The overall growth in real gross domestic product is expected to exceed seven per cent in 2003-04 as per the mid-year review, the government said on Thursday.
The projection assumed growth rates of more than eight per cent and six per cent in the agriculture and allied sector, and the industry, respectively, and a reasonable good performance by the services sector, S B Mookherjee, minister of state for planning, said in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
To another query, he said 519 projects in the central sector were unfinished and under implementation while 33 unfinished projects had been dropped after incurring an expenditure of Rs 1,207.17 crore (Rs 12.07 billion).
These projects had been frozen or abandoned or merged with other projects due to geo-mining problems, fund constraints, land acquisition problems and change in strategy.
To another query, the minister said in order to ensure timely implementation of approved central sector, centrally sponsored and state sector schemes, a system of quarterly performance review had been introduced by the Planning Commission.
He said Planning Commission had detected that out of 73 per cent of the project cost released to the special category states under the accelerated power development programme, the utilisation was only 49.56 per cent.
To another query, he said no case of diversion of funds under the accelerated power development reform programme by states had been reported.