Punjab reports impress plan performance: Finance minister

The Punjab Government is reported to have registered an impressive annual Plan performance of 103% in 2007-08. According to the data collected by the Punjab State Planning Board, the State incurred a Plan expenditure of Rs. 5184 crores against an original Plan allocation of Rs. 5111 crores which was subsequently revised to Rs. 5050 crores by the Vidhan Sabha.
Giving details, a spokesperson for the Punjab Government stated that against the revised budgetary Plan allocation of Rs. 3050 crores, the State incurred an expenditure of Rs. 2722 crores, which reflects an achievement of 89%. Under the non-budgetary portion of the Plan, reflecting capital expenditure incurred by Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) and Rural Development Fund (RDF), Plan expenditure was Rs. 2462 crores against a revised allocation of Rs. 2000 crores, an achievement of 123%.
Recently, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had conveyed his concern about different Administrative Departments in the State not being able to fully access and utilize their due share of Central funds. The State Government gets funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes under different sharing formulae as well as under Central Sector Schemes which are 100% Central grants. The Chief Minister had asked the Chief Secretary to closely monitor the performance of different Departments in accessing and utilizing Central funds.
Chief Secretary Ramesh Inder Singh has initiated intensive review meetings with Administrative Secretaries of the performance of various Departments in 2007-08 as well as their likely targets for the ensuing year. First of these meetings was held yesterday evening in which the working of dozen-odd Departments was reviewed. Besides the concerned Administrative Secretaries, Principal Secretary Finance DS Kalha, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister DS Guru, Secretary Planning Satish Chandra and Special Secretary Planning Tejveer Singh were the officers who attended the meeting. 3 similar meetings to cover the remaining Departments are reportedly planned during the week ahead.
The spokesperson stated that it had been decided during the meeting that topmost priority would be accorded towards releasing all Central grants as well as State share for Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Similarly, the Finance Department has been directed to expeditiously release all grants received for NABARD and Externally Aided Projects (such as World Bank and JBIC) along with their matching State Share. The Chief Secretary has further directed all Departments to ensure that their respective proposals for seeking Central grants in the current year must reach the line Ministries in Government of India within 15 days, he added.
The Planning Department headed by the Finance and Planning Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has also examined the current year’s Union Budget proposals and circulated a Department-wise list of relevant schemes for the benefit of the concerned Administrative Departments to access Central funds, wherever possible, said the spokesperson.