J&K budget deliberations begin

Jammu, Nov 27: The discussions on J&K budget proposals of Revised Estimates 2024-25 and Budget Estimates 2025-26 Tuesday began with deliberations related to the departments of Planning Development and Monitoring; Fisheries and Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.

Budget deliberations will conclude on December 20.

Discussions revolved around estimates, both under revenue and capital components including Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs), Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) and loan components.

The departments were already instructed to make provisions for CSSs as per the approved action plan. They were asked not to anticipate (or budget) any creation of posts either in Revised Estimates 2024-25 or in Budget Estimates 2025-26 for the ensuing financial year.

The departments, prior to discussions, were instructed to estimate accounts for salaries and the National Pension Scheme (NPS) government contribution for the last six months of the previous financial year from September 2023 to February 2024.

In the case of salaries, the departments were asked to provide a number of temporary posts created for regularization of pre-1994 daily wagers and the number of such posts which cease to exist by way of retirement or adjustment of regularized workers against normal vacancies, as the case may be beside the number of vacant posts available during the year indicating separately the number of such posts filled on contractual or consolidated or adhoc basis.

“The actual targets under each scheme and projections should be based on scientific calculations. The requirement of the funds should be such as to cover the entire gap in funding of all the Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Projections under all CSS should be made to achieve 100 percent targets under each scheme as per the standard norms of the scheme,” it was stipulated.

As per the schedule issued by the Finance department, the discussions pertaining to Tribal Affairs; Information and Revenue departments will take place on November 29 while the proposals concerning Cooperative; Industries and Commerce and Mining departments will be deliberated on December 2.

Budget proposals of PHE, Transport and Higher Education departments will be discussed on December 4 and the discussions on proposals of Animal, Sheep Husbandry; Agriculture, Floriculture and Horticulture departments on December 6; those of School Education; Youth Services & Sports, Technical Education and Science and Technology departments on December 9 while deliberations on proposals of Public Works (R&B); Housing and Urban Development and Irrigation, Flood Control (Jal Shakti) departments will take place on December 11.

Deliberations on budget proposals of Rural Development and PR; Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs and Labour and Employment, ARI and Trainings and Stationery and Office Supplies departments will be held on December 13.

On December 16, budget proposals of Hospitality and Protocol, Estates; Forest; Tourism and Culture departments; on December 18, those of Health and Medical Education, SKIMS; General Administration and Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs departments and on December 20, the proposals of Social Welfare, Home, Power Development and Finance departments will be discussed.

The departments have been asked to ensure that the Budgetary Estimates (BEs) 2025-26 do not contain any lump sum provisions and that the projections are made right up to the last tier of classification - up to detailed head-level budget proposals. They (departments) have been directed to specifically indicate the actual expenditure of the previous financial year and up-to-date expenditure of the current financial year in respect of the Capex including CSS in the work statement of their budget proposals.

There should be a clear distinction between ongoing works and new works and the details of ongoing works should include scheme code or work code generated on the BEAMS portal.

With regard to linking Capex with SDGs, it was specified that the departments would link the budget requirement with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to assess the requirement of Capital investments for attaining all the indicators and goals defined under SDGs.

J&K budget 2025-26 will be presented after a gap of six years in its Legislative Assembly. The new Government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the charge of the Finance Minister as of now, has yet to take a final call about the timing of the budget session.

Prior to the issuance of the schedule for budget discussions, the Finance Department had directed all administrative departments to project the 2025-26 budget based on an “output-outcome basis” reflecting each activity in it (budget) as a “scheme which has defined targets and deliverables.”

It was instructed that besides, ‘Gender specific’ plan and ‘Child Welfare’ plan would be among six categories where under the Capital Expenditure plan would be furnished by the departments. The other four categories will be the Construction Plan; Upgradation and Maintenance Plan; Building Plan and Procurement Plan.

In the case of the Capital Budget, the departments were instructed to adopt a scheme-based budgeting system.