The Hindu Business Line : `PMO looking into ONGC project issue'

THE Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Mr Oscar Fernandes, has said that there has been good progress in the area of programme implementation in the last one year.

Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, he said, "All the achievements in the area of programme implementation will be formally released in New Delhi during this week."

Expressing happiness over the performance of the Government in the last one year, Mr Fernandes said the Prime Minister measures the progress of the programme in terms of the actual work done, and not in terms of money spent.

He said the Union Government is serious about tackling poverty. In spite of good growth in the industrial sector, 26 per cent of the people in the country live below the poverty line. All measures will be taken towards poverty alleviation, he said. The Government is planning to spend Rs 1.5 lakh crore on rural development in the coming years, he added.

ONGC's investments

To a query on the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) investment plans in the proposed Mangalore Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Mr Fernandes said the Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, is not against the SEZ project. He wants ONGC to use its resource for oil exploration. The Petroleum Minister is of the opinion that other oil companies should also participate in the project.

Mr Fernandes said that recently, the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr Dharam Singh, had led a delegation to the Prime Minister, seeking his intervention in this matter. The delegation members were of the view that ONGC should invest in the SEZ project, as it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka Government. The PM's office is looking into this matter, he added.

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