JAMMU, JANUARY 12- About 12 members participated in General Discussion on Budget 2017-18 in the Legislative Assembly today.
Devinder Singh Rana while initiating the discussion said that the figures projected in the budget are not matching properly and need to be cross-checked. He stressed the need for immediate measures to get the State economy out of the morass.
He called for bringing legislation to counter the SARFESI Act. He congratulated the Finance Minister for Crop Insurance, insurance for Government buildings, and called for establishment of Dal Development Board.
While opposing the power budget, Devinder Rana called for taking measures for speeding up the work on power projects to augment power generation in the State. He further called upon the Government to meet the assurances which have been highlighted in the current budget.
Welcoming the announcement on the regularisation of casual workers in various departments, Mr Rana said the process should be taken up without any further delay. He said proper implementation of Adhaar Cards should be monitored by the Government as people face inconvenience due to the linking of various schemes due it which it remains non-functional from the concerned agency. While lauding many new initiatives in the present budget, Mr Rana raised concern over the decreasing allocation in the Agriculture sector of the State.
Raja Manzoor Ahmad while supporting the budget presented by the Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu said the special provision has been kept for the transport sector and other sectors. He termed the decision on regularization of the contractual, daily wagers as revolutionary, which would solve the long pending demand of these daily rated workers. He also hailed the establishment of the Press Club in Srinagar besides increase in the advertisement rates for newspapers and periodicals.
He also hailed the Government’s announcement of regularising those who have provided land for construction of various government assets. He also commended the provision of tax exemption to various daily use items and eatables.
Choudhary Sukhnandan Kumar congratulated the Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu for presenting people friendly budget.
He appreciated the Finance Minister for announcing exemption of toll tax on various edible items and called for exemption on toll of Basmati rice. He favoured Market Intervention Scheme in Agriculture sector. He called for providing special power supply for the use of agricultural purposes. He called for keeping provision for the Anganwari workers and Aasha workers of the State.
Hakeem Muhammad Yasin Shah said there should have been a mention of provision for the Anganwari and Aasha workers. He lauded the Finance Minister on various points, saying that many schemes and DPRs were approved without any further delay which really benefitted the State. He said the process shouldn’t be stalled by delaying financial concurrence in future also.
He said the issue of casual labours, daily-rated workers and daily wagers should be solved without any political interest and interference. He said there is no mention of how the farmers would avail the subsidy on fertilizers, pesticides and other allied agriculture and horticulture inputs. He also pleaded for incentives for the Tourism sector including Shikarawallas.
Aijaz Ahmad Khan criticized the budget for ignoring the vital sectors of industry and agriculture. He called for taking long-term measures for bringing back these key sectors on the track.
He complimented the Government for giving a liquidity infusion to the Jammu Kashmir Bank and also called for devising a mechanism by which the institution can provide loans and insurance cover to the farmers as well as to the agricultural sector.
Mr Khan also called for taking up concrete measures for providing employment to the educated youth of the State so that the problem of unemployment can be tackled and proper channelization of human resource is done. He called for proper utilization of the unspent funds of various centrally sponsored schemes.
He also called for providing a special provision for SC, STs and OBCs.
Mian Altaf Ahmad, while taking part in the debate called for early implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, asking the Finance Minister to set a deadline in this regard. He said that 7th Pay Commission recommendations should be implemented form June this year so that the employees of the State too avail the benefits like the employees of the other states of the country. He also called for relaxing the norms of the loans to be given to the youth and aspiring entrepreneurs. He asked the Government to translate their plans on the ground. He said that schemes shouldn’t only remain confined to the books but also reach the people.
Shah Muhammad Tantray, while complimenting the Finance Minister, Dr Haseeb Drabu for presenting a “revolutionary” budget, said that it would address every grey area in the State. He said following the footsteps of former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, the Government has taken every measure to develop district Poonch.
He called for providing special facilities to the people living alongside borders, saying that they face great inconveniences due to the lack of various facilities. He asked the Government to address the issue of unemployment. He called for providing Chopper services to various far-flung and inaccessible areas of the State.
He also called for increase in the honorarium of the ReTs and increase in Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 4 crore. He also called for the opening of Degree College at Haveli, Mandi Poonch.
Dalip Singh Parihar, while lauding the Finance Minister for his approach to revamp the economical profile of the State, said that the Budget would further raise the socio-economic status of the people of the State. He congratulated Mr Drabu for the decision to regularize over 60000 casual, daily-rated and daily wagers. He also called for the enhancement of CDF upto Rs 4 crore.
G M Saroori while taking part in the debate on Budget 2017-18, complemented the Finance Minister for convening pre-budget meetings with various stakeholders to take their inputs. He suggested for similar meetings to be convened with the legislators as well.
He said to initiate for establishing Basmati and Rajmash village by the Government is a great step however, the implementation process needs to be expedited. He further insisted on ensuring that benefits from the schemes like PMGSY, NABARD, CRF reach the people in far-off areas.
He called for setting aside budgetary provision for Singhpora-Sinthan tunnel which would ensure better connectivity of different areas of Chenab Valley region with Kashmir besides all round connectivity with Bani, Basohli and Lakhanpur throughout the year.
He put forth suggestions for conducting survey for Kishtwar-Anantnag railway track to provide alternate transport connectivity to the area. He also called for enhancement of CDF and relief package for 2014 flood victims of the State. He also called for opening of bank branches in far-flung areas of Chenab Valley.
Saroori complimented the Government for holding Budget Session during the month of January which would help in better utilization of funds.
R S Pathania while complimenting the Finance Minister, Dr Haseeb Drabu and his team for presenting a “revolutionary” budget, said that it would address grey areas in the State. He highlighted various measures mentioned in the Budget as a landmark steps.
He also called for increasing minimum wages in the State and for releasing pending wages of the persons engaged as daily wagers and expediting the process of their regularization.
He further called for criteria based allocation of funds for rural and far-flung areas. He urged for speeding up the implementation of DDUGJY, RAPDRP and IPDS schemes.
Mubarak Gul while expressing dissatisfaction over the Budget, said that the Budget lacks mention of measures for rehabilitation of 2014 flood victims. He said that except for transporters, no other sector that suffered during 2016 unrest has been given coverage in the Budget.
He mentioned that no measures have been mentioned in the Budget for preserving the rich cultural, historical heritage of Srinagar and pleaded for keeping a budgetary allocation in this regard.
He said that the State Government has an asset at JK House Malabar Hills in Bombay which has suffered neglect over the years and urged for making necessary arrangements for its renovation and revival.
Mubarak Gul also called for enhancement in CDF, which was also endorsed by other legislators during the debate.
Syed Asgar Ali Karbalie said that Ladakh region has not been given enough attention in the Budget. He urged the Government to reach out to people of far-flung areas of Ladakh region with welfare and development schemes. He asked for the development of institutional infrastructure for all sectors in the region.
Lauding the Crop Insurance scheme, Karbalie called for including apricot crops into the scheme as well. He requested for starting chopper services to the far-flung and inaccessible areas of the State including Ladakh, Kargil and other areas. Karbalie also called for adopting humanitarian approach for absorbing casual and daily-rated workers. He also pleaded for providing a special package to Ladakh region for its holistic development.
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