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| Sushil Kumar Modi |
Patna, April 6: The state government claims to have achieved cent per cent plan expenditure during the just-concluded financial year 2010-11.
Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the initial figures collected indicated that the state had spent Rs 18,375.36 crore against the revised plan size of Rs 18,375.45 crore. Incidentally, the plan size of the state for the financial year 2010-11 was Rs 20,000 crore but was later slashed down.
“The revision of the state plan was done with the consent of the planning commission. Not revising the plan could have meant slashing of central assistance in the 12th instalment. But what matters more is the growth in expenditure compared to the large year and that has been significant,” Modi told The Telegraph.
Modi pointed out that during the financial year 2009-10, the total plan expenditure was Rs 14,183.51 crore. “The increase in plan expenditure according to initial data received by us has been as high as 30 per cent,” he said.
He added that the NDA government had given top priority to development work and it is because of better financial management that the government had been able to spend the funds meant for development.
He pointed out that during the NDA regime, the plan expenditure for the financial years 2005-06, 06-07, 07-08, 08-09 and 2009-10 had been Rs 4,464.49 crore, Rs 8,549.69 crore, Rs 9,652.30 crore, Rs 12,510.77 crore and Rs 14,183.51 crore respectively.
Modi said according to preliminary estimates during 2010-11, the road construction department had spent Rs 4,052.01 crore, while the rural works department spent Rs 1,289.07 crore.
The rural development department spent Rs 1,033.93 crore and the health department spent Rs 226.97 crore. The social welfare department spent more than Rs 1,400 crore and the water resources department over Rs 1,258 crore, Modi said, adding that all these departments had spent more than their target.
The deputy chief minister pointed out that the plan size of the current financial year had been pegged at Rs 24,000 crore and expressed confidence that the state government will be able to spend the amount.
