Firdous Ahmad
Srinagar, Nov 10: Barely 12 percent of the 64,029 business units affected by the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack and the subsequent Indo-Pak conflict have been rehabilitated so far, as per the official documents accessed by The Biz Reporter.
The widespread business disruptions were taken up during the 16th meeting of the J&K Union Territory Level Bankers’ Committee (UTLBC) on June 21, where a panel of three major banks — J&K Bank, SBI and PNB — was tasked with preparing a comprehensive relief and rehabilitation package.
Following the committee’s recommendations, the Government of Jammu & Kashmir issued an order on August 8 declaring the entire Union Territory as “affected by disturbances” with effect from April 22. The approved rehabilitation package was circulated among all banks on September 6 for implementation.
However, the progress remains limited. Out of 64,029 affected business units involving an exposure of ₹5,055.12 crore, only 7,752 units — amounting to ₹494 crore — have been rehabilitated so far, the documents reveal.
J&K Bank, which has the largest share of affected accounts, reported 36,192 disturbed units worth ₹1,930.57 crore. Of these, 7,133 accounts amounting to ₹380.28 crore have been rehabilitated. SBI has rehabilitated 362 of its 10,800 affected accounts, while PNB has covered 235 out of 9,581. HDFC Bank and the Anantnag Central Cooperative Bank have shown no progress despite sizeable affected exposure, while Indian Bank has rehabilitated all 16 distressed accounts under its portfolio.
The rehabilitation package was to be fully implemented by November 5. With thousands of eligible accounts still pending, banks and several trade bodies have approached UTLBC seeking an extension of the deadline to December 31, 2025, to ensure wider coverage of affected businesses.
The matter has been placed before the UTLBC House for consideration, and a formal decision is awaited.
