UT Admn, Hill Councils to get funds for development
*Formal order expected anytime soon
The Union Ministry of Finance headed by Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to undo the cut of Rs 976 crore imposed in budget of the Union Territory of Ladakh and a formal announcement in this regard is expected to be made anytime soon. This will help the UT administration to initiate more developmental works in the Himalayan region and will also give boost to two Autonomous Hill Development Councils which had lost Rs 110 crore each because of the budget cut.
Official sources told that a “forceful case’’ was presented by the UT administration including Lieutenant Governor Brig (Retd) BD Mishra and his Advisor Pawan Kotwal before the Union Ministries of Home and Finance for restoration of Rs 976 crore worth cut imposed in the UT’s budget for developmental works.
Besides them, the elected leadership including Ladakh Lok Sabha member, Chairpersons-cum-CECs of both Leh and Kargil Hill Development Councils, senior BJP leaders and other stakeholders also took up the issue with the Home and Finance Ministries citing enough ground for restoration of the budget for developmental needs of the Union Territory.
“The UT administration has received positive signals from both the Ministries and most of the funds cut earlier from the budget are expected to be restored shortly,’’ the sources said.
Ladakh, as per the officials, was granted Rs 3076 crore under Capex (Capital Expenditure) budget which is meant for developmental works. Of this, Rs 2100 crore was left and last month, a cut of Rs 976 crore was imposed by the Centre. The Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh immediately rushed to New Delhi and met Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking restoration of the budget cut.
The CECs-cum-Chairpersons of the twin Hill Councils who lost Rs 110 crore each also took up issue with the Ministries. Other stakeholders too projected the demand and finally the Finance Ministry is understood to have agreed to restore the amount.
However, the officials said, whether entire amount of Rs 976 crore is restored or minor cut is imposed in this will be seen only once formal letter is received from the Finance Ministry.
There are still over three months left for completion of the financial year and the UT administration as well as the Hill Council representatives are confident that restoration of the budget cut by the Union Ministry will help them take up new developmental works.
The excess amount in the budget is surrendered every year but this is done in the month of January when exact position of expenditure is clear. However, this year the excess amount was calculated in the month of October and a cut of around Rs 976 crore was imposed in the UT of Ladakh.
In the total cut of Rs 976 crore, Leh and Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Councils had lost Rs 110 crore each, totaling Rs 220 crore which was a huge amount for the Councils and was meant for utilization on developmental works.
For a small UT like Ladakh, the budget cut of Rs 976 crore was quite high and for the Councils Rs 110 crore cut each was too high which had the potential to hit the developmental works for which the people have been waiting for a long.
Ladakh was part of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. It served as third division, the two others being Jammu and Kashmir. However, on August 5, 2019 while abrogating special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the Central Government made Ladakh a Union Territory without Legislature.
