Srinagar, Aug. 5 -- Jammu and Kashmir's budget for 2026-27 lands at roughly Rs.1,13,767 crore, a sum large enough to fund highways, hospitals and welfare rolls throughout two regions still recovering from floods and years of political upheaval.

Most of that money comes from New Delhi, through tax devolution, grants-in-aid, centrally sponsored schemes and fifty-year interest-free loans under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment program.

The Union Territory's own tax and non-tax income totals about 31,800 crore rupees, a fraction of what the budget actually spends.

This is a story about dependence rather than generosity, where reliable funding dulled the instinct to ask whether it was well spent.

Officials project gro...