CM Omar Abdullah chairs cabinet meeting ahead of J&K budget session

Lieutenant governor’s address to the assembly at the start of the budget session on February 2 along with welfare measures in the annual budget were discussed

Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday chaired a cabinet meeting ahead of the upcoming budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly scheduled to commence on February 2, with the address of lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah chairing a cabinet meeting at the civil secretariat in Jammu on Thursday. (ANI Photo)

The meeting was attended by deputy chief minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary and ministers, including Sakina Itoo, Javed Ahmed Rana, Javid Ahmed Dar and Satish Sharma, officials said. Chief secretary Atal Dulloo was also present.

The cabinet cleared all items on agenda that included extension of an MoU by the tourism department with BRO/Project Beacon on behalf for completion of pending works on Amarnath Yatra track, annual excise policy for the new fiscal, creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for undertaking operation and management activities of the proposed cruise/ urban water transport system on Jhelum river and construction of a residential school for the wards of migratory population at Doombwani in Shopian district.

Other decisions included restructuring the J&K Pollution Control Committee, promotion of officers to various scales of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) and elevation of directors (economic and statistics) to the post of director generals (E&S) in the Jammu and Kashmir Economics & Statistics (Gazetted) Service.