RBC Daily: “Putin will ask the Caucasus about money”
Chechnya exceeds its plan for extra-budgetary funds.
Today the leaders of Chechnya and Ingushetia will report to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on implementing the federal targeted programmes (FTP) on socio-economic development. Moscow has poured 65.5 billion roubles into these republics since 2008. Chechnya has received the lion's share of this sum because its programme is three years old. Ingushetia's is a year old. The Regional Development Ministry (RDM) reports that Chechnya has finally improved and has started attracting extra-budgetary revenue at a record pace.
Today, Putin will hold the first meeting of the Government commission on socio-economic development in the North Caucasus arranged late last December. The commission will listen to reports on implementing the FTPs in the North Caucasian Federal District (NCFD). There are three FTPs – for South of Russia and the socio-economic development of Chechnya and Ingushetia. A regional official has calculated that the total cost is 150 billion roubles.
He said the republics have already spent about 90 billion roubles. In the last three years the Government has transferred 64.95 billion roubles from the federal budget to Chechnya (the FTP's overall cost is more than 120 billion roubles, out of which 112.36 billion are federal funds). According to the target, the Chechen GDP growth rate must reach 108.2% by 2012 as opposed to 103.7% in 2008.
Investment in Ingushetia is more modest. It has received a mere 585.1 million roubles from the centre because it has only been running its programme since 2010, and the total cost involved is four times less (about 30 billion roubles) than in Chechnya.
"The commission will evaluate the status of the FTPs," the official said. He noted that Chechnya, which had been criticized for poor co-financing, has improved. Now it consistently co-finances the FTP from its regional budget and has even aattracted more extra-budgetary funds than was required, he said.
Press Secretary for Chechen President Alvi Karimov told RBC Daily that this was achieved because of the "ideal conditions for business" in the republic. "Now the republic fully meets the internal demand for beef, for example. Chechens can now eat fresh local beef rather than 40 year-old Argentine beef," Karimov said.
"The main goal of the Government commission is to coordinate the efforts of the Government and the regions in implementing the strategy for NCFD development," a Government source explained. "The targets have been set and during this year the leaders of its seven regions will report on the development."
The commission will also monitor youth policy and employment, as well as the development of the transport and energy infrastructures. But its main mission is to follow up on the investment projects.
Inga Vorobyeva
