The Hindu : Other States / Punjab News : Amarinder reviews budget proposals

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Friday, May 28, 2004

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Amarinder reviews budget proposals

CHANDIGARH, MAY 27 .The Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, today held a detailed meeting with his senior Ministers and administrative secretaries to chalk out the strategy to have a ``realistic and pragmatic Budget'' and Annual Plan for the year 2004-05, fixed at Rs 3500 crore.

Presiding over a high-level meeting to review the pre-budget proposals, Capt. Singh called upon the administrative secretaries to devise ways and means to fund the Annual Plan to enable their respective departments to execute the ongoing developmental schemes/programmes in a self-sustained and result-oriented manner.

In order to prioritise and finalise the budget proposals of various departments, it had been decided to hold sector- wise pre- budget meetings to have a fair idea about the review of the economic and fiscal measures taken during the last two years besides fixing up targets for next year.

Meanwhile, Dr S S Johal, Vice- Chairman, Punjab State Planning Board, submitted a ``Plan Resource Committee Report'' to provide a breather to the difficult economic situation of the State as it was faced with a severe resource crunch.

The report has also underlined that the growth in Government revenue had been very meagre, while the increasing debt burden and the resultant debt servicing had depleted even the available resources.

Even the funds are not fully utilised and are diverted for discharging the committed liabilities.

Therefore, in order to garner resources for funding the Annual Plan-2004-05, it was decided to constitute a Plan Resource Committee, an official spokesman said.

It was also decided in the meeting to hold the next meeting of State Planning Board on June 8, 2004, to finalise the various modalities for the resource mobilisation in order to reduce the revenue deficit in the State.

Capt. Singh asked the administrative secretaries of the concerned departments to submit the detailed proposals with the projections and targets to be achieved during the budget for the year 2004-05.

The budget proposals of agriculture and allied activities and industrial development were discussed at length in the meeting. The proposals regarding irrigation and power, rural development, social welfare and security, health and education, urban development and housing, infrastructure development and administrative reforms would be discussed in the subsequent meetings, the spokesman said.

Prominent among others who were present in the meeting were the Deputy Chief Minister, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, the Finance Minister, Lal Singh, and the Excise and Taxation Minister, Sardul Singh.

PTI

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