GUWAHATI, Nov 8 ? Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia today urged the North East States to introduce policy correctives and take new initiatives in critical areas to achieve the targeted annual growth rate of 8.1 per cent GDP (gross domestic product) in the 10th Five Year Plan period.
Speaking during a meeting with the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of the eight North East States here today, Ahluwalia said that the Government would give ?very strong emphasis? to the development of the social sector in the country.
He said that it is a sector that has been neglected for long, especially in the rural areas. The Government is thinking of launching a rural health mission to ensure that healthcare reaches the every nook and corner of the country. He said that the mission would be announced soon.
Today?s meeting was in connection with the regional consultation for the mid-term appraisal of the 10th Five Year Plan. DONER Minister PR Kyndiah along with Secretaries of DONER and NEC was also present during the meeting. Ahluwalia said that it is for the first time that the Commission has conducted consultations in regions. The belief, he said, is that interacting with a smaller group of States would give a better view of the constraints in the implementation of the Plan objectives.
The Deputy Chairperson said that while the Commission would like to cover everything, the critical areas it would like to focus on are the social sector, health and infrastructure. ?Primary education and health, which were neglected in the past, are the key areas that need to be focussed on by all the States,? he pointed out.
Ahluwalia said that special efforts were needed to boost agricultural growth in the country which has been growing at a mere two per cent since the mid-1990s after growing by up to 3.2 per cent per annum till then. He said that the target set for agricultural growth now is four per cent. ?Agriculture has decelerated quite a bit since the mid-1990s. We need a special effort to build a new strategy for agriculture,? he said.
Lack of infrastructure is a major constraint to any economic activity in the country, particularly the North East, Ahluwalia pointed out. He said that development of roads, rail, power and telecommunication has to be speeded up to ensure industrial growth of 10 per cent. ?We need to close the infrastructure deficit in the country as a whole,? he stated.
Ahluwalia also said that resource mobilisation for the States as well as the Centre has become difficult and suggested fiscal discipline and management reforms to improve the resources position. Speaking during the meeting, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that massive investment to generate employment is the only way to keep insurgency under check.
?The resources for investment in agriculture, education and health sectors need to be augmented to achieve the targets of the Common Minimum Programme,? he said, adding that the mid-day meal scheme could be effectively implemented if more resources are made available to the State. Gogoi also called for more substantial assistance from the commercial banks to the self-help groups (SHGs).
Pleading for bringing down the state?s share in the Central sector schemes to 10 per cent, the Chief Minister said that this step alone could help the special category states of the North East to develop faster. Gogoi pointed out that Assam, to achieve growth of 6.2 per cent (from 2.1 per cent in the 9th FYP), required massive investment to the tune of Rs 25,000. ?Even to achieve a modest 4 per cent growth target, we require Rs 15,000 crore,? he stated.
Gogoi sought a special package for infrastructure development including roads, airways, and telecommunication and for employment generation. He also pleaded for a special debt relief package on the pattern of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. He also sought the recognition of floods and erosion in the State as ?national problems? and release of substantial resources as 100 percent grant for controlling them.
He also asked for a special package to revive the ailing tea sector in the State. Gogoi said that during the past two years, the State Government has tried to utilise the Plan funds ?to the best of our capacity for achieving the targets?.