KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
National Conference on Tuesday said the “boycott” of the Finance Minister’s pre-budget consultations by trade associations, chambers of business and representatives of the business fraternity had “exposed the PDP-BJP Government’s complete and total failure” in addressing the genuine and basic needs of the private sector in the State.
NC Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani said this should “serve as an eye-opener” for the state government and wake them up from their “deep slumber”.
“This is unprecedented. This en-masse boycott of pre-budget consultations has never happened in the previous four decades in the State. One can imagine why the traders’ associations, business fraternity and trade bodies boycotted the pre-budget meeting with the Finance Minister. This Government has played one cruel joke after another with traders and businessmen who lost everything in the devastating floods of 2014 and there is no sight of any comprehensive rehabilitation plan to kick start the State’s economy even after the United Nations declared the 2014 J&K Floods as the Most Economically Devastating Natural Disaster of 2014 in the entire world,” Wani said in a party statement.
The NC Provincial President also expressed grave concern on the continued “delay in approval of the Annual Plan” 2015 for Srinagar by the Neeti Ayog and said, “this could lead to a situation where a paucity of funds would severely impair the Government’s developmental duties.” “Even if the Annual Plan is approved in January, that leaves the State Government only two months till the closing of the fiscal year in March. This would result in either the lapsing of a huge amount of funds or could mean that these funds could be diverted to Jammu, which would further fuel the perception that this Government is bias towards one region of the State. The State Government, the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister have no answers to these genuine apprehensions of the business and traders’ fraternity,” Wani further added.
“Rather than covering up one flop-show after another, the State Government should focus on rectifying its mistakes and stop being complacent and ineffective. The lack of planning and complete absence of a sense of responsibility has reduced this Government to a caricature. The traders’ federations and associations have spoken in a loud voice and it is for the Finance Minister and the State Government to introspect now,” the NC Provincial President added in the statement.
