The Annual Plan outlay for Nagaland for the year 2006-2007 was approved on December 19 at a meeting between the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio. The Annual Plan size has been fixed at Rs. 760 crores, which includes onetime special assistance of Rs.65 crores for projects of special interest to the State. This is an increase of Rs 140 crore from the Rs 620 crore the State received during the period 2005-2006.
Having got the plan outlay approved, it is now incumbent on the State government to judiciously use the money keeping in mind the all round development of the State. The recommendation of the Deputy Chairman calling for the creation of a separate Department of Under-Developed District is welcome since a balanced growth is necessary for a harmonious development of all regions. Nagaland today presents a picture of extreme variations, district wise, in terms of indicators of economic growth such as per capita income, proportion of population living below the poverty line, urbanization and industrialization. Some districts are more developed than others and even within a district some are better off for whatever reasons.
What the Planning Commission has suggested is to correct this lopsided economic development. The government needs to give a push to agriculture and rural activities through initiatives in the road, power and transport sectors. Having a separate department will give greater recognition to backwardness as a factor to be taken into account in the transfer of financial resources from the centre (Kohima) to the periphery. Policy measures must be tuned towards taking up special area development programmes, promoting private investment in backward areas through measures like tax concession and subsidy scheme. An integrated rural development plan is required to take the fruits of development to the backward under developed regions.
The service delivery system must improve a great deal if the State is to see development take place instead of corruption taking root. Today fiscal discipline and good governance is the most important need of the hour. For this, the State has to rationalize manpower, reduce non- plan revenue expenditure, etc. At the same time, tax revenue collection and other resource mobilization has to improve a great deal to bridge the yawning gap between revenue and expenditure.
Since a major part of the State resources is being drained out owing to salary payment of government employees as also the burden of overstaffing, the three corrective measures announced by the Chief Minister earlier—ban on creation of new posts, inter-departmental transfer of existing manpower, Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS)—should be implemented both in letter and spirit rather than remaining a mere paper exercise. On top of all this, good governance, fiscal discipline and strengthening delivery system will remain the key for a holistic development across the spectrum of people and districts.
