The Hindu             01.08.2013

Rs. 25,250-cr. annual plan for Chhattisgarh granted

The Planning Commission has granted a Plan size of Rs. 25,250 crore for Chhattisgarh. The decision came after Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh met on Wednesday in New Delhi.

The outlay includes Central assistance to the State Plan of about Rs. 2,574 crore. In addition, an amount of nearly Rs. 6,000 crore is likely to flow from the Centre to Chhattisgarh through various Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). More specifically, plan funding from the Central government to Chhattisgarh, from all sources, is expected to be over Rs. 8,574 crore during 2013-14.

Mr. Ahluwalia praised the State for following the policy of inclusive development with focus on private participation in infrastructure development. Appreciating improvement in the human development index, he pointed out that health indicators have shown substantial improvement but deterioration in child sex ratio was a matter of concern.

Mr. Singh reiterated Chhattisgarh’s need for greater flexibility in implementing the CSS as each State was different and had diverse requirements. He highlighted the fact that Chhattisgarh was a tribal State, sparsely populated and therefore requiring “flexibility in funding and much more relaxed norms.”

Recently, the Planning Commission restructured the CSS to provide greater flexibility to State governments for proper implementation. Ten per cent of the outlay of the schemes was to be kept as flexi-funds.

“Due to the strict embargo on environmental clearances, several projects get stuck. They need greater flexibility especially due to the large forest area in Chhattisgarh,” said Sayeda Hameed, Member, Planning Commission.

Mr. Singh asserted that during 12th Plan period the State would be following a policy of faster and more inclusive growth with a 10 per cent growth target. To improve business regulatory environment, the State investment promotion board had been constituted. This would facilitate early sanction of projects. A single window clearance system had been put in place and a monitoring committee set up to coordinate and review progress of statutory clearances.

Additionally, the need for concerted efforts required to improve the literacy rate and eliminate gender and social gap in school enrolment by the end of Twelfth Five Year Plan was discussed in detail. According to Census (2011) data, the gender gap in literacy in Chhattisgarh was nearly 21 per cent.

It was suggested that convergence with Integrated Child Development Scheme should be encouraged to address the problems of malnutrition.