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Following the budget announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a separate budget was introduced for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

In response, the Congress party sharply criticised the government on Friday, accusing Sitharaman of "unprecedented fiscal mismanagement" and claiming she favoured Andhra Pradesh and Bihar while neglecting Jammu and Kashmir.

 

On 23rd July, Sitharaman presented the Jammu and Kashmir Budget in Parliament. Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications, pointed out that Sitharaman has the unique record of being the only Finance Minister to present six state budgets due to the absence of Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the dissolution of its Legislative Assembly in November 2018.

 

Ramesh expressed hope that future budgets for Jammu and Kashmir would be presented by an elected Finance Minister and discussed by elected legislators.

 

He highlighted the Finance Minister's failure to meet the previous year's Additional Resource Mobilisation (ARM) target of Rs 7,800 crore, raising only Rs 1,000 crore instead.

 

He further criticised the fiscal deficit, which spiked from an estimated 1.6% to 5.36% in FY24, more than three times the original projection. 

 

Capital expenditure was reduced by 10%, and Jammu and Kashmir’s share in the national GDP dropped from 0.9% in 2015-16 to 0.8% in 2022-23.

 

Ramesh questioned how the state's deteriorating financial health aligns with its tax/GDP ratio increase from 5% to 8% over three years, suggesting that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are being heavily taxed without corresponding improvements in welfare.

 

He also pointed out the high unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir, which stood at 17% in February 2023, compared to 6.6% in Andhra Pradesh and 12.3% in Bihar.

 

Ramesh asked why the Finance Minister was more supportive of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar than Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Regarding Sitharaman's announcement that the Union Government would assume the entire Rs 12,000 crore police budget for Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Ramesh noted that this expenditure had previously been covered under the Security Reimbursement Expenditure (SRE) since the early 1990s. 

 

He questioned whether the new arrangement indicates a long-term intention for the Union Government to administer the state directly from Delhi.