After having bandied about hiking the annual plan size for the current fiscal to about Rs 9700 crore, the state government is now looking at a more conservative figure of around Rs 8700 crore.
The Planning Commission has fixed the Bihar's plan outlay at the beginning of the year at Rs 8250 crore. However, the state government had expected an upward revision of the final plan size by about Rs 1500 crore on the basis of better execution of schemes.
While the jury is still out on the final size of the plan, there are indications that the upward revision may not be to the extent expected.
Additional Finance Commissioner Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi said the plan size was likely to be upwardly revised by about Rs 500 crore. While refusing to comment on the Rs 9670 crore figure, he said the Rs 500 crore over and above the Rs 8250 crore expected to be spent was on account of the additional expenditure on the old age pension scheme and a special central assistance for three districts.
The outlay on old age pension, which had been raised from Rs 100 per month to Rs 200 per month, was likely to go up from around Rs 150 crore to Rs 300 crore and the remaining amount was to be spent on the special central assistance for three districts including Kishanganj.
Asked about the extent of utilisation, he said it stood around Rs 5000 crore till February 5.
He however said the actual figure could be more as the expenditure details for 28 treasuries and 322 of the 473 public work divisions for the month of January had not been received till February 5.
Reached for comments a senior member of the Rabri Devi Cabinet former Water Resources Minister Jagadanand Singh blamed the government's inability to keep the plan size at the Rs 9670 crore level on its failure to generate resources internally."Let us see whether they would be able to spend the Rs 8520 crore allocated by the Planning Commission at the beginning of the year. I have my doubts," he said.
The Planning Commission has fixed the Bihar's plan outlay at the beginning of the year at Rs 8250 crore. However, the state government had expected an upward revision of the final plan size by about Rs 1500 crore on the basis of better execution of schemes.
While the jury is still out on the final size of the plan, there are indications that the upward revision may not be to the extent expected.
Additional Finance Commissioner Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi said the plan size was likely to be upwardly revised by about Rs 500 crore. While refusing to comment on the Rs 9670 crore figure, he said the Rs 500 crore over and above the Rs 8250 crore expected to be spent was on account of the additional expenditure on the old age pension scheme and a special central assistance for three districts.
The outlay on old age pension, which had been raised from Rs 100 per month to Rs 200 per month, was likely to go up from around Rs 150 crore to Rs 300 crore and the remaining amount was to be spent on the special central assistance for three districts including Kishanganj.
Asked about the extent of utilisation, he said it stood around Rs 5000 crore till February 5.
He however said the actual figure could be more as the expenditure details for 28 treasuries and 322 of the 473 public work divisions for the month of January had not been received till February 5.
Reached for comments a senior member of the Rabri Devi Cabinet former Water Resources Minister Jagadanand Singh blamed the government's inability to keep the plan size at the Rs 9670 crore level on its failure to generate resources internally."Let us see whether they would be able to spend the Rs 8520 crore allocated by the Planning Commission at the beginning of the year. I have my doubts," he said.
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