The Hindu               28.06.2013

Annual plan pegged at Rs. 2000 crore

The annual plan outlay of the Union Territory of Puducherry for the fiscal 2013-14 has been pegged at Rs. 2000 crore.

The outlay was arrived at a meeting between the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy in New Delhi on Thursday.

The plan size is Rs. 1,000 crore less than the previous year.

The Commission had approved Rs. 3000 crore for 2012-13 that included Rs. 800 crore, which was asked to be generated by the territorial administration through World Bank for “Thane” cyclone rehabilitation.

However, it did not materialise reportedly due to non-approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Planning Commission has totally agreed to the plan size proposal submitted by the territorial administration based on the decision taken at the Puducherry Planning Board meeting held recently.

Asked about the outcome of the meeting with the Planning Commission, Mr. Rangasamy told The Hindu over phone from New Delhi that he was satisfied with the outcome.

“It went off well. The Commission totally agreed to the plan size proposal. It is a realistic plan.”

A senior official, who participated in the meeting, said that Mr. Ahluwalia appreciated the territorial administration for the realistic demand considering the current financial situation.

Mr. Ahluwalia also termed the downsized plan proposal a bold step, the official said.

The discussion was centred on the implementation of various tourism projects in Puducherry.

Tapping of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, particularly Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM), expansion of Puducherry airport with the support of Tamil Nadu government, setting up an airport in Karaikal with private initiative, setting up of a power plant in Karaikal under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, connecting Karaikal with national power grid and others were discussed in the meeting.

Chetan B. Sanghi, Chief Secretary; K.R. Meena, Resident Commissioner; W.V.R. Murthy, Secretary, Finance; P.R. Meena, Secretary, Public Works Department attended the meeting.