Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Adopt Maharashtra model for planning: B.R. Patil

Special Correspondent

`No steps taken to form district planning committees'

GULBARGA: The former Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council and All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD) MLA B.R. Patil on Sunday urged the State Government to amend the Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act to adopt the Maharashtra pattern where the district in-charge Minister was the Chairman of the District Planning Committee.

Mr. Patil told presspersons here that the present Act provides for the mandatory constitution of district planning committees. But the Government has not initiated measures to constitute planning committees in most districts after the zilla panchayat elections a couple of months ago.

He regretted that the State Government was yet to reconstitute the State Planning Board, which is an apex body for finalising development plans and fixing priorities of development activities.

After the retirement of Mr. Hanumanthappa as District Planning Board chairman, the Government is yet to constitute the new board.

He said even in the previous zilla panchayat, the district planning committees were not formed, at least in Gulbarga district. Although the concept of the planning committees with the zilla panchayat president as Chairman and Mayor of the city concerned as vice-chairman and legislators and MPs and representatives from the zilla panchayat, corporation and town municipal corporation as its members was good, the actual preparation of the perspective plan of the district and allocating funds for the development activities based on priorities was a far cry in the State.

Mr. Patil said that in Maharashtra, the district in-charge Minister was chairman of the district planning committees with legislators, MPs and representatives from the panchayati raj institutions as members and these committees were given powers to fix priorities of development in the respective districts and allocate funds for development work.

He said in Karnataka although the Panchayati Raj Act provided powers to prepare perspective plans of districts to the district planning committees, the actual planning and allocation of funds was made by officials at the State-level on ommon priorities fixed by the Government, without looking into the need-based development of districts.

Mr. Patil said although Karnataka was a pioneer in decentralisation of powers to panchayati raj institutions, the decentralisation of administrative powers to these institutions was a dream.

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