Mehbooba seeks restructuring of credit

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Srinagar on Thursday and sought restructuring of credit facility to local businesses which suffered huge losses due to the unrest in the Valley last year.

Jaitley is in Srinagar to chair a crucial meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council. Mehbooba and Jaitley also discussed issues related to flow of funds to the state, particularly under the Prime Minister’s Developmental Plan, a spokesperson said.

The chief minister also sought timely and periodic release of funds under the plan and apprised Jaitley of the huge losses suffered by local business units, particularly the ones started by young entrepreneurs, last year.

The 2016 Economic Survey states, “Losses caused due to the unrest from July 8 to November 30, 2016, are estimated at more than Rs 16,000 crore.”

The chapter ‘Economies of Uncertainty and Conflict’ states that in 2016, the civil strife caused tremendous misery, loss of life and complete halt of economic activity in the Valley coupled with loss of property worth crores of rupees.

“The scraping of internet services, mobile and phone services for long spells during the turmoil made communication in the state very difficult. Hartals, bandhs, stone-pelting, curfews and restrictions immobilised life in all the 10 districts of the Valley,” it said.