Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today announced a one-time relaxation allowing legislators to utilize up to Rs 50 lakh from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for the construction and repair of houses damaged in recent calamities during the current and 2026–27 financial years.
Omar announced a series of the changes in CDF during his address in the Assembly, stressing that the revised rules will enable legislators to address local needs more efficiently and respond better to calamity situations.
Omar said the review of the CDF scheme had been underway for the last two months, with a focus on identifying gaps and areas for improvement.
“We have been examining this scheme to see where we can make it more useful for public welfare. I am glad to inform you that the government has approved several key changes,” he said in the J&K Assembly.
Among the major reforms, the ceiling of Rs. 50 lakh under the Power Development Infrastructure sector has been withdrawn, allowing MLAs to recommend works without an upper limit. Similarly, the Rs. 10 lakh ceiling for installing solar lights has also been withdrawn.
Under the Public Health Engineering (PHE) sector, purchase of mobile water tankers and individual household connections has now been permitted, he said.
The education and health sectors have also seen liberalization of spending norms. MLAs can now allocate funds for the purchase of school vans and buses, both three- and four-wheelers, as well as wheelchairs, tricycles, and motorized scooters for differently-abled persons, the Chief Minister said.
In view of the recent devastating floods, a one-time relaxation has been given allowing the use of up to Rs. 50 lakh from CDF for the construction and repair of houses of calamity-affected families during the current and 2026-27 financial years.
The provision mandating MLAs to utilize 80 per cent of funds within a financial year— failing which subsequent releases would be withheld — has been deleted, Omar said.
The Chief Minister recalled that during the last Assembly session, he had promised to bring the CDF at par with the MPLAD scheme.
“However, there were certain shortcomings in the MPLAD model that we did not want to replicate in the CDF. So we wanted a few things back to CDF,” he said.
“One of them is construction of temporary sheds for people affected due to natural calamity such as earthquakes, floods and droughts, this shall now be permitted under MLA CDF,” Omar said.
“Grant-in-aid to old age homes, shelters, orphanages for purchase of bedding, utensils, books and uniforms for a maximum limit of 3 lakhs shall now be permissible under CDF guidelines,” he said.
“Grant-in-aid to youth clubs, sports organizations for purchase of sports equipment through government organizations and agencies for a maximum limit of 3 lakh shall now be permitted under CDF guidelines,” he added.
Omar said MLAs from non-affected areas can also recommend up to Rs. 10 lakh for works in disaster-hit constituencies or contribute to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for specific use in affected regions.
Further, Rs. 20 lakh can be utilized for housing upgradation of tribal and BPL families on the lines of PMAY, with funds released after physical verification.
