Srinagar- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday offered a detailed clarification on several pressing governance and political issues, notably the ongoing debate over smart electricity meters, the anticipated cabinet expansion, and restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.

Addressing a press conference in Srinagar to mark one year of his administration, Omar sought to dispel 'misconceptions' surrounding his party's stance on smart metering, defended the government's policy framework for power reforms, and reiterated his expectation that New Delhi will eventually fulfil its commitment to restore statehood to the Union Territory.

On the contentious issue of smart meters, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that his party had never pledged to abolish their installation.

Instead, he asserted that the government's assurance of 200 free electricity units can only materialize once smart metering is comprehensively implemented across Jammu and Kashmir.

“Without smart meters, it is impossible to precisely quantify power consumption and thereby fulfil the commitment of free units,” Omar said.

The Chief Minister maintained that the rollout of smart meters has already led to a qualitative enhancement in electricity management and a marked improvement in power stability, even during exigent circumstances such as floods.

“Our objective is to ensure consistent supply, curtail losses, and rationalize billing. In fact, in numerous cases, accurate load assessment through smart metering has actually diminished the financial burden on economically weaker households,” he added.

Omar emphasized that the government is endeavouring to fortify the energy infrastructure to guarantee uninterrupted power supply, particularly during the harsh winter months.

“We are upgrading systems, modernizing distribution networks, and mitigating long-standing inefficiencies to ensure reliability and transparency in power delivery,” he remarked.

On cabinet expansion Omar revealed that the much-speculated cabinet expansion is being“actively contemplated” and will be executed following the conclusion of the forthcoming bye-elections.

He further disclosed that the candidate for the Budgam bypoll will be unveiled within the next 48 hours.

“The constraints inherent in the Union Territory structure-particularly the artificially curtailed number of ministers-have limited regional representation. Nonetheless, the notion that one must hold a ministerial portfolio to serve the people is misconceived. Each member of the cabinet is mandated to work for the collective welfare of the Union Territory,” Omar observed.

On the question of statehood restoration, Omar described it as egregiously unjust to correlate the issue with the Pahalgam attack.

“The people of Jammu and Kashmir were in no way complicit in that incident. Even the perpetrators, who were later neutralized by security forces, were outsiders. To tether the restoration of statehood to that episode is not only unreasonable but also discriminatory,” he said.

He reiterated that the central government had, both in Parliament and before the Supreme Court, unequivocally articulated a sequence of commitments-first delimitation, then elections, and finally the reinstatement of statehood.“Two of these assurances have been honoured thus far; the third remains pending. We anticipate that it too will be fulfilled in due course,” he added.

Omar also took aim at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), urging it to display candour in its political pronouncements.

“The BJP never declared that statehood would be restored only upon its return to power. To politicize such a fundamental issue is deeply regrettable. We have already endured the deleterious consequences of the previous BJP-PDP coalition and have no intention of replicating that blunder,” he said.

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