Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 24: The Planning and Finance Departments of the State Government today gave detailed presentation of next financial year resources before the State Government to secure healthy annual plan for 2013-14 and funding under other Centrally Sponsored Schemes from the Planning Commission of India.
This was for the first time that the meeting of the State bureaucrats with the Planning Commission Advisors was held through video conferencing. Previously, the Administrative Secretaries of Planning and Finance Departments had to travel to New Delhi for the meeting.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Financial Commissioner (Finance) Mohammad Iqbal Khandey and Principal Secretary (Planning) BR Sharma besides other senior officers of the two Departments conversed with Planning Commission Advisors for more than two and a half hours through video conferencing explaining the resources of the State Government to fund the annual plan for next financial year.
During the current financial year of 2012-13, the State had been granted Rs 7300 crore worth annual plan and Rs 700 crore under Prime Minister’s Re-construction Plan (PMRP).
Sources said the State Government team today apprised the Planning Commission of India about tax and non tax revenue, which the State was going to collect during current fiscal year, expenditure of the Government, salary and pension bill of the employees and other tax resources and expenditure.
“The Planning Commission required source position of the State to ascertain how much large plan the Government could fund”, they said.
Both tax and non tax revenue of the State were sharply on rise during first three quarters of this financial year as compared to last fiscal. The State has witnessed about 25 to 30 per cent increase in tax and non tax revenue during first three quarters and this could go up further in the last quarter when majority of taxes are collected or paid by the people and the traders.
Sources said the officers of Planning and Finance Department told the Planning Commission Advisors that the State was in a position to fund a healthy annual plan above Rs 8000 crore for 2012-13 as it had done during current financial year when it was granted Rs 7300 crore worth plan.
“The first meeting of the annual plan, which was held through video conferencing was quite successful. The Planning Commission Advisors, who take the first meeting on behalf of Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, were satisfied about resource positions of the State especially the sharp increase in tax and non tax revenue of the State”, sources said, adding “this has increased the hopes of the Government to get healthy and largest ever plan for the next financial year of 2013-14.
So far, Rs 7300 crore worth annual plan of the State during current financial year of 2012-13 was the highest ever. The State was expecting at least 10 per cent step-up in the plan for next fiscal year, which would take the plan amount up to Rs 8000 crore or even beyond.
Meanwhile, the State Government has also sought grant of second phase of Prime Minister’s Re-construction Plan (PMRP). Thrice extended PMRP is ending on March 31 this year. Instead of seeking one more year’s extension for it, the State has mooted the idea of second phase of PMRP to take more projects under it and execute the ongoing projects, sources said, adding the State Government was hopeful that the Union Government and the Planning Commission would approve Phase-2 of PMRP from next financial year.
During current financial year, the State had been granted Rs 700 crore under PMRP, which were Rs 500 crore less from last financial year. In last fiscal year, the State had been able to spend just about Rs 500 crore from out of Rs 1200 crore approved by the Planning Commission.
According to sources, the next plan meeting of the State would include Administrative Secretaries of almost all Departments and it would be held in New Delhi with Planning Commission members. The meeting could be held either before budget session of the Legislature or after it.
However, the Planning Commission would give tentative figure of annual plan, PMRP and other Centrally Sponsored Schemes to the State Government in next few days to help the Government prepare annual budget for 2013-14, which would be presented in the Legislature in first week of March.
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