For the second consecutive year, Haryana has scored over Punjab in Plan size. For 2008-09, Punjab?s annual Plan size has been finalised at Rs 6,224 crore, including additional central assistance of Rs 200 crore for priority projects. In comparison, Haryana has got an annual outlay of Rs 6,650 crore for 2008-09, which includes one-time additional central assistance of Rs 100 crore provided for projects of special interest to the state. The state, which has by far shown about 11% growth in fiscal 2007-08, has got a pat on the back from Planning Commission deputy chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who commended the state for ??achieving an excellent growth rate and overall performance??. However, neighbouring Punjab has a growth rate of about 6.0%, mainly due to tardy agricultural growth of about 1.91%.
This is the second year in a row that the Plan size of Punjab is smaller than Haryana?s. In 2007-08, Punjab?s Plan outlay was of Rs 5,111 crore against Haryana?s Rs 5,300 crore. Never before that had Haryana surpassed Punjab on any parameter of development as Punjab.
When asked for comment, Punjab?s finance minister, Manpreet Singh Badal, said ??it was indeed embarassing that Punjab?s annual Plan size was smaller than Haryana?s??. ??Ideally, I would like to present a Plan of the size of Rs 10,000 crore to the Planning Commission and we would ensure that after three years Punjab would have a Plan of the size of Rs 15,000 crore??, he added.
For Punjab, a higher growth rate may be wishful thinking as of now, but during the Tenth Plan period, Haryana achieved 9% growth rate against the target of 7.9%. The Planning Commission has given a target of 11% to Haryana for the Eleventh Plan. The per capita income of the state is above the national average. The Haryana government is now pinning hopes on the proposed freight corridor link to improve its status as an investment destination. On fiscal performance, the state was complimented for bringing down the fiscal deficit and transforming it to a revenue surplus one.
Meanwhile, Punjab said its new Plan indicated a rise of 21.77% over the Plan of Rs 5,111 crore for 2007-08, one of the biggest Plan allocations so far from the state. Punjab, which has lagged in gross state domestic product because of poor agricultural growth, has asked the Planning Commission to review the present system of fixing the minimum support price (MSP) recommended by the parliamentary committee on agriculture, which had recommended that MSP be linked with the overall price index.
Punjab has been advocating what eminent agriculturist MS Swaminathan said — that the MSP should be equal to the cost of production plus 50%. The state has been demanding a special package, including a one-time waiver of all agriculture loans amounting to Rs 26,000 crore. The state has also made a case for creation of an agriculture development fund (ADF) to help rejuvenate agriculture and rehabilitate the century-old canal system and redress the problem of water-logging.