The Hindu : New Delhi News : Rs. 4,500-crore annual plan for J&K

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Monday, Jan 14, 2008
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Rs. 4,500-crore annual plan for J&K

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Jammu & Kashmir’s annual Plan for 2008-09 was on Saturday finalised at Rs. 4,500 crore at a meeting here between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Initiating the discussions, Dr. Ahluwalia commended the State government for turning around the economy. While the growth rate was showing a positive trend and the States’ own resources were positive for two years, he said the plan expenditure had also grown by 150 per cent compared to 2001-02.

On the power front, he said, the State’s progress in reforms was satisfactory. A revision in power tariff after a gap of two decades and introduction of the metering system were steps in the right direction.

Tourism, which had been badly affected due to militancy, was also showing definite signs of revival with the arrival of tourists going up from a mere 0.73 lakh in 2001 to 6.05 lakh in 2005.

He advised the State government to lay more emphasis on agriculture, conservation of Dal Lake and its catchment area programme. The State’s attention was also drawn to the shortage of human resources in the health sector and the gender gap in literacy. Improvement in processing facilities in Leh and Kargil was also suggested.

Speaking on the State’s performance, Mr. Azad said for a higher growth performance and to meet the growth rate target of eight per cent during the Eleventh Plan period, a large plan was required to be implemented.

To accelerate the State’s development process, the Chief Minister suggested a system of proportionate allocation to ensure that there was no liquidity mismatch. He said that during the Eleventh Plan, the State government would accord priority to public expenditure in sectors with high employment elasticity. Mr. Azad noted that restructuring of cooperative banks and downsizing of public sector undertakings (PSUs) would also be initiated shortly.

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