The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — The National Conference-led government in Jammu and Kashmir is unlikely to undertake an expansion-cum-reshuffle of the council of ministers for the time being, sources said.

Sources told news agency KNO that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would not immediately expand his cabinet.

“There are no chances of cabinet expansion this month. The exercise will not be taken up given that the autumn session of the J&K Assembly is now just 10 days away,” they said.

The autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is scheduled to begin on September 21 and conclude on September 30.

According to the sources, the cabinet expansion could instead take place around the second anniversary of the NC-led government, which will complete two years in office on October 16.

An expansion-cum-reshuffle had been widely expected after August 15.

Omar Abdullah is also understood to have approached the Congress high command to ascertain whether the party would take up a ministerial position in the government.

The Congress high command subsequently discussed the offer from the NC-led government with its leaders based in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the sources.

The council of ministers currently has six members. It can have up to three more ministers, as the J&K Reorganisation Act limits the strength of the council of ministers to one-tenth of the total strength of MLAs.

SRINAGAR — The promised August 2026 deadline for commencement of Outpatient Department (OPD) services at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Awantipora has passed without the facility becoming operational, prompting residents across Kashmir to seek an immediate start of at least OPD services.

Residents told news agency KNO that repeated postponement of deadlines had caused disappointment among people who expected AIIMS Awantipora to provide advanced and affordable treatment within the region and reduce dependence on hospitals outside Jammu and Kashmir.

They said the government had earlier stated that OPD services would commence by August 2026, while MBBS courses were expected to start in July this year. With the August deadline now over, they said uncertainty remained over when patients would be able to access the institution.

Residents also questioned the pace of operationalisation of the two AIIMS projects sanctioned for Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 — one at Vijaypur in Jammu and the other at Awantipora in south Kashmir.

“Both projects were sanctioned at the same time, but AIIMS Jammu has been functioning for the last two years, while people in Kashmir are still waiting even for basic OPD services at AIIMS Awantipora. We want to know why Kashmir is being subjected to such stepmotherly treatment,” residents said.

They argued that the issue was not merely about infrastructure but also about access to specialised healthcare for people living across Kashmir.

“For a patient from Kashmir suffering from cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders or other serious illnesses, travelling outside J&K is not an easy option. It involves huge expenditure on transportation, accommodation and treatment and puts an additional burden on already distressed families,” they said.

The residents urged authorities to start OPD services in portions of the institute that are ready rather than waiting for every component of the project to be completed.

They also appealed to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda to intervene and seek a time-bound status report on the operationalisation of AIIMS Awantipora.

The residents urged the J&K administration and Union Health Ministry to make public a clear timeline for starting OPD, inpatient and emergency services.

The AIIMS Awantipora project was sanctioned at an estimated cost of around ₹1,828 crore and envisages around 57 structures.

Once fully operational, the project is expected to add around 1,000 beds, including 300 super-speciality beds, along with a medical college with an annual intake of 100 MBBS students and a nursing college with capacity for 60 students annually.

The project was initially expected to be completed by January 2025, with the deadline subsequently revised to November 2025. However, according to the source material, it continued to face delays linked to land-related litigation, restrictions following the abrogation of Article 370, the COVID-19 pandemic, issues concerning a nearby Army establishment, adverse weather conditions and labour shortages.

Residents said operationalisation of AIIMS Awantipora would benefit not only Pulwama and adjoining districts of south Kashmir but the wider Kashmir Valley, particularly patients requiring specialised treatment.

“Kashmir has waited long enough. The Union Health Ministry must intervene and ensure that OPD services are started without any further delay,” they said.

SRINAGAR — Household budgets across Jammu and Kashmir continue to face pressure from the cost of essential commodities, with consumers raising concerns over higher prices of food and other daily-use items despite existing mechanisms for price monitoring and enforcement.

Latest available J&K price data puts the average retail price of milk at ₹62.67 per litre, sugar at ₹63.33 per kilogram, moong dal at ₹121.33 per kilogram and masoor dal at ₹104.33 per kilogram.

For consumers, the impact of prices is not determined solely by the headline inflation rate but by what households actually spend on food, cooking essentials and other daily-use commodities in local markets.

Jammu and Kashmir has an official system for monitoring prices. The Directorate of Economics and Statistics collects retail prices of essential commodities from selected markets and shops across all 20 districts of the Union Territory.

The department says the collected information is analysed to identify price fluctuations and regulate supplies. Daily prices of 22 essential commodities are also submitted to the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs for monitoring.

The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department is responsible for monitoring the prices and availability of essential commodities and protecting consumer interests. Its enforcement machinery includes Legal Metrology authorities, which check compliance relating to packaged goods, weights, measures and pricing.

Recent enforcement action has also been reported.

The Legal Metrology Department said it realised about ₹44.55 lakh in revenue and ₹9.10 lakh through composition during August 2026, while more than 50 Improvement Notices were served on establishments for minor or rectifiable deficiencies.

In September, two online sellers were also penalised ₹25,000 each in a consumer-protection action.

In Jammu, a market inspection in Trikuta Nagar and adjoining areas on August 30 found deficiencies in MRP display and expired products at some establishments, following which notices were issued.

The continuing concern for consumers, however, is whether such monitoring and enforcement are translating into effective relief at the retail counter.

The J&K Economic Survey 2025-26 provides an indication of longer-term price pressure. According to the Survey, J&K’s combined inflation remained above the all-India rate throughout 2025.

J&K’s inflation stood at 4.8% in January 2025 against 4.3% nationally and at 4.4% in September compared with 1.4% nationally. In December, J&K recorded inflation of 2.3% against 1.3% for India.

The difference between official inflation figures and individual household experience can arise because inflation is an average measure and does not reflect the exact basket of goods purchased by every family.

Households that spend a larger share of their income on food and essential commodities can therefore feel a sharper increase in monthly expenditure when those items become more expensive.

The latest Crisil household-food indicator also points to continued pressure on food budgets. The cost of a home-cooked vegetarian thali increased 1% year-on-year in August, while the non-vegetarian thali rose 5%.

Crisil attributed the increase mainly to onion, vegetable oil, rice and LPG prices.

For consumers in J&K, the concern therefore extends beyond whether inflation is rising or falling on paper. It also involves the prices actually paid for essential commodities, possible gaps between prescribed and retail prices where violations occur, and the effectiveness of inspections in preventing overcharging.

With price-monitoring mechanisms operating across all 20 districts, consumers are likely to continue looking to the administration for closer enforcement, transparent publication of district-wise prices and action against overcharging wherever violations are established.