PM package to be spent over five years: Minister

The Prime Minister's package of Rs 80,000 crore for Jammu and Kashmir will be executed over a period of five years in a phased manner, with annual disbursement depending on the spending capability of the state government and implementing agencies.
This was stated today by Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu in the state Assembly where he said an amount of Rs 1197 crore has already been received from the Centre specifically for relief and rehabilitation of victims of the 2014 floods.
"The size of the PMDP (PM's Development Package) which is an aggregate of sectoral initiatives, is Rs.80,000 crore. It is fully funded and expected to be executed over the next five years," he said.

"The annual phasing of the plan will be based on the absorptive capacity and spending capability of the State Government and its implementing agencies," Drabu said in his budget speech in the Legislative Assembly here.
He said the capital expenditure, which forms a large part of the Prime Minister's economic rehabilitation plan, has been designed as a critical link between relief and development.
"Underlying the plan is an intermediate strategy of institutional reform and reinforcement, of reconstruction and improvement of infrastructure and services initiating and supporting sustainable development," he said.

The Finance Minister said even though the PMDP has been formulated in the aftermath of the devastating flood of September 2014 in the state, disasters have not been looked upon as singular events unrelated to development processes in this plan.

"The PMDP is based on the understanding that relief, rehabilitation and development do not chronologically succeed each other but have to be simultaneous and are strongly interlinked," he added.
He said under the PMDP, an amount of Rs 1197 crore has been received for providing of assistance in respect of completely/severely and partially damaged houses.
The release of funds has been provided to individual beneficiaries under the Direct Benefit Transfer mode through District Development Commissioners concerned, he said adding an amount of Rs 957 crore has been disbursed till date.
The financial assistance to certain category of uninsured and small traders affected by the floods, who had not received any assistance either from banks or other financial institutions, was provided assistance through the Chief Minister s Flood Relief Fund.

"A total amount of Rs 101.89 crore has been distributed till date among around 40,000 small traders whose turnover is up to Rs 5.00 lac," he said.
Drabu said the PMDP also included an amount of Rs 800 crore for extending interest subvention support to the trading and manufacturing units whose borrowal accounts have been restructured by banks after the September, 2014 floods.
"These funds stand transferred by the Central Government," he said.
"The interest subvention support will be provided through banks/financial institutions to the affected units very soon, The interest subvention scheme has been approved by the cabinet," he added.