Goa's annual outlay pegged at Rs 650 cr

NEW DELHI: The annual plan for Goa for ’04 was pegged at Rs 650 crore. This includes additional Central assistance of Rs 10 crore for priority schemes. The plan was finalised at a meeting held here between deputy chairman of the Planning Commission KC Pant and Goa’s chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
Complimenting the state for high-level socio-economic development, including a per capita income 2.5 times higher than the national average, Mr Pant said Goa is also a front-runner in other social indicators like population growth rate, literacy and life expectancy.
The chief minister also appreciated the progress the state has made in the power and tourism sectors. Mr Pant said the state should act as a judicious facilitator to boost private sector participation to further develop tourism industry as this sector employed around 20% of Goa’s population.
Pointing to the non-utilisation of the Rs 40 crore under the AIBP last year, sanctioned for irrigation projects in the state, Mr Pant asked the government to expedite the completion of the two irrigation projects. Briefing the commission about the state’s priorities and performance, Mr Parrikar said employment generation strategy has been formulated to meet the job demands and the thrust areas in the current plan include education, health, social security and social infrastructure schemes. The state has also drawn plans for infrastructure development and e-governance. Mr Parrikar said that a review of all the ongoing schemes has been done and 32 new schemes have been introduced. —Agencies