J&K to spend ₹350 cr on sports infra: Malik

SRINAGAR : In a bid to give a massive push to public infrastructure in the state, the Jammu and Kashmir Governor administration has approved a state budget of ₹89,000 crore for the fiscal year 2019-20. The budget was approved by the State Administrative Council (SAC) headed by governor Satya Pal Malik.

The budget focuses on boosting sports infrastructure for the youth in the state, in which governor Malik said that ₹350 crore would be spent for the development of separate sports and games disciplines, apart from improvements in education, power, transport among others.

“The total budget is ₹89,000 crore. Most importantly for youth, we are going to spend ₹350 crore for developing sports infrastructure. For education, we have approved a new university in Leh called Ladakh University. 40 new colleges will be established in the state with a budget of ₹250 crore. IAS, KAS, NEET and JEE coaching facilities would be provided for students. Separately, ₹1,000 crore has been allocated for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Benches, desks and drinking water will be provided in all the schools, the governor told ANI.

Governor Malik said that the budget has been doubled for agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry, while adding that ₹130 crore and ₹25 crore have been allocated separately for the development of tourism

and arts and culture sectors.

He further said that ₹300 crore has been allocated for the power sector. “The development expenditure is the highest ever, that is around ₹10,000. The deficit is under control and wasteful expenditure has been stopped,” governor Malik said.