New Delhi, September 1
The National Development Council (NDC) today approved the draft approach paper of the 10th Five Year Plan, which envisages an ambitious 8 per cent GDP growth rate and aims at doubling the per capita income by the end of the Plan period.
The NDC also endorsed Prime Minister’s suggestion for convening all-party meetings before arriving at politically contentious decisions such as labour reforms, power sector restructuring and downsizing government departments.
The NDC also
ratified the Cabinet decision to accord special state category status to Uttaranchal.
Speaking to newspersons briefly after the conclusion of the meeting, the Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission, Mr K.C. Pant, said the final approach paper of the Plan would also incorporate the points discussed and deliberated during the 49th meeting of the NDC chaired by the Prime Minister held here today.
Mr Pant, however, said some states has called for reviewing the criteria under which special category status was accorded by the Planning Commission.
He also said in his concluding remarks that the Prime Minister asked the Planning Commission to identify additional schemes for the transfer of centrally sponsored schemes to states.
Earlier, while delivering the inaugural address, Mr Vajpayee hinted that some hard economic decisions may be forthcoming and sent a strong message to the states that prudent economics and political populism could not go hand in hand.
The Prime Minister indicated that some politically sensitive decisions could follow involving a host of issues, including the removal of untargeted subsidies, downsizing of the government, expansion of the tax-base, labour reforms, and structural changes in the power sector.
The government will also operationalise this month, the
Sampoorna Rozgar Yojana. “It will provide employment to the rural poor for building durable assets”, he said while calling all state governments to cooperate in implementing the scheme.
Using the opportunity to undertake a stock-taking exercise of the economy, the Prime Minister listed out the areas which warranted urgent remedial action.
“The area that is truly crying for reform and rejuvenation is our power sector. I am prepared to call an all-party meeting to build the necessary political consensus, so that the reforms are not derailed in the states due to compulsions of competitive politics”, Mr Vajpayee said at the NDC meeting convened to discuss the draft approach paper of the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07).
Underlining the importance of injecting more funds into the country’s core infrastructure sector, the Prime Minister said towards this end the Centre would accelerate large-scale public investments in infrastructure development.
“We shall soon flag off a major investment package for the early completion of many critical and remunerative projects”, he added.
Moreover, the Department of Programme Implementation is presently monitoring 461 projects involving investments in access of Rs 100 crore, and which are at various stages of implementation.
“The Centre proposes to take up 100 of these projects, which can be completed in a short time. The investments needed for this will be suitably provided for”, he said.
The downsizing of the government cannot be delayed, he said, pointing out that there are states whose salary bills alone far exceed their revenue collections.
“Every unnecessary government job robs resources for the much needed welfare and development activities. The Centre will not be found wanting in this regard”, he said.
Expressing concern over the poor state of finances of the both Centre and the states, the Prime Minister said the borrowings and contingent liabilities of many states had been over-stretched.
“An excessive reliance on allocations and the neglect of performance has not served us well. There must be a re-orientation of executive accountability towards the results, and not only in meeting budgetary targets”, Mr Vajpayee said.
He underlined the importance of increasing state revenues by expanding tax collections, arresting losses of government-run enterprises and undertaking innovative ways of resource mobilisation.
“We have taken some steps to reduce untargeted non-merit subsidies. There is, however, a big need and a lot of scope for pruning them further and targeting them better to the benefit of the poor”, he said.
