The Centre has decided to set up a committee to monitor implementation of various projects under the Rs 24,000 crore Development Plan for Jammu and Kashmir [Images] announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] two months back.

C Rangarajan, chairman, 12th Finance Commission, will head the committee, J&K Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig said in Srinagar [Images].

The committee, which will come into being in a couple of weeks, will act as a liaison agency at the Centre and help speed up the projects that are to be undertaken over the next four years in the state, he said.

Noting that various projects, including the ones relating to power, had been delayed due to want of funds, Baig said the committee will help cut through bureaucratic delays and ensure speedy disbursement of money.

The PM had announced the plan during his maiden visit to the state on November 17.

The key components of the plan are lifting of ban on government recruitment, electrification of all villages by 2007 and substantial investments in tourism and infrastructure sectors.