Srinagar, Dec 15 (KNO): The Lok Sabha on Monday approved the supplementary demands for grants for the financial year 2025-26, seeking an additional Rs 41455 crore, of which Rs 2504 crore has been earmarked for the Union Territory of Ladakh to be transferred to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir on account of the apportionment of liabilities between the two Union Territories.
As per the supplementary demands for grants, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Rs 2504.46 crore has been allocated to Ladakh to meet additional expenditure for transfer to the UT of Jammu & Kashmir on account of apportionment of liabilities between the two UTs.
According to the apportionment of liabilities worked out between J&K and Ladakh UTs, two percent of the total liabilities of the erstwhile state of J&K-Rs 2504.46 crore-were transferred to the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Post the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, a three-member committee headed by former Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and comprising retired IAS officer Arun Goyal and retired Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) officer Giriraj Prasad Gupta, was constituted by the Government of India to work out the distribution of assets and liabilities between the two UTs.
The committee apportioned the assets and liabilities as per Section 84 and Section 85 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
The Union Finance Ministry also allocated Rs 148.64 crore to enhance budget allocation for two Hill Councils in the UT and Rs 20.14 crore as additional expenditure also for it transfer to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir towards the construction of the High Court complex at Jammu.
The Ministry has further kept a budgetary provision of Rs 12.04 crore for Ladakh UT to meet additional expenditure for disaster management and Rs 3 crore for power purchase and procurement of diesel for power generation in far-flung areas.
For Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry has allocated additional Rs 340.15 crore for meeting additional expenditure towards equity contribution for the 624 MW Kiru project and the Jehlum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP).
Of this, Rs 154.81 crore is earmarked as equity contribution for the Kiru project and Rs 185.34 crore for JTFRP-an externally aided project—(KNO)