SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have recorded significant progress across financial management, digital governance, GIS-based asset mapping, building permissions and land-use regulation, with the latest Urban Dashboard showing nearly complete utilisation of allocated funds alongside major advances in e-governance initiatives.
According to the details available with The News Now, 78 Urban Local Bodies have been covered under the expenditure monitoring system, with a total budget allocation of ₹4,061.3 crore, of which ₹4,030.15 crore has already been utilised, translating into an impressive 99 per cent budget utilisation.
The expenditure profile shows that maintenance and procurement account for the largest share of spending at 35.5 per cent, followed by salaries and staff costs (30.2%), capital works (18.7%), vehicle repairs and maintenance (8.4%), and office and administrative expenses (7.3%).
Among the Urban Local Bodies, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) emerged as the biggest spender, utilising ₹1,975.45 crore out of an allocation of ₹2,012 crore, while the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) spent ₹974.57 crore against an allocation of ₹1,022 crore. Municipal Council Anantnag, Achabal Municipal Committee and Municipal Council Bandipora also reported budget utilisation of about 99 per cent.
The financial trend indicates consistent improvement over the last four financial years, with both budget allocation and expenditure steadily increasing from FY 2022-23 to FY 2025-26.
Reports also suggest substantial progress in GIS-based urban asset mapping. A total of 52,546 GIS-mapped assets have been created across 80 ULBs, supported by 103 GIS layers and 718 GIS attributes, resulting in an overall GIS coverage of 88 per cent.
The Jammu Municipal Corporation leads GIS implementation with 23,456 mapped assets and 90 per cent GIS coverage, followed by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, which has mapped 12,120 assets with 89 per cent coverage. Municipal Council Baramulla, Arnia Municipal Committee and Municipal Committee Basohli also feature among the top-performing local bodies.
The mapped assets include roads, water supply infrastructure, sewerage networks, solid waste management facilities, public transport infrastructure, sanitation infrastructure, storm-water drainage systems, commercial assets, vacant government land and old municipal buildings, indicating the expanding use of geospatial technology in urban planning and service delivery.
Building permission services have also witnessed significant digital adoption. The dashboard records 7,366 building permission applications, of which 4,730 were approved, 1,364 rejected, while 5,776 applications were disposed of, resulting in an overall 83 per cent Service Level Agreement (SLA) achievement.
The Jammu Municipal Corporation topped the building permission rankings with 1,902 applications received, 1,602 approvals, 1,755 disposals and 85 per cent SLA achievement. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation followed with 1,061 applications, while the Jammu Development Authority, Baramulla Municipal Council and the Jammu and Kashmir Lake Conservation and Management Authority also featured among the leading performers.
Similarly, development authorities reported encouraging progress in processing Change of Land Use (CLU) applications. Across four development authorities, 1,189 applications were received, 915 approved, 257 rejected and 1,077 disposed of, with 84 per cent of applications processed within the prescribed PSGA timelines.
The Jammu Development Authority (JDA) accounted for the highest volume of CLU applications, receiving 890 requests, approving 697, disposing of 832, and recording 85 per cent PSGA compliance. Srinagar Development Authority, Katra Development Authority and Udhampur Development Authority also processed applications through the online system.
The revenue collection dashboard further indicates that Urban Local Bodies collectively generated ₹265 crore through user charges and municipal services. The Jammu Municipal Corporation remained the largest revenue contributor with around ₹170 crore, followed by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation with ₹20 crore. Municipal Committees Akhnoor, Doda and Banihal also registered notable collections.
Overall, the dashboard reflects a growing emphasis on digital governance, financial discipline and technology-driven urban management, with high fund utilisation, expanding GIS coverage, streamlined online approvals and improved municipal revenue generation indicating continued progress in strengthening urban administration across Jammu and Kashmir.
