Question : REGIONAL IMBALANCES

(a) whether the Government has conducted or proposes to conduct a study survey to identify regional imbalance in each of the States of the country including Maharashtra;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the regional imbalances that exist in various districts of the States especially in Maharashtra has not been removed despite implementation of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes;

(d) if so, whether the Government proposes to increase the allocation of funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes for the backward district of the country;

(e) if so, the details thereof;

(f) whether the Government has made an assessment of the revised long term action plan in Maharashtra; and

(g) if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING (SHRI M.V. RAJASEKHARAN)

(a) to (c): The Mid-Term Appraisal of Tenth Five Year plan highlighted the perception that regional imbalance had actually got accentuated particularly over the past 15 years and even the problem of intra-State inequalities had not been adequately addressed, with regional disparities persisting within all States, including the relatively prosperous ones, to a greater or lesser degree.

(d) & (e): The Backward Regions Grant Fund(BRGF) was designed and approved in 2006-07 to address the issue relating to regional imbalance. The BRGF has two components, namely, Districts Component covering 250 districts including 147 districts covered by the erstwhile Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana and the Special Plans for Bihar and the KBK districts of Orissa. An allocation of Rs.5000 crore was made for BRGF for 2006-07. This allocation has been enhanced to Rs.5800 crore during 2007-08.

(f): No, Sir.

(g): Does not arise.