Rajasthan Plan for 2013-14 finalised at Rs 40,500 crore
New Delhi, Mar 20 : The Annual Plan for 2013-14 for Rajasthanwas finalised here today at Rs 40,500 crore, with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia complimenting the State for rapid strides it has made in development.
The Plan size was fixed at a meeting in Yojna Bhavan between Dr Ahluwalia and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Dr Ahluwalia stated that during 11th Plan the State has achieved the highest agriculture growth of 7.9 per cent against the national average of 3.7 per cent during the five year policy period. Overall growth was also better than many other States, he said.
He also commended the statea€™s efforts towards making itself self-reliant in the power sector and expressed the hope that Rajasthan would be self-sufficient in power generation in a yeara€™s time.
Rajasthan was also applauded by the Commission for its innovative policies for ensuring inclusive growth by reaching out to the beneficiaries of various social sector schemes.
He said water security was a major challenge for the State and a carefully drawn out approach was needed to meet its future needs. He said drip irrigation and recycling of used water was desirable and Government should work out strategy to meet this requirement.
Dr Ahluwalia offered Planning Commission's support in working out a long term plan to meet water requirements.
He said initiatives aimed at empowering girl child and encouraging self-help groups were also appreciable.
''Rapid growth of agriculture was critical for inclusiveness since it is still the main source of livelihood for majority of the rural population. For sustaining the growth in agriculture sector, greater emphasis needs to be given to deteriorating quality of land and underground water, composite farming system in arid and semi-arid regions and creating scope for diversification in the cropping system,'' he added.