Patna, Feb. 1: After a five-year dream run of swelling plan size, chief minister Nitish Kumar faces the possibility of the state plan being actually slashed from Rs 20,000 crore in financial year 2010-11 to Rs 18,800 crore in the next financial year.

Among others, Nitish will meet the finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, and the vice-chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, in a bid to rectify what is being described as a ‘mathematical blunder’ while deciding the size of the plan size next year.

“It is an arbitrary decision on behalf of the Planning Commission, when the price rise has been 8 to 9 per cent, even pegging it at Rs 20,000 crore would have meant downsizing the plan size. In a developing economy like Bihar, there should have been an increase of at least 16 per cent to increase the absorption capacity of the state,” said economist and university professor of Patna University N.K. Choudhary. He said the Planning Commission has discretion in fixing the plan size of the state. “But in this case, the discretion has been used politically,” he added.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi has been stressing that the plan size is fluctuating and keeps changing in accordance with the flow of money from the Centre and the internal resources. “The internal resource of the state has crossed Rs 10,000 crore and we feel that there is no reason for bringing down the plan size,” said a finance department official. He also pointed towards the increased inflow of money in Bihar because of the 13th Finance Commission recommendations.

If there has been slow expenditure during the current financial year, it was primarily because of the long Assembly polls Bihar had to ensure and the model code of conduct. When the NDA assumed power in November, Modi said that the state would have to spend Rs 12,000 crore of its plan size in the next four months. He had expressed confidence that it would be accomplished. Even Nitish is reported to be in favour of a plan size of Rs 24,000 crore. “The Planning Commission cannot penalise a state for the election process,” said a JD(U) MP who is seeing red in the whole game already and added that the act smacked of revenge as the people of Bihar had thoroughly rejected the Congress in the polls.

The anxiety over the reduced plan size appears more political than economical. When Nitish assumed power the first time, the plan size was roughly Rs 4,000 crore.