Orissa is considering giving a fresh look to the draft for the 11 five-year Plan in view of several new initiatives taken up by the state government. The draft Plan has projected an outlay of Rs 27,000 crore with a view to achieving a growth rate of 9% during 2007-12. The government, however, is contemplating pegging a higher outlay and targeting a higher growth rate during the 11th Plan period, looking at the state’s potential for resource generation due to robust growth in industry and services in recent months.
??The state government wants to have a fresh look at the draft as it has launched several new initiatives, including the Biju KBK (Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput) Yojana, Gopabandhu Gramin Yojana, Biju Gramya Jyoti Yojana and announced several packages for the development of agriculture, Scheduled castes and tribes, irrigation facilities and self-employment initiatives??, says chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, who is also chairman of the State Planning Board. The 11th Plan has projected a growth rate of 4.72 % in agriculture, 8.93% in industry and 11.8% in the services sector.
The 10th Plan for the state was pegged at Rs 19,000 crore, with a projected target of achieving an overall growth rate of 6.2% against 5.2% in the Ninth Plan. It was estimated that Rs 57,562 crore would be needed to realise the targeted growth rate keeping in view the prevailing economic scenario and incremental capital output ratio. The growth rate achieved during the first four years of the 10th Plan was 7.26% . The growth in agriculture, services and industry during the four years remained at 3%, 8.20% and 11.34 %.
The broad objective of the 11th Plan is to achieve a sustainable annual average growth rate of 9%, double agriculture production from the present level, massive employment generation, improving access to health care, education, clean drinking water, sanitation, special attention to marginalised sections, promotion of broad based growth and encouraging private investment, development of crucial infrastructure like irrigation, power and road, and promotion of public-private community partnership (PPCP) and public-private partnership (PPP). The objectives also include bridging of the divide between states, districts, communities, gender, urban and rural etc.
Some of the monitorable targets have also been fixed for the state by the Planning Commission. By the end of the 11th Plan period, as per the draft document, the infant mortality rate rate would come down to 37 per 1,000 live births, total fertility rate to 2.1 per couple, malnutrition of children 27.2 % of weight, anaemia among women 31.5 %, sex ratio 961 females per 1,000 males, drop-out rate in elementary education 31.99% , literacy rate 83.96% and gender gap literacy 15.10 percentage points.
??The agriculture sector had exhibited a growth rate of 3% during the first four years of the 10th Plan, higher than the national growth rate. It further requires improvement as agriculture continues to be the backbone of the state’s economy??, says Bed Prakash Agarwal, State Planning Board vice-chairman. According to him, the state government envisaged bringing about significant improvement in agricultural practices and infrastructure base to double overall farm production by the end of 11th Plan.
The government would also try to avail of the National Food Security Mission, a new programme launched by the Centre to realise the benefits of transformation in the agriculture sector during the 11th Plan period, says planning minister Padmanabha Behera. He said efforts would be made to make significant improvements in healthcare, education, sanitation, welfare of minorities and weaker sections, generation of large-scale employment and infrastructure.
As of now, Orissa seems confident of achieving a higher growth rate during the 11th Plan compared with the 9% growth rate targeted in the draft Plan paper. The confidence stems from the fact that the state is expecting that the annual Plan outlay for 2007-08, the first year of the 11th Plan, would touch Rs 7,601.26 crore against the target pegged at Rs 5,105 crore for the year.