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Make public details of tsunami related expenditure: DMK leader

Special Correspondent

Asks the Administration to seek higher allocation from Plan panel

PONDICHERRY: Leader of the Opposition in the Pondicherry Assembly R.V. Janakiraman (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) has called upon the Administration to make public the full details of tsunami related relief and rehabilitation programmes implemented in the Union Territory.

Janakiraman said in a release on Thursday that he had raised this point at the meeting of the Pondicherry State Planning Board held under the chairmanship of Lt. Governor M.M. Lakhera earlier in the day. The Administration was now in a position to seek Rs. 85 crores additionally for tsunami related rehabilitation work.

He said it had been the practice all these years that of the total funds earmarked by the Centre for budgetary support for the Administration, the loan component was around 35 per cent while the remaining 65 per cent was in the form of a grant from the Centre.

He maintained that as Pondicherry was a Union Territory, there should be persistent pleas with the Planning Commission that the entire amount should be made available as plan allocation without loan component. The loan burden had increased for Pondicherry to Rs. 1,600 crores. He hoped that the Lt. Governor would urge the Centre to waive the entire loan amount or to convert it into an interest free loan.

He appealed to the government to place before the Planning Commission a plan for an allocation of Rs. 885 crores for the fiscal 2006-2007. He said usually the Planning Commission would make a ten per cent increase in the allocation of funds for every annual plan over the allocation made in the preceding plan. But the Pondicherry Administration should make out a strong case for an increase of 25 per cent.

He also placed before the meeting suggestions to expand the Power Corporation project in Karaikal and also for toning up the Swadeshi cotton mills and Sri Bharathi Mills which were brought under the control of the Pondicherry Administration in April last.

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