National Conference on Tuesday lashed out at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her Government for ‘misleading’ the people of the State about the amount of funds allocated to Srinagar under the ‘Capital City Development Plan’. 

NC General Secretary and MLA Khanyar, Ali Mohammad Sagar, said the Rs 600 crores allocated to Srinagar under the CCDP was an aggregate amount of various existing central schemes and devolution funds for Municipality, conservation and land acquisition that had been disingenuously re-branded as CCDP.

“It is now public knowledge that the District Plan Size for Srinagar announced by this Government is half of the amount announced for Jammu District. To conceal this grave injustice with the people of Srinagar, the Chief Minister has resorted to chicanery and dishonesty by re-branding funds under existing schemes, heads and devolution functions as the alleged 600 crore Capital City Development Plan (CCDP) without explaining the source of funding for such a plan”, the NC General Secretary said in a statement.

Sagar said the aggregate amount of the alleged 600 crores plan included around 200 to 300 crores of existing funding mechanisms and expenditure heads spent through devolution of civic functions and services by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and almost 150 crores that the city is entitled to under the AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) Central Scheme. “Ironically the funds under the AMRUT scheme have previously been included in the Prime Minister’s package and now they are being re-branded under this CCDP that doesn’t exist in reality,” he added. 

“Similarly, almost Rs 50 crores that the State gets as the central share for the acquisition of land and structures in and around Dal and Nigeen Lakes as well as an additional 50 crores meant for Dal conservation under LAWDA and setting up of STPs – all has been included in the alleged 600 crores. Additionally Private Public Partnership (PPP) avenues have also been included in the alleged package.”

“The Chief Minister chaired the District Development Board (DDB) meeting and it is extremely unfortunate that this elaborate lie was officially peddled with her knowledge and patronage. Depriving the people of Srinagar of their fair share of funds for development and growth is gross injustice. Mehbooba Mufti has followed this gross injustice with an insult – that of lying to the people. A CM lying about the existing and dispensation of funds and simultaneously accounting for the same funds in difference schemes is shameful and tragic”, Sagar added.