CM wants 11th Plan to provide for disaster management

MUMBAI: The unprecedented floods in July ‘05 in Maharashtra have prompted chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to demand specific allocations for all states in the eleventh five-year plan to tackle natural calamities.

Mr Deshmukh made a strong case for states getting specifically earmarked funds for disaster management from the centre under the next five-year plan at a regional consultation convened by the Planning Commission to discuss the draft blueprint for the eleventh five-year plan here on Tuesday.

The regional consultation covered the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Mr Deshmukh made it plain to the Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia that Maharashtra is not getting “expected fiscal assistance” from the Centre after the July floods last year.

“Maharashtra is doing a good job as regards the implementation of the tenth five-year plan. But natural calamities like drought and floods, which hit the state last year have hugely altered our budgetary allocations.

Since the state has not received expected fiscal assistance from the Centre, we have had to spend lot of funds on relief and rehabilitation. Had the Centre helped us, we would have been able to spend the same money on development,” Mr Deshmukh told the Planning Commission.

The chief minister also briefed the Commission on the state’s efforts to deal with the farmers’ suicides. It may be recalled that the Planning Commission had rapped the DF government for its failure to stop farmers’ suicide early this year when the state had submitted its planned proposals for the fiscal ‘06-07. “We are trying to find out the exact reasons behind farmers’ suicides. We also expect the Planning Commission to help us out in this regard,” Deshmukh said.

The Chief Minister also sought the Planning Commission’s attention towards the lack of irrigation in Vidarbha and Marathwada, the regions which are reporting maximum suicides. “The Planning Commission also needs to assist the state to help us remove the regional imbalance in various development indices,” Deshmukh said.

Maharashtra Finance Minister Jayant Patil suggested modifications in the parameters factored while earmarking allocations in the eleventh plan. “States that have maximum potential for development should get priority,” Mr Patil said. Goa and Madhya Pradesh were represented by Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane and finance minister Raghav Sanwla respectively. ‘Infrastructure, health, education top priority'.

The 11th five-year plan would focus on education, health, water supply and infrastructure development, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said. The GDP growth target in the 11th plan has been fixed at 8.5%, up from 7% in the previous plan, he said while addressing a conference of chief ministers and administrators of Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The draft plan stressed the need to increase expenditure on development and expansion of services and facilities in education, health, water supply and infrastructure sectors, Mr Ahluwalia said.



The draft also focuses on strengthening government machinery and making it speedy, transparent and responsive about implementation of the schemes, he said. Ahluwalia said budgetary allocation for drought hit areas, rural road development & electrification, agriculture and agro-processing development, irrigation and adivasi welfare should be increased.

Ahluwalia said the draft plan also stresses the need to modernise agricultural marketing system throught private sector participation in order to increase agro exports.In order to modernise the marketing system, state governments would have to make necessary amendments in their respective agricultural produce marketing committees, he said.

“The feasibility of reviewing decisions on free and extensively subsidised schemes is also a part of the draft plan”, ahluwalia said.While targeting 8.5% GDP growth, it is expected that industry would grow at 10% and manufacturing sector by 12%, he said.

Setting up of an investment committee or industrial advisory council to increase state industrial development is also highlighted in the plan, he said.In the 10th plan, the expected agriculture sector growth rate was 1.8%.

In the 11th plan, it is 3.9%, he said. Industrial growth rate, which was 8% in 10th plan, would be 9.9% in the 11th plan, he added. Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Goa chief minister Pratapsinh Rane, Maharashtra finance minister Jayant Patil, Madhya Pradesh planning minister R Savla, finance secretary of Dadar and Nagar Haveli SL Bansal, chief secretary of Maharashtra DK Shankaran and Goa chief secretary JP Singh attended the conference.