West Bengal Annual Plan fixed at Rs 9,150 crore

New Delhi, Feb 18 (UNI) The Annual Plan for West Bengal was finalised today at Rs 9,150 crore, which includes an additional Central assistance of Rs 100 crore for schemes of special interest to the State.

The Plan for the year 2007-08 was approved at a meeting in Yojana Bhavan between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

In his opening remarks, Dr Ahluwalia said the State's financial position was improving. Substantial decrease has been registered both in revenue and fiscal deficit and Plan expenditure has improved. For the current financial year the State is expected to incur 100 per cent expenditure of approved outlay.

He said agriculture sector has been doing well and investor friendly environment has been created. West Bengal has taken position of most favourable destination for domestic and foreign industrial investment because of policy decisions taken by the Government.

Dr Ahluwalia said West Bengal has taken position of country's most rapidly growing industrial region and principal gateway to economies of the Asia-Pacific. He said Kolkata was leading industrial, trade and service centre of India.

He said the State Government's policy to encourage public-private partnership in infrastructure development was appreciative. It was pointed out that the policy initiatives have paved way for a greater role of public-private partnership in sectors like housing, health, tourism and transport.

The State was advised to intensify efforts in skill up-gradation and expand technical education. Efforts to improve social sector indices were appreciated. Potential available in animal husbandry sector needs to be fully tapped, Dr Ahluwalia said.

Mr Bhattacharjee in his remarks pointed out that the policy initiatives taken in the area of fiscal prudence, public-private partnership and industrial investment have helped in improving the financial position of the State. He said for the first time in the history of the country, West Bengal is conducting a scientific study of soil fertility. Vocational training was being encouraged and during the 11th Plan 3,000 more centres will be added. By the end of next plan, 100 per cent population would be provided with arsenic safe water.

He said the State Government would be pursuing a growth rate of 9.7 per cent for the Eleventh Plan, which would include four per cent growth in agriculture and 11 per cent each in industry and the service sectors.

To create investment friendly environment a number of policy decisions have been taken. These include adoption of bio-technology policy, mines and minerals policy, information technology policy and policy on IT-enabled services.

UNI