NDC approves Approach paper,State debt restructuring Plan

New Delhi, Dec 9 (UNI) The National Development Council (NDC) today put its stamp of approval on the document 'Approach to the Eleventh Plan' and agreed to a debt restructuring plan which will benefit the States by Rs 6,000 crores.

''There was unanimity among the State governments on the broad approach to be followed in the next Plan, including the substantial thrust to agriculture", Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told newspersons here at the conclusion of the day-long meeting.

''There were really no discordent notes among States," Dr Ahluwalia said, adding that even States like Left-front ruled Kerala, which have a differing perception on issues like FDI and finacial sector reforms, did not want to be left out of the national consensus which emerged.

Dr Ahluwalia said the States were supportive of the growth strategy outlined in the Approach paper, which targets an average GDP growth of nine per cent per annum.

Besides, the States agreed that for growth to be sustainable it must be inclusive and felt that to enable this to happen focus must shift to agriculture and social sectors.

Dr Ahluwalia said the final Plan document would set social sector targets for each State--for the first time-- and the States welcomed this move.

The NDC meeting was primarily convened to give its approval to the Approach paper, but later a NDC Sub-Committee Report 'Debt Outstandings of the States against the National Small Savings Fund' was also added to the agenda.

The large congregation of the Chief Ministers went into the Report and agreed that interest on the high cost debt during the period 1999-2003 on small savings needs to be brought down.

''This would result in a saving of Rs 6,000 crores to the States,'' Dr Ahluwalia said adding that the average interest rate in this period works out to 11.3 per cent.

Asked to comment on the remark of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that minorities, Muslims in particular, must have the first claim on resources, Dr Ahluwalia said the intention of the Prime Minister was to stress that excluded groups must now become beneficiaries of the growth process.

He said the Prime Minister's idea was not to single out muslims in particular, but all groups like Scheduled Castes and Tribes and the backward classes, who have been bypassed by the growth process.

Dr Singh suggestion in this regard made in his inaugural address stirred a hornet's nest with the BJP, its Chief Ministers and the RSS condemning the statement for its communal overtones.

MORE UNI GS AT RAI2032