NEW DELHI, Nov 19: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's economic package for Jammu and Kashmir, to the exclusion of a political vision, has angered Kashmiris opposed to Indian rule, but on Friday even the prime minister's allies there were questioning his outstretched helping hand.

Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Muzzafar Hussain Beig said that the 240 billion-rupee package which Dr Singh announced on Thursday to be disbursed over the next four years for Kashmir leaves only Rs 58 billion for the state, because the rest of the funds were earmarked for ongoing New Delhi-sponsored power projects.

"We are grateful to the prime minister for this reconstruction plan but it will certainly create problems for us," Mr Beig told Indian Express. He said the package had opened a floodgate of misplaced demands.

"The ministers and legislators have started asking for raise in their salary and other perks. Hardly anyone of them knows that Rs 180 billion from it will go to central power projects. My calculation is that we have around Rs 58 billion, which includes the Rs 5-10 billion given by the previous government," Mr Beig said.

According to Mr Beig's figures, Dr Singh's package includes: i) Rs 180 billion for power projects of the National Hydro-electric Power Corporation, of which Rs 150 billion has already been earmarked. ii) Rs 10 billion for laying transmission lines and distribution of power iii) Rs 8 billion for roads iv) Rs 6 billion as part of Asian Development Bank fund v) Rs 7 billion for education and healthcare vi) Rs 7.5 bilion for Wular Lake conservation.

And the rest for three projects _ Dal Lake conservation, upgradation of the Srinagar airport and laying of 220 KV line to Leh. The last named project was commissioned by the Vajpayee government.

Dr Singh announced the lifting of ban on recruitment in government organizations. To that Mr Beig said: "Every year we have to sign an MoU (with New Delhi) saying that we will reduce revenue expenditure by five per cent. And salaries to our employees is part of that revenue expenditure.

If we don't do so, the penalty is that 15 per cent of our non-plan allocation is withheld. It is around Rs 4,500 million. This is exactly why we had frozen all recruitment," Mr Beig said. "Once we start the recruitment again, where will their salary come from?"