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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Most states favour replacing plan panel with new body, Cong only holdout

Most states favour replacing plan panel with new body, Cong only holdout

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published Published on Dec 8, 2014   modified Modified on Dec 8, 2014
-The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday formally moved to bury the Planning Commission before January 26 with strong support from regional parties. The only resistance came from Congress-ruled states, which failed to garner support, except from the Bihar government controlled by Nitish Kumar, once a supporter of decentralization in decision-making.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who discussed the role of the Planning Commission with chief ministers, had announced the government's intent to replace the plan panel with a new entity in his Independence Day address. On Sunday, he made it clear that there was a need to replace the top down approach in planning with a "bottom to top" approach with states given a key role. He argued for cooperative federalism and strengthening "Team India".

Amid stiff resistance from Congress chief ministers, who questioned the need to wind up Planning Commission, Modi invoked his predecessor Manmohan Singh, also a former deputy chairman on Planning Commission. "He said that Manmohan Singh, who had been associated for a long time with the Planning Commission, had noted that the body has no futuristic vision in the post-reform period. He had also noted that the Planning Commission would have to reinvent itself to remain more effective and relevant in the present situation," said an official statement, quoting Modi.

Although finance minister Arun Jaitley said there was no deadline for a revamp, there are indications that the new structure will be in place over the next few weeks and will include a select group of CMs, some central ministers and experts.

Telangana, TN, Odisha team up against plan panel

Sunday's meeting came in the backdrop of the NDA's opponents trying to step up protest against the government, and holding up Parliament last week. But it did not turn into a meeting of continuing hostility between the Centre and the opposition, with regional parties deciding to focus on the interests of their states, leaving the Congress with support mainly from the Bihar government, while Uttar Pradesh too backed change.

Although Nitish Kumar was critical of limited space that states enjoyed in policy formulation, his nominee and Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's stance reflected the realities of the new alliance that his party JD(U) has crafted with bitter rival Lalu Prasad's RJD and the Congress.

Official sources said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi was the most vocal critic of the Planning Commission and suggested that it should be done away with immediately, a stand that found support from J Jayalalitha's AIADMK-led Tamil Nadu government and Biju Janata Dal, which is in power in Odisha.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who did not attend the meeting, had written to the PM arguing in favour of strengthening the states and ending discretion in fund transfer. She, however, suggested that the powers of the Planning Commission be transferred to the Inter-state Council, which is a constitutional body, and the National Development Council comprising chief ministers be subsumed within it.

Akali Dal and Telugu Desam Party, which are BJP's allies, also supported the move to scrap the Planning Commission.

"There was larger consensus that the context has changed and there is a need for decentralization of both power and planning and states need to be strengthened," Jaitely told reporters after the meeting.

He said most chief ministers, barring "three-four" from Congress-ruled states, were critical of the "one size fits all" approach and suggested that the requirements of each state were different. He added that some CMs wanted the number of central schemes to be radically reduced as they argued that the state governments knew what would be the best structure for these programmes.


The Times of India, 8 December, 2014, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Most-states-favour-replacing-plan-panel-with-new-body-Cong-only-holdout/articleshow/45407759.cms


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