Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir has been rocked by a stunning financial revelation, development spending in the first four months of 2025–26 has collapsed to its lowest point in five years, raising alarming questions about the government’s promises of growth and progress.
Exclusive data accessed by local news gathering agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO) shows that capital expenditure nosedived to a meagre ₹705.61 crore, a jaw-dropping fall from the massive ₹3298.91 crore spent in the same period last year.
The plunge is nothing short of dramatic: in 2023–24 it was ₹1501.56 crore, in 2022–23 ₹1160.23 crore, in 2021–22 ₹1048.62 crore, and in 2020–21 ₹719.81 crore. But 2025–26 has broken all the wrong records.
This freefall comes despite Chief Minister Omar Abdullah unveiling a mega ₹17,680 crore budget for capital expenditure and another ₹8487 crore under centrally sponsored schemes. On paper, it was a vision of accelerated growth. On ground, however, the spending wheels appear to have screeched to a halt.
Insiders admit that district sector spending has been “almost negligible” so far, with delays in plan finalisation crippling the flow of funds. While officials assure that expenditure will “pick up pace” and that 100% utilization is still possible, the current figures paint a grim picture of paralysis at the heart of governance.
As the people of J&K wait for promised projects to materialize, one question echoes loud and clear: Is development in J&K now just a budget speech promise, or a collapsing dream?
