CHANDIGARH: Dr. Arjun Sengupta, Member Secretary of the Planning Commission, indicated Nov, 6thatitmightno longer be possible to recommend additional financial support for Punjab now that the state had come out of the shadow of terrorism and had ‘begun to function normally.
Dr. Sengupta said in the past few years when the state was passing through a difficult phase on the Law and order front, it used to get nearly Rs 600 crore annually as extra support from the center. “But now that things have become normal, 1 am doubtful if such a financial support will get backing from any quarter.”
Asked if the state had been utilizing the financial aid judiciously, he said: “Of late, they are.”
Dr. Sengupta said that “one great thing” which had happened in Punjab in recent days was the election to the panchayati raj institutions and local bodies. There had also been a definite acceleration in the developmental process,” However, the state had been facing problems as regards balance in current revenue for the past couple Of years, Water charges had been revised but still remained nearly half the actual operational coat. Similarly, the power tariff needed to be revised. Since these had not been increased sufficiently it only meant that other sectors were paying for the losses in these areas. Unless this was corrected it could lead to a collapse of the system.
‘The Planning Commission was aware of the fact that several states nursed a grievance against the commission and believed that they were being given a step motherly treatment. But the fact was that the states were in no position to finance the development plans they prepared. In this context, he mentioned about Bihar where this problem was very acute. The allocation of funds to the states was governed by the Gadgil formula and any alteration in it brought forth protests from other states. Under the circumstances all that the planning body could nonesuch Cases was to assist the states to raise more funds and frame special schemes for them. Dr, Sengupta did not agree with a questioner that the planning body had become a “relic of the past” now that the economy was being decontrolled and private sector was being encouraged like never before. He said his organization continued to have a definite role, for instance, in the allocation of capital budget for the states and act as an intermediary between the Center and the states. For all this, a lot of planning was required. Earlier the commission would make investments according to a planning model. Now its role had undergone change. He said the data it was getting for formulating its plans was reliable, modem and official; Most of it ‘was computerized. There was no danger of its being wrong or outdated.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 11, 1994
