Lawmaker Salaries
A House Committee of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has recommended a major revision of salaries, allowances, and pensions for sitting and former legislators, the first such increase in eight years, proposed to take effect retrospectively from November 1, 2024. If approved, the 90 MLAs of the Union Territory would see their monthly salary rise from Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000, with key allowances such as Constituency Conveyance raised to Rs 1.10 lakh, Telephone to Rs 30,000, Medical to Rs 20,000, and Sumptuary and Secretariat Assistance to Rs 30,000 each. Travel entitlements would double to Rs 3 lakh annually, and pensions would rise from Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000, while family pensions would increase to Rs 40,000. The House Building Advance ceiling would jump from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 75 lakh, and the Motor Car Advance from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. The committee also proposed a Rs 25,000 monthly honorarium for Personal Assistants and Rs 10,000 conveyance allowance for ex-legislators. The proposals, expected to generate over Rs 1 million in arrears per MLA, await examination by the Finance Department and final approval by the Raj Bhawan.
Twin Jammu and Kashmir government recruiting agencies, JKPSC and SSB generated over Rs 31.75 crore since October 2024.
Terminations
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has dismissed two more government employees, Ghulam Hussain and Maajd Iqbal Dar, both teachers in the School Education Department, by invoking Article 311 of the Constitution of India for their alleged involvement in anti-national activities. With these latest terminations, over 80 employees have so far been dismissed in Jammu and Kashmir under the same constitutional provision since 2019, when the region was reorganised into two Union Territories following the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. However, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised the move, saying that employee termination cases should be decided through courts rather than on suspicion, and that every government employee deserves a fair chance to defend themselves. Several terminated employees, he noted, were later reinstated after being cleared, underscoring the flaws in such summary actions.
674 Stone Crushers Operational Across Jammu and Kashmir
Unpaid Dues
The Jammu and Kashmir government has acknowledged that liabilities amounting to Rs 4,468 crore are pending towards retirement benefits for former employees of the Union Territory, covering gratuity, General Provident Fund (GPF), commutation, and leave salary. As of October 22, 2025, the finance department said unpaid liabilities comprise Rs 2,390 crore under GPF, Rs 1,537 crore as gratuity, Rs 332 crore as commutation, and Rs 209 crore as leave salary. Besides, unpaid contractor bills worth Rs 205.70 crore remain pending, even as Rs 1,890 crore has been disbursed to contractors during the current financial year.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has said that the Jammu and Srinagar Smart City projects have together utilised over Rs 1,638 crore, completing 200 projects, while 11 remain under execution.
Power Liability
As of September 30, 2025, the Jammu and Kashmir government has an outstanding liability of Rs 4,751 crore towards various central and private power suppliers. The highest dues are owed to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), at Rs 772 crore and Rs 638 crore, respectively. The Power Development Department (PDD) also owes Rs 449 crore to NHPC, Rs 61 crore to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and Rs 49 crore to the SJVNL-Nathpa Jhakri project, while combined liabilities to the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) and the Baglihar Hydroelectric Project (BHEP) stand at Rs 2,675 crore, forming the largest single component.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has said that 133 commercial leaseholders in Jammu are occupying premises without renewal.
Daily Wagers
The Jammu and Kashmir government has said that the regularisation of more than one lakh daily wagers, casual labourers, and other temporary workers serving across departments for decades remains under detailed examination by a high-level committee constituted in March 2025. A total of 100,501 casual, daily-rated, seasonal, and other workers have been identified through Aadhaar-based biometric verification across 27 departments, with the Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control Department employing the highest number at 38,585, followed by the Power Development Department with 13,616, the Forest Department with 8,317, and the Health and Medical Education Department with over 11,000 workers. Many of these workers are serving for over 20 years. They form the backbone of service delivery across rural and urban areas, ensuring essential services like water supply, power, forestry, and education continue despite irregular pay and minimal benefits.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has said that arbitration awards worth about Rs 248 crore are under challenge in various courts, with none paid so far, while 130 arbitration cases have been reported across departments in the past two years.
Construction Workers
The Jammu and Kashmir government has acknowledged that although more than Rs 940 crore has been collected as welfare cess from construction projects over the past three years, large disparities persist in the payment of minimum wages and the implementation of pension benefits for workers across the Union Territory. Official data shows that the Jammu and Kashmir Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board (JKBOCWWB) collected Rs 292.69 crore in 2022-23, Rs 322.46 crore in 2023-24, and Rs 324.41 crore in 2024-25, but only Rs 507.45 crore was spent on welfare measures during this period, leaving a substantial amount unutilised while thousands of labourers continue to await benefits.
New Flyover
The Jammu and Kashmir government has said that the long-awaited flyover project connecting Lal Chowk with Parimpora has been included in the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ approved action plan for 2025–26, with a sanctioned cost of Rs 700 crore. The proposed seven-kilometre, four-lane flyover, stretching from Dalgate through Budshah Kadal up to Parimpora on NH-1, is among 19 projects and is expected to greatly ease traffic congestion in Srinagar’s busy city centre, particularly between Lal Chowk and Batamaloo. Officials said that topographical surveys and geotechnical investigations, including Automatic Traffic Counter and Classifier studies at major intersections, are underway, while the preparation of the final alignment, plan, and profile is in progress for submission to the Ministry for approval.
Kashmir Apple
Jammu and Kashmir produced over 21 lakh metric tonnes of apples in 2024–25, reaffirming its position as India’s leading apple-producing region, with nearly the entire share coming from the Kashmir division. According to official data, Kashmir produced 20.79 lakh metric tonnes of apples, while Jammu contributed 30,393 metric tonnes. The main varieties grown across the region include Red Delicious, Royal Delicious, American Apriouge, Golden Delicious, Maharaji, Ambri, Chamura, Stark Rimson, and Razak Wari, with harvesting spread from August to November. The government said that 13.35 lakh metric tonnes of apples were exported in 2023–24, and 2.53 lakh metric tonnes had been exported up to September 2025. To support marketing, a network of 24 fruit and vegetable mandis has been established across the Union Territory, 17 of which are integrated with the National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) portal, facilitating electronic trading.
Law University
The Jammu and Kashmir government has announced that the long-pending National Law University (NLU) will begin functioning from April next fiscal year with an initial outlay of Rs 50 crore, most likely from the Ompora area in Budgam district. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the university would initially operate from rented accommodation while a permanent campus site is finalised, adding that Ompora, earlier proposed for a software technology park, is under consideration as a suitable location.
Prisoners
CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to take up with the Centre the issue of hundreds of Kashmiri prisoners lodged in jails outside the region and seek their transfer to local prisons on humanitarian grounds. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Tarigami said many of these detainees, including separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah whose health has reportedly deteriorated, have been incarcerated for years and deserve proximity to their families. He stressed that prisoners’ rights must be protected and relatives should be allowed to meet them, adding that this was not a political demand but a human concern. People’s Conference leader Sajjad Gani Lone supported the appeal, saying the Assembly could not remain indifferent to the suffering of its people and urged the Government to convey the matter to the Union Home Minister through proper channels.
BGSB University
The Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) in Rajouri is under acute financial stress, with the Jammu and Kashmir government confirming a salary deficit of Rs 13.48 crore for 2025–26. Despite an increase in grant-in-aid from Rs 22.99 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 34.95 crore in 2024–25 and an additional Rs 21.80 crore released up to September 2025, the university’s salary expenditure has surged to Rs 48.48 crore this fiscal, leaving a large funding gap. The institution’s internal revenue, which once stood at Rs 79.33 crore in 2022–23, has plummeted to Rs 7.06 crore in 2024–25, while its annual income for 2024–25 was Rs 28.87 crore against an expenditure of Rs 51.99 crore, resulting in a shortfall of Rs 21.92 crore. CAPEX allocations have also declined—from Rs 4.22 crore in 2022–23 to just Rs 95 lakh this year—compounding the strain. The university has not received the Rs 2 crore annual contribution from the Wakf Board since October 2019, further worsening its finances.
Dog Bites
The Jammu and Kashmir government has reported 2,12,968 dog-bite cases across the Union Territory between 2022 and 2025, with Srinagar district recording the highest number at 36,406. Of the total cases, 1,14,498 were reported from Kashmir Division and 98,470 from Jammu Division, with Jammu district following Srinagar at 54,889 cases. The government said the figures highlight a major civic and public health challenge, particularly in Srinagar, where, despite ongoing sterilisation and vaccination drives, cases remain high. Under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Anti-Rabies Vaccination (ARV) programme, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation sterilised and vaccinated 48,738 stray dogs between June 2023 and September 2025 through centres at Tengpora, SKUAST-K Shuhama, and the upcoming Ahal Chitterhama facility, which is nearing completion with the capacity to handle 1,800 dogs a month.
