Pranab Mukherjee in Calcutta on Sunday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, Jan. 22: The central government’s budget outlay of Rs 600 crore for a second green revolution has few takers.

“To make the second green revolution happen, all concerned state governments (including Bengal) will have to take necessary steps to meet the huge requirement of rural infrastructure such as cold chains and road connectivity,” finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a meeting with the Bharat Chamber of Commerce here today.

“I have allocated Rs 300 crore for the first year (2010-11) and another Rs 300 crore for the second year (2011-12). But states need to come up with more implementable projects so that the funds can be disbursed project-wise,” Mukherjee said.

He said the problems that states might be facing could be solved by keeping aside prejudices and working together.

Bengal’s allocation for 2011-12 was reduced 16.3 per cent from the previous fiscal to Rs 85.66 crore. Bihar was allocated Rs 55.33 crore, Jharkhand Rs 31.68 crore, Odisha Rs 62.62 crore, Chhattisgarh Rs 55.21 crore and Assam Rs 33.32 crore. The share of eastern Uttar Pradesh was increased 49.5 per cent to Rs 85.66 crore.

All the 126 districts of these states have been identified for the second green revolution.

During Mukherjee’s pre-budget meeting with state finance ministers last week, Bihar said it envisaged a 7 per cent annual growth in agriculture.

Nearly 63 per cent of the total amount allocated under the programme in 2011-12 are meant for advanced techniques of rice and wheat cultivation, 17 per cent for asset building activities and 19 per cent for site-specific activities such as improving the quality of electric power supply.

Meanwhile, Bengal is supposed to get about Rs 41 crore in the current financial year under the National Food Security Mission of the agriculture ministry.

In 2010-11, Bengal could spend only Rs 174.54 crore on developing the production of pulses, rice and wheat out of an allocation of Rs 247.68 crore by the Centre under the food security mission.

The finance minister said Bengal had immense potential to become the gateway to the government’s Look East policy.

“But the necessary infrastructure, such as road, rail and sea links with countries in the Far East, have to be put in place. We can collectively work towards this,” Mukherjee said.