Srinagar February:(KNS) The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Tuesday said the budget 2022-23 is a blend of sophistry, wordplay saying it has left stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir excluded and ignored.
Union budget 2022-23, Party Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said, has stared clear of Jammu and Kashmir and left the issues confronting working classes, traders, horticulturalists, artisans, small businesses, MSMEs untended.
Imran said the budget has failed to enthuse all stakeholders as it was prepared with no public participation and consultation with the stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir. "The budget has failed to tackle the problems of unemployment, and inflation. This budget will only increase inequality and leave the largest section of our population including unemployed youth, Artisans, Agriculturalists, Horticulturalists, marginal traders, tourism players, and transporters vulnerable than ever. The budget is also oblivious to the pressing need of stepping up spending on infrastructure, health services and social programmes, public welfarism, utility services, education to try to set the economy on a firmer footing in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said adding, “It has disappointed Kashmir Inc, which were hoping for relief in times of pandemic. The annual finance statement is mute on rehabilitation and sustenance package for daily wagers, unorganised labour class. The Union government has chosen to turn blind eye to recapitalising the limping MSME and other small scale industries in J&K, which stands battered by the successive clampdowns, Covid induced lock downs, since 2019.”
Remarking on the failure of government to accelerate work on road and tunnel projects in Jammu and Kashmir, Imran said that the budget has overlooked to make budgetary allocations for the construction of Dessan-Kapran, Simthan and Sadhna pass tunnels and release of added allocations for CRF to facilitate improvement in road connectivity.
He further said that the ruling government at New Delhi is only using Jammu and Kashmir as a vote minting entity to claw its way back to power in elections after elections.(KNS)