Sajad Gani Lone Speech: Jammu and Kashmir budget criticised in Assembly as lacking political imprint and over-regulation. Highlights include a ₹13,000 Cr deficit, LPG cylinders cut to half, 90% central dependence funds, 24,000 outsourced jobs and NOC hassles. Srinagar, Feb 10: Sajad Lone, President of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference and MLA-Handwara, delivered a critical assessment of the budget, calling it the first budget under complete political oversight since 2018. He described it as a typical bureaucratic budget without the distinctive political imprint usually accompanying an elected government. He questioned why manifesto promises had not translated into allocations and suggested this disconnect would be a recurring point of opposition over the next five years. Lone highlighted a 13,000 crore gap between budget estimates and revised estimates, noting reduced capital investment and a budget where 70% is revenue expenditure and 30% is capital expenditure. He pointed out the territory’s financial dependence on external sources, with only a portion of receipts coming from internal taxes and non-tax sources. He criticised the “great rebate grab” on the six LPG cylinders and calculated the cost against manifesto promises, stating a diluted benefit for economically weaker sections. He questioned the 2 lakh AAY families and 14 lakh BPL now called priority households, and calculated the annual cost of promised benefits versus what was being paid. Lone commented on how funds were shifted from one set of poor to another and criticized the reliance on diesel rebates and the outsourcing of 24,000 jobs, arguing this was done to benefit private interests and would be detrimental without social security nets. He criticized centralized NOCs and the bureaucratic control over permissions, arguing that NOC culture fuels corruption. Although acknowledging some positives like e-office, he warned that over-regulation could deter investment and hinder development in tourism and horticulture. He urged deregulation and decentralization to attract investors, arguing that market forces should decide the fate of homestays and that the government should not micromanage. The speech concluded with a call for structural reforms to attract investment and reduce regulatory bottlenecks.