M'rashtra Plan outlay up 36% to Rs 20,200 cr

The plan outlay for Maharashtra for 2007-08 has been raised by nearly 36 per cent to Rs 20,200 crore, compared with Rs 14,829 crore the previous year. This includes additional central assistance of Rs 200 crore for projects of special interest to the state.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that the state's performance had improved in almost all sectors.

"The state's economy is growing at an average of 8 per cent per annum and has caught up with the average annual average growth rate of the nation," he said.

Ahluwalia added that the state was doing well in having public-private partnership in infrastructure building and sought opinion on expanding the same in the social sector. He said the Planning Commission proposes to have regional consultations before finalising the Eleventh Plan.

It was pointed out that a focussed attention was needed to address regional imbalance and for that inclusiveness has to be given priority.

At the same time, the Planning Commission members pointed out that state-specific flagship programmes needed to be monitored closely. More attention should be paid to labour-intensive sectors like tourism and a need for crop insurance was also stressed.

Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh has also requested the Planning Commission to release the first installment from the exchequer for the first phase of the Ghatkopar-Versova metro link.

Deshmukh said that more emphasis was given on the area improvement scheme which is likely to benefit a larger section of the state's population.

He also requested sanctioning of more projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, expeditious approval to Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission proposals and release of funds for the first phase of Mumbai Metro under viability gap funding schemes.

He said that development works in suicide-prone districts of Vidarbha be sanctioned on outright grant basis.

State Finance Minister Jayantrao Patil suggested that tax incentives for industrial development should be district-specific rather than state-specific.

He sought the Planning Commission's intervention in expediting clearances of programmes being taken up under the Prime Minister's package.