Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 22: After Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took up the issue with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on May 18 meeting, the Planning Commission of India (PCI) has reportedly agreed to raise annual plan size of the State and re-scheduled the final plan meeting on June 2.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Omar had taken up the issue with Dr Singh in his an hour long meeting at New Delhi in which he had sough special Central package for earthquake victims of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts.
Sources said Omar’s intervention with the Prime Minister was necessitated as the Planning Commission had reportedly offered just Rs 5800 crore worth annual plan to the State for current financial year of 2013-14 as against Rs 7300 crore for the previous fiscal year of 2012-13.
The Planning Commission had also refused to re-validate Rs 1300 crore of cut imposed in the last year’s plan reducing Rs 7300 crore worth plan to just Rs 6000 crores.
Sources said the Planning Commission had in its meeting with State bureaucrats on funding of plan and resource mobilization not only refused to re-validate previous year’s funds but offered just Rs 5800 crore worth plan as against Rs 8050 crore proposed by the State.
The State Government had proposed Rs 8050 crores worth annual plan for 2013-14 with 10 per cent hike over previous year’s plan size of Rs 7300 crores.
Sources said the Planning Commission had imposed cuts in annual plans of various States especially those, which had very less resource mobilization and high revenue expenditure. Jammu and Kashmir was clubbed among those States, whose tax base remained low over the years but revenue expenditure, which comprised Government expenses and funds incurred on salaries, pensions etc, continued to rise.
According to sources, after the Chief Minister took up the issue with the Prime Minister on low funding of plan proposed by the Planning Commission, the latter has now reportedly relented to some extent and was likely to agree to increase the plan size from previous amount of Rs 5800 crores.
In view of differences between the Planning Commission and the State Government, the May 20 plan finalisation meeting between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia had been cancelled. Sources said the State Government was not ready to accept such a low plan size of Rs 5800 crores as it had been given Rs 7300 crores in 2012-13, Rs 6600 crores in 2011-12 and Rs 6000 crores in 2010-11.
The State had told the Planning Commission that its claim for 10 per cent step-up in the plan this year over the last financial year was just and genuine. In addition, it had also sought re-validation of Rs 1300 crore worth cut imposed in last year’s plan.
Sources said the differences between the State Government and the Planning Commissioned seemed to be ending and the Commission has now called final plan finalisation meeting between Omar-Ahluwalia on June 2.
Prior to Omar-Ahluwalia meeting, the Administrative Secretaries of the State and some Head of Departments would meet the Planning Commission Advisors and Members to discuss the State resources for funding the plan.
Sources said the exact amount, which would be granted to the State as annual plan would be decided in Omar-Montek meeting but the Government was confident after Omar-Manmohan meeting that it would be handsome.
In the plan finalisation meeting, Omar would be accompanied by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, Planning Minister Ajay Sadhotra, Minister of State for Planning and Development Dr Manohar Lal Sharma and Economic Advisor to Government Jalil Ahmad Khan.
Earlier in the day, Omar said in Shopian that the State Government will hold discussions with Planning Commission of India after the discussions of resource mobilisation at the Centre are over.
“Once the resource mobilisation being discussed at the Centre is completed, we will have our plan discussions (with the Planning Commission),” he said.
The Chief Minister suggested that there was no unusual delay in plan finalisation of his state. “Last year also our plan was finalised in the month of June or July,” he added.
Mr Abdullah said the State Government had held the preliminary discussions with the Centre on annual plan and May 20 was fixed for the finalising the plan.
“However, from both sides — the Centre as well as the State — we were not able to complete the preparation,” he added.
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