Information Deptt, Kashmir makes payment of Rs 8.61 crore to newspapers during COVID-19 pandemic

Srinagar: The Information Department Wednesday contested a news item published in a local newspaper regarding withholding of payments to the newspapers saying that the bills of advertisement payments are being cleared from time to time.
Joint Directorate of Information and Public Relations has clarified that in Kashmir division alone, an amount of Rs 8.61 crore has been disbursed to local newspapers and national dailies during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and phase-wise lockdown. The department has cleared previous year’s liability and has asked newspaper organizations to furnish bills to the department for further payment.
The department in a statement said DIPR has made adequate funds available to both its divisional offices for making payment to newspapers and publications on account of their advertisement bills and an amount of Rs 11 crore each has already been released to Kashmir and Jammu divisions during the current financial year up to ending August 2020.
The bills received by the department are being verified and reconciled and it is expected that payments would be released to the newspapers within one week, reads the statement.