Assures regular bill settlement, prioritised recruitment
JAMMU: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday informed the Legislative Assembly that liabilities amounting to Rs 18,382 crore have been cleared, while outlining measures on subsidy disbursal, recruitment and relief assistance during the ongoing Budget Session 2026.
Replying to questions during the Question Hour, the Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said bills worth Rs12,561.31 crore under various heads—including gratuity, commutation, leave salary and contractor payments—have been cleared up to March 27, 2026.
Additionally, GPF claims amounting to Rs 5,821.43 crore have been settled up to December 31, 2025. He assured that financial liabilities presented at treasuries are being cleared regularly, with payments to contractors and retired employees processed at regular intervals.
He further detailed that during 2025–26, Rs 2,864.14 crore was cleared in gratuity, Rs1,123.22 crore in commutation, Rs773.47 crore in leave salary and Rs7,800.58 crore in contractor bills. The Chief Minister clarified that allocations are made head-wise rather than on a divisional basis.
On employment, Abdullah informed the House that 59,175 posts—48,958 non-gazetted and 10,217 gazetted—are lying vacant across 38 departments. Of these, 28,315 vacancies fall under direct recruitment and 30,860 under promotion quota. At the district level, 19,610 posts remain unfilled.
He said 959 gazetted vacancies were referred to the Public Service Commission and 6,340 non-gazetted posts to the Services Selection Board in 2025, adding that recruitment to fill vacancies will be prioritised.
Responding to another query, the Chief Minister said Rs3.80 crore has been disbursed as UT subsidy to 4,288 beneficiaries under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. This includes Rs1.80 crore for 2,053 consumers under KPDCL and Rs2 crore for 2,235 beneficiaries under JPDCL. He noted that while the central government bears the primary subsidy component, the UT provides an additional subsidy of up to Rs9,000 for systems up to 3 kW. Delays in UT subsidy release, he said, are due to verification and procedural checks, assuring timely disbursal upon completion.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also informed the Legislative Assembly that funds under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Scheme are being utilized across all Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir for works identified and recommended by respective MLAs, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Finance Department.
The Chief Minister was responding to a Calling Attention Motion moved by MLA Habba Kadal Shamim Firdous during the ongoing Budget Session of the J&K Legislative Assembly.
He said that the Government has amended the CDF guidelines to expand the scope of assistance. As per the revised provisions, MLAs can now allocate up to Rs50 lakh from their CDF for providing housing assistance, including reconstruction and repair of houses for families affected by calamities, for the FY 2026–27.
The Chief Minister further informed that the assistance to an individual family is capped at Rs1 lakh, and importantly, the benefit is not restricted to tribal or BPL families but is available to all affected families.
Clarifying the scope of the term “calamity” in the amended guidelines, he stated that it includes all events causing significant damage or harm, including fire incidents.
Referring to District Srinagar, the Chief Minister said that 24 cases were received from MLA Habba Kadal for providing assistance to fire victims under the CDF Scheme, involving an estimated cost of Rs12.80 lakh. Of these, five cases have already been cleared for additional assistance after completing all required formalities.
He added that the remaining 19 cases are under examination and assessment in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, and assured that all eligible cases recommended by the MLA will be processed in accordance with the prescribed norms.
