Srinagar, Apr 14: The Jammu and Kashmir government today blamed the previous national conference regime for the collapse of the state's financial situation. "The state is in a virtual debt trap. Over 75 per cent of the state's annual plan is going for debt repayment. Major contributors to the state economy--tourism, water resources, agriculture, forests and horticulture--are all in shambles," finance minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig said here.
"Political turmoil, lack of planning, mismanagement of resources, bad governance and rampant corruption under the previous NC government are the factors responsible for the collapse of the state's financial and economic mechanism," he said, addressing representatives of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce, Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation, Kashmir Chamber of Industry and Kashmir hoteliers and restaurant owners association.
The state's debt stood at Rs 10,000 crore and the revenue has failed to match the swelling expenditure. "As a result, we are forced to take fresh loans to pay the old ones, leaving nothing for development programmes," Baig said.

Desribing the unemployment problem in the state as "alarming", he said presently there are about two lakh educated youth without jobs. "The government cannot provide jobs to all for the sake of paying wages. Instead, we have to expand our economy to create ample job opportunities so that we can put our human resources to better use."
Bureau Report