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| Rather’s Budget Puts Economy In Perspective | | Receipts Rs 22739 Cr, fiscal deficit down by Rs 306 Cr | | Proposals: Revenue Expenditure Rs 14949 Cr, Capital Expenditure at Rs 7790 Cr
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Aug 10:
1. Special thrust on social and infrastructure sector, mild hike in taxes
2. The current year’s total receipts pegged at Rs. 22,739 crore in comparison to last year’s Rs.19,077 crore. Rs.19,462 crore are expected as revenue receipts and Rs.3,277 crore as capital receipts.
3. The current year’s total revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs.14,949 crore, indicating a revenue-surplus of Rs.4,513 crore. The total capital expenditure is estimated at Rs.7,790 crore.
4. The fiscal deficit is estimated to come down to Rs.2,081 crore representing 5.4% of our current year’s estimated GSDP in comparison to 6.9% of last year.
5. Total tax revenue of the State is estimated at Rs.3,111 crore for the current financial year as against Rs.2,693 crore of last year. The tax GSDP ratio is expected to improve to 11.2% in comparison to 11.0% of last year.
6. The VAT collections are estimated at Rs.2,066 crore as against Rs.1,853 crore of last year indicating an increase of 15%.
7. The State Excise is expected to yield Rs.260 crore in the current year as against the budgeted figure of Rs.250 crore of last year.
8. Taxes on goods and passengers are expected to reach Rs.316 crore in comparison to Rs.297 crore of last year. He said that the non-tax revenue has been estimated at Rs.1219 crore as against the corresponding budgeted figure of Rs.1127 crore of last year.
9. FM announces increase in DA to 22% with effect from January 1, 2009 to 22%. The increased amount of DA at 22% shall be paid in cash from the first of July, 2009.
10. Employees to wait for the pending arrears till award of Thirteenth Finance Commission.
11. Allocation for agriculture and allied activities up by 30% from previous year’s level of Rs.151.96 crore to Rs.197.30 crore in current year.
12. Allocation in the Irrigation and Flood Control Sector up by 122% from Rs.208.85 crore to Rs.464.33 crore
13. Allocation in Transport Sector is proposed to be tentatively enhanced by 90% from the previous level of Rs.486.20 crore to Rs.923.99 crore in the current year.
14. Allocation in the Social Services Sector is proposed to be increased by 42.87% from the level of Rs.1089.17 crore to Rs.1556 crore.
15. Allocation in General Services proposed to get enhanced allocation of Rs.638 crore representing an increase of 36.62% over the previous year’s level of Rs.467 crore
16. Plan allocation of Rs.164 crore in current year in comparison to Rs.105 crore of the last year
17. NREGS wages rate enhancement proposed to Rs 110 from Rs 70. Rehbr-e-Zerat employees to get enhanced emoluments by Rs 1500 per month
18. The doctors serving in Category-A areas would get additional Rs. 8000 as special incentive while as those serving in Category-B areas would get additional Rs.4000
19. The doctors employed in NRHM presently get wage of Rs.8000 per month. Their monthly wage would be enhanced to Rs.16000. The paramedics under NRHM are presently employed on monthly wage of Rs.4000 They would now get a monthly wage of Rs.9000
20. The government offer to forego entry tax presently leviable on private telecom players provided they agree to deposit an equivalent amount with the department of commercial taxes and sign an agreement with the State government to collect service tax and deposit the same with the State government.
21. Budgetary allocation of Rs. 130 crore for construction/completion of 5242 tenements for Kashmiri migrants under the Prime Ministers Reconstruction Plan has been proposed
Srinagar/Jammu, Aug 10: In ninth budget of his career and first of the present term, the Finance Minister Abdul Rather today proposed a select range of taxes and levies to balance the concessions he proposed in social and infrastructure sector.
As a trademark of Rather’s typical budget, taxes on the liquor have been substantially hiked while additional taxes have been proposed on petrol diesel and mutton. Employees, though, have been provided pay parity with their counterparts in the central government but they will have to wait more for their arrears as the Finance Minister pointed out that things will be worked out on the award of Thirteenth Finance Commission.
Budget reflected special thrust to the Sectors of Agriculture & Allied Activity, Irrigation, Transport, Social Services including Health & Education and General Services including World Bank funded development programmes of ERA. The exact increases in various Sectors shall get crystallized after tie up with the concerned Ministries Government of India in respect of Centrally Sponsored Schemes & with the funding agencies in case of tied up allocations. To that extent, the increases reflected in the sectoral outlays are to be taken as tentative.
He said, the allocation for agriculture and allied activities has been proposed about 30% higher from previous year’s level of Rs.151.96 crore to Rs.197.30 crore in current year. The allocation in the Irrigation and Flood Control Sector has been kept 122% higher from the last year’s level of Rs.208.85 crore to Rs.464.33 crore in the current year.
The Minister said that the allocation in the Transport Sector is proposed to be tentatively enhanced by 90% from the previous level of Rs.486.20 crore to Rs.923.99 crore in the current year. The allocation in the Social Services Sector is proposed to be increased by 42.87% from the level of Rs.1089.17 crore to Rs.1556 crore. The General Services are proposed to get enhanced allocation of Rs.638 crore representing an increase of 36.62% over the previous year’s level of Rs.467 crore.
He said that the current year’s total receipts have been estimated at Rs. 22,739 crore in comparison to last year’s figure of Rs.19,077 crore. In the current fiscal, Rs.19,462 crore are expected as revenue receipts and Rs.3,277 crore as capital receipts. The current year’s total revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs.14,949 crore, indicating a revenue-surplus of Rs.4,513 crore. The total capital expenditure is estimated at Rs.7,790 crore. The fiscal deficit is estimated to come down to Rs.2,081 crore representing 5.4% of our current year’s estimated GSDP in comparison to 6.9% of last year.
Rather said that the total tax revenue of the State is estimated at Rs.3,111 crore for the current financial year as against Rs.2,693 crore of last year. The tax GSDP ratio is expected to improve to 11.2% in comparison to 11.0% of last year. The VAT collections are estimated at Rs.2,066 crore as against Rs.1,853 crore of last year indicating an increase of 15%. The State Excise is expected to yield Rs.260 crore in the current year as against the budgeted figure of Rs.250 crore of last year. Taxes on goods and passengers are expected to reach Rs.316 crore in comparison to Rs.297 crore of last year.
He said that the non-tax revenue has been estimated at Rs.1219 crore as against the corresponding budgeted figure of Rs.1127 crore of last year.
Finance Minister said market borrowings for the current year have been kept at Rs.818 crore in comparison to Rs.1264 crore of last year. Institutional loans for funding capital expenditure and share in National Small Savings have been assumed at last year’s levels of Rs.700 crore and Rs.453 crore respectively.
Rather said on the main items of expenditure, the current year’s non-plan salary provision is Rs.6,594 crore in comparison to Rs.4,973 crore of last year. Additional provision of Rs.121 crore has been kept for salaries of migrant employees. The provision for payment of interest has been kept at Rs.1, 729 crore in comparison to last year’s figure of Rs.1,602 crore. Provision for purchase of electrical energy is Rs.1,996 crore. Rs.1,412 crore have been provided to meet expenditure on pension and retirement benefits.
Giving sector wise overview the Minister said that under the Agriculture and allied sectors, though the Primary Sector’s contribution in the GSDP has slipped down to 26%, its importance cannot be over-emphasized as it sustains 75% of our rural population and 50 % of our work force. The main areas of concern are low Seed Replacement Rate, inadequate double cropping and sub-optimal use of other inputs.
Saying that the state is woefully short in meeting its requirements of mutton, poultry meat, eggs and woolens, Mr. Rather said that presently we are importing nearly 16 lakh sheep annually for meeting the shortage of mutton. We intend to adopt a holistic approach in developing our animal and sheep husbandry sectors. An embryo transfer technology is on experimental stage to develop a muttonous breed of sheep named Dorper. He said the results are expected towards the end of August, 2009. Depending upon the success of this programme, the government shall launch a duly funded extension programme at a commercial level during the current year itself.
Simultaneously, he said the government shall create more sheep rearing units in private sector with a view to improve availability of mutton and wool and also generate additional employment in this sector.
Similarly under poultry sector, the Finance Minister said that the import of poultry birds is estimated at one crore and thirty two lakh annually. The quantity of eggs imported annually is estimated at 50 crore. The consumption potential is estimated between 200 to 300 crore. He said the government intend to adopt a multi pronged strategy for increasing the production of poultry meat and eggs. Stating that Health and Education sectors shall continue to be centric to our human development policy, the Minister said that primary education for all children with focus on female literacy and 100% adult literacy in a short time frame are our avowed goals. The plan allocations for elementary education are proposed to be increased to Rs.358 crore from last year’s level of Rs.169 crore. Higher and Technical Education sector is also being given similar treatment.
He said Primary Health care is basic to human development and secondary and tertiary sectors meet critical needs of the families. The Primary Health Services Sector is proposed to receive enhanced plan allocation of Rs.164 crore in current year in comparison to Rs.105 crore of the last year.
Announcing enhancement of the existing wage rates under NREGS from Rs.70 per day to Rs.110 per day with immediate effect for which necessary notification shall be issued under the Minimum Wages Act., Mr. Rather said ‘I am sure that this measure will make the scheme more attractive and alongwith some more administrative measures, will ensure large scale involvement of rural people as also better utilization of available funds’. The enhanced wage rate shall also apply to other duly authorised wage earners appointed by competent authority and currently in receipt of daily wages of Rs.70 per day, he added.
Saying that trade and industry have a very crucial role to play in our economy, Rather said that the sector’s present contribution to GSDP is 28.29%. The government intends to exploit raw materials located in the backward regions by promoting local industry through clusters of industrial units in identified thrust areas like food processing, textiles, leather processing, handicrafts, handlooms, minerals, Information Technology and many others. A new shelf of techno-economic feasibility reports shall be prepared for this purpose and Special Purpose Vehicles shall be created to implement such cluster schemes, he added.
Rather said rejuvenating the existing Industrial units is as necessary as creation of new units. In this behalf, the government proposes to create two special rehabilitation task forces for revival of sick units on fast track basis. The Industrial Estates lying closed shall be reactivated and their dilapidated infrastructure shall be upgraded. Efforts are being made to spot additional 20,000 kanals of waste-land for creation of a land bank for new industrial units, particularly in the backward areas. Efforts are also being made to locate a big chunk of waste land where a special industrial zone can be created, he maintained.
Describing Tourism Sector is one of the important revenue earning sector for the State, the Minister said that the Industry has suffered due to off and on law and order problems, there are definite signs of its revival. The government proposes to conduct a break-even analysis of activities in various sectors of tourism industry. This will help the government in approaching the private sector players in the field of insurance to develop and launch an investment insurance scheme so that the Tourism Industry is protected against temporary setbacks and uncertainties faced during every tourist season.
Minister said the government is proceeding ahead with its plan to prepare a vision document and a Master Plan for sustainable tourism in the long terms perspective. Offers stand already invited from the prospective consultants for the purpose and the same are under examination by a Committee constituted in this behalf. In the meanwhile, the policy of private Sector investment in all fields of Tourism, including promotion of guest-house facilities, with the government playing the role of promoter and facilitator, shall continue. The Hotel industry has already been given tax relief on hotel tariff, he affirmed.
He said because of extremely limited working season in some far-flung areas, the standing sanction of operating upto 25% of the previous year’s plan allocations to ensure continuity in ongoing works does not fully take care of the problem of these areas. The small plan allocations falling to these areas tend to lapse with the close of working season by mid-October or so. In order to deal with this problem, he said the government propose to allow such areas, as a standing measure, to have 100% of their previous year’s plan allocations at the commencement of the new financial year.
Therefore, he said that in order to pull the backward regions and districts to the average threshold of development, the government proposes to provide area specific special provisions under the district plans, over and above the step-up level allowed every year across the board.
Saying that transparency is the hall mark of good governance, Mr. Rather said that government intends to follow a fully transparent policy in the matter of attaining the declared objectives of economic growth with regional balance, achievement of physical targets within the declared investment levels and impartiality of process. The House has already passed the Right to Information Act to enable every citizen of the State to access the information he may be interested in or to find out as to how the public money is being spent and in what manner or how the various government functionaries perform their official functions affecting the public life on day to day basis. Efforts shall be made to place most of such general and specific information on public websites.
Assuring of transparency in the government functioning, Mr. Rather said that the Coalition government is committed to provide good governance to the citizens of the State. The government shall endeavour to provide hassle free public interface in the areas of development as well as regulations. The government believes in delegation of authority to the field functionaries and to local bodies for improvement in services. The government is committed to holding of panchayat elections as early as possible so that the participation of the people in their own development and regulatory activities is ensured.
Accordingly, wherever necessary, special purpose vehicles, authorities and boards shall be created to function in collaboration with the related stake holders for speedy decision making and collaborative implementation of programmes, he added.
Appreciating the Commercial Taxes Department of Jammu and Kashmir State, Mr. Rather said that the department has done extremely well in switching over to the Value Added Tax regime. The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers has described J&K as one of the best VAT implementing State. VAT is a trader friendly regime with more stress on self assessment and essential information available with the Department has to be used meaningfully. The successful implementation of this regime depends on gathering of information from other sources and by cross verification of interstate and intrastate transactions. He informed the House that complete automation of the Department has been taken in hand at a cost of Rs.20 crore. All aspects of the Departmental working shall be covered under this project in due course of time. The major aspect of processing of returns and cross linking of information of inter and intrastate level should be in place by December, 2009. This will also settle a plethora of long pending demands of various Trade Associations regarding the working of the Department which would become fully transparent, more simple and efficient thereby decreasing the frequency of interaction/visits of the traders to the tax offices and reducing the compliance cost of the dealers who are critical partners in the tax administration.
The Finance Minister said that the official records and other valuable documents lying in record rooms and the Archives need to be digitized and preserved in all possible manners. The work has been somewhat neglected for many years and the government propose to induce the concerned department to come forward with appropriate proposals for funding. In the meanwhile, he proposed to keep a provision of Rs.5 crore to elicit their early response.
Rather said the work of digitization of land revenue records and its availability for all the concerned people on line has evaded the final solution despite the existence of a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and proposed to get this work completed at the earliest, reiterated that. Financial difficulties, if any arising, shall be fully taken care of.
He said with the democratic decentralization, the Urban Local Bodies have been empowered to take charge of local self government. Their performance and initiative in some areas of public concern is indeed being appreciated. However, voices are also being raised by some quarters alleging delays in or denial of building permission in some cases, condo nation of violation of building bylaws in some other cases, lack of sanitation and cleanliness within the municipal areas, in-sufficient system of redressal of grievances, etc. In respect of one Municipal Committee, the industrial units have alleged harassment in the name of charging of lorry adda fee from them even if they claim to be not connected with the use of such lorry adda.
He said protection of our environment and checking pollution of all types is the prime concern of every responsive government. This is also our obligation toward our future generations. The Pollution Control Board primarily created for performing this task shall be further strengthened by the government in the coming years. However, their focus should not blur because of demand on their time and resources for routine clearances. Well defined norms need to be laid down for compliance in a transparent manner so that the interests of development are not unnecessarily jeopardized. He said to ensure that a time bound, simple and transparent mechanism is evolved by the Board to balance these twin objectives. Similarly, the mechanism for environmental impact assessment and clearances for projects of public importance will also have to be made time bound.
The Finance Minister said that the ever increasing problem of disposal of bio-medical wastes hasn’t found a solution as yet in our State. Some stop gap arrangements have been tried and they have been found to be grossly inadequate. The health department have estimated the cost of investments for creating the requisite infrastructure at Jammu and Srinagar. The capital needs for the proposed infrastructure have been projected to the Thirteenth Finance Commission.
The Minister said it is our unique feature that access into our state is available through a single point at Lakhanpur. As such, this entry point must symbolize the intrinsic beauty of our state and the quality of head and hearts of its people and the government had initiated action on creation of a modern toll plaza at Lakhanpur. However, despite lapse of about a decade, the project is yet to be completed and the government propose an allocation of Rs.10 crore for this purpose to complete construction work of all the buildings during the current financial year. After the construction works are over, a plan for beautification of entire surrounding area shall be taken up including construction of durable and clean spaces for parking of vehicles to avoid congestion, traffic jam or environmental pollution. These infrastructural improvements combined with the improvements in the software of the Commercial Taxes Department and Excise Department shall ensure that the ambience of the Toll Plaza shall change from a chaotic, disorderly & congested commercial place into an arena of serenity, calmness and beauty for the commuters to have a few moments of relaxation before proceeding on.
The Finance Minister said that the traders have been confronting a genuine problem of penal action by the authorities for non compliance of rules which were notified much after the date of commencement of the VAT Act in the State. Unfortunately, this problem has not been addressed so far. Obviously, the traders cannot be penalized for violation of rules which did not exist but were later on given retrospective effect, and the government announce a scheme of general amnesty for all such cases which shall be notified shortly.
Rather said representations have been made to us by Industry asking for scrapping the negative list. We have considered this demand. We have come to the conclusion that placement of certain identified items of raw materials and finished products in the negative list does not come in the way of competitiveness of the related end-products. As such, as of now, there is no justification in letting go whatever amount of revenue is accruing to the state by charging VAT on such raw materials and finished products.
He said however, it has also come to our notice that Vanaspati which is a product of some of the local industrial units cannot be easily distinguished from Vegetable Oil which is also product of some local industrial units. Vegetable Oil is already on the negative list. Besides the situation has changed when Vanaspati was accorded exemption from GST/VAT treating it as a priority industry. Therefore, the government announce to place the production of Vanaspati also on the negative list.
He said during our pre-budget consultations with various associations, organizations, economists, experts and intellectuals, we have received very valuable suggestions in large numbers. Several of these suggestions have been utilized by me while framing the budgetary proposals. We are giving further thought to the remaining suggestions for use at appropriate time. I express my gratitude to all of them.
Rather said members of this august House may appreciate that the problem of unemployment in the State has reached alarming proportions and, as such, deserves immediate attention with policy initiatives, institutional arrangements and operational strategies. The Hon’ble Members may also recall that the pronouncements made on the subject in the earlier budget proposals especially in 2007-08 have had a little or no impact at the ground level. Now the time has come for a collective endeavour to address this gigantic problem in a principled manner.
The Finance Minister said in order to adopt a well conceived strategy for alleviating the problem of unemployment in the State, there is a fervent requirement of a sound statistical base. This is more so for the reason that there is a lot of equivocation about the very extent and nature of unemployment in the State. For this purpose, it has become imperative to build a sound and dependable data base so that plausible remedial measures are adopted.
He said that the buildings and other infrastructure for the District Employment & Counselling Centres shall have to be provided for all the districts. He proposed to make a beginning with two districts in the current year- one in Kashmir and one in Jammu division.
The Minister said that in the recent past (February, 2009) a number of initiatives have been undertaken at the national level to enhance the skill endowment base in the country. Jammu and Kashmir State while taking its share has to create about 50 lakh skilled persons by 2022 with emphasis on exclusivity. The average annual target works out to be 3.85 lakhs which indeed is a huge task. In order to address ourselves to this challenge, the Government intends to formulate ‘State Policy on Skill Development’ with an objective to create ‘workforce empowered with improved skills, knowledge and internationally recognized qualifications to gain access to decent employment’. At the operational level the Government commits itself to initiate and expedite the process of establishing 22 district level ‘Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs)’ in cooperation with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and Public/Private Sector Banks. This institutional arrangement, I am hopeful, shall be in place by the end of the current financial year.
Rather said that the geo-climatic extremities in the State cause a high incidence of seasonal unemployment particularly in the countryside snowballing into out-migration of labour force. In order to address this phenomenon and ensure livelihood security to the rural people, Government intends to strengthen the premier Wage Employment Scheme under ‘National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ by extending its scope and enhancing wages. For this purpose ‘State Employment Guarantee Council’ has been advised to take up the matter with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India for extending the scope of the scheme by incorporating relevant activities in the list of already available ‘Permissible Works’.
The Finance Minister said that conventionally, government has been perceived as the sole employer and remedy has unfortunately been invented in over-sizing the administrative machinery. Even when this convenient option has been over exhausted, the problem of unemployment has actually proliferated. This conventional approach has, in fact, proved counter productive. This mindset needs to be changed and new entrants to the labour market motivated to adopt self employment ventures.
The Finance Minister said that the Government intends to build complete synergy in different Self Employment Schemes presently in vogue and ensure that the first generation entrepreneurs are actually benefited by these Schemes. Reference, in this regard may be made to the initiatives already taken by the national Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC), a Government of India undertaking under the Ministry of Minority affairs which provides loan/credit facilities to the first generation entrepreneurs belonging to the minorities on very low (3-6 per cent ) interest rates. The said Corporation has, for the purpose, nominated Jammu and Kashmir Women Development Corporation (JKWDC) and Jammu and Kashmir Scheduled castes/Scheduled Tribes (J&K SC/ST) Corporation as the Channelizing Agencies in the State. However, the latter has not been able to lift any money from NMDFC for the last five years limiting the opportunities available for the prospective entrepreneurs. In order therefore to ensure that the benefits actually reach the identified clientele group, the Government proposes to nominate JK EDI an additional State Channelizing Agency of NMDFC for providing loans/credit facility to the entrepreneurs motivated, trained and promoted by the Institute.
He said that the Government proposes to revamp the Employment Department and place it under an Employment Facilitating Agency which shall be created and placed under the charge of a very senior officer. The officers shall be hand-picked to take-up the challenge at the district, divisional and state level and deliver with a missionary zeal. There will be a system of award and punishment for good and bad performance of officers.
Rather said that an Overseas Employment Corporation shall be created to liaise with the placement agencies, foreign embassies, Ministry of Labour and Department of Overseas Employment etc. The proposed Corporation shall create a knowledge bank for aspirers of overseas employment, particularly on matters of legal requirements for migration, work environment in various foreign lands, mandatory formalities and formats etc. The proposed Corporation shall also handle matters of employment opportunities within the Country. We hope that its role shall grow further after global recession starts receding.
He said that the society which does not take care of its women folk starts degrading. Amongst various welfare measures which the government intends to initiate for socio economic upliftment of women, a special scheme has been devised for their economic empowerment. Under this scheme, 100 women entrepreneurs shall be selected from each district taking the total to 2,200 in the first phase. They will be granted direct loans upto Rs.3 lakh at a very low rate of 6% interest through the State Women Development Corporation. The scope of the scheme shall be later extended to tehsil level. For this purpose, the government shall provide a revolving fund of Rs.10 crore to the State Women Development Corporation, in suitable installments depending upon the progress of the proposed scheme. The State Women Development Corporation shall be advised to ensure the techno economic viability and profitability of the enterprises and develop a scientific monitoring mechanism for timely interventions to ensure success of the assisted units. The fields identified for this purpose include health care and pharmacenticals; restaurants, computers and information technology, agro based industries, floriculture, cosmetics, perfumery and parlors; hosiery, ceramics, tailoring, leather and food products etc.
He said that it is known world over that the human civilization has progressed on the foundation of human creativity and innovations. While some of the innovations get recognized, many go un-noticed. In a knowledge society, it is important for us to scout ‘innovations’ and ‘traditional knowledge practices’ and popularize them for the advantage of the whole society. Jammu and Kashmir too has wealth of creative minds and talent. It is time for the state and its people to celebrate creativity and channelize benefits emanating from it for the advantage of the whole society.
The Finance Minister said that the government have been in the meanwhile duly engaged in the process of drawing up the best available talent for public services through the PSC and the Selection Boards. Starting from January 2009, the State Subordinate Selection Board has already made 8,086 selections. Another 438 selections have been finalized by the PSC at gazetted level and 3,835 appointments have been made in the Police Department during this period. Thus the total number of selections made during the last six or seven months comes to well over 12,000. During this period, 11,163 new posts have been created and 5,060 posts have been referred to PSC and State Subordinate Selection Board. During this very period, 7035 posts have been referred to Police Recruitment Board. Alongwith the previous backlog, the vacancies available with PSC are 4,023. Similarly, the vacancies available with SSSB, alongwith the backlog comes to 10,582. All the recruiting agencies have been advised to expedite the selection process. Therefore, nearly 22,000 more boys & girls can hope to get a government job in the current financial year. Alongwith the appointment or selections already made from January, 2009 onwards, the tally of government jobs in respect of the present government may come to 34,000. I may add here that about 7000 class IV vacancies are also available and we intend to fill them expeditiously thereby further increase in the tally to a likely figure of 41,000.
He said that there are various segments of our society which have traditionally remained behind in receiving benefits of development programmes. The government shall continue its endeavor to bring such segments to the fore through various catalytic schemes. The over all allocation of the social welfare schemes is proposed to be increased to Rs.138 crore in comparison to Rs.110 crore provided last year. Amounts available from the Centre shall be over and above this figure. Special provisions have been made in the budget for development of Gujjar and Bakerwals, Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes, Women and Child Welfare. An allocation of Rs.20.77 crore has been proposed under Tribal Sub Plan. The allocations for the two autonomous Hill Development Councils in Ladakh shall be given due step up alongwith other district plans which are being finalized shortly.
The Finance Minister said that state Government has also concurrently decided to sanction special incentive for the doctors serving in remote and far flung areas popularly known as difficult areas. For this purpose, the difficult areas would be classified into two categories-category-A (denoting more difficult areas) and category B (denoting difficult areas). The doctors serving in Category-A areas would get additional Rs. 8000 as special incentive while as those serving in Category-B areas would get additional Rs.4000. This financial dispensation will surely attract more and more qualified medics to serve in rural areas and lead to tangible improvement in a rural healthcare system. The aggregate financial implication involved in the provision of the above financial dispensation would be of the order of Rs.4.30 crore per annum.
Rather said that the rehabilitation of our Kashmiri Pandit brothers and sisters and bringing them back to the social mosaic of Kashmir continues to be of prime importance for the coalition government. That would be like a dream fulfilled for all of us. The package of 15000 jobs in the State and private sector has been approved for them.
Rather said that a budgetary allocation of Rs. 130 crore for construction/completion of 5242 tenements for Kashmiri migrants under the Prime Ministers Reconstruction Plan has been proposed so that the difficulties faced by the families of our brothers in distress are mitigated at the earliest possible. A sum of Rs. 3 crore is being additionally allocated to complete the road to village Jagti near Nagrota where new tenements are under constructions.
He said that the militancy of last two decades has deprived a large number of families of their bread earners. Rehabilitation of widows and orphans is a big challenge. The government has provided 825 jobs during the last 6 months to a member of the effected family wherever feasible. To take care of the cases where cash relief of Rs. 4 lakh in lieu of a job has been preferred, about Rs.50 crore have been spent so far to rehabilitate 1233 families.
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