Jammu&Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu on Monday tabled the budget estimates for the year 2016-17 in the State Assembly with focus on women empowerment, entrepreneurship development and streamlining of public spending.

The PDP-BJP coalition had planned to pass the State budget in January but following the demise of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7, the Assembly was put in suspended animation and Governor's Rule was imposed for three months. The State’s finances were managed through vote-on-account passed by the Governor's regime.

Opposition National Conference boycotted the budget speech and its legislators, led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah staged a walkout. An Independent legislator Sheikh Rashid attempted to disrupt the budget speech but was marshaled out after he ignored Speaker Kavinder Gupta's warning to maintain order in the House.

"This fiscal, the total receipts are estimated at Rs61,681 crore including Rs51, 460 crore revenues and Rs10,221 crore borrowings. The State's own revenues are estimated to be Rs23,739 crore while the share of Rs9,500 crore is the share of the State in Central taxes. Rs27, 721 crore are to flow as other Central transfers," Drabu said.

He said the total expenditiure is estimated to be Rs64, 669 crore with Rs19, 694 crore capital expenditure and Rs44, 975 crore revenue expenditure.

"We are spending Rs2.50 in order to be able to spend Rs1 on development," Drabu, a noted financial expert who has been the Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir Bank and financial advisor to the State Government in the past, said.

He said the salaries and pensions alone account for more than Rs23,000 crore, which is more than the total developmental expenditure in the year.

Drabu admitted that the system of spending and utilization of funds has been faulty in the State. "We are budgeting to spend of about Rs180 crore a day. Apart from limited working season, our institutional capacity to spend is limited," he said.

Drabu announced some gender-specific initiatives in deference to Mehbooba Mufti's takeover as the first woman Chief Minister of J&K. He proposed to waive off the fee of all girl students in the State Government-run educational institutions upto the secondary level. He also proposed that 10 per cent area in the industrial estates be reserved for women entrepreneurs. He also proposed setting up of four additional all-women police stations and Rs5 crore for a dedicated bus service for women in Srinagar and Jammu cities and provision to provide exclusive women toilets in all State, district and sub-district hospitals.

Drabu also tabled a separate power budget in the Assembly. later, speaking to reporters, he said that the financial mismanagement has been the hallmark and inherited by the successive State Governments for decades. He said the Provident Fund management would be a major task for the Government to streamline.

Drabu said that the State Government is committed to take the ownership of hydropower projects in the State. "There are extensive discussions happening. We have worked out three to four modalities but it would be premature to spell them out at this stage," he said.