Centre to give Jammu & Kashmir another Rs 2,437 crore for flood relief

NEW DELHI: The Centre will release Rs 2,437 crore to the Jammu & Kashmir government this year, taking the total relief package to the flood ravaged state to more than Rs 5,000 crore, besides working on a long-term development plan for the state, home minister Rajnath Singh and finance minister Arun Jaitley announced on Tuesday.

NITI Aayog CEO Sindhushree Khullar and secretary, expenditure, Ratan P Watal will visit J&K to develop a longterm vision for the development of the state, and their suggestions will be considered by the government in that respect, Jaitley said.

Holding a joint press conference with Singh to list out the package for J&K, where the BJP is in an uneasy alliance with PDP, Jaitley said the Centre had already released Rs 2,602 crore for relief and rehabilitation after the devastating floods in the state last year. “This year, Rs 2,437 crore more will be released, taking the total aid to over Rs 5,000 crore.

The larger plan regarding development of infrastructure in power, highways, health, HRD, water resources, tourism, textile and education sectors will also be rolled out after suggestions from the NITI Aayog CEO and secretary, expenditure, who will be visiting J&K next week,” the finance minister said. Singh said the development of J&K was a “full-fledged” commitment of the Centre towards the state. “The existing allocation after the floods was not enough. Hence, more funds are now being allocated,” the home minister said.