subject: Montek okays Rs 16,800-cr Plan fund [print this page] The Planning Commission has on Monday sanctioned an annual outlay of Rs 6,800 crore for 2010-11 for Uttarakhand, which is Rs 1,225.50 crore more than that in the previous year. The State has also been provided with an additional assistance of Rs 360 crore. The outlay was approved after detailed discussions between Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commssion Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Uttarakhand CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Of the approved amount, 33.18 per cent will be spent on social infrastructure and social welfare. Among other sectors, 29.16 per cent has been kept for physical infrastructure, 23.12 per cent for general services, 7.5 per cent for agriculture and allied areas and 7.3 per cent for rural development.
Ahluwalia congratulated the CM for the successful management of Haridwar Mahakumbh Mela and said that the management institutes should do a research work on it. Initiatives taken by Uttarakhand Government in various fields should be followed by other States. Member of the Planning Commission Hamida Sayeed appreciated the mobile health services run in Uttarakhand and also spoke high about the commitment of the State Government in this field.
Adviser Dr Gajendra Haldia commended the social services being provided on PPP mode in the State and said that the pilot projects should be started at national level on this pattern. Planning Commission member Kasturi Rangan praised the efforts of the State Government in the field of forest protection.
The CM said that 13th Finance Commission has appreciated the financial management of the State Government and sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore as incentive to the State. Chief Minister said that like the North-East, Uttarakhand was given the status of special Category, in 2001-02. But for Centrally sponsored schemes, instead of giving Central assistance in the ratio of 90:10, Uttarakhand was given assistance in the ratio of 50:50, 66:34, 75:25 and 80:20.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) is constructing Greenfield Airports in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland with 100 per cent grant. In the same manner, airports should be developed with Central assistance in Naini-Saini (Pithoragarh), Chinyalisaur (Uttarkashi) and Gauchar (Chamoli) in Uttarakhand.
Referring to the sanctioned Rishikesh-Karnprayag and Muzaffarnagar-Roorkie rail lines, announced in the railway budget, the Chief Minister said that keeping in view the limited resources of the State, the liability of the State Government should be only up to making land available for it and expenditure should be fully borne by the Centre.
With 77 per cent of the State being hills, the norms for development projects and social services should be formulated differently.
Expressing gratitude towards Central Government and Planning Commission for the additional Central assistance of Rs 400 crore for Haridwar Mahakumbh, Nishank said that the State is visited by the tourists and pilgrims every year, numbering about three times the population of the State. The Chief Minister also gave details about the "Sparsh Ganga" campaign for cleaning Ganga River.
Nishank said that to meet the shortage of the doctors in hilly areas, the Centre should compensate for the allowances being given as incentives, and assistance should be provided for training and cadre development for rural health services separately. Nishank also asked for additional financial assistance for basic infrastructure development projects and power generation.
Giving information about the ongoing development activities and welfare schemes in the State, the Chief Minister said that for the education of girls of BPL families, "Gaura Devi Kanya Dhan Yojna" scheme has been initiated and for the composite development of villages "Atal Adarsh Gram Yojna" has been started in 670 villages, selecting one village each from every Nyay Panchayat. For promoting tourism in the state, attention is being paid to road development, rope ways, helipads and expansion of airports.
