Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi yesterday demanded that the Centre should bear the additional financial burden of Rs 13,000 crore a year arising out of the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission likely to be accepted before the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 15.
Joshi made the demand during a meeting with deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Madhu Dandavate.
The outlay for Maharashtra in the ninth plan was fixed at Rs 45,125 crore at current prices (Rs 36,700 crore at constant prices). This amounted to a 75 per cent increase from the states outlay in the eighth plan.
Joshi wanted the Centre to give a special grant to the state to meet the additional burden after the Pay Commission report is accepted. A similar demand was made by the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled or BJP-supported states in Jaipur on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister said several steps would be initiated to meet the gap between the states resources and the size of the plan. These included a special scheme for small savings intended to generate Rs 10,000 crore would be launched by Prime Minister I K Gujral on August 9, during the celebrations at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai to mark the Quit India movement.
The highest sector-wise allocation during the ninth plan is for irrigation and flood control: Rs 13,437 crore.
Among the other steps Joshi disclosed to reporters was the restructuring the tariff structure of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, the state road transport corporation and other PSUs. He, however, would not say that the measures included raising the power tariff.
Raising funds through development bonds would also be one of the steps, he said.
Joshi said the Sumitomo Bank of Japan was in the process of extending Rs 3,600 crore as loan to the state.
During the eighth plan, he said the state had mobilised Rs 12,313 crore against the target of Rs 9,781 crore.
The Chief Minister outlined the eight thrust areas in the ninth plan:
- Drinking water supply: 27,000 villages are to be covered in order to achieve the target of a 'tanker-less state by 2000. At present, water is supplied to these villages by tankers;
- Rural sanitation: The target is to construct 5 lakh latrines every year;
- Universalisation of primary education in order to ensure 100 per cent literacy by 2000;
- Creation and utilisation of irrigation potential: Three corporations are to be set up, covering the Krishna valley in western Maharashtra (Rs 7,100 crore), Vidarbha region (3,800 crore) and the Konkan region (600 crore)
A majority of the funds for these would be raised through bonds;
Generation of employment and self-employment opportunities for the 30 lakh unemployed in the state;
Provision of funds for national priority programme of basic minimum services;
Measures to tackle special problems of tribal areas; mainly malnutrition in Malghat (Vidarbha), Thane and Dhule; and,
- Removal of backlog of various regions like Marathwada, Vidarbha as laid down by the Dandekar committee.
- Joshi also met Union railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan and urged him to allow the privatisation of the New Mumbai-Karjat section.
