No shortage of development money: PM

Predicting an accelerated economic growth in the next 4-5 years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday asked the state governments to work with the Centre to make the delivery systems honest and strong.

"There is no dearth of money for effecting development works. The need is that the state governments should work with the Centre to make the delivery systems stronger so that we get better worth for the money spent," the prime minister said after unveiling a statue of senior Congress leader late Madhavrao Scindia in Indore.

Emphasising that the process of development in the country will gather momentum in the next 4-5 years, Singh said, "The national income is expected to rise by eight to ten per cent every year, which will enable us to do away with poverty and unemployment, forever."

"There should be no scope for bribery and other leakages in the system. The wall between the people and the government should be demolished so as to accelerate growth," he said.

Assuring the Madhya Pradesh government of "full cooperation in effecting development without any bias," the prime minister said the state, especially its rural areas, will get maximum benefits out of the new schemes floated by the Centre including the employment guarantee scheme, Rajiv Gandhi electrification project and the Bharat Nirman Scheme.

Elaborating on the Centre's plans for development in the state, Singh said Indore will be among 60 cities where a sum of Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) will spent in next 4-5 years to upgrade roads, bridges, transport system and to develop infrastructure.