FM, Plan Panel yet to decide on budgetary allocations

NEW DELHI: The stand-off between the finance ministry and the Planning Commission has affected the finalisation of budgetary support to various ministries and their projects for the next financial year.
Planners are a worried lot today as they do not know what would be the level of support that the finance ministry would make available for the planned expenditure.
The various allocations have to be finalised by February 12, but finance minister Jaswant Singh and Planning Commission deputy chairman KC Pant have not met each other over the issue. Neither has the finance ministry communicated, as yet, the quantum of money that would be made available as ‘gross budgetary support’ for the planned expenditure for financial year ’03-04.
Government sources point out that so far there has only been a secretary level meeting between the Planning Commission and the finance ministry. At this meeting, the finance ministry had indicated that they would be able to give Rs 1,00,000 crore as gross budgetary support for planned expenditure.