SRINAGAR: In a development that raises serious questions, development spending in the first four months of the ongoing financial year is the lowest compared to the corresponding period of the past five fiscal years.
Data reveals that capital expenditure in the first four months of 2025–26 is the lowest when compared to the corresponding period of previous financial years since the conversion of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory.
According to the data, total capital expenditure during the first four months of 2025–26 stands at Rs 705.61 crore, in sharp contrast to Rs 3298.91 crore spent on development during the same period in 2024–25.
As per the figures, capital expenditure in the first four months of 2023–24, 2022–23, 2021–22, and 2020–21 was Rs 1501.56 crore, Rs 1160.23 crore, Rs 1048.62 crore and Rs 719.81 crore, respectively.
In the 2025–26 budget presented by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Assembly, Rs 17680 crore was earmarked for Union Territory sector capital expenditure, district sector capital expenditure, and the Prime Minister’s Development Plan. Additionally, Rs 8487 crore is to be spent under centrally sponsored schemes in 2025–26.
Officials admitted that expenditure is low this year and attributed it primarily to delays in the finalisation of district sector capital expenditure plans.
“As of now, the expenditure in the district sector is almost negligible,” an official admitted.
Another official said that expenditure under the district sector is expected to pick up pace in the coming months, and they are hopeful of utilizing 100 percent of the allocated funds.
Former Minister of State for Finance and MLA, Udhampur West, Pawan Gupta, said that the low expenditure is a matter of serious concern and raises questions about the government’s spending capacity.
“The Finance Department is under the direct control of the UT’s elected government. The Chief Minister, who holds the Finance portfolio, should explain why funds have not been released and spent so far,” he said.
MLA Kupwara, Mir Muhammad Fayaz, said that the low expenditure reflects the incompetence and inefficiency of the elected government.
“There has been an inordinate delay in the finalisation of development plans,” he said. (KNO)
