Maharashtra Plan outlay at Rs 17,500-18,000 cr

Maharashtra's annual plan outlay for the financial year is likely to be Rs 17,500-18,000 crore, an increase of almost 20 per cent over the 2006-07 outlay, said sources close to the development.

The meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Monteksingh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to finalise the state's plan will take place on Wednesday. The plan outlay of the state for 2006-07 was Rs 14,829 crore.

A senior official from the state government said, "The biggest increase will be in the allocation of irrigation and power ministries as the state wants to give a high priority to projects in irrigation and power sector.

The provision for irrigation projects in last year?s outlay was around Rs 1,400 crore and it is likely to be almost doubled, said official.

Allocation to irrigation projects has become a politically sensitive issue in the state due to the disparities in the development index of various regions like Western Maharashtra, Northern Maharashtra, Marathwada, Konkan and Vidarbha.

The politicians from regions other than Western Maharashtra always accuse the state government of step-motherly treatment while allocating funds for irrigation projects.

However, politicians from Western Maharashtra insist that a larger allocation to projects in Western Maharashtra is necessary. If the state fails to utilise its share of water from the Krishna, the state will have to lose its share of water to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh under the award of Krishna Water Tribunal.

So, to strike a balance between the state government's need to increase allocation on irrigation projects, sources pointed out.

Besides, the state is facing a peak time shortage of 4,500 MW and to bridge this gap, the state has decided to add a capacity of 2,000 MW over the next five years. Of this, 200 MW capacity installation will be undertaken over the next two years. To carry out these projects, the state government needs to infuse fresh equity in its power generation company Mahagenco.

The allocation for power is likely to increase by around Rs 1,000 crore from present Rs. 1100 crore, sources told.