The Hindu Business Line : Mid-term appraisal of 11th Plan records progress in many sectors

The appraisal shows that the new direction charted in the Eleventh Plan is indeed being followed. It gives scope for optimism with respect to the State’s future, the document said.

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov. 18

A mid-term appraisal of the Eleventh Plan programmes by the State Planning Board has surmised that some major departures from the previous Plans have borne fruits.

There has been a substantial increase in total current price outlay from Rs 20,588.99 crore to Rs 40,422 crore in the Eleventh Plan. The actual plan outlay provided over the five years is likely to exceed this figure by a considerable margin. Even if one were to take the expenditure-outlay ratio to remain as low as 80 per cent, a minimum of 80 per cent increase in the current price expenditure over the Tenth plan is likely.

Boost to farm sector

The second major departure was to revive the foodgrain economy of the State which had been on a decline for decades through shift in acreage from foodgrains to cash crops.

A number of steps were taken towards this direction, ranging from the offer of remunerative prices for paddy to legal restrictions on curtailing the magnitude of paddy land. These steps have yielded results: in 2008-09, the area under rice cultivation increased over the previous year, and rice output has increased by nearly 12 per cent.

The third major departure was the support of the peasant and petty production, which has been pushed into crisis because of the neo-liberal policies of the globalisation era.

The setting up of the Agriculturalist’s Debt Relief Commission, the provision of debt relief to peasants who could not benefit from the Central relief measures, the setting up of the Fishermen’s Debt Relief Commission, and the substantial increase in Plan outlay directed attraditional industries are some of the measures that find reflection in the figures of the mid-term appraisal.

Public sector recovery

The fourth major departure is a new attitude towards the public sector enterprises. Not only have they been converted, in the aggregate, from loss-making to profit-making units, but the number of enterprises making profits has itself gone up dramatically.

And this turnaround has been achieved without any significant retrenchment of workers or notable closures or without compromising the public sector character of the enterprises.

The firth major departure has been a substantial step-up in social sector spending under the plan. The outlay on education and health has gone up markedly.

The appraisal of course covers mainly the first two years of the Plan and hence misses out on a number of recent initiatives such as the EMS Housing Scheme and the comprehensive health insurance scheme, but even such figures as they show are instructive.

On housing, for instance, over two lakh houses have already been constructed in the first two years of the plan, even before the launch of the ambitious EMS housing scheme.

New initiatives

The sixth major departure has been the promotion of new areas like tourism and IT in the State, where Kerala has a competitive advantage, even while ensuring that such an initiative is not exploited by land speculators.

This has been done by insisting on Government participation in the development of IT parks and other similar infrastructure. The IT initiative has paid handsome dividends with output and exports from this sector showing remarkable increase.

The appraisal shows that the new direction charted in the Eleventh Plan is indeed being followed. It gives scope for optimism with respect to the State’s future, the appraisal document said.