FM Nirmala Sithraman peppers Budget with Kashmiri poem

New Delhi: As questions abound about the prevailing situation in Kashmir, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman quoted a Kashmiri poem to indicate that Kashmir Valley is turning normal after the abrogation of Article 370.

“Humara watan khilte hue Shalimar bagh jaise, humara watan Dal lake mein khilte hue kamal jaisa, nau jawanon ke garam khoon jaisa, mera watan tera watan, humara watan, duniya ka sabse pyara watan,” she said while beginning her Budget speech.

The government has allocated Rs 30,757 crore for Jammu and Kashmir, and Rs  5,958 crore for Ladakh, both of which are new Union Territories (UTs).Following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was converted into a Union Territory. Ladakh, whch was part of the state, was formed as a separate Union Territory.

The government has provisioned Rs 279 crore as the contribution to Union Territory Disaster Response Fund while Rs 30,478 has been allocated for meeting its resource gap, the Budget document said.

In Ladakh, the government has allocated Rs 83.38 crore for rural development, Rs 80.69 crore for public works, Rs 54.07 crore for power, Rs 52 crore for civil aviation and Rs 47.50 crore for tourism sector among others.

The Centre had abrogated special status of Jammu and Kashmir state under Article 370 on August 5 last year and split it into two Union Territories -Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.