The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : `Decentralisation has not lived up to expectations'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 26, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

`Decentralisation has not lived up to expectations'

Special Correspondent

Patnaik calls for integrated planning

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Attempts to depoliticise decentralisation of powers will enfeeble the entire administrative structure, Planning Board Vice-Chairman Prabhat Patnaik has said.

Inaugurating a seminar on ``Integrated district development plan for Kollam'' organised by the Institute of Town Planners India (ITPI) here on Wednesday, Mr. Patnaik said that decentralisation of powers was meant for strengthening the entire structure and not just the local self-government institutions alone.

Devolving powers to the local self-government institutions (LSGIs) to borrow directly from financial institutions for development purposes would emasculate the State and the Central Governments.

Though decentralisation of powers was expected to herald a new era of popular sovereignty, it had not lived up to the expectations. He cited the conduct of grama sabhas as a case in point. Planning should be done by the people. Experts should provide inputs and alternatives to the people for making decisions and politicians were the conduits for taking it to them, Mr. Patnaik said.

The integrated plan would provide valuable inputs to the District Planning Committees for preparing the district plans, he said.

Local Administration Principal Secretary S.M. Vijayanand, in his keynote address, said that master plans should be used for aiding development and should not be used by the municipal Secretaries for imposing curbs alone.

Building rules should be introduced in panchayats, but they should not stand in isolation. It should be integrated with the planning process. Spatial planning and watershed planning form integral part of the planning process, but they were not the panacea for all problems. Non-availability of data was a major impediment.

Departments were reluctant to share the available information. He stressed the need for involving all departments and also sharing the data available with them for augmenting the development process.

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