BANGALORE: The State Government's failure to reconstitute the district planning committees (DPCs) following the December 2005 elections to the zilla panchayats may cost the State dear.

Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has, in a letter to all Chief Ministers on May 24, 2006, pointed out that failure to implement Article 243 ZD of the Constitution could drastically cut Central funds in the exercise to operationalise grassroots planning as enshrined in the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution.

Former Planning Commission member L.C. Jain, who interacted with the zilla, taluk and gram panchayat presidents and vice-presidents at a conference which ended here on Tuesday, told The Hindu that the expert group constituted by the Panchayati Raj Ministry under the chairmanship of V. Ramachandran had given detailed suggestions on operationalisation of the planning process at the district and sub-district levels, and the State governments were expected to take steps to make grassroots planning a reality. Dr. Ahluwalia's letter points out that the Planning Commission had started work for formulation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan, and it was currently working on the Approach Paper, which will be submitted to the National Development Council for approval.

The States also would be preparing their five-year plans, for incorporation in the National Plan It also mentions that Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar had also requested the State governments to consider the expert group's recommendations while drawing up their plans, which had to reflect in some detail the district-level planning, which in turn would take into account the sub-district levels of taluk and gram panchayats.

Dr. Jain, who took the delegates at the conference through the empowering features of the Panchayati Raj Act 1993 of Karnataka, and the Central Act, and exhorted them to exercise these powers to ensure that all the grants due to them truly devolved to them, said this communication from the Planning Commission was a clear message to the State Government to "pull its socks up," and not dither on effective devolution of both administrative and financial powers to the three tiers of the panchayati raj.

The reconstitution of the DPCs and making them functional is a process monitored by the Panchayati Raj Ministry, and neglecting to factor in the planning process from the gram panchayat level upwards would mean the Planning Commission might cut back on the funds.

However, the Panchayati Raj Minister C.M. Udasi, who interacted with the conference delegates, assured them that the Government would soon set in motion the exercise to reconstitute the DPCs.

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