JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has admitted that liabilities amounting to Rs 3,464.35 crore remain pending in connection with General Provident Fund (GPF), gratuity, leave salary, and commutation bills of government employees who retired over the past year.
In a written response to a question by PDP legislator Mir Mohammad Fayaz in the Legislative Assembly, the Government disclosed that as of March 3, 2025, bills worth Rs 3,464.35 crore remain unpaid across 121 government treasuries in the Union Territory. The liabilities include Rs 1,803.37 crore in pending GPF bills, Rs 1,049.27 crore in gratuity, Rs 388.22 crore in leave salary, and Rs 223.69 crore in commutation bills.
Responding to concerns about delayed payments, the Finance Minister clarified that these liabilities are not due to poor financial planning, asserting that financial obligations are being regularly discharged. The minister stated that during the financial year 2024-25, the government cleared Rs 5,200 crore in GPF dues, Rs 1,041 crore in gratuity, Rs 953 crore in commutation, and Rs 278 crore in leave salary for retired employees.
The government further informed the House that treasury clearances depend on the availability of resources. In addition to pension liabilities, the government has also cleared Rs 6,184 crore worth of contractor and firm bills for capital works, ensuring that all such payments up to January 7, 2025, have been settled.
Highlighting revenue augmentation measures, the government stated that austerity efforts over the past two years resulted in savings of Rs 670 crore. Additionally, revenue collection improved significantly, rising from Rs 6,273 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 13,903 crore in 2023-24, while non-tax revenue increased from Rs 2,870 crore to Rs 6,431 crore over the same period.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has revised the Dearness Allowance (DA) for pensioners and family pensioners, increasing it from 239 per cent to 246 per cent of the basic pension. An order issued by the Finance Department states that the revised rate will be effective from July 1, 2024. Arrears for the additional DA installment from July 2024 to February 2025 will be disbursed in cash in March 2025 and incorporated into monthly pension payments from March onwards.
