Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has asked finance minister P Chidambaram to expedite the release of Rs 7,000 crore additional gross budgetary support (GBS) announced in Budget 2007-08.
The additional GBS was to be given as supplementary demands for grants to finance various existing and new schemes, including rural infrastructure projects under the UPA government?s flagship programme Bharat Nirman.
With just a couple of months to go before the fiscal ends and the finance minister presents his next Budget for 2008-09, Ahluwalia has written to Chidambaram so that the implementation of programmes, such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), do not take a hit due to a paucity of funds.
Chidambaram, in his speech for Budget 2007-08 had said the finance ministry had drawn up Plan ?B?, in consultation with the Planning Commission, under which additional resources would be provided to fund new initiatives and schemes during the 11th Plan period starting April 1, 2007.
?Additional resources will be needed once the proposals are finalised and the pace of expenditure builds up. Therefore, I shall endeavour to find additional resources through better tax administration to the extent of Rs7,000 crore during the course of the year,? he said.
The additional funds will be allocated among sectors, such as agriculture, rural development, health, women and child development,
urban infrastructure and water resources.
According to Planning Commission estimates, an additional GBS of Rs 7,000 crore could be used to meet the pressing needs of the agriculture ministry, which requires Rs 1,400 crore for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the national food security mission.
That apart, Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme needs another Rs 2,700 crore, and the ministry of urban development has asked for Rs 2,500 crore for JNNURM and other urban development and poverty alleviation programmes.