New Delhi, Feb 1: Presenting the Union Budget for the financial year 2020-21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced an allocation of Rs 30,757 crore for Jammu and Kashmir, and Rs 5,958 crore for Ladakh.
Both Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are now union territories, carved out of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, following the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill by Parliament in August last year.
Speaking in Parliament, Sitharaman said the government is fully committed to supporting all-round development of the newly-formed union territories.
Reacting to finance minister’s announcement, Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal tweeted, “Continuing the path of development, Hon’ble Finance Minister @nsitharaman ji announced Rs 5958 cr for our UT Ladakh. Ladakh will surely prosper under the leadership and vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji.”
Ladakh Sitharaman also read out a poem in Kashmiri by celebrated poet Dina Nath Kaul Nadim. The Opposition, however, raised the issue of Lok Sabha MP and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah being still in detention. Since August 5, when the J&K reorganisaton bill was introduced, Abdullah has been in custody and was slapped with provisions under the PSA (public safety act) since September.
On Friday, while addressing a joint session of both the Houses of Parliament, President Ramnath Kovind had also referred to the government’s intent to invest in the development of J&K and Ladakh.
He said the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A paved way for equal development of the regions and people in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have got rights on par with the rest of the country.
