The Hindu Business Line : M.P. CM seeks transfer of Central schemes to States

POVERTY alleviation schemes sponsored by the Central Government with international grants should be transferred to the respective Government and the Centre's practice of charging interest from the State Governments for international funds received as grants should be put to an end.

This was stated by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Digvijay Singh, while addressing members of the Forum of Financial Writers in New Delhi. Mr Singh said he has already taken up the issue with the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.

Insisting that some of the Central Government's poverty alleviation schemes are not structured properly, he referred to the Integrated Rural Development Programme and said that it simply failed to meet the purpose as the subsidies hardly ever reached the actual beneficiaries. "You can't expect entrepreneurship from the below poverty line population. They should be given wage employment,'' Mr Singh said.

The Chief Minister said his Government had put in place a task force comprising officials of blue chip companies such as ITC, Hindustan Lever and the financial institutions to figure out the best ways of grassroots level value addition, particularly for rural industries.

According to Mr Singh, a primary market survey will identify what products are in demand following which training, sourcing of raw materials, qua-lity control, packaging, brand building and marketing would be able to put the rural industry back in its gears. ''It will serve both ways through which the people as well as he companies will benefit,'' he said.

On power sector, the Chief Minister said that reforms should start with transmission and distribution (T&D) systems and only when proper T&D system is in place and every unit of power that is produced is accounted for, will the power sector reforms take the desirable shape.

Mr Singh said that Madhya Pradesh was losing around Rs 500 crore annually because royalty rates for major minerals, which are supposed to be revised every three years, have actually not been revised for the past seven years.

"By this time, it should have been revised twice which has not happened,'' he said and added that the States would be in favour of linking mineral royalty rates with the administered prices.

PTI adds: The Madhya Pradesh Government has withdrawn the concessional comm- ercial tax rate of four per cent levied on goods purchased by Government departments and institutions in the State.

The commercial tax department has issued an order to that effect with effect from April 1, an official release said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
Cement majors report rise in March despatches

BoP problem unlikely: Jalan

Revised deficit target `within range'

Business community in Gujarat rues its stars

M.P. CM seeks transfer of Central schemes to States

Tripura's plan size fixed

$ 250-m IBRD credit line to support AP Budget

Mineral water plant in AP leaves the locals high and dry?

Kudremukh National Park project -- Evacuees refuse to fall in line

Govt keen to forge ties with Gulf trade bodies