JK Govt to present budget 2016-17 ahead of schedule
The Peoples Democratic Party-led coalition Government in J&K would present annual budget 2016-17 on January 22. This would be the second budget of the PDP-BJP Government in less than a year after the coalition partners assumed office in March this year.
The Government has already given go-ahead to the advancing of the budget session from January 18.“The budget will be presented on January 22,” Finance Minister HaseebDrabu, said.
Drabu presented the Rs 46,473 crore budget for the current financial year in March 2015, just 22 days after the Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed-led government had taken over the reins of the State.
The Minister said that advancing the budget session would enable timely availability of resources which in turn would help take up developmental and other public works in April when the working season starts in J&K thus ensuring better utilization.
The budget session would traditionally start in last week of February and the financial statement would be tabled in March.
Owing to limited working season in the State, particularly in Kashmir which has 6-month winter season, the development works would suffer due to late allocation of the funds.
“By advancing the budget session, we will have sufficient amount of time to allocate the funds to different departments so as to ensure early tendering process and other formalities so that the works are taken up by March 1,” the minister said.
A Finance Department official said advancing the session could also help insulate the development programs from vagaries of nature and short working season in different areas of the state.
Meanwhile, the Government has started the pre-budget consultations asking various departments to come up with the financial requirements for next financial year.
It has also decided to extend the autumn session of the State Assembly to one month from 10 days. This was one of the long pending demands of the legislators that the government should extend the autumn session to allow review of government’s performance.
“The autumn session will now be one month long and there will be mid-year review of the budget during the session,” Drabu said.
The Government has also decided to do away with the practice of tabling State Economic Survey at the end of the budget session and instead present it in the autumn session to allow debate on it.
