Srinagar, Feb 1: The political parties and the trade bodies on Tuesday reacted to the Budget presented by the Finance Minister of India for Jammu and Kashmir, saying that most sections of the society have been ignored in the budget 2022-23.
National Conference 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 as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said, has starred 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.
CPI (M) senior leader and former Kulgam legislator, Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami a big push towards job creation and increasing domestic demand was needed in the budget. “The budget fails patently in addressing these issues. What was required was introducing an urban employment guarantee scheme. On the contrary, it has cut down expenditure by Rs. 25000 crores in MGNREGS and reduced food, fuel and fertilizer subsidies and also in allocations in health and rural development,” he said.
He added that the budget has proposed a growth in total expenditure by Rs 174909 crores from the revised estimates of 2021-22 but as percentage of GDP the total expenditure has come down from 17.8 per cent in 2020-21 to 15.3 per cent in 2022-23 budget estimates.
“The growth of revenue receipts has primarily grown as corporates were able to accumulate profits during the pandemic reflected through increased corporation tax realisation and also garnered through GST and hike in petroleum prices from indirect taxes levied upon common people. However the growth of expenditure is far short from the growth of revenue receipts and in real terms is even less than what it was in last year’s revised estimates.”
“The squeeze on expenditure is not merely in the Central Government expenditure. By squeezing the transfer of resources to states, the state governments are also being forced to do the same. These transfers are to come down from 6.91 per cent of GDP in RE 2021-22 to 6.25 per cent in 2022-23,” he added.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) termed the Budget 2022-23 as fancy paper work, saying that there is nothing particular for Jammu and Kashmir in it.
“The budget is disappointed because we had anticipated that there would be sort of financial help to local traders here in J&K. The traders have suffered almost Rs 40 crores of losses tentatively,” PDP spokesman Najam-u-Saqib said.
He said there is nothing particular for J&K in it and termed the budget as only a fancy paper work. “I didn’t see anything particular about Kashmir. It is completely detached from ground realities,” he added.
