Bhubaneswar, Feb. 20: Orissa will have an annual plan outlay of Rs 3,000 crore, including central assistance of Rs 68 crore for projects of special interest.

The Planning Commission earlier this week approved the plan outlay for 2005-06 after a meeting between chief minister Naveen Patnaik and deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in Delhi. It had earlier agreed to an outlay of Rs 2,500 crore.

The commission has made a 65 per cent higher allocation under discretionary additional central assistance. Allocation for infrastructure has nearly doubled and Rs 330 crore approved for the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme.

Recognising the importance of externally-aided projects for the creation of infrastructure as also the achievement of millennium development goals, an outlay of Rs 1,400 crore has been approved by the commission.

The chief minister reiterated the state?s demand for grant of special category status. Besides, Patnaik also drew the attention of the commission to several critical issues, including 12 per cent share in thermal power produced in Orissa free of cost.

The other demands included fixation of royalty on major minerals on ad valorem basis and additional support for special connectivity programme for the Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi region.

Ahluwalia complimented Patnaik for initiating economic reforms in the state and creating an investor-friendly environment and added that the flow of central assistance is likely to increase.

During his three-day stay in Delhi, Patnaik met several Union ministers and sought greater central assistance for ongoing projects in Orissa.

The chief minister requested civil aviation minister Praful Patel to ensure the early completion of the ongoing runway expansion project at Bhubaneswar airport. He also urged Patel to facilitate the introduction of flights between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore and provide apex/concessional fares on the Bhubaneswar-Delhi route.

On the petroleum front, Patnaik said the Indian oil refinery at Paradip is likely to be upgraded to an 18-million-tonne refinery-cum-petrochemicals plant with an estimated investment of over Rs 20,000 crore.

The feasibility study for the project is underway and is expected to be over in a month, said Union petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar at a meeting with the chief minister.

During his meeting with Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, Patnaik was told that the 12th Finance Commission report would comprehensively address the problems of debt-stressed states.

The chief minister also met Railway Board chairman R.K. Singh and underscored the need to double the budget for Orissa to Rs 780 crore in 2005-06. A meeting would be held in March to consider railway infrastructure projects.