Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday emphasised fiscal discipline and directed all departments to submit well-structured, need-based proposals aligned with the government’s development roadmap ahead of the upcoming budget session of the J&K Legislative Assembly.

For the second consecutive day, the chief minister held pre-budget consultations with several key departments to review priorities, sectoral requirements and development imperatives. The budget session of the Assembly is scheduled to begin on February 2.

Abdullah, who also holds the finance portfolio, chaired detailed meetings with the departments of Social Welfare, Health and Medical Education, School Education, Higher Education, Public Works (Roads and Buildings), Mining, Industries and Commerce, and Labour.

Addressing the meetings, the chief minister underscored the importance of realistic and outcome-oriented budgeting. He stressed that proposals must be grounded in actual needs, ensure optimal use of public funds and adhere to fiscal prudence.

“The budget should reflect the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and focus on inclusive growth, balanced regional development and sustainable economic progress,” Abdullah said, while also calling for transparency, timely project completion and efficient service delivery.

During the deliberations, the chief minister reviewed the progress of ongoing projects, budget utilisation patterns and future financial requirements across sectors. He directed departments to adopt a people-centric and performance-driven approach, with particular emphasis on strengthening healthcare and education infrastructure, expanding social security coverage, improving road connectivity, promoting industrial growth and generating employment opportunities for youth.

The pre-budget consultation process began on Tuesday with nine departments and is scheduled to conclude on Thursday with meetings involving the remaining departments. An official spokesperson said the exercise is aimed at finalising a comprehensive, growth-oriented and people-friendly budget for the Union Territory.

Security has been tightened across Srinagar ahead of Republic Day celebrations, with police stepping up surveillance and deployment to ensure smooth and incident-free observances, officials said on Wednesday.

In view of the national event, Srinagar Police have intensified security and inspection measures across the city. Additional police personnel have been deployed at key locations, while special checkpoints and mobile patrols have been put in place to conduct thorough verification of vehicles and individuals.

Officials said night patrolling and surprise inspections are being carried out to maintain heightened vigilance and prevent any attempt to disturb public order. Sensitive areas have been placed under enhanced watch, with a focus on tracking suspicious movements.

Senior police officers are closely monitoring the security arrangements on the ground to ensure effective coordination and seamless implementation of the plan, officials added.

The police have appealed to the public to cooperate during checking and verification drives and urged citizens to immediately report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station or the Police Control Room.

House Listing Operations (HLO) will be conducted across Jammu and Kashmir from June 1 to June 30 as part of the forthcoming Census 2027 exercise, with self-enumeration beginning 15 days prior to the field operations, officials said on Wednesday.

The schedule was finalised by the Union Territory Level Census Coordination Committee, which met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo. Officials said the government will issue the necessary notification by January 31.

To ensure smooth self-enumeration, technical assistants and charge officials will be deployed to guide citizens during the 15-day self-enumeration period preceding the house listing operations.

During the meeting, Director Census Operations for J&K and Ladakh, Amit Sharma, made a detailed presentation on the framework and key features of Census 2027, which will be India’s first fully digital census.

The presentation highlighted several key innovations, including the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS), the provision for self-enumeration by citizens, and caste enumeration. The sequence of census activities—covering training, self-enumeration, house listing, and population enumeration—along with detailed timelines, was also outlined.

Emphasising the importance of effective field-level implementation, the committee approved the expedited hiring of manpower for Census 2027 at the UT, district and charge levels.

Deputy commissioners were directed to constitute District Level Census Cells and nominate officers for coordination, training and supervision. Instructions were also issued for the timely identification of master trainers, supervisors and enumerators.

Addressing the meeting, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo stressed the need for close coordination between the administration and the census directorate and directed all deputy commissioners to extend full support to ensure the smooth, accurate and timely conduct of the census exercise. He assured full cooperation from the UT government for the successful completion of the process.