NC’s Budget Speech: Big Promises, But No Roadmap for J&K’s Growth

The National Conference (NC) has once again come up with a budget full of big promises, but a closer look shows it lacks real substance. Omar Abdullah says J&K will be self-reliant, yet his budget heavily depends on financial aid from the Centre. While NC talks a lot about development, their past failures make it hard to believe they can actually deliver on these commitments.

 

 

 

Omar says J&K will stand on its own feet, but his budget takes ₹41,000 crore from the Centre—over 40% of the money we get. Our own revenue is just ₹31,905 crore, not even a third of what we need. This isn’t a plan for growth; it shows NC can’t free J&K from depending on Delhi, a problem they made worse over decades.

 

 

 

 

Omar keeps talking about bringing back statehood, but it’s an old election trick, not a serious idea. He has no power to make it happen—the Supreme Court backed Article 370’s removal in 2023, and BJP’s 303 MPs far outweigh NC’s 42 MLAs. This is just to please separatists, not to help J&K’s people.

 

 

 

 

Omar predicts 9.5% growth for 2025-26, but that’s a fantasy. J&K’s economy grew from ₹1.64 lakh crore to ₹2.45 lakh crore under BJP’s UT rule after 2019, not NC’s time. With power losses costing ₹5,244 crore every year and a global slowdown coming, this big target is just NC taking credit for the Centre’s hard work.

 

 

 

 

Omar wants to cut power losses to 25%, but where was this effort when he was CM from 2009-14? Back then, losses were 60%, and power theft grew under NC’s watch. The ₹12,922 crore power scheme comes from the Centre, not NC. Without stopping corruption in the power department, these plans will fail again.

 

 

 

 

Free electricity for poor families and free transport for women sound nice, but they’re risky. With a 52% debt burden and ₹28,000 crore already owed for power, these schemes costing over ₹750 crore are reckless. NC is playing with J&K’s future for votes, just like they did during the 2010 unrest.

 

 

Tourism Growth is BJP’s Work, Not NC’s

 

 

Omar brags about 2.36 crore tourists in 2024, but that happened after the Centre’s 2019 security steps, not NC’s ideas. Places like Gulmarg boomed under UT rule, while NC’s time saw strikes ruin tourism. His 15% growth target uses BJP projects like the Z-Morh Tunnel, but he ignores the garbage problem NC never fixed.

 

 

NC Criticising Industrial Package Is Pure Hypocrisy

 

 

Omar wants to review the ₹28,000 crore industrial package, but his family stopped industries from growing for years, leaving us with just 64 estates. After 370’s removal, the Centre added 46 new estates and boosted small businesses. This “review” is just NC covering up their own failures.

 

 

 

 

Omar’s Mission YUVA promises 4,25,000 jobs, but it’s the same promise NC made in 2009 and never kept. When he was CM, youth unemployment hit 23%, leading to the 2010 stone-pelting. Schemes like Mumkin failed due to loan defaults. The Centre’s Khelo India and Udaan are doing better than NC’s old talk.

 

 

 

 

The ₹5,013 crore agriculture plan sounds fancy, but NC ignored farmers for years—wool prices fell from ₹100 to ₹30 per kg, and horticulture suffered. Only 40% of our farmland gets water, and small farms need real help, not big announcements. This is for show, not for farmers.

 

 

 

 

AIIMS Kashmir and new hospitals by 2025-26 come from the Centre’s plans, not NC’s efforts. When Omar was CM, rural health centres fell apart, and fake drugs were sold in Shopian. Doubling equipment funds won’t fix the 30% doctor shortage or NC’s bad management. Only BJP’s SEHAT scheme made a real difference.

 

 

 

 

Omar talks about strengthening Panchayats, but NC delayed elections for years and kept village leaders weak. The Centre’s push after 370 gave Panchayats real power, while NC held it back. His vague revenue plans dodge the truth: NC doesn’t want local democracy to grow.

 

 

Digital Services Ride on Centre’s Work, Not NC’s

 

 

Omar boasts about 1,166 online services and JK SAMADHAN, but these come from the Centre’s Digital India, not NC. When he was CM, internet was banned during the 2010 unrest, and rural areas had just 55% connectivity. Hyping digital tools in a region NC kept offline shows how out of touch they are.

 

 

 

Omar Abdullah’s budget speech is packed with big promises, but their past record shows they have failed to deliver. Be it economic growth, power reforms, jobs, or tourism, the real progress in J&K has come under the Centre’s governance. With no concrete plan to cut financial dependence on Delhi, NC’s vision for J&K looks weak, unrealistic, and more about elections than real development.