The state, which figured sixth in per capita income in the country before the outbreak of militancy, is today at the eleventh position. The average growth rate, 8.4 per cent in 1980-81, has come down to 2.1 per cent. The minister also revealed that the states income has dried up with a general shortfall in all the sectors. The shortfall is Rs 15 crore in forest royalties, Rs 40 crore in the power sector and Rs 10 crore in excise and taxation. The state faces an all time high deficit of Rs 900.81 crore in the current year, which is ten times more than it was in 1989-90. This includes a deficit of Rs 351.94 crore on the current account and Rs 548.87 crore over-drafted from the J&K Bank Ltd. To compound the problem, the states arrears towards the Centre are estimated to touch Rs 2545.63 crore in March next year.
Rebuilding J&K is a tough task, said Shafi, who also believes that the finance portfolio is both a challenge and a thorny job. The Minister believes that today, given the troubles faced by the state, we have just two options to offer to the Centre. Either they should write off the entire debt, or else they should give retrospective effect to the fiscal arrangement started belatedly from 1991, under which the state gets 90 per cent grant.
Being a Special Category State (SCS), J&K, since 1991, has been getting 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan. We must be compensated since the state has been put to a great disadvantage by the Centre signing the Indus Water Treaty, said the finance minister.
The minister thinks that the compensation is required all the more since the promises made to J&K have to be honoured.
The Centre, according to the Minister, must keep its promise of paying funds to the level of Rs 1507.08 crore.
The minister laments that while all other northern States are at liberty to utilise their water resources, the state is handicapped with regard to its most potential sector that is power. The signing of the Indus Water Treaty has debarred us from using water according to our choice.
The Minister revealed that in whatever resources being utilised by J&K, like run off the river projects at Salal and Uri civil power projects, which are sponsored by the Centre, the State is getting just 12 per cent of the power as royalty and another 12 per cent as prior right of purchase.
The state is seriously contemplating on asking the Centre to transfer the ownership of these two NHPC owned power projects to the state. This can make the state self-sufficient in power, which is the root cause of the problems here. While there has been an investment of Rs 1,50000 crore in the power sector across the country the state has only got a couple of crores. If the power crisis ends, the sState shall have its own resources to fall back upon.
In his ambitious plans to retrieve the economy, the finance minister is requesting the Centre to accommodate one hundred thousand educated unemployed youth in central services within the next decade.
What does the state plan to do about the mounting arrears with the public, by way of non-payment of electric dues and tax arrears for the last seven years? Stringent action says the minister, who is known here as Abdullahs trouble-shooter.
