endorsed schemes run by the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but have actually repackaged them as achievements of their government. Earlier these parties would say that Jammu Kashmir was already ahead in SDG Index and almost nothing happened post 2019. But now we are told that “Jammu& Kashmir ranks high in the SDG India Index 2023-24. To further improve our SDG ranking, our Government will strengthen data-driven monitoring”.
Similar is the storey of E-Shram cards, Lakhpati Didis, MNREGA, construction of houses under PMAAY. Document says, “Given the favourable fund-sharing pattern of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), we are making full use of the opportunity through faster execution, timely submission of UCs, and proactive engagement with central ministries. As a result, CSS receipts have risen sharply from Rs 5,997 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 10,324 crore in 2023-24, and we aim to sustain this momentum”. “Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin, 3.40 lakh houses are sanctioned, with 50,000 more to be built in 2025-26, providing quality housing and improved living standards for rural households’, the budget document adds.
Similarly setting up of ICT Labs, Smart Classrooms, and Atal Tinkering Labs or upgradation of schools for enhancement of educational infrastructure under the PM-SHRI scheme are nothing but repackaging of central schemes. Ingenuity lacked Chief Minister Omar Abdullah while presenting his budget proposals said that “Our challenges are vast, and our limitations are many. But we must collectively pledge to confront those challenges head-on, with unwavering resolve. I have endeavoured to prepare this maiden Budget as a true reflection of the dreams of our people, the needs of our future generations, and the aspirations of every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir”. But alas! He has either misread or consciously misinterpreted dreams of the people of Jammu Kashmir and misunderstood the needs of future generations.
Biggest of our dreams is self-sufficiency that reduces our dependence on external factors. This self-sufficiency or self-reliance has been reduced to political sloganeering only. Biggest self-sufficiency required is in the field of food production. Jammu Kashmir is a food importing state/UT. It was expected that budget proposals would lay a firm foundation in this direction. But it is painful to point out that the government has shown ignorance about the problems faced by the state on the production front.
It documents a target of 11 % increase in productivity by introducing a two-crop pattern across all agricultural land, Strengthening irrigation, improving market access, and promoting sustainable farming . It however fails miserably telling us how the government will arrest fast dwindling productive cropping areas. Also how the government will increase yield per hectare to feed ever growing population. Announcements regarding horticulture are no different. If the government proposes to increase the area under horticulture crops to 3.75 lakh hectares and boost production where from this additional land is going to come. Will it not be agricultural land? In that case what will happen to food production?
Scrutiny of other sectors like Education, Health and water supply etc reveals no different narrative. This instant response to budget proposals may be summed up with another disappointment. The Budget size under popular government has seen contraction from Rupees 1,18,390 crores in 2024-25 to Rupees 1,12,310 2025-26crores a reduction of around Rupees 6,418 crores. Capital expenditure has witnessed a reduction from Rupees 36,904 Crores in 2024-25 to Rupees 32,607 crores in2025-26. So has been allocation to several key departments.
The Chief Minister has intelligently tried to conceal these facts by mentioning revised estimates. If people have to feel the difference between the so called bureaucratic administration of LG and the popular elected government of elected representatives, it seems the NC government has missed a golden opportunity to drive that fact.
(The Author is former Member of Legislative Council of Jammu & Kashmir and spokesperson of BJP JK_UT)
