Srinagar, June 02 (KNS): Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu Thursday attacked the Opposition National Conference, accusing the party of decimating the system in the state in the last sixty years.
While winding up the discussion on Budget 2016-17, the finance minister said that the budget is not directionless but system building budget.
“The core of the budget is about building systems-those systems which you have decimated in the last 60 years. Let me tell you clearly, the mess of sixty years cannot be undone in one year. It takes time to change the system,” Drabu said, while directly pointing to the National Conference.
The Opposition NC and Congress during the discussion on the Budget proposals had attacked the finance minister for tabling “directionless and sensationalized” budget for the financial year 2016-17.
“This is the system we have inherited from you. It has been going on from the time when Shafi Sahab has been on the chair,” Drabu said, referring to NC MLA from Uri, Muhammad Shafi Uri.
In his one-hour speech, the finance minister replied to each question and cristicism the opposition had raised.
“Be reasonable in reaction keeping in mind that assembly is not Tagore hall and the house is not a theatre. If I reveal everything, where will you hide,” he said.
“You don’t have figures how many casual labourers you engaged and then you are blaming us for causualisation of youth.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelThis is the system you are talking about,” Drabu said, adding that the issue of labourers is of the society and not government alone.
Hitting out Omar Abdullah for saying that J&K survives on alms of Delhi, Drabu said that the state is a revenue surplus state. “First we had a revenue deficit of Rs 390 crore and now many years down the line we have Rs 60000 revenue surplus which means we can spend more without any borrowing.”
Drabu said his problem right now is not the resource but how to spend them. “For spending Rs 180 crore a day, we will have to improve its absorption and spending capacity. The growth rate has jumped from 5% to 13% in last fiscal and now to 13.9%, “he said.
“It is shocking that Rs 14000 crore plus of GP Fund has completely been utilized but is not accounted for in the system. This is not possible that the successive finance ministers were not aware of it. This was done to show to the people that Kashmir lacks resources and this argument was used to approve more loans in Delhi,” he said.
He said that the driving force of economy is public investment not private. “We don’t have strong private sector here and neither outside investors are ready to invest here. So our focus will on public investments. We have the resources but we need to evolve transparent and accountable systems for increased spending,” he said. (KNS)