Nothing substantial in ‘Coalition Bachao Budget’: Congress

Jammu, July 24: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Working President Raman Bhalla on Wednesday said the union budget has nothing substantial for the development of J&K. He claimed that there is nothing in the union budget for Jammu & Kashmir, terming it as a “Coalition Bachao Budget” with a focus on Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
“No substantial allocation has been made by the Central government for the augmentation of various mega development projects here. Our state has been ignored in the Union Budget. The fate of various projects has been put into limbo,” he said in a statement.
He said there has been no significant headway in the completion of various projects in J&K. “There is no specific budgetary allocation for AIIMS in the state. The railway is yet to take off properly. The budget is strangely mute on increasing the employment avenues for our youth. Issues like job creation and skill development haven’t been touched by the Union Finance Minister,” he said.
The J&K Congress leader expressed his disappointment that the budget did not address the issues surrounding KCC loans for farmers, who are suffering silently with no one to listen to their grievances. “Kashmir’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, yet the budget remained silent on this crucial sector. There is a lack of relief for fruit growers, and the government is importing apples from foreign countries while the locally grown produce in Jammu Kashmir is left to rot in storage,” he said, adding, “Such facilitation for foreign produce while neglecting local apples is putting growers in dire straits.”
Bhalla criticised the budget for not addressing the growing unemployment in Jammu & Kashmir or proposing measures to tackle the issue.
“There are scores of daily-rated workers, ASHA workers—who will talk about them? Youth are suffering, people are suffering. The union government cannot turn a blind eye to this,” he said.