Increase allocation for NCMP: Left tells Govt

New Delhi, Nov 26 (UNI) The Left parties today sought greater allocation for implementing the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) in the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12).

''The 11th Five-Year Plan, currently being formulated, gives a good opportunity to the UPA government to reaffirm its commitments made in the CMP. In order to do justice to those commitments, Plan expenditure has to be increased substantially,'' CPI(M) and CPI General Secretaries Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The letter pin-pointed six areas where specific commitments had been made in the NCMP and substantial fund allocations were required, a press note by the CPI(M) said.

These were increasing public investment in agriculture, spending 6 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on education, spending 2-3 per cent of GDP on health, social security for workers in the unorganised sector, universalisation of ICDC, legal guarantee for minimum employment and strengthening the public distribution system.

''The Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for the 10th Plan has been around 7 per cent of GDP. A round estimate suggests that the GBS for the 11th Plan has to be increased by at least 4.75 percent of GDP in order to meet the CMP commitments,'' the Left leaders said.

Fulfilling the commitments made in the CMP should be accorded topmost priority while deciding upon the GBS for the 11th Plan, the letter said.

UNI SN AD GC1852