Srinagar, Jul 6: Development has a season in Kashmir and experts say the government is wasting it. Three former finance ministers said delayed fund releases are threatening public works during Jammu and Kashmir’s narrow construction window and argue the problem lies in administrative decision-making, not finances.
The remarks come amid concerns over delays in the flow of funds to government departments for developmental activities, despite the approval of the J&K’s Budget.
Former finance minister Haseeb Drabu, who held the portfolio from March 2015 to March 2018, said funds were routinely released at the start of the financial year during his tenure to ensure projects could be executed during the limited working season.
“When I was the finance minister, we used to release funds in April because we have a very short season for carrying developmental activities,” Drabu said.
He said J&K also receives funding under centrally sponsored schemes, adding that the current delays could not be attributed to the Budget Estimation, Allocation and Monitoring System (BEAMS), an online financial management platform introduced during his tenure in 2017.
Drabu said contractors in J&K often begin work even before formal project approvals, confident that payments would eventually be made.
“Unless there is a shortage of funds in the treasury, there is no reason why developmental activities should not move at a faster pace,” he said. “The government should assess the extent of unpaid liabilities and contractor dues.”
Drabu said the Centre had been proactive in releasing funds to J&K and that its share of Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues had increased. Rejecting suggestions that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was overburdened because he also holds the finance portfolio, Drabu said the administration had a competent Finance Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary) Shailendra Kumar, capable of managing the department.
Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari, who served as finance minister between April 2016 and June 2018, said there was no procedural reason for withholding funds after the budget had been approved.
“The budget has already been approved and there is no need for any further approval. The allocated funds for developmental works should have been released,” Bukhari said. Bukhari, who also served as minister for Roads and Buildings from 2015 to 2016, dismissed the argument that administrative changes following Jammu and Kashmir’s reorganisation into a Union Territory in 2019 had complicated fund releases. “BEAMS is not a new thing. It used to be in place even before 2019,” he said. “The development works are already approved under departmental plans.”
He attributed the delays to disagreements within the ruling establishment over the prioritisation of projects.
“There is basically a tussle between the ruling party legislators and ministers in the government about where to carry developmental works and where not to, and in the process the people are suffering,” Bukhari said. “The problem is at the decision-making level.”
He said the finance minister should actively review departmental work plans and use the government’s authority to modify or reappropriate funds where necessary.
“The government has to remain proactive. If it remains subservient to legislators’ interests, nothing will move,” Bukhari said. He said that while elected representatives could recommend projects, they should not be allowed to hold up development works.
J&K Congress President Tariq Hameed Karra, who was finance minister from 2005 to 2008, also blamed delays in the Finance Department for slowing development.
“There are shortcomings in working,” Karra said.
He said that J&K receives its allocation through the Union budget and said he had raised the issue of delayed transfers to departments during the recent session of the Legislative Assembly.
“I urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that the funds should not get delayed like last year,” he said. “The allocations to the different departments in the budget should be transferred smoothly.”
Karra said the constitutional status of J&K should not affect the timely release of development funds.
“Whether J&K is a state or a Union Territory, the fund allocation should not come in the way of development activities,” he said. “The funds are held up, delayed or there is slackness only due to the Finance Department and people are suffering.”
He described the Finance Department as the central driver of government functioning, saying delays there had cascading effects across all sectors.
“The delay in the Finance Department is costly for all the departments and development as a whole,” Karra said.
He said the chief minister should devote more time to overseeing fund allocation if he continued to hold the finance portfolio.
“If Chief Minister Omar Abdullah spends extra time every day to oversee allocation of funds to different departments, things would be smooth,” he said.
Recalling his own tenure, Karra said he often worked late hours to ensure financial decisions were processed without delay. “I used to go to sleep at 3 am and wake up again at 7 am,” he said.
Karra said that the chief minister was handling too many portfolios and should retain only key departments like Home, General Administration, and Hospitality and Protocol, while distributing the remaining responsibilities among other ministers.
