A GDP growth rate of 7-8 per cent was feasible in the next two years of the 10th Plan but the "slippage" in the original target in the last three years cannot be made up, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Wednesday.

He said GDP growth in the first three years (2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05) of the Tenth Five-Year Plan was going to be "a little above six per cent."

"Obviously in the first three years, there is a bit of slippage from what the original target was. It's not possible to make that up," he said.

"Looking ahead in the next two years, the target of between seven and eight per cent is feasible," he told reporters after the pre-lunch session of the meeting with southern Chief Ministers to discuss the approach to mid-term appraisal of the Tenth Plan.

India had originally fixed 8.2 per cent GDP growth in the 10th Plan.

In response to a question, Ahluwalia said programmes such as "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan", "mid-day meal" and "food-for-work", besides irrigation, would get additional allocation from the Commission.

He termed agriculture, irrigation, urban infrastructure and employment as critical areas. The mid-term appraisal document would be ready in January, he said.

Fiscal stress and debt burden faced by states were among the issues that came up during the meeting attended by the chief ministers of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Pondicherry.

Tamil Nadu was represented by the state's chief secretary Lakshmi Pranesh.

Ahluwalia said the 12th Finance Commission was addressing the issues pertaining to fiscal stress and debt burden and it was expected to submit its report by the month-end. Based on its proposals, the Commission would take a view.

But he said that states were indeed facing very large debt and something should be done about it.

The Commission was looking at innovative ways of funding to mop up additional resources. One of the ways was to plough a part of India's burgeoning forex reserves into the infrastructure sector, an issue, which Ahluwalia said, was being discussed with Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

The mid-term appraisal document would suggest a "reasonable way" to deal with power subsidies by states. He expressed the view that while there was a role for subsidies in the power sector, it needed to be targeted.