NEW DELHI, June 9 � A review report of the implementation of the flagship programmes of Central Government in Assam may land the State Government in a tight spot, as it has slipped in some of the major sectors.
According to sources, the Planning Commission (PC) report is based on a desk review of data provided by the Central ministries, meetings with staff of the Government of Assam, field visits and interaction with field officers and recipients.
However, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had told Planning Commission that there was substantial improvement in implementation of the flagship programmes, including SSA, NHRM, Welfare of Minorities, RGGBY and Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. Skill Development is also being taken on priorities with 23 ITIs out of 28 being upgraded.
The said report expressed concern at the lower growth rate of Assam, which was pegged at 6 per cent, as against the all India figure of 9 per cent.
Agricultural performance needs to be accelerated to achieve the 11th Plan growth target of two per cent and there is a need to put in place a mechanism for monitoring expenditure, especially of externally-aided projects.
The report said Assam needs to pay special attention to implementation of irrigation projects, as almost 75 per cent of the potential created is no more available. The State needs to take concerted action to complete seven long pending major and medium irrigation projects.
The Dhansiri Mini Hydro electric Project, Lakwa Waste Heat Recovery Project, Namrup Power Replacement Project, Bongaigaon Thermal Power Project are some of the projects which require early completion to improve the power situation.
Report said lack of coordination among the various departments was quite apparent and needs to be addressed.
Education is yet another major area of concern. The number of out of school children is 3.39 lakh and that 36 per cent of the teachers at primary level and 10 per cent at Upper Primary level are untrained.
Birth rate in Assam is 27 per cent against the all India rate of 26 per cent, death rate is 9.7 against the all India rate of 8.7. IMR at 66 and MMR at 490 in Assam is much higher than the all India figures of 58 and 301 respectively, the report said.
It has been suggested that the Assam Government should seek guidance of CSIR for industrial research and development and that facilities of the regional remote sensing centre should be utilised for digital mapping of forest reserves and data generation for a bio-diversity study.
To meet the requirements in the services sector, the State needs to take more initiatives in skill development, especially of the youth.
The Annual Plan for Assam for the year 2010-11 was fixed at Rs 7645 crore at a meeting on April 19 between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
Ahluwalia had drawn Gogoi�s attention to human development indices and the State Government was asked to make development process more inclusive. Priority should be given to the early completion of on-going irrigation projects and improvement of extension services. The State should encourage people participation in flood management as the State has a major problem of frequent floods and land erosion.
Briefing the Commission on the Plan performance of the State, the Chief Minister said Plan realization this year would be over 90 per cent with GSDP growing at over 6.1 per cent.
