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Austerity measures begin with no funds for new administrative units 3/24/2015 11:34:34 PM When the previous National Con ference-Congress coalition Gov ernment sanctioned 659 new administrative units it had not allocated sufficient funds for making these new units functional.And a senior NC leader and a former Chief Secretary,Sheikh Ghulam Rasool,had expressed fears about the ability of the Government to make these new units functional as he had visualized that financial stringency may come in the way of implementing the decision to carve out new administrative units. And amazingly Sheikh Ghulam Rasool prove correct when the former Finance Minister,Abdul Rahim rather,had allocated Rs. 5 crores for the project when the average requirement for making these new units functional was between Rs.1500 and Rs.1600 crores.This way the plan on creating new administrative units was seen as part of the NC-Congress Government's bid to fight antiinc-umbency factor and that too when the elections,both Lok Sabha and the Assembly,were due in 2015.The announcement on creation of new administrative units had been made somewhere in 2014. And the first major announcement by the PDP-BJP coalition Government was in the shape of reversing the previous Government's plan on creation of new administer ative units.This is markedly visible in the budget proposals of the new Government that the Finance Minister, Haseeb Drabu presented to the Assembly on Sunday. The State Government is contemplating to undo the decision of former National Conference-Congress regime to set up new administrative units across Jammu and Kashmir. Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu dropped enough hints in this regard as he presented maiden budget of the Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government in the State Assembly . The government has not kept any financial provision for next year to make the units functional. "When (previous) cabinet approved the units subject to concurrence and approval by Finance and Planning departments, what should be talked about?" Drabu said. He was responding why Government has not kept any financial provisions for making the new units operational. Though Drabu did not express any opinion about the nonviability of the new administrative units his silence indicated clearly that the new Government had no plan to make these units functional. Yes,the state Government could make these units functional in case the central Government provided separate financial assistance to Jammu and Kashmir for this purpose.But seeking additional funds from the centre for making the new units functional it would negate the new Government's policy on ending the culture of going to Delhi with a begging bowl. The state Government has to seek additional funds from th e centre but it would ask for funds for various people-oriented schemes, including power generation,investment in the sector of industry and for toning up the health sector in Jammu and Kashmir besides funds for resolving problem of unemployment. Had the new Government been keen to see the new units getting functional it would have earmarked separate funds for it.In its last year of six-year tenure in 2014, the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference-Congress government-which was facing anti-incumbency-announced creation of 659 new administrative units across J&K, a move seen as a populist by the then coalition partners to reach out to voters in the election year. But the decision was not rolled out in toto. In his budget for 2014-15, the then Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather had kept a provision of mere Rs five crore for the ongoing year to create the units-Rs three crore for Revenue Department and Rs two crore for Rural Development Department. And since the PDP and the BJP are quite aware that creation of new administrative units had not helped the NC and the Congress to retain power the new Government does not feel compelled to invest several hundrf ed crores of rupees on the plan when that amount could be ujtilised on various development schemes.   Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network     Comment on this Story

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