Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Feb 1: The Government of India has allocated Rs 9325 crore for the Jammu & Kashmir Police, which is under the administrative control of the Union Home Ministry, in the Union Budget for 2025-26.
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) demands for grants for 2025-26, Rs 9325.73 crore have been allocated to the J&K Police in the Union Budget. Of this amount, Rs 8897.72 crore has been earmarked for the revenue expenditure and Rs 428.01 crore for the capital expenditure, according to documents.
These budgetary provisions have been made to meet the administrative expenditures of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which is responsible for maintaining and enforcing law and order and managing traffic in J&K.
Since 2024-25, the J&K Police’s budget has been part of the Union Budget. While the Union government has described the takeover of the J&K Police budget as an act of financial benevolence, opposition parties have argued that it indicates J&K will continue to remain under the Union government’s control for a longer period.
In 2019, the Union Government took over the power of legislating on J&K Police through the J&K Reorganisation Act. “Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Legislative Assembly may make laws for the whole or any part of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the State List except the subjects mentioned at entries 1 and 2, namely ‘Public Order’ and ‘Police’ respectively, or the Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India in so far as any such matter is applicable in relation to the Union territories,” section 28 of the law bifurcating J&K into two UTs states. (KNO)
