Plan panel seeks hike in budgetary support

The Planning Commission has asked the finance ministry for a gross budgetary support of Rs 1,33,000 crore for the fiscal year 2004-05, an increase of 10 per cent over the current year's Rs 1,21,000 crore figure.

The official demand sent to the finance ministry does not include allocations for any of the new schemes announced by finance minister Jaswant Singh last week.

Various announcements made by the Prime Minister during the course of the year, including those relating to Sikkim, Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir in addition to other projects and schemes, have been included. But if the government goes for an interim Budget, these will have to be dropped.

The Planning Commission had earlier written to the finance ministry stating that the past precedents would not allow them to include any new schemes in the Budget for 2004-05.

This is believed to be the reason why the finance minister has announced these schemes now. Most of the schemes are to be operationalised with immediate effect.

Planning Commission's demand letter was sent to the finance ministry on January 11, way behind the normal January 6 deadline for the budgetary support given by the finance ministry.

The Plan body had earlier petitioned the Prime Minister asking him to ensure that the Plan size for 2004-05 was maintained at Rs 1,59,000 crore as approved by the National Development Council. The finance ministry had asked it to keep the gross budgetary support figure below Rs 1,00,000 crore.

Arguing that people would expect the government to create more jobs and to ensure early completion of infrastructure projects, like the Golden Quadrilateral and Sagarmala, and social services programmes like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman KC Pant had written to the Prime Minister asking him to ensure that the elections did not lead to cuts in Plan related investments

Any shortfall in the Plan size would mean cut in Plan resources for job creation, for investments in infrastructure and sub-optimal budgetary support in highly emotive areas like education, health and nutrition.

Also, the government's ability to implement several programmes announced by the the Prime Minister would get considerably impaired, the letter stated.