The Planning Commission of India has set Nagaland state’s Annual Plan at Rs. 1810 Crore for 2011-2012, an addition of a colossal Rs. 110 Crore to the original proposal the government of Nagaland requested in April this year. The original proposal was Rs. 1700 crore.
The Planning Commission’s ‘magnanimity’ in offering the excess Rs. 110 has far surpassed even Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s deliberate optimism that the Centre would perhaps even grant a 10% addition to the initial plan-size proposal of Rs. 1700. The State had submitted to the Planning Commission the proposal for at least a grant of Rs 1700 crore, on Wednesday, April 27 when secretary-level discussions began in Delhi.
“We are all happy,” as Chief Secretary Lalthara put it during interactions with The Morung Express earlier over the news. The Government of Nagaland rejoicing is understandable considering that just in April earlier before the chief minister left for the principal discussions in May the best assessment the government could manage was “probably” a comparatively low Rs. 1, 650 Crore – even if the commission were to offer an increase of 10% (attributing to percentage in sector development).
Lalthara is in Delhi with chief minister Rio, Planning Minister TR Zeliang, deputy chairperson of Nagaland State Planning Board Neiba Kronu and other officials. ‘We are all happy; I am happy but there are things to do,’ Lalthara said referring to what he explained to be resource mobilization.
According to the chief secretary, the task ahead now not so much for the plan size and committing to meeting development needs as envisaged in the proposal. The current plan size is now 20% higher than the previous fiscal plan outlay for Nagaland state. The previous fiscal outlay for 2010-2011 was at Rs. 1500 crore. Yet, Lalthara said, now that the commission has “fixed” Nagaland’s play outlay, focus would be on to raise Rs. 68 crore as revenue. The amount is Nagaland’s contribution to the overall ARM or ‘Additional resource Mobilized.’
When the secretary-level discussions on Nagaland’s began, the Planning Commission had supposedly offered the state a net borrowing of approximately Rs 300 Crore. This daily reported that if at all the state’s development sectors showed increase, there was a chance that the Center would increase the Plan outlay for the state.
In fact, there was not much optimism that the state government felt even a 10% increase from growth in the development sectors wouldn’t attract the Planning Commission enough to give the state the full proposed outlay. In fact the expected outlay was Rs. 1, 650 Crore, as Lalthara said earlier. The state’s round figure of Rs. 1700 crore as the original proposed outlay reflects the aforementioned notion that if the Planning Commission would be generous enough to offer a 10% increase, the annual outlay would be at least 70% of the original Rs 1700. However, the state government can happily focus on mobilizing the ARM resources now that the planning Commission has sprung a huge surprise and gave the state not a 10% increase but a 20% boost.
The Planning Commission’s ‘magnanimity’ in offering the excess Rs. 110 has far surpassed even Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s deliberate optimism that the Centre would perhaps even grant a 10% addition to the initial plan-size proposal of Rs. 1700. The State had submitted to the Planning Commission the proposal for at least a grant of Rs 1700 crore, on Wednesday, April 27 when secretary-level discussions began in Delhi.
“We are all happy,” as Chief Secretary Lalthara put it during interactions with The Morung Express earlier over the news. The Government of Nagaland rejoicing is understandable considering that just in April earlier before the chief minister left for the principal discussions in May the best assessment the government could manage was “probably” a comparatively low Rs. 1, 650 Crore – even if the commission were to offer an increase of 10% (attributing to percentage in sector development).
Lalthara is in Delhi with chief minister Rio, Planning Minister TR Zeliang, deputy chairperson of Nagaland State Planning Board Neiba Kronu and other officials. ‘We are all happy; I am happy but there are things to do,’ Lalthara said referring to what he explained to be resource mobilization.
According to the chief secretary, the task ahead now not so much for the plan size and committing to meeting development needs as envisaged in the proposal. The current plan size is now 20% higher than the previous fiscal plan outlay for Nagaland state. The previous fiscal outlay for 2010-2011 was at Rs. 1500 crore. Yet, Lalthara said, now that the commission has “fixed” Nagaland’s play outlay, focus would be on to raise Rs. 68 crore as revenue. The amount is Nagaland’s contribution to the overall ARM or ‘Additional resource Mobilized.’
When the secretary-level discussions on Nagaland’s began, the Planning Commission had supposedly offered the state a net borrowing of approximately Rs 300 Crore. This daily reported that if at all the state’s development sectors showed increase, there was a chance that the Center would increase the Plan outlay for the state.
In fact, there was not much optimism that the state government felt even a 10% increase from growth in the development sectors wouldn’t attract the Planning Commission enough to give the state the full proposed outlay. In fact the expected outlay was Rs. 1, 650 Crore, as Lalthara said earlier. The state’s round figure of Rs. 1700 crore as the original proposed outlay reflects the aforementioned notion that if the Planning Commission would be generous enough to offer a 10% increase, the annual outlay would be at least 70% of the original Rs 1700. However, the state government can happily focus on mobilizing the ARM resources now that the planning Commission has sprung a huge surprise and gave the state not a 10% increase but a 20% boost.
