Jairam Ramesh ministry may get over 5% allocation hike

Even as the government is looking at pruning its expenditure given the fiscal situation, the Rural Development Ministry is likely to see a slight increase in its annual allocation in this year's budget.

Sources said the ministry's budget is likely to increase by 5.7 per cent from Rs 76,376 crore to around Rs 80,000 crore. Out of this, Department of Rural Development's allocation is expected to increase to Rs 75,000 crore from around Rs 73,000 crore. Department of Land Resources' outlay is likely to see a whopping rise of around 67 per cent from Rs 3,400 crore to Rs 5,700 crore.

The sources indicated the single largest gainer will be the Integrated Watershed Management Programme, which is likely to see a rise from Rs 3050 crore to Rs 5,400 crore, which they claim would be a "very useful for Maoist affected and drought prone areas".

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said he would be satisfied if the allocation is increased.

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