Govt plans Rs 5,000 cr as incentives for states to meet central schemes

Out of the current 155 centrally sponsored schemes, 52 schemes would be retained by the Centre, while the balance 103 with an allocation of less than Rs 300 crore each would be discontinued but with the caveat that 25 such schemes that need an allocation of between Rs 100 to Rs 300 crore would be transferred on to state governments.

While this means curtains to 78 existing central schemes such as "biosphere reserves" under the environment ministry or for that matter the "model driver training school" under the road transport ministry, some of the 25 schemes that can be taken on by the states through this incentive-based mechanism are "command area development and water management programme" which is currently under the water resources department at the centre or for that matter the "mega city" plan which is currently under the urban development ministry.

States which meet the monitorable targets under this new dispensation can draw from the Rs 5000 crore corpus that is expected to be part of the next budget.

However, given the resource constraint on account of the new flagship programmes of the UPA Government coupled with the stringent FRBM conditions, the Planning Commission has drawn out a plan to weed out schemes that have outlived their value.

While some such schemes are still important for states, it is for this reason, the Planning Commission has drawn out a list of schemes that the states can themselves take on but need close monitoring.

In order to supplement the efforts of states, the corpus of Rs 5,000 crore would be important such that states have the incentive to ensure their implementation.

According to figures, the total expenditure on the 155 central schemes works out to be around Rs 72000 crore crore, while the spending on 52 schemes that are going to be continued works out to be around...