The Government on Thursday announced 14 “national projects” with 90 per cent Central assistance to harness the irrigation and hydro-power potential of rivers across different states.“The Union Cabinet gave an in-principle approval for the implementation of the national projects with Central assistance of 90 per cent of the cost as grant,” Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi said after the Cabinet meeting. He also added that the Finance Ministry, in consultation with the Water Resources Ministry and Planning Commission, would bring out a final funding mechanism for the projects.Describing the decision as a “landmark development”, Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, who had moved the proposal, said the development would help the farm sector in the long-term. “The decision will help unlock the irrigation potential of the identified rivers and contribute to the agriculture sector growth,” said Soz.Soz said that six of the projects were situated in the Teesta, Chenab and Ravi river basins in West Bengal, Punjab, Jammu-Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, which involved international treaties having international ramification and were projects of strategic significance.He said the Kishau, Lakhvar Vyasi and Renuka projects in the Yamuna river basin in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Noa-Dehang Dam, Kulsa Dam and Upper Siang projects in the Brahmaputra river basin had been included along with the Gosikhurd in Maharashtra and Ken Betwa in Madhya Pradesh.Soz said the projects had been chosen on the basis of objective criteria, which included projects where usage of water was also governed by an international treaty, projects involving inter-state rivers being dragged on due to non-resolution of disputes with regard to costs, and intra-state projects with additional potential of more than two lakh hectare and with no dispute regarding sharing of water. However, the list of national projects did not include any project from the four southern states. “There are issues between the states over river water sharing not only in the south but also between Orissa and Chhattisgarh. We cannot take away states’ right. Water is a state subject so that will remain so,” said Soz.OTHER DECISIONSNPCIL’s financial autonomy raisedThe Union Cabinet on Thursday gave more financial and administrative autonomy to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and allowed the company’s board to approve capital expenditure of up to Rs 500 crore. This is against the existing limit of Rs 100 crore. This means that the NPCIL can now independently take investment decisions of up to Rs 500 crore as long as it falls within the overall ceiling of 15 per cent of the net worth of the company in one project with the overall ceiling on all projects put together restricted to 30 per cent of the net worth of the company. The NPCIL board can also take investment decisions towards establishing financial joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries in India or abroad. However, this again will be subject to the overall cap of Rs 500 crore.Fixed quota of APL foodgrains to statesThe Government adopted a novel approach to cap its food subsidy Bill by restricting the allocation of wheat and rice given to states for distribution to above poverty line families (APL) at 85 lakh tonnes for 2008-09. This decision was announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The 85 lakh tons limit for 2008-09 is equivalent to the total off take of foodgrains by states for the APL families in 2006-07. Under the new arrangement, the state governments will have to decide the scale of issue of foodgrains to the beneficiaries within the 85 lakh tones foodgrains allocated to it. Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, north-eastern states (excluding Assam), Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep have been kept out of this restriction.Fellowship for ST students to continueThe CCEA on Thursday gave its approval for continuation of the Central Sector Scheme of Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship (RGNF) 2007-08 for Scheduled Tribe students for pursuing higher studies such as MPhil and PhD courses and effecting changes in the rates of fellowship as and when required, to keep them at par with the UGC fellowship rates. The scheme would be continued in the XIth Plan period and thereafter. The scheme covers all universities/institutions recognised by the UGC under section 2(f) of the UGC Act. Fellowships will be available only for undertaking regular MPhil/PhD courses. The maximum duration of the fellowship will be 5 years. The total number of fellowships every year will be 667.
