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3 min readJammuFeb 8, 2026 06:57 AM IST
MLA Devyani Rana. (PTI/File)
The Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly witnessed a rare spectacle Saturday when even ruling National Conference legislators were seen thumping their desks in appreciation as Opposition MLA Devyani Rana tore into the recently announced Budget 2026-27, criticising sharp reductions in allocations across several key sectors.
Participating in the Budget discussion, Rana, a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Nagrota, flagged concerns over various reductions – from allocation to disaster management, relief and rehabilitation to Education.
Addressing the first, Rana argued the decision to slash disaster relief by half – especially months after Jammu province witnessed widespread devastation due to floods and landslides – reflected the government’s seriousness about disaster mitigation. The allocation for disaster management and relief has been reduced to Rs 350.76 crore from Rs 719 crore last year.
“We are proposing half of the money for disaster management during the coming fiscal than funds allocated for the current year,” Rana said, adding that this comes “in a year marked by unprecedented and incessant rainfall that devastated rural areas, especially the Nagrota Assembly constituency”.
She cited two deaths — that of a toddler in a landslide, and of a 28-year-old youth by drowning — to underline her point.
“These are not merely names from Nagrota. They represent the lives lost in devastation that spanned the Jammu region,” she said.
Making a case for increased allocation for disaster relief, she said the Union Territory was “an earthquake-prone, landslide-prone, landslide-prone, flood-prone and fire-prone” region.
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“We know this. This is an established fact as we all have lived through these realities. So, we must invest more and invest decisively to rebuild infrastructure, structural upgrade and restoration of damaged public assets, early warning system, flood management, drainage network,” she said.
She also flagged concerns over the reduced allocation for education, arguing that with the revised estimate for 2025-26 at Rs 1,163.72 crore, the reduced estimate of Rs 969.97 crore was inadequate.
“Going by the numbers alone, this is an admission that we intend to spend Rs 193.75 crore less on education than we are to spend during this fiscal,” she said. “How will the child of a poor person progress when schools will be closed or merged with one another in far-off places due to reduced budgetary allocation?”
She flagged similar reductions to the power department, and criticised the government’s implementation of the free bus travel initiative for persons with disabilities, calling it “completely divorced from reality”.
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“Are our buses adequately equipped with ramps and access mechanisms, especially when there have been documented instances of buses failing to stop even for women standing by?” she asked.
The House listened to her 12-minute address in silence and, when her speech concluded, members from both Treasury and Opposition benches thumped their desks. While one Cabinet minister was seen giving her a thumbs-up, an NC member, along with several BJP leaders, went to her seat to laud her.
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