Patna, Feb. 12: Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi today said that the Centre should release untied funds (direct money) to states so that they can take a holistic approach while making policies which can be compatible to the states’ requirement to spur economic growth.

“The central government should give untied funds to the states so that they can prepare their plans and policies according to their needs and requirements. The present regime of the Centre linking funds with a particular scheme is neither very useful for the states nor in their interest. The states should also be given the right to prepare plans,” said Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio in the state cabinet.

Modi was speaking after discussions with economists, doctors, professor and others during a pre-budget meeting, an exercise carried out for the past six years.

Modi said the centrally sponsored schemes, whose number at present is around 1,100, should be reduced and also states’ share of matching grant should be slashed to help developing states like Bihar.

chief minister Nitish Kumar, planning development minister Narendra Narayan Yadav, besides principal secretaries and secretaries of 20 departments would be meeting with the Planning Commission’s deputy chairman and officials on February 15 to discuss the plan size.

Modi, who would also be a part of the delegation, said the state would request the commission not to reduce the plan size, which the state government has earmarked at Rs 24,000 crore.

“We will request the commission not to reduce our Rs 24,000-crore plan size as it would adversely impact our growth. The state has been laggard on several socio-economic indicators and hence more funds are needed to be pumped into the state,” Modi said, adding that the state’s plan size has witnessed a six-time jump from Rs 4,500 crore in the year 2005-06 to Rs 24,000 crore in 2011-12

He said the state’s top brass and officials would try to convince the commission how it would manage the funds from different sources which include the option of taking loans and its repayment capability besides state’s own increasing internal resources.

Asked about the fact that the state could just utilise 52 per cent of funds of Rs 20,000 crore plan outlay of the current fiscal, Modi, who primarily held the protracted Assembly elections as the reason behind the low rate of expenditure, said the last three months of any fiscal was more important so far as expenditure was concerned and the state would meet its target.

On being asked about the priorities of his budget, the finance minister said: “We don’t have the option of fixing our priorities as no development activities could take place in the past 25-30 years. Had it been so, the state’s face would have been different from what it is today.”

Modi said the budget focus would be on education, health, roads, irrigation and energy.

Welcoming the suggestions from economists, doctors, professor and others, he said many good and important suggestions came out during the meeting which the state government would try to incorporate in the budget but if some issues are not addressed in the budget then the government would try implement it at a later stage.

“From next year, the government would hold separate meetings of different departments with the stakeholders so that more and more suggestions could be incorporated in the preparation of the budget,” Modi added.

Some of the suggestions made during the meeting were — more universities be opened in the state, higher education should be given special emphasis, better civic amenities be provided in urban areas, schemes should be prepared keeping in mind the impact of climate change, medical examination of every rural household be conducted once a year, all medical colleges should have a virology lab, special emphasis be given on cottage industries and others.

Bihar State Planning Board (BSPB) vice-chairman and former external affairs minister Hari Kishore Singh, finance department’s principal secretary Rameshwar Singh, planning development’s principal secretary Vijay Prakash, additional finance commissioner Mihir Kumar Singh and board’s adviser N.P. Sinha were present during the interactive meeting with economists, doctors, professors and others.