Maharashtra Plan For 2013-14 Finalized by Planning Commission.

The Annual Plan for the year 2013-14 for Maharashtra was finalized here today at a meeting between Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Prithviraj Chavan. The plan size has been agreed at Rs.49,000crore. In addition the PSE plan has been fixed at Rs. 31.500 crore. The aggregate plan thus is Rs 80,500 crore.

In his comments on the plan performance of the State, Mr Ahluwalia said State has been performing fairly well. He said appreciable effort has been made to reduce poverty and maintaining growth high and inclusive. Development of physical and social infrastructure has been given right priority. The poverty ratio has registered a decline of 13.7 percentage point to 24.5% in Maharashtra in the year 2009-10 over 2004-05. While appreciating achievement, it was suggested that more efforts are required to reduce head-count ratio of consumption poverty by 10 percentage points by the end of twelfth Five Year Plan.

Complementing the State for financial management including fiscal deficit, he said despite global slowdown the State has achieved an average GSDP growth rate of 8.6% against the target of 9.1% during 11th Five Year Plan. The per capita NSDP of Maharashtra in 2011-12 was Rs. 64,951 which is above the per capita NSDP of Haryana (Rs. 62,825) and Tamil Nadu (Rs. 54,550).Maharashtra has achieved a growth rate of 8.1% in Industry sector during 11th Five Year Plan against the target of 8.0% and it was higher than the growth rate achieved for the whole country (7.2 per cent). The State Government was advised to encourage and motivate the entrepreneurs in MSME sector to avail the benefit of Central Sector Schemes. Concerted efforts are needed to further improve the literacy rate and eliminate gender and social gap in school enrolment by the end of 12th Five Year Plan by ensuring that educational opportunities are available to all segments of the society. Attention was drawn to the large gender gap in literacy rate of 14.34 percentage point with literacy rate of male at 89.92% and female 75.48%.

Planning Commission said the States should indicate the potential non-farm activities wherein job opportunities can be created over the next five year and also indicate skill shortage in these sectors. All States have set up their State Skill Development Mission (SSDMs). One of the monitorable targets of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) is generation of 50 million new work opportunities in the non-farm sector and skill certification of equivalent number during the 12th Plan.

In the health sector, it is appreciable that the IMR, IMMR, child malnutrition and anaemia among women in Maharashtra are less than the national average. But these are still high which needs close attention. The current IMR and IMMR in the State is 25 (SRS, 2011) and the 104 (SRS, 2007-09) respectively. There is a wide disparity in the rural IMR (30) and urban IMR (17).

Briefing the Commission on plan performance and development strategy for the 12th plan, Mr Chavan said that drought proofing, balanced industrial growth along with infrastructure development would be given priority. Social sector would continue to get priority and investment from private sector would be encouraged.

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr Chavan drew attention of the Planning Commission to water crisis and said the state needs support from central Government in tackling the situation. He said Maharashtra is facing a second successive year of drought due to very scanty rainfall. More than 10,000 villages in 15 districts of Maharashtra are affected by drought and are facing acute scarcity of water and fodder. Extensive measures to overcome this unprecedented crisis have been taken. Around Rs. 500crore have already been spent for tackling water scarcity.

He said the State Government has as part of decentralised planning decided to reserve 50 per cent of elected seats in the District Planning Committees for woman and to strengthen the district level plan, the State has proposed an allocation of Rs.5,200 crore in the District Plan.