Governor N.N. Vohra is engaged in a stupendous effort of bailing out the State from unprecedented financial crunch. He is battling with the problem from day one of taking over the administration. In a meeting of State level senior bureaucrats 10 days ago, the Governor was apprised of critical financial position created by deferment in the release of funds for State’s annual plan. Earlier, the State Government was assured of Rs 11,900 crore worth Central funding for current financial year of 2014-15 including Rs 7300 crore worth annual plan, Rs 600 crore under Prime Minister’s Re-construction Plan (PMRP) and Rs 4000 crore under Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Just two months are left for the closure of financial year and the funds have not been released. Nobody is prepared to explain why the Centre has been delaying release of funds and thus bringing the State to a critical situation of bankruptcy. When Modi Government decided to do away with the institution called Planning Commission, it should have also taken into consideration the difficulties which some States like Jammu and Kashmir would be forced to face. It should have suggested a way out. That has not been done. September floods further added to the woes of the State. The result is that huge liabilities to the tune of Rs 2000 crore have accumulated in the treasuries of the State. This has paralyzed the administration and developmental works in the State have come to a grinding halt because the contractors have not been paid arrears. The position of Government employees, pensioners, etc. is no better. The pensioners have not been paid two installments of additional dearness allowances and even salaries are withheld for paucity of funds.
Change of Government at the Centre should not mean that the States will be starved of committed funds. Administrative changes at the Centre, too, are no excuse for delaying release of funds. Looking at the case in its entirety, we find that the Governor has had to induct official as well personal effort, first by writing descriptive letters to the Home and Finance Ministers and then personally visiting Delhi and meeting them and explaining the entire spectrum of financial crunch. He has rightly divided his mission into two parts. One is of seeking funds for relief and rehabilitation of flood affected people and the other is release of the grants that are committed to the State for developmental projects. In the process, he has had lengthy and detailed discussions with the two Ministers. Apparently, he has succeeded in convincing them that funds should be immediately released and in fact the Home Minister has announced that while funds from different heads have been released, the Home Ministry will be the nodal authority for discussions over the Rs 41,000 crore package projected by the State Government as compensation for rebuilding damaged infrastructure.
Agreed that unusual circumstances surfaced after the September floods that created havoc in the State, we cannot circumvent the main question of delaying the release of funds that were already committed. This has created a grave situation for the State and brought pressure on all avenues of administration. The lesson to be learnt from this is that such a situation should not be allowed to repeat. At least in the case of J&K, this situation should never be repeated because of the fact that the State largely depends on financial assistance from the Centre. It is not capable of generating its own economy. Secondly, it is a sensitive State faced with two decade-long turmoil. Nothing should be done that would deepen the crisis. Unnecessary burden should not be placed on the administration and the head of the Government or of the State should not be put in an embarrassing situation. Sometimes bottlenecks at the bureaucratic and lower levels of the administrative pyramid hinder smooth flow of administration. These have to be handled according to their merit.
We can understand Governor Vohra’s discomfiture on account of the plight of flood victims who have not received succour and are still without cover on their heads. After taking over the administration, the first order which he issued was that relief should be paid to the victims of flood by February 15. This explains the urgency of the matter and his response to it. We are hopeful that with the release of funds as promised by the Home Minister as well as the Finance Minister, it will be possible to resume developmental works in the State and also come to the rescue of State employees and pensioners. If a new Government comes to be formed in next few days, the Governor will have made its job easier by ensuring the release of funds forthwith.
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