Imphal, February 06: The Union Planning Commission has expressed strong reservation against an MLA or a Minister holding the post of the Chairman of Loktak Development Authority (LDA) while giving enough indication that no more fund would be released if an MLA or a Minister continues to be the Chairman of LDA.

The matter was communicated to the State Government during the State plan size finalisation meeting held at Yojana Bhawan, New Delhi on February 2, according to a reliable source.

During the said meeting Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Alluwalia expressed desire for either the Chief Minister or the Chief Secretary to take over the post and hinted that no more fund would be released if an MLA continues to be the Chairman of LDA, the source added.

The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission also wanted to know the progress of clearing up the Phumdis (floating bio-mass) from Loktak lake for which a sum of Rs 41 crores had been sanctioned and said that he would like to come and see the progress personally very soon.

Moreover, taking serious note over earmarking only 1.6 percent of the total projected plan amount for Agriculture and Allied Sectors, the Deputy Chairman pointed out that at least 10 percent of the plan amount should be kept aside for the sector in view of the fact that Agriculture is the main occupation of the State and its people.

The annual plan size of the State for the fiscal period 2006-07 has been fixed at Rs 1160 crores and it is very likely that at least Rs 11.60 crores would be allocated to Agriculture and Allied Sector, the source added.

As Manipur produces fruits like passion fruits, pineapple, orange, lemon, etc abundantly, the Planning Commission also asked the State Government to take keen interest in tapping this natural resources and indicated fund should not been a constraint if the Government is serious in this regard.

For the development of the Potato breeding farm at Mao, the Planning Commission felt that a qualified scientist should be appointed and the research work intensified.

The Deputy Chairman suggested that the projects being taken up in Manipur like Khuga Multipurpose project should be completed within a timeframe and monitor the progress of the work strictly.

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