New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government has taken a slew of measures to ensure transparency and accountability in financial management and implementation of projects, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

He further said that the J&K government has made administrative approvals, technical sanction and e-tendering mandatory for transparent execution of works. It also makes the geo-tagged photographs of works mandatory for making payments at the treasury.

All works or projects being implemented in the UT are in public domain for public feedback and suggestions to improve expenditure outcomes and ensure involvement of people in development works, he added.

Financial reforms and interventions initiated recently have facilitated early completion of works, projects, Rai said in a written reply, adding that during 2018-19 and 2019-20, 9,229 and 12,637 projects/works were completed respectively.

“Similarly, during 2020-21, 21,943 works or projects were completed which shows significant increase as compared to the previous years. During the current financial year 2021-22, 22975 works have already been completed up to January, 2022.”

Further, J&K Integrated Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (JKIGRAMS) has been developed as an e-Governance initiative to provide a 24×7 platform to the Citizens for redressal of their grievances. The JKIGRAMS Portal has been integrated with the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).

Under ‘Mulaqaat Programme’, the citizens can interact directly with the Lieutenant Governor for seeking redressal of their grievances that have been filed on the JK grievance portal but have not been redressed.

Meanwhile, the office file work has been shifted from manual to e-office mode from April-2021 and all Heads of Departments have been brought on e-office portal while the “Annual Performance Reports’ of JK Administrative Services (JKAS) officers shifted to online mode on SPARROW Portal.

The minister also informed the Lower Houes that an ‘Online Departmental Vigilance Officers Portal’ has been developed as a communication channel between Anti-Corruption Bureau and Departmental Vigilance Officers posted in different departments and districts.

“The other measures include Electronic Vigilance Clearance System for furnishing vigilance clearances through electronic or online mode of all the government employees has been done, e-filing of property returns by employees (PRS-Portal) has been made mandatory, transaction of Business Rules of UT of J&K has been notified.”

As part of the Public Outreach Programme, administrative Secretaries have been allocated districts to monitor development schemes and a dedicated Helpdesk established in the General Administration Department to hear the issues of public importance through telephone, he added.

• Grateful to PM, Finance Minister for fulfilling needs, aspirations of the people

• J&K’s budget reflects the commitment PM Modi for peace, progress & prosperity of J&K

• Record Rs 1,12,950 crore budget, continued push for various flagship programmes will provide relief to all sections of society

• Focus on increasing the investment in agriculture, allied sector, inclusive growth clearly underlined

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman for the progressive and futuristic budget for rapid transformation of Jammu & Kashmir. Lok Sabha on Monday passed Rs 1,12,950 crore Jammu & Kashmir UT budget for 2022-23.

“Truly grateful to Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Union Finance Minister for fulfilling the needs & aspirations of the people of J&K and to accelerate the pace of economic development. The budget will ensure equitable, sustainable, inclusive growth and more jobs”, the Lt Governor said.

“This budget builds upon the good performance of the last one year, meets all the challenges for which adequate provisions have been made particularly in the area of infrastructure development, facilitating investment & industrial growth & deepening grass-root democracy,” added the Lt Governor.

“J&K UT’s budget 2022-23 reflects the commitment of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for peace, progress & prosperity of J&K. It will put in place social safety nets for last man in the queue, sufficient outlays for rural development, healthcare services, urban renewal missions, employment generation and youth initiatives, “the Lt Governor said.

“I am confident that the record Rs 1,12,950 crore budget and continued push for various flagship programmes of the Centre & UT will provide relief to all sections of the society – especially ‘Common Man’. Our focus on increasing the investment in agriculture & allied sector, inclusive growth has been clearly underlined,” observed the Lt Governor.

The budget pays lot of emphasis on sustainable, equitable growth, more jobs, improving quality of life, education, strengthening the skill development, power sector, tourism, handicraft, tribal welfare, women empowerment & border areas development.

Good governance, deepening grass-root democracy, accelerated development & inclusive growth, facilitating investment & industrial growth, infrastructure development for improving quality of life,  Broadening Social Inclusion were among the focus areas of the Budget 2022-23.

The Union Government has kept the provisions for various important initiatives having a greater impact on various sectors.

An amount of  Rs 7,750 crore has been provisioned under Jal Jeevan Mission for achieving the objective of 100% piped water supply to each household;  Rs 357 crore for Solid Waste Management in two Municipal Corporations and 76 ULBs and Rs 1,313 crore for PRIs/ULBs.

Empowering the grass root democratic set up, Rs 200 crore @ Rs10 crore each has been earmarked as ‘Development Fund’ for 20 DDCs and  Rs 71.25 crore @ Rs 25 lakh each as ‘Development Fund’ for 285 BDCs.

Rs 1206 crore have been provisioned for Equity Component of Kiru and Ratle Power Projects under execution; Rs 200 crore for heritage preservation and development of sufi/religious sites; Rs 373 crore for Dal-Nageen lake Development and Conservation; Rs 120 crore have been earmarked for encouraging use of renewable energy (Solar Energy).

Rs 450 crore have been provisioned for GST re-imbursement to ensure timely reimbursement of claims.  Provision of Rs 200 crore has been kept for capitalization of the J&K Bank Ltd. Rs 20 crore for establishment of highway resting places; Rs 400 crore for CRIF roads, Rs 2400 crore for PMGSY roads and Rs 1000 crore for NABARD scheme and Rs 28 crore for maintenance of Mughal Road.

Special provisions have been kept for Women empowerment and welfare of farmers & tribal community with Rs 12 crore under Tajeswini scheme for empowerment of women and full UT share under NRLM to improve livelihood of women in rural areas, besides Rs 3 crore under Women Entrepreneurship Programme implemented by Women Development Corporation.  Rs 100 crore have been provisioned for welfare of tribals which include construction of Tribal Hostels/Milk Villages/ Nomad Shelters/Libraries for Gujjars. Moreover, Rs 40 crore have been provisioned for saturation of Soil Health Cards, Krishi Radio & Krishi Helpline.

“Mera Gaon Swachh Gaon”- a cleanliness programme to be initiated in all villages during 2022-23. An amount of Rs 100 crore have been earmarked for Urban Infrastructure Fund to ensure expeditious supplementation of SBM 2.0; Rs 90 crore have been provisioned for Third Party Monitoring, improving rating in Good Governance Index, PPP Cell, VGF, setting up of Transaction Advisory Cell and consultancy; Rs 150 crore have been provisioned for development of new housing colonies; Rs 50 crore for construction of police housing colony and Rs 40 crore for relief and rehabilitation.

An amount of Rs 100 crore each  has been kept for the festival and cinema/theatre (films) promotion; Rs 70 crore for new circuits including Mansar, Surinsar & Sufi Circuits, besides construction of Water Parks in twin cities of Jammu and Srinagar and Rs 50 crore for retrieval of land under Roshni Act.

Rs 150 crore have been provisioned for Urban Renewal and Development Fund including Creation of City Sustainability Fund to promote/incentivize reforms such as Property Tax, Service Level Benchmarking, User Charges, Creation of Ward Sabhas, Public Disclosure. For Nasha Mukt Abhiyan, Rs 15 crore have been provisioned; besides Rs 600 crore kept under Border Area Development Programme; Rs 50 crore for Samridh Seema Yojana; Rs 100 crore have been provisioned under City Grants for JMC/SMC; Rs 200 crore for smart city projects; Rs 200 crore for procurement of Machinery and Equipments and Rs 400 crore for procurement of drugs in health sector; Rs 5 crore have been provisioned for insurance of passenger vehicles as part of  Business Revival Package and Rs 25 crore as subsidy for replacement of old vehicles; Rs 10 crore have been provisioned for achieving end-to-end Digitization of Revenue Records, issuance of Land Pass Books/Devices for Patwaris.

Agriculture & allied sectors, along with the welfare of farmers has been one of the important components of the budget.

8.93 lakh farmers to be benefitted by distribution of High Yielding Varieties/Hybrid seeds with an investment of Rs 23.97 crore.  36,000 farmers will be trained for capacity building with a provision of Rs. 27 crore.

Around 16,960 farmers to be benefitted by covering over 15240 hectares area by providing infrastructure facilities with a provision of around Rs 55.80 crore.

Rs 81 cr have been earmarked for providing farm machinery to benefit 33,200 farmers.  Livelihood of around 44204 farmers will have a major impact under Area Expansion.  Moreover, Rs 30 crore has been kept for restoration of irrigation for 8,670 hectare of land by maintenance of Field Channels.

50,000 Metric Ton Controlled Atmosphere storage capacity of horticulture produce is targeted for completion during 2022-23. The focus will be to reach a Controlled Atmosphere storage capacity of about 5 Lakh Metric Tons in next three years.

Subsidized air freight to be provided under “PARVAZ” scheme to push trout exports to various cities and Middle East countries.

The budget 2022-23 has also put focus on further strengthening of the healthcare system in J&K.

The pace of coverage of AB-PMJAY to be accelerated during 2022-23 covering all the residents of J&K.

First Batch of MBBS classes in New Medical colleges at Handwara (Kupwara) and Udhampur to be started during academic session 2022-23 increasing the overall intake capacity to 1300 MBBS seats in J&K.

Availability of doctors and specialists in New Government Medical Colleges to be increased for better patient management and reduction of referrals, besides seven remaining Nursing Colleges to be completed during 2022-23.

The UT of J&K is all set to double the Hydropower Generation Capacity in next 3 years from the existing capacity of 3500 MW. In this direction, 5 Mega Hydro-power projects viz Ratle (824 MW), Kirthai-II (930 MW) Sawalkot (1856 MW), Dulhasti-Stage II (258 MW) and Uri-I Stage-II (240 MW) having total capacity of 4134 MW have been taken-up for execution in collaboration with NHPC. The likely investment in these projects is Rs 34882 crore and on completion will make J&K power surplus.

Ongoing HEPs i.e., Kiru (624 MW), Kawar (540 MW) and Pakaldul (1000 MW) are being developed through Joint Venture. By 2022-23, major civil and electro-mechanical works of these projects will be completed.

The transmission capacity is expected to reach 12655 MVA by March 2022 and the transmission capacity at 220/132 KV level and 132/33 KV level is expected to be increased by 520 MVA and 580 MVA respectively in 2022-23.

Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) a new reforms-based and result-linked scheme introduced by Ministry of Power (GoI) aimed at reduction of Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses; 100% prepaid metering, besides 6 lakh Smart Pre-paid meters to be installed (3 lakh each in Jammu & Kashmir Divisions).

Focus to be laid on promotion of tourism by vibrant campaigning and holding of national and international events showcasing the tourism avenues during 2022-23.

The coverage of Households with Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) under the flagship programme ‘Jal Jeevan Mission-Har Ghar Jal’ for the remaining Households are targeted to be completed by August 15th, 2022. Besides, all rural households, Community Centers, Ashramshallas and other Government offices will be provided with piped water by August, 2022.

1,589 Water Supply Schemes are targeted to be completed and balance portion of work on Tawi Barrage costing Rs 73.34 crore is expected to be completed during 2022-23.

Overall 6000 Kms of black topping of roads to be achieved during 2022-23 under various components; 543 new projects at an estimated cost of Rs 2,237 crore to be sanctioned with NABARD funding; maintenance of existing Road Infrastructure and completion of 50 bridges under Central/UT Sector schemes during 2022-23 will ensure better road connectivity across the UT.

Budget component has been kept for the Housing and Urban Development sector to change the landscape of urban J&K.

The project for the Elevated Light Metro Rail System in Jammu & Srinagar is expected to be rolled out in 2022-23 and is likely to be completed by 2026.

A target of scientific disposal of about 850 Metric Ton of waste per day to be achieved by establishment of Solid Waste Management Plant at Srinagar and Jammu cities benefitting nearly 20 Lakh people.

Establishment of decentralized processing facilities in 76 ULBs has been targeted for completion during financial year 2022-23 and 690 Metric Ton of waste generated in ULBs to be scientifically treated benefitting nearly 14 lakh population.

9 major sewerage schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 1131.07 crore to be executed during 2022-23 benefitting the population of 6,20,565 people.

Rural development & economy will get a major boost in 2022-23. Under MGNREGA, 426 lakh persondays to be generated; 60,000 job cards to be issued based on demand, and One lakh development works of different nature to be completed.

Targets have been set for constructing 54,000 houses during 2022-23 under PMAY-G; 87250 IHHL and 2,500 Community Sanitary Complexes (CSC) under SBM-G.

Under National Rural Livelihoods Mission, focus to be laid on capacity building, livelihood promotion, convergence and women enterprise planning, besides 21,194 Self Help Groups (SHG) to be formed during 2022-23.

Construction of residential/office accommodation for members of DDCs/BDCs/PRIs has been initiated. A provision of Rs. 176.32 crore has been kept for 2022-23.

As far as education sector is concerned, 500 Kindergartens to be established in government schools; 518 smart/virtual classrooms in higher secondary schools for increasing enrolment, and imparting quality education to students. 200 Vocational Laboratories and 40 schools having vocational labs will act as hubs for imparting vocational/skill training.

37 Girls Hostel Buildings and 12 KGBV buildings to be completed for improving residential facilities for girls and bringing about desired gender parity in education.

Special attention has been given to the Education of tribal students with construction of two residential schools, one each in the districts of Rajouri & Shopian to be taken up, besides 8,000 meritorious tribal students to be given tablets.

100% coverage of pre-matric and post-matric scholarship to Tribal students with 100% disbursement through DBT expected to be accomplished in 2022-23.

Adequate provision has been kept for providing incentives to prospective entrepreneurs as per J&K Industrial Policy 2021-30.

An amount of Rs 150 crore has been earmarked for development of New Industrial Estates; Rs 3.91 crore for construction of 7 Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) in the existing Industrial Estates and Rs 25 crore for organizing J&K Global Investor’s Summit including domestic/international roadshows.

1,354 units targeted to be established under Jammu and Kashmir Rural Employment Generation Programme (J&K-REGP) involving margin money of Rs 25 crore with employment to 8,124 persons in 2022-23.

2000 Cooperatives/Self Help Groups to be covered under credit card scheme. 7% interest subvention for availing loan upto Rs 2 lakh by artisans under Artisan Credit Card Scheme.

Social Security of the citizens of J&K has been given dedicated focus. Old Age Homes to be established in all districts. Motorized tricycles to be provided to all Handicapped persons thereby achieving 100% saturation for which Rs 25 crore have been provisioned.

Transgenders have been for the first time included for pensionary benefits under ISSS.

For the welfare of Tribal community, 29 Cluster Model Villages are being established and are at different stages of implementation; establishment of 14 Milk villages and seven transit accommodations/shelter sheds with an estimated cost of Rs 3.50 crore each to be taken up, besides Six Eklavya Model Residential Schools for ST students are being established.

To empower and provide self-employment opportunities to youth, Rs 200 crore have been kept under “Mission Youth Programme”.

An amount of Rs 60 crore has been provisioned as a self employment measure under Youth Start-up/Seed Capital/Women Entrepreneurship Programme (WEP).

Provision has been kept for Digitization of Police Stations and installation of CCTVs in police stations; 10,109 Community/Individual Bunkers are being constructed in the border districts, and e-office will be implemented in all offices of J&K in 2022-23.