Development is the catchword of contemporary Indian society. India is in making. This is a good sign and we appreciate that the era of development will bring our future generations the benefits of our labour. Our State is a mountainous state with little of plains and more of hills. We don’t have large mineral deposits that would become the mainstay of our economy. Yes, we have forest wealth and water resources. These can become profitable only if these are used properly and scientifically. It has to be remembered that many-sided efforts are needed for real development and upgrading the living standard of the people. It is a comprehensive affair.
Recently the State Government’s high power official delegation led by the Chief Minister met with the Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission in connection with the Annual Development Plan. A number of proposals were placed before the Planning Commission for which the State Government requested for financial assistance. The request is not confined to any one area; it pervades almost all areas of development activity. The State has ambitious projects but these cannot be undertaken without financial support from the Centre. And taking past history into account, we find that the Centre has always been frugal to the state and most of the schemes and projects placed before it have been approved and financially supported. Thus there is no scope for the State Government to make any complaint that its requirements are not met. However, extending financial support to the State carries with it the moral responsibility for the State to become accountable to the donning agency. We have seen that there are some crucial schemes of the Central Government, which the State has not been able to complete in full or in part. It is not only our State that is dependent on the Centre for financial support. There are other states also. But the question is that of moving towards self-sufficiency. It is not advisable that we depend on the Central support for everything that we want to do. It is important that we are able to generate economic viability. There should be no difficulty for us to generate power to the extent of our local needs. We have two Agricultural Universities in the State and yet we are not able to bring about drastic revolution in our agrarian and horticulture pursuits. We have not been able to harness our forest wealth by inducting modern methods and means of handling this resource. While the Centre is providing us full measure of support, we need to think very seriously about generating economy that reduces perennial dependence on Centre’s assistance.
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