Run up to budget: Ahluwalia meets FM over CSS
The Government has indicated to extend the scheme to all the districts in four years.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Budget 2007-08, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday met Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the issue of restructuring of centrally-sponsored schemes, which has a total outlay of Rs 71,996 crore this fiscal.
Both sides have already agreed on restructuring of the schemes and curtailing the subsidy bill, Ahluwalia told reporters after the meeting.
Describing the meeting as normal in a run up to the annual budget, Ahluwalia said "Both (Planning Commission and Finance Ministry) have already agreed on restructuring of centrally-sponsored schemes."
To a query, he said the meetings will continue in January as well.
The Approach Paper to the 11th plan, approved by the National Development Council recently, admitted that it is difficult to evolve a consensus on CSS.
An expert group set up by the Planning Commission had suggested terminating 130 schemes that had a total outlay of Rs 8,432,81 crore in the current fiscal. It had recommended retaining only 25 schemes that accounted for a bulk or 88.29 per cent of the total CSS outlay of Rs 71,996.78 crore in 2006-07.
According to Finance Ministry sources, the government could do away with many of these schemes since the current fiscal was the terminal year of the Tenth Five Year Plan.
Central support for programme in some critical sectors such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid Day Meal, National Rural Employment Guarantee consists of 100 per cent grant through centrally-sponsored schemes.
Support for other schemes like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission or the Backward Region Grant Fund is in the form of additional central assistance, where the grant component varies across schemes.
The approach paper says that there is a case for rationalising the states' share and fixing it at a reasonable level, keeping in mind the expected revenue buoyancy.
The Finance Minister is also expected to merge some of the centrally-sponsored schemes in the Budget to raise more funds for the UPA's flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, currently implemented in 200 districts, sources added.
The Government has indicated to extend the scheme to all the districts in four years.
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