Omar directs bureaucrats for exhaustive presentation
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 4: For the first time, the State Government would be sending a strong delegation of over 25 bureaucrats to the Planning Commission of India for a high level meeting on sector wise presentation before the Commission on June 12 to secure the highest ever annual plan of Rs 7300 crore for current financial year of 2012-13.
‘‘All Administrative Secretaries along with Heads of Departments of Finance and Planning Departments would be visiting New Delhi for a detailed meeting with senior Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi on June 12’’, official sources said.
The delegation would comprise more than 25 bureaucrats, who would be headed by Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal.
Principal Secretary, Planning BB Vyas, who also happened to be Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Principal Secretary, Finance, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, Principal Secretary, Power, Sudhanshu Pandey besides Administrative Secretaries of Health, Works, Public Health Engineering, Education, Tourism, Housing and Urban Development, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Agriculture, Social Welfare etc would be part of the delegation.
In addition to Administrative Secretaries of all Departments, some Heads of Departments in Planning and Finance Departments would also be part of the delegation.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who holds charge of the Planning Department, has asked Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Administrative Secretaries and HoDs of Planning and Finance to make exhaustive presentation before PCI member B K Chaturvedi during day long meeting on June 12 seeking highest ever annual plan of Rs 7300 crore from the Planning Commission.
Sources said the Administrative Secretaries and HoDs of Planning and Finance would make detailed presentation before the Finance Commission on needs and requirements of their Departments and the projects and schemes to be undertaken in hands during current financial year of 2012-13.
‘‘The presentation would matter a lot though the State Government was confident of 10 per cent step-up in annual plan for the current fiscal year as compared to last financial year of 2011-12 when the State had been allocated Rs 6600 crore worth plan’’, sources said.
June 12 meeting would be followed by ‘‘resources meeting’’ between Planning and Finance Department bureaucrats of the State and Planning Commission Members at a later date in which the State officials would explain resources on funding of the plan.
After the ‘‘resources meeting’’, a final meeting would be held between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather in which annual plan of the State would be finalized, sources said, adding the final meeting was expected by the end of this month.
The State has already urged the Planning Commission to expedite its plan finalisation as it has ‘‘limited working season’’ in most of the hilly areas, which become remain snow bound for four to five months. The Planning Commission has already finalized annual plan of many States including neighbouring Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
The plan finalisation would be followed by District Development Board (DDB) meetings in which new works to be undertaken in the districts would be identified by representatives of the people and execution started by the District Development Commissioners.
The Planning Department held by the Chief Minister himself has already issued an order authorizing 25 per cent plan allocation to all Departments pending finalisation of annual plan to meet their emergency requirements and ensure that ongoing development works didn’t suffer.
One-fourth of total plan authorization for the financial year of 2012-13 has been made in favour of all Government Departments—whether they were connected with the incurring of capital expenditure or not. The Planning Department has issued authorization certificates to all Departments.
They added that this has been done to ensure functioning of all Departments including those connected with development notwithstanding delay in finalisation of annual plan of the State by the Planning Commission of India.
As reported, the Government had already authorized the District Development Commissioners to go ahead with development works, which were already under execution without waiting for the plan finalisation. However, the Government had asked the DDCs not to undertake any new development works till finalisation of the plan and holding of DDB meetings.
It may be mentioned here that the State had projected Rs 7300 crore worth annual plan and Rs 700 crore Prime Minister’s Re-construction Plan (PMRP) for 2012-13. The projected plan was 10 per cent over and above the previous year’s plan of Rs 6600 crore.
However, the PMRP amount, which was Rs 1200 crore during last financial year, has been pegged at Rs 700 crore this year as some of the schemes undertaken under the PMRP have been completed.
Sources said the Planning Commission in its first meeting with the State bureaucrats had sought the details of targets of Own Tax Revenue in the State, reforms in different sectors and expenditure of current financial year’s plan. The Planning Commission had expressed satisfaction over all three issues.
The delegation had apprised the Planning Commission that the State’s power revenue was also increasing but a big gap remained between power bill and revenue as it can’t initiate all reforms in one go.
‘‘It was in view of this that the State Government had batted for annual power reforms grant to the tune of Rs 2000 crore for few years till the State managed to bring reforms and improve its revenue’’, sources said, adding that the Planning Department assured to give a thought to the State’s demand.
Worthwhile to mention here that J&K Government was given Rs 1300 crore worth annual power reforms grant for three years in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. The grant was later stopped as the Government didn’t take significant power reforms then.
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