Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Isaac, Planning Board at loggerheads: Chennithala

Ramesh Chennithala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala has alleged that the Finance Department and the Planning Board are at loggerheads leading to the delay in panchayat Plan approvals.

In his reaction to Finance Minister T.M. Isaac’s statement on Plan implementation, Mr. Chennithala termed as “false” the Minister’s claims that the annual Plan for 2007-08 was on target. He said the Finance Minister and his department were deliberately going slow on Plan implementation to overcome the resources crunch he had been talking about.

Mr. Chennithala said there was a big difference between Plan progress under the previous government and the present one. The Finance Department and the Planning Board under the United Democratic Front (UDF) could coordinate their activities very well in preparing Plan projects and implementing them. Under the LDF rule, there appeared to be a four-way split, with the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister on one hand and the government and the Planning Board on the other being opposed to each other.

The real problem with the present annual Plan was that the government and the Planning Board were unable to provide united guidelines for the Plan. They were divergent perceptions about decentralised planning. Planning Board Vice-Chairman, who was the Chief Minister’s nominee, was at logger heads with the Finance Minister and his party supporters. This had grievously affected the functioning of the Planning Board, which had failed to meet frequently and perform its role in Plan formulation and execution, Mr. Chennithala said.

He said the local bodies were receiving conflicting orders from the Planning Board and the Local Administration Department, complicating matters further. The Congress had raised this issue in the context of the confusion and ideological differences in approving Plan projects and undermining the annual Plan. It had only reflected the concern of the people, and the party had taken recourse to an agitation in order to facilitate a solution to this impasse, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

A chance to fly high
Kisan Sabha organises satyagraha
Government misleading the public, say doctors
Renovated traffic island park opened
Project to modernise abattoir
Vet doctors seek pay revision
Stolen vehicles used for smuggling spirit
Media workshop in Kottayam
‘No building activity at Ponmudi estate’
Joint Council demand
Isaac, Planning Board at loggerheads: Chennithala
Ordinance to check water theft soon
Sex racket: five held
Mohanlal calls for films like Paradesi
Government will intervene to hold price line, says Minister
Corporation sets deadline for road repairs
Student held for theft at liquor retail shop
AAI to begin second phase work of terminal soon
Supplement released

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu