• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Public, pvt investments in AP farm sector decline

G. Srinivasan

NEW DELHI, Aug. 9

PUBLIC and private sector investments in Andhra Pradesh agriculture sector has declined by 1.9 per cent per annum in the 1990s, against the all-India declining trend in public investment and increasing trend in the private investment in agriculture.

According to official sources, Andhra Pradesh's agricultural sector growth rate was 2.5 per cent per annum as against the all-India growth rate of 3.6 per cent during 1990s.

Agriculture being a crucial source of employment and income generation in rural areas, the poor performance, particularly in Telangana and part of Rayalaseema regions has serious implications on poverty reduction.

These observations assume significance in the light of the Planning Commission's State Plan meeting here on Friday between the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr K.C. Pant, and the Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu.

According to the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau, there is a steady declining trend in consumption of cereals and milk in the State with the nutritional level in Andhra Pradesh being the lowest among the southern States.

The Ninth Plan projection of aggregate resources for Andhra Pradesh, sources said, was Rs 25,150 crore, with the Central assistance of Rs 12,778.1 crore and the State's own resources of Rs 12,371.9 crore. The projected Ninth Plan financing pattern is 50. 81 per cent of the Central assistance, 47.6 per cent borrowings by the State and 1.59 per cent the State's own funds.

During the first four years of the Ninth Plan (1997-2001), the State is likely to mobilise 82 per cent of the Ninth Plan resources, of which Central assistance will contribute 42.6 per cent, borrowings of the State 91.8 per cent and own funds of the Stat e (-) 34.4 per cent of the aggregate resources.

Sources said the aggregate plan resources for financing the annual Plan of the Andhra Pradesh worked out in the official level discussion is Rs 5,596.3 crore with the State's own resources of Rs 1,946.3 crore and Central assistance of Rs 3,650.1 crore.

Some of the available indicators of the State finance, the sources noted, do not portend favourable trend. Non-plan revenue expenditure as a percentage of revenue receipts had increased from 97.4 per cent in 1997-98 (actuals) to 107 per cent in 2000-01 r eflecting that an increasing portion of revenue receipts was getting used up overtime in financing current consumption.

More worryingly, interest liability as a percentage of revenue receipts had increased from 20.2 per cent in 1997-98

(actuals) to 24.9 per cent in 2000-01. Sources said the recovery ratio of the State especially for irrigation was very low.

The State must follow a rational user charge policy and those must be linked to cost recovery and periodically revised.

Other parameters of concern include deterioration in balance from current revenue (BCR) and worsening contribution of the State public sector undertakings.

The State Government has acknowledged that the current fiscal situation could not be altered in one year but requires a consistent medium-term programme that aims at achieving specific fiscal targets and objectives.

Towards this end, the State Government has prepared a medium-term fiscal framework that may underpin the broad reform programme of the Government and lay specific action plans during the course of the next five years; at the same time it would engender e nough fiscal space for essential development priorities while absorbing the medium-term costs resulting from power and public enterprise sector reforms, sources said.