SRINAGAR: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday arrived here on her first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and inaugurated projects worth Rs 165 crore. The development works inaugurated by the minister pertained to health, education, urban infrastructure and disaster management. She also laid foundation stone for Union Territory (UT) Level Emergency Operation Centre and SCADA control building at Budgam, Kashmir (worth Rs 34.88 crore) under the World Bank-funded Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP).
The JTFRP, which is assisted by a credit of $250 million from the World Bank, was started in the aftermath of devastating floods of 2014 which severely affected low-lying areas of Kashmir, including Srinagar, causing immense damage to housing, roads and bridges. The finance minister also inaugurated the Income Tax department’s new office-cum-residential complex in the summer capital of J&K.
Speaking on the occasion, Sitharaman said the I-T office at Srinagar will act as a “bridge” to connect people of the region to the “best taxpayer services” and also help them in their taxation issues through the Aaykar Sewa Kendra.
Later, in an interaction with tax administrators and stakeholders here, the finance minister urged the officers of both CBDT & CBIC to be “agents of change” and reach out to the industry and business individuals to ascertain their expectations from the government.