Madhya Pradesh State Annual Plan, 2006-07

Annual Plan size for Madhya Pradesh for the year 2006-2007 was approved at a meeting between the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The Plan outlay was agreed at Rs.9020 crores which include onetime additional Central assistance of Rs.80 crores for projects of special assistance to the State including Bhopal Memorial.

Annual Plan size for Madhya Pradesh for the year 2006-2007 was approved at a meeting between the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The Plan outlay was agreed at Rs.9020 crores which include onetime additional Central assistance of Rs.80 crores for projects of special assistance to the State including Bhopal Memorial.

Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Mr. Ahluwalia said the State Government has taken steps to improve fiscal position and investment climate. He said the State has improved on Plan expenditure realization and made significant headway in providing educational facilities to children but drop out rate continues to be high. Attention was drawn to under utilization of irrigation potential and the State Government was asked to improve utilization of funds.

He said the State was likely to benefit from the flow of funds under the priority projects of the Central Government including Bharat Nirman, roads and backward region grant fund. Need was to gear up the administrative machinery to ensure optimum utilization of the funds. Mr. Ahluwalia said that seven districts of the State were likely to be included in the backward region grant fund and would get around Rs.124 crores annually for these districts. Attention was also drawn to growing unemployment. The State Government was asked to prepare city development plan for taking benefit from Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, which will cover the cities of Bhopal, Jabalpur, Indore and Ujjain.

The Chief Minister said that the priority has been given to the schemes for increasing Agricultural production and productivity, supply of cooked food under Mid – Day Mel, primary Health career, safe drinking water, nutrition to disadvantage section, create additional irrigation potential, electrification of unelectrified villages, bridge the gap between the poverty ratio of the state and the national average, bringing down the drop out rate, implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, opening of new Ashram Schools in tribal area, and generating employment and removal of social / regional disparities are the main thrust areas for the annual plan 2006-07. He said that efforts were on to bring the State out of Bimaroo Syndrome by the end of next fiscal.

The Chief Minister sought Planning Commission support for introduction ad-valorem rates for coal royalty. Assistance was also sought for closure of Road Transport Corporation. It requested for new irrigation projects from States to be included for funding from AIBP and enhanced support under National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM).