Kashmir Impulse Desk

Jammu, April 13 

A lawmaker from ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said large sums of public funds remained unspent in Jammu and Kashmir and dozens of federal schemes showed little or no progress, citing findings from the national auditor.

R S Pathania, a BJP legislator, said nearly Rs 340 billion had not been utilised, pointing to what he described as shortcomings in fiscal planning and execution, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

He said about 160 centrally sponsored schemes, aimed at delivering benefits such as infrastructure and welfare support, had seen negligible or zero expenditure.

“This reflects a serious gap between allocations and implementation on the ground,” Pathania said while addressing party workers and residents in parts of Udhampur district.

He said several schemes had either not been operationalised or showed no financial progress, adding that delays in approvals, weak monitoring and lack of accountability had hindered execution.

Pathania said the findings suggested that funds released by the federal government were not translating into assets, services or employment.

He also pointed to gaps in basic services, including drinking water supply, electricity and road connectivity in rural and semi-urban areas, and said employment-linked programmes had failed to meet expectations.

The legislator raised concerns over what he described as a decline in district-level allocations for Udhampur, saying it risked widening regional disparities.

He said that despite increased federal funding, including budgetary allocations and additional assistance for infrastructure and welfare, utilisation remained inadequate.

Pathania attributed the situation to what he called a lack of coordination within the administration, alleging it had led to delays in policy implementation.

He called for time-bound utilisation of funds, closer monitoring of schemes, independent audits and greater transparency in performance reporting.

Officials from the J&K administration were not immediately available for comment.