Orissa targets 9 per cent growth during 11th Plan

Bhubaneswar, Oct 15 (UNI) With a projected outlay of Rs 27000 crore during the eleventh five year plan, Orissa has set a target to realise an overall growth rate of nine per cent per annum.

Disclosing this at the newly reconstituted state Planning Board meeting, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the draft plan projected a growth rate of 4.72 per cent for agriculture, nine per cent for industries and mineral and 11 per cent for service sectors during the plan period.

Mr Patnaik said the state government wanted to have a fresh look at the draft as it had launched several new initiatives, including the Biju KBK Yojana, Gopabandhu Gramin Yojana, Biju Gramya Jyoti Yojana and announced several packages for the development of agriculture, SC and ST, irrigation facilities and self employment initiatives.

The Chief Minister said though the agriculture sector had exhibited a growth rate of three per cent during the first four years of the tenth plan, higher than the national growth rate, it further required improvement as agriculture continued to be back bone of the state's economy.

He said the state government envisaged to bring about significant improvement in the agricultural practices and infrastructure base to double the overall agriculture production by the end of eleventh plan.

Mr Patnaik said the government would try to avail itself of the full benefit of the National Food Security Mission, a new programme launched by the union government to realise the transformation in the agriculture sector during the eleventh plan period.

Efforts would be made to make significant improvement in healthcare, education, sanitation, welfare of minorities and weaker section of society, generation of large-scale employment avenues and improve the economic infrastructure to support industrialisation.

During the first four years of the tenth plan, an average annual growth rate of 7.26 per cent was achieved compared to 5.2 per cent during the ninth plan, Mr Patnaik said, adding the robust growth was achieved due to high growth rate of 11.34 per cent in the Industry and Mineral sector due to rapid industrialisation initiated in the state during the past few years.

UNI