Port Blair, April 26: The 6th meeting of the A & N State Planning Board was held under the chairmanship of the Lt Governor, Lt Gen A K Singh (Retd), at Megapode Nest here yesterday. The Member of Parliament, Shri B P Ray, Chief Secretary, Chairperson (PBMC), Adhyaksha, Zilla Parishad (SA), Chairperson (SWAB) and senior officers of the Administration were also present on the occasion. At the outset, the Lt Governor expressed his gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Home Minister for their visionary leadership and for charting a new path for the comprehensive development of the Islands and the welfare of our people. It is an acknowledged fact that in the past one year there has been unprecedented progress and development in the Islands.
In his inaugural address, the Lt Governor expressed his appreciation that the plan proposals have been put through a rigorous process of discussion and debate, from the Gram Panchayat level to the Planning Board level. He also expressed his confidence that it has reflected the hopes and aspirations of the people. At the outset, he highlighted the fact that we faced a severe cut last year and this year is also going to be no different. While we have sought 2976 crores, we have been allocated 2200 cores only. In the circumstances, he stressed in his opening address that we must control our expenditure and put our scarce allocation to the most optimum use. There is a need to prioritize our schemes accordingly. In our execution of the works, there is an expectation at the centre that if we spend almost 55% of the budget allocation by September, only then can we have a case can to go back to the central government to demand more funds becomes strong. He also called upon all the Secretaries, HoDs and PRIs that despite challenges like the monsoon hitting the Islands in May, we should try and keep the expenditure going so that by September we can show a healthy trend in our expenditure statement which will form the basis for us to approach the central government for more funds.
Turning to the need for increasing resource mobilization, he said while the budget for the A&N Islands has been continuously increased in the last 15-20 years, resource mobilization in the Islands has been stagnant. It is, therefore, imperative on our part that we increase our resource mobilization so that our case of becoming self-sustaining becomes strong and also we can demand enhancement in the budget allocation. He observed that revenue generation has to pick up in the Islands and hoped that as development takes place, tourism develops and investment increases, resource mobilization in the Islands will also increase.
Drawing the attention of all members of the Planning Board to the very low percentage of allocation in respect of Tourism, Fisheries, Agriculture and Industries, he said that there is a need to look into those areas as these are the future potential areas in the Islands. He hoped that in future their relative share of allocation will increase. Further, we have to arrive at a balance between Plan and Non Plan expenditure. The more we stretch the Non-Plan, there will be a reduction in Plan fund, resulting in reduced funds for developmental activities. He asked the PRIs and officers of the Administration to be more careful and arrive at a balance while deciding the Plan and Non-Plan expenditure. Fund available with the Administration should be invested in areas which would benefit the people and for bigger projects there should be a provision to avail loans or take recourse to other institutional and external funding, he observed.
Shri B L Sharma, Secretary (Planning), presented the plan and explained that an elaborate process has been followed in the preparation of the plan document. For the current year, the plan allocation is 2200 crores which is 4.76 percent higher than the allocation for the year 2014-15 (Rs 2100 crores) and allocation to the major Departments namely Shipping is 441.25 cr, APWD 273.18 cr, Education 257.71 cr, Power 199.28 cr, Health 181.32 cr, Rural Development/ LSG Rs 179.66 cr, IT Rs 94.5 cr and Civil Aviation 88.71 cr.
In conclusion, the Lt Governor thanked the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways as well as Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari and other Ministers for extending their unflinching support to the Administration in carrying out the development of these Islands. He also thanked the Hon’ble MP, Shri B P Ray and PRI representatives for their support to the Administration. In complimenting the Administration, he asked the officers/officials to work without fear or favour, in a transparent manner and for the well being of the common man specially the farmers.
Later in the evening, at a press conference held at the same venue, the Chief Secretary, Shri Anand Prakash informed the media persons about the entire Annual Plan 2015-16. He stated that annual plan 2015-16 reflects the vision of the A&N Administration which includes ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth while keeping ecological concerns and tribal issues to the fore, enhancing skill development, and providing employment, ensuring better inter-island connectivity, improved communication including under water sea submarine cable, maintaining social harmony and multicultural identity, encouraging ecologically aligned tourism and ensuring strategic security.
The Member Secretary, A&N State Planning Board, Shri B L Sharma, through a detailed power point presentation enlightened the media persons about the criteria applied for plan fund, annual plan allocation 2015-16 and departmental share, projection and allocation of funds in plan and non plan/ financial crunch.
