The Centre has allocated 42,277.74 crore rupees for Jammu and Kashmir in the Union Budget for 2024-25, a nominal hike of 1.2 per cent over the allocation in the last fiscal. In the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha yesterday, an amount of Rs. 40,619.3 crore has been allocated as Central Assistance to Union Territories to meet the resource gap in Jammu and Kashmir. It also includes a sum of Rs. 7,900 crore, sanctioned as advance from the Contingency Fund of India that shall stand recouped to the fund after the Demands for Grants for 2024-25 is passed by Parliament and the connected Appropriation Act assented to by the president, the budget document said.
The government has allocated Rs 279 crore to J&K as grants towards contribution to the UT Disaster Response Fund to meet the expenditure on account of
mitigation of disasters caused due to natural calamities. The budget has allocated Rs. 130 crore to the UT as grants towards the equity contribution for the 624 MW Kiru Hydro Electric Project, while an amount of Rs. 476.44 crore has been granted towards equity for the 800 MW Ratle Hydro Electric Project.
Besides, a grant of Rs. 500 crore has been provided to meet the expenditure on account of the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP). The Centre has also allocated Rs. 171.23 crore to J&K as grants for equity contribution for the 540 MW KWR Hydro Electric Project. It has allocated Rs. 101.77 crore as support for the Union Territory’s capital expenditure to meet the resource-gap funding for infrastructure projects. In addition, the Centre has allocated Rs. 9,789.42 crore to J&K Police.