NEW DELHI: Centre today sanctioned Rs 1122.56 crore for Jammu and Kashmir to meet the immediate financial crisis arising out of heavy expenditure for providing relief to the people affected by last year’s flood.
This was decided during a meeting between state Governor N N Vohra and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh where issues relating to rehabilitation of flood victims and restoration of the public infrastructure in the state consequent to the devastation caused by the September 2014 floods.
After an hour-long meeting, it was decided to sanction Rs 1102.56 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund to meet expenditures incurred by the state government for immediate restoration of public infrastructure devastated by the floods.
Another Rs 20 crore has been sanctioned from the National Rural Drinking Water Programme for the restoration of drinking water system.
During the meeting, the Centre was apprised that out of Rs 634.99 crore, the state has already spent to provide immediate rehabilitation in the wake of floods which includes Rs 144.85 crore towards food subsidy, Rs 35.67 crore towards restoration of national highways and roads, Rs 25.41 crore towards petroleum products, Rs 2.52 crore for milk products and Rs 1.54 crore for medicines.
Ahead of Vohra’s meeting tomorrow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Governor discussed with Home Minister the package announced of Rs 1,765 crore by Modi during his visit to the Valley last year.
During the course of today’s discussions, it was decided that for final decisions with regard to a special package of over Rs 41,000 crore which had been submitted by the then Jammu and Kashmir government led by Omar Abdullah, the Home Ministry shall be the nodal authority for all further decisions about the schemes proposed by the state government.
Earlier Governor Vohra met the Union Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley here to seek special and additional financial assistance to bail the state government out of the current financial crises.
The Governor apprised the Union Finance Minister that the State Government continues to reels under the burden of huge structural negative Balance in Current Revenues (BCR) which has grown over the years.
The situation has further been aggravated by the unprecedented floods that struck the state in September 2014 resulting in colossal losses to life, private property and public infrastructure. The damages have adversely impacted the pace of economic activity in the state also leading to erosion of state government revenues, Mr. Vohra told Mr. Jaitley.
The Governor further observed that there is an unfunded gap of over Rs 5000 crores in the overall resources of the state government as a result of which the level of pending liabilities across the treasuries in J&K has crossed over Rs 2000 crore.
The Union Finance Minister assured the Governor that the State Governments financial difficulties will be immediately looked into by the Union Finance Ministry with all sensitivity and sympathy on an emergent base. It was decided that a team of senior officers from the State Government will meet the Secretary Expenditure in the Union Finance Ministry so that the State Governments requirements are addressed in a time bound manner.
The Governor also requested for immediate release of the balance amount of around Rs 1160 crore under Special Plan Assistance (SPA) to ensure timely completion of ongoing development projects in the State.
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