Kashmir Impulse Desk

Jammu, March 31

The Jammu and Kashmir government has cleared more than Rs 18,000 crore in financial liabilities during the 2025-26 fiscal year, including payments to retirees and contractors, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Speaking during Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly, CM Omar, who also oversees the finance portfolio, said that bills totaling Rs 12,561.31 crore had been settled as of March 27 under categories such as gratuity, pension commutation, leave encashment, and contractor dues. 

In addition, General Provident (GP) Fund claims worth Rs 5,821.43 crore were cleared by the end of December.

The disclosures came in response to a question from MLA Sham Lal Sharma, as legislators pressed the government on the pace of payments and the management of outstanding obligations.

The CM said the administration had been processing bills on a rolling basis through the treasury system, with regular disbursements to both retired employees and private contractors. 

Of the total cleared this year, he said, Rs 2864.14 crore was paid in gratuity, Rs 1123.22 crore in commutation benefits, Rs 773.47 crore in leave salary, and Rs 7800.58 crore toward contractor bills.

CM Omar said that allocations were made according to expenditure categories rather than regional divisions, with payments accounted for accordingly.

In a separate exchange, he addressed questions about the rollout of rooftop solar subsidies under the federal government’s programme, known as the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. 

The CM said Rs 3.8 crore had been disbursed as J&K’s share of subsidies to more than 4200 consumers served by local power distribution companies.

The bulk of financial support for the program is provided by the central government through the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, with additional contributions from J&K. 

Under the scheme, residential consumers installing rooftop solar systems receive tiered subsidies based on capacity, with combined support reaching up to Rs 94,800 for systems of up to 3 kilowatts, CM Omar said.

He acknowledged delays in releasing the local subsidy component in some cases, attributing them to verification requirements, document checks and integration with a national disbursement portal. 

The CM said the administration was working to streamline the process and would release pending payments once formalities were completed.

Lawmakers, including R S Pathania and Shakti Raj Parihar, raised supplementary questions, urging faster execution and clearer timelines for pending payments.

CM Omar said the government remained committed to reducing backlogs while ensuring that disbursements followed established procedures.