Parliament approves ₹1.42 lakh crore budget for J&K

The Parliament on Wednesday approved the ₹1.42-lakh-crore budget for Jammu and Kashmir for 2022-23, with Rajya Sabha returning the relevant bills to the Lok Sabha

The Parliament on Wednesday approved the ₹1.42-lakh-crore budget for Jammu and Kashmir for 2022-23, with Rajya Sabha returning the relevant bills to the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha had passed the bills on March 14. The upper House returned The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2022, and The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2022.

Replying to the nearly four-hour-long discussion on the budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after abrogation of Article 370, terror related activities have declined in J&K and an environment for investment has been created.

Replying to the nearly four-hour-long discussion on the budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after abrogation of Article 370, terror related activities have declined in J&K and an environment for investment has been created. Sitharaman said that people are benefiting after implementation of 890 central laws. People who did not have any rights there earlier can now get government jobs and purchase property, she added.

“The various impediments which prevailed in the state for industrial development have also been removed, and the industrial promotion scheme of J&K has opened new doors for development,” Sitharaman said. She said there was a 33% drop in infiltrations in 2021, 90% decrease in ceasefire violations, 61% decline in terrorism related incidents and 80% fall in abductions by terrorists.

Also, there has been 33% decline in number of police and security personnel who were martyred in 2021 and there was no incident of weapon snatching. Sitharaman said that 180 terrorists (148 locals and 32 foreigners, including 44 top commanders) were eliminated last year.

She also informed that 100% of the eligible population in the UT has been vaccinate against Covid.

Congress, allies not committed to J&K’s development: Goyal

The Centre on Wednesday alleged that the opposition is not committed to the development of Jammu and Kashmir and their “discrimination” against the union territory continues as before. Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal made the allegations in Lok Sabha after an MP from J&K, Hasnain Masoodi, could not properly ask a supplementary question during the Question Hour, due to the protests and sloganeering by the opposition over the fuel price hike.

“This shows their (opposition) commitment towards Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress and its allies have been discriminating against J&K for years and they are doing the same even now. They are not even allowing an MP from Jammu and Kashmir to ask a question,” Goyal said. However, the unrelenting opposition continued their protests in the Well of the House.

The Lok Sabha at that time was taking up a question related to the ministry of textiles, which is handled by Goyal. Earlier, when the opposition started the sloganeering against the Modi government for the fuel price hike for the second consecutive day, Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said that people have shown the opposition their place in the recently held assembly elections in five states.