Aaqib Khan
Srinagar, Feb 7 (KNS): Apni Party leader and Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir on Saturday criticised the Jammu and Kashmir government’s budget, calling it a routine exercise that lacks vision, direction and local empowerment.
Reacting to the budget, Mir said it is largely driven by central schemes and preset frameworks, reducing the role of the local government. “You may project it as an achievement, but in reality the role of local governance has been weakened. Policy-wise, this could have been much better,” he said as per KNS.
Mir expressed concern over the absence of any clear roadmap for resource mobilisation. “The Chief Minister, who is also the Finance Minister, should have explained how resources will be generated. There is no mention of resource mobilisation, which makes the economic direction of this budget unclear,” he said.
On unemployment, Mir said the government had earlier promised one lakh jobs within six months, creating the impression that joblessness would be addressed through government employment. “Now they claim to have provided jobs, but these are mostly existing vacancies. Even those could not be filled on time. This shows administrative failure,” he said, adding that the budget offers no concrete measures to tackle youth unemployment.
He also raised concerns over the minerals policy, saying lakhs of youths dependent on sand and gravel extraction continue to suffer. “The NC had promised to revisit this policy, but after one-and-a-half years nothing has changed. Livelihoods are affected and construction costs have increased, yet the government is silent,” Mir said.
On infrastructure, Mir said the government continues to rely on PMGSY, central sector and NABARD roads.
“What has been planned from local resources to meet additional needs?” he asked, citing the demand for the Babareshi–Gulmarg alternate road, which was responded to as being “subject to availability of funds.”
Questioning welfare announcements, Mir said there is no clarity on free gas cylinders and free electricity for AAY beneficiaries. “There is no explanation on costs, implementation or beneficiary contribution, particularly under the solar scheme,” he said.
He also alleged flaws in beneficiary identification, saying announcements without proper verification would remain symbolic.
Mir pointed to delivery failures in departments like Power and PHE, noting that committees were formed but no reports or timelines have been made public. “This highlights the gap between announcements and execution,” he said.
On power generation, Mir said the budget lacks concrete proposals, timelines or private sector involvement despite the region’s potential. “Even pilot projects under national solar initiatives could have shown seriousness, but nothing has been announced,” he added.
Calling the budget “directionless,” Mir said it fails to address unemployment, livelihoods and basic governance issues. He also accused the ruling party of misleading people on statehood. “They knew real powers lie with the Centre, yet false promises were made during elections,” he said.
“The budget changes nothing on the ground and offers no solution to existing problems,” Mir added.
