State's plan size for fiscal 2012-13 pegged at Rs 3500; Chief Minister pledges devolution of power to hill areas
Ahluwalia satisfied with performance of State Govt
Source: The Sangai Express / Manipur Info Centre

New Delhi, June 06 2012: The Annual Plan for Manipur for the fiscal 2012-13 has been finalized at Rs 3500 crore at a meeting held at Yojana Bhavan here today between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Manipur Okram Ibobi Singh.

In his comment on the performance of the State, Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the State had been performing satisfactorily.

He suggested that the infrastructure gap in the State needed to be bridged on priority.

The State should encourage private participation in infrastructure development, suggested the Chairman who also noted that the GSDP at current prices of the State had increased from Rs 5133.66 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 7184.09 crore in 2010-11 .

Recent analysis revealed differing levels of growth rate of different sectors of the economy, during the period 2000-2009 .

Of the sectors considered, electricity, gas and water supply and public administration were found to have grown slowly.

Fishery, manufacturing with its sub-sector unregistered manufacturing and transport, storage & communication with its sub-sector communication had grown faster.

Chief Minister O Ibobi with Montek Singh Ahluwalaia

Education and health indices threw up a mix of the good and not so good.

Literacy rate, standing at 70.50 percent in 2001 had improved significantly to 79.85 percent in 2011.Overall, male literacy rate increased by about 6 percent to 80.33 percent in 2011 while female rate had gone up by 12.64 percent from 60.53 percent during the same period.

Health indicators are good with Crude Birth Rate (CBR) and Crude Death Rate (CDR) estimated at 14.9 and 4.2 respectively as against 22.1 and 7.2 respectively at All-India average (SRS-2010), and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 14 per thousand at (SRS-2010) as against 47 at All-India average.

The State Government had identified particular sectors for faster growth of economy and provision of services.

The sectors include providing better road connectivity, improving availability of power and drinking water; expanding the network of health care facilities, and better schools throughout the State.

Other focus areas included irrigation facilities and youth development through promotion of sports.

Briefing the Commission on the development strategy of the State, the Chief Minister said that the main thrust would be on reducing infrastructural deficit and expanding and strengthening capacity of key social sectors � health, education, women and child welfare, nutrition and food security.

Ibobi said there was a need for closing the gap between the deprived local population and the rest of the country.

He emphasized on enough investment for expansion of social infrastructure for covering the disadvantaged section, backward, remote and border areas.

He said skill development programmes would be expanded to meet growing demand of industry and service sectors and affirmed that greater powers would be devolved to the hill areas and new policy initiatives will be taken to encourage investments in these areas.

Our Staff Reporter adds: The Annual Plan Size for the current fiscal is an increment by Rs 470 crore from the last fiscal.

Prior to the Plan size meeting with Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh called on the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at around 10.15 am.

The CM also met AICC chief Sonia Gandhi last evening.

According to an informed source both the central leaders confided to the CM that the Planning Commission had been advised to ensure all possible financial assistance to Manipur.

Of the total Plan Size Rs 650 crore is said to be under the special Plan Assistance head with another amount of Rs 600 crore informed to be Special Central Assistance allocation.

In the current fiscal emphasis of the State Government would be on development activities in tribal and remote rural areas, implementation of tribal areas inclusive growth projects setting up of barrack-type accommodation for teachers recruited for schools run under Autonomous District Councils and sustaining Loktak conservation projects, explained the source.

Moreover, the State Government's initiatives during the same period will also encompass laying of water-pipelines from Thoubal dam upto Imphal and construction of children homes/orphanage centres in the hill districts to check child trafficking cases.

Apart from the Planning Commission reportedly prevailing upon the State Government to avail various central sponsored schemes and its effective implementation, the source said second phase sericulture project would be undertaken under the annual financial provision.