Andhra Pradesh annual plan finalised at Rs 20,000 crore

New Delhi, Apr 4 (UNI) The Central Government today finalised the 2006-07 annual plan for Andhra Pradesh at Rs 20,000 crore.

The plan includes one time Central assistance of Rs 134.33 crore for projects of special importance to the State, specially projects for enhancing agriculture productivity and watershed management.

The Plan was finalised here today at a meeting between Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

Mr Ahluwalia complimented the State for healthy growth trend.

He said the expenditure realisation is satisfactory and the State is expected to perform up to the expectation for the entire Tenth Plan Period.

Complimenting the State on having focused attention for creating additional irrigation capacity, he said the State has unique achievement of allocating 51 per cent of outlay for the irrigation sector.

Mr Ahluwalia said the emphasis should also be on dry land farming and pointed out that the Commission was working on the setting up of rain fed authority and would be looking for Andhra Pradesh experience in this aspect.

He said the State government should activate district planning committees and direct them to prepare district development plans.

He said this would be a pre requisite for availing benefit from the backward region grant fund being launched by the Centre shortly.

He said the Centre was concerned about evolving a strategy aimed at improving pace of development in the naxalite-affected areas and Planning Commission would be looking up to the approach of Andhra Pradesh in this direction.

The State was complimented for achieving better than national average female sex ratio and child sex ratio and also for reducing T&D losses and transport subsidy.

The Chief Minister said that despite free power to agriculture, the State has succeeded in reducing power tariff to the industrial consumer consecutively for two years and recently even surcharge on domestic consumption has been reduced.

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