‘I receive calls, faxes from Nagpur daily’

Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said today that he has been receiving calls daily from Nagpur (the Headquarters of RSS).
However, he said, he was receiving the calls from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Headquarters, also located at Nagpur in Maharashtra.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had invoked Nagpur and Jandewalan Delhi (the RSS Headquarters and office) in the Assembly recently asking whether the State flag order was withdrawn after receiving instructions from Nagpur and Jandewalan.
“These days, Nagpur is in the limelight. They rang up us daily at 5.30 pm. We receive calls and faxes daily from the RBI Headquarters at Nagpur to know the position of finances and Ways and Means account,’’ Drabu said.
To a question at his customary post-budget media briefing in the presence of MoS Finance Pawan Gupta and Principal Secretary Finance BB Vyas, on whether the Government would go ahead with Ways and Means account with RBI or revive its ties with Jammu and Kashmir Bank for Overdraft Facility, Drabu said as of now the Government is going with the Ways and Means of RBI.
“I would like to go with Jammu and Kashmir Bank but the decision vests with the Cabinet. We will think on it and take decision later,’’ Drabu said.
It may be mentioned here that the PDP had strongly opposed when NC-Congress Government had switched over to Ways and Means Facility with the RBI from Jammu and Kashmir Bank.
Replying to another question, Drabu said it was good for Jammu and Kashmir that there was exceptionally accommodating Union Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) in New Delhi to help Jammu and Kashmir but reiterated that the State must also restore its dignity and not go to the Centre with begging bowl every time.
Denying that the State Government will again submit Special Package for flood victims to the Union Government, he, however, charged the previous Government with neither adopting any criteria nor pursuing about Rs 44,000 crores worth package after submitting it to the Centre.
“We will pursue the package with the Centre systematically. Simultaneously, we will start relief and rehabilitation process from April 1. We will start with building houses. Once the houses are built, the business will resume,’’ the Finance Minister said.
He said the previous Government kept no provision for funding the plan, a result of which the funds didn’t flow. Several thousand crores remained pending with the Centre as no amount was kept for funding the plan, he regretted.
“Now everything will be visible with Current and Fiscal Expenditure in place of plan and non-plan,’’ he asserted.
On no budgetary provision for over 800 new administrative units created by the previous Government, Drabu maintained silence and evaded reply.
Drabu said his Government wants the business to gown and don’t want to create unnecessary hurdles in the trade. “Let the business grow. Once it grows, we will collect taxes also,’’ he added.
The Finance Minister said Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Jammu and Kashmir was better than many States and even matches Tamil Nadu but still it has come down this year.
On no employment package, Drabu said the Government wants to make Government jobs least attractive and private jobs more attractive. “The people will voluntarily go for the private jobs. We need to change their mindset’’.
Asserting that the Government will not tolerate corruption, Drabu said at the same time it will give incentives to honest officers also. “The State Vigilance Commission should function as Transparency Commission’’.
He, however, rejected that branding officers and removing them as corrupt is not good and government will work to end corruption by undertaking reformative measures, laws and legislations.
Describing the budget as “classically welfare’’, Drabu also proposed insurance for commercial crops for the farmers.
Noting that the budget has given broad thrust on reviving economy, he said the first effort will be to grow the economy, which was devastated by the floods also by taking specific measures. He said it could take the Government one year to clear balance sheet of finances.
Drabu said the separate power budget was presented as largest problem in finances was caused by power sector.
“We were in the process of taking series of economic reforms. There will be thrust on three measures, revival of economy, expenditure management and revenue strategy,’’ Drabu said.
Drabu proposed to launch a scheme to promote the use of LED-lights by different consumer categories.
The scheme, to be named after 9th century engineer Suuya Bhat, will be launched for promoting efficient use of electricity, Drabu said.
“I announce a new scheme called ‘Suuya Bhatt Energy Efficient Consumer Scheme’ and allocate an amount of Rs 5 crore for it,” he said.
Suuya Bhatt is a famous engineer of ancient times. He got silt and boulders removed from Jhelum in 9th Century, because of whom Sopore (Suyapur) got its name. He also changed the course of Jhelum through Wullar, the biggest fresh waterlake of Asia. He founded the city of Awantipora near Srinagar, ruins still existing.
Drabu further said, that the government proposes to lay focus on construction of model ethnographic villages to showcase intrinsic cultural and heritage strengths of the Kashmiri Pandits.
“The first pilot cultural village will be the one that was inhabited by Kashmiri Pandits. It will be re-built to recreate aspects relating to the tradition and culture of Kashmiri Pandits,” Drabu said, adding, it will be set up in Haal village of South Kashmir.
Drabu said the Government will commence relief and rehabilitation of flood affected people in the state from April first week by focusing on restoring their livelihood by reviving the economy, Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said today.
“We will start relief and rehabilitation of flood-hit people in Jammu and Kashmir from first week of April,” Drabu said.
Apart from rehabilitation of homeless people, the revival of the business sector would be the focus of the State Government, he said.
“The floods have devastated the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from houseless people, the revival of the business sector would be our focus. Large part of the budget talks about the floods. Soon we return back to business, sooner the economy will grow. The (construction of) houses are not the focus and focus is business,” the minister said.
“Once the business is revived, they can earn and pay taxes. The main issue is how to revive it and give relief. The previous government has submitted a large sum of package of Rs 44,000 crore to the Centre. We will pursue that,” he said.
Drabu said “actual” money would be given to people who have lost their livelihood so that they can build it again. The focus would be providing relief in a three-phased exercise from the first week of April to those whose businesses are not insured, he said.
“We have sought the assistance of the World Bank and other such institutions. We are hoping to get in next fifteen days Rs 250 million disbursement from World Bank,” he added.
“The major thing how do you restore the livelihood of the people, who have suffered? Houses will happen, other things will happen but the people who have lost their business…”
In a bid to encourage private-public partnership to revamp ailing PSEs in Jammu and Kashmir, Drabu said that State Government will pull out all the corporations from every departments and put them under one head after forming two holding companies to revive them.
“One of the major proposal, which will be successful in big way to become a major sources of money for the Government and investment in next five year, is the idea that we will pull out all the corporation from all the departments and put them under one head”, Drabu said.
Jammu and Kashmir has 21 PSUs and Corporations and most of them were ailing.
“We will setup two holding companies— one for Financial Corporations and another for non-Financial Corporations. Through these, we will get private investment and loans .. To revive them,” he said.
This would be done under new policy of transforming Government, governance and economy.
“I have already made a beginning by converting all the debt that J&K has in its balance-sheets..It will take one year to clean the balance sheets of these companies and then recapitalize them as per the need and hopeful in next five year take them public,” he said.
“But also major productivity to start with. Then take for example administrative department like State Motor Garges— if you look at its assets and staffs, it may perhaps the largest transport company in the state. Why cannot it become fully functional profitable unit. I am looking for its reformation,” Drabu said.
“Broad thrust is revival of the J&K economy of Jammu. Once economy revives then Government will get its own taxes and revenues will start to flow. No Government can hope from an economy that is not doing,” he said.
Lakhanpur Toll Plaza will be outsourced to private sector, he said adding that it will generate huge money as well as put an end to corruption.
Terming Lakhanpur as den of corruption, Drabu said that Lakhanpur has been earning over Rs 450 Crores annually from toll and excise duty.
“We have large number of Corporations under the Government and in the many cases Government department don’t have details about them,” he added.

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