In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Joint Directorate of Information and Public Relations has said that an amount of Rs 8.61 crore has been disbursed to local newspapers and national dailies in Kashmir division alone, during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and phase-wise lockdown. The department has cleared the previous year's liability and has asked the newspaper organizations to furnish bills to the department for further payments.<br />'' <br />''The department in a statement said that DIPR has made adequate funds available to both its divisional offices for making payment to newspapers and publications on account of their advertisement bills. It said, 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.<br />''<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">The statement further said that 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.</span><br />