Mamata to seek higher plan outlay

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in Delhi on Tuesday to demand a higher plan outlay for the current financial year of the state, hamstrung by a "serious" fund shortage. Banerjee said the state was facing a "serious funds crunch", a legacy of the 35-year rule of the Left Front government which left a debt burden of over Rs two lakh crore.