Rajasthan asks Rs 68,422 crore in XIth plan

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje met Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and has asked for Rs 68,422 crore for the state in the XIth Plan allocation.

This is more than double the money that the state got during the Xth plan.

"We got Rs 31,831 crore in the Xth plan but we have now asked for a qualitative jump in funding various projects in the state in the next five year plan. The planning commission's deputy chairman Montek Singhji has agreed to release Rs 11,638.87 crore in the current fiscal year 2007-2008. This is Rs 60 crore more than we had asked for," She said at a press conference held at Jodhpur house in New Delhi on Monday evening.

She claimed that her state achieved 9 per cent growth rate in last three years of tenure as the chief minister.

Thirty six per cent of the total budget for the XIth plan, which works out to around Rs 25,000 crore, would be spent in completing 13 power projects that would enable Rajasthan to produce surplus electricity to be supplied to other states.

"We would be spending Rs 5000 crore every year on power projects every year. Two projects have been lying for 22 and 26 respectively. These power projects are going to come up in Bikaner, Dholpur, Kota and different districts of Rajasthan.

"We currently produce 645 megawatts of power but in next two years this capacity is going to be increased to 1500 megawatts," she said.

She said the focus area of her government would be education, which would get Rs 3300 crore, health, tourism and mining sectors would also get more money in the XIth plan.