"We are confident to sustain and even exceed over 21 per cent growth rate in the GSDP during the 12th five-year plan as we will seek to optimally utilise ever increasing plan size of the state," Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also hold the finance portfolio, told the Assembly after presenting the second supplementary budget of Rs 3386 crores.
The state's plan expenditure has increased from Rs 22,568 crores in 2005-06 to Rs 78,686 crores in 2012-13 and the entire amount has been successfully put to use for development and economic growth of Bihar by the NDA government under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, he said.
Stating that the core of economic activities like construction, hospitality, communication, agriculture and animal husbandry and banking/financial activities were core to the impressive GDSP growth rate - the highest in the country during the 11th plan - and these same activities will continue to boom in the state and sustained the high growth rate in the years to come, Modi said.
He said that the state government was trying to maximise its tax revenue to meet development programmes and said that it was expecting to generate Rs 16,450 crores from the tax income this fiscal.
The deputy chief minister urged the centre to provide liberal financial assistance to Bihar during the 12th plan, including Rs 20,000 crores under the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) to enable the state government to sustain the high growth rate in the years to come.
Meanwhile, the state assembly today adopted financial bill for regularisation of excess withdrawal of Rs 581.52 crores between 1978-79 to 2009-10.
Tabling the bill in this regard in the house, Modi said that an amount of Rs 1696 crores, including Rs 659 crores withdrawn during the RJD rule for purchase of fodder, and Rs 295 crores for flood relief, remained to be regularised by the House.
A large chunk of excess withdrawal remaining to be regularised was stuck in litigation and further decision will be taken only after the verdict by the courts, he said.
