PM as the bridge, funds keep flowing for Farooq

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has done it again. He has managed the Prime Minister’s intervention to force the Finan...

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has done it again. He has managed the Prime Minister’s intervention to force the Finance Ministry to agree on ‘‘extra-special allocations’’ for the state’s annual plan.

Abdullah, who had earlier received a firm no from the Ministry on Jammu and Kashmir’s demand for Rs 398 crore as ‘‘special Central assistance’’ for its plan, got his way after meeting the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

The Finance Ministry, sources said, has committed to the Planning Commission that it will bridge the ‘‘gap’’ of nearly Rs 400 crore in the J-K plan.

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It’s the second time that the Ministry has departed from its norms in case of Jammu and Kashmir.

Last year the state’s plan was delayed by six months due to a similar standoff between the Ministry and the state government.

Abdullah’s government had projected a plan outlay of Rs 2,200 crore without giving provisions for matching resources.

All special category states such as Jammu and Kashmir get 90 grants and ten per cent loan from the Centre.

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Sources said much heat was generated during the preliminary round of talks between J-K officials and Planning Commission authorities in March.

The Planning Commission had expressed its helplessness in pushing the J-K plan beyond Rs 1,800 crore even with an extra grant of Rs 131 crore.

However, unlike the last time when Farooq Abdullah had walked out of the meeting with the Planning Commission, this time the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister quietly sorted it out with the Prime Minister’s help.

The Prime Minister has directed the Finance Ministry to release Rs 400 crore for the state’s fiscal plan, sources said.

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