An annual Plan outlay of Rs 15,200 crore has been approved for Orissa for the year 2011-12.

Announcing this here on Wednesday, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, complimented State Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, for the progress made in many areas, such as poverty eradication and human development.

Offering Plan panel expertise in handling the problems Mr Patnaik was facing following reforms in the power distribution sector, Mr Ahluwalia said a team would soon visit the State to find a solution.

He appreciated the State government for achieving a real average growth rate of 9.57 per cent during the first three years of the Eleventh Plan. In agriculture and allied sector, the growth rate was 4.8 per cent during the same period.

Mr Ahluwalia advised the State to focus on making progress more inclusive and reducing regional disparities, as also utilise science and technology to address development-related problems.

The Chief Minister said removal of disparities was one of the important development strategies adopted by his Government. He said among the key initiatives taken to address regional disparities was expediting the development of KBK (Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi) districts through an eight-year perspective plan with a projected outlay of Rs 4,550 crore.

comment COMMENT NOW