The Hindu : New Delhi News : “Introduce disincentives for States defaulting on DPCs”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
ePaper

New Delhi

New Delhi

“Introduce disincentives for States defaulting on DPCs”

Special Correspondent

Planning remains centralised and politically influenced: survey

With ministers as chairpersons, DPCs are another arm of government
Committees not constituted in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: The Centre should consider introducing disincentives for States which do not constitute district planning committees (DPCs) for the fear of losing power.

A survey of 12 States, by PRIA (Participatory Research in Asia) working towards promotion of policies and institutions for strengthening the marginalised sections, has said the reluctance to let go of power was visible in the way various States set up the DPCs.

Several States, including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, appointed Ministers DPC chairpersons. The ensured that the DPC worked as just another arm of the government with no capacity for independent functioning.

Dysfunctional DPCs implied that the planning process remained centralised and politically influenced in spite of the efforts by the Centre at decentralisation. In order to give them a truly representative and participatory shape, the practice of appointing ministers chairpersons and nominating all members of the DPC should be ended.

As mandated in the 74th Constitution Amendment Act (Article 243ZD), the DPC is a formal body for preparation of the district development plan, consolidating the plans prepared by villages and towns. Subsequently, the Planning Commission made it mandatory for the States to constitute the DPCs for approval of the annual plan proposals.

According to the survey, the DPCs were officially constituted in nine States – Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Kerala and Chhattisgarh – of the 12 where the study was conducted. Of these only in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, the DPCs were functional.

The DPCs have not been constituted in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. While the process is under way in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, there appears to be no hope for Jharkhand since the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts have not been implemented at all, and elections to the local bodies are yet to be held.

In Gujarat, elections are supposed to be held but some members are not even aware of their DPC membership. Some DPCs refused PRIA’s partners information on their functioning.

In Chhattisgarh, in spite of the existing legislation, elections were not held. Yet, DPCs were constituted by simply nominating members. In Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the DPCs were simply not functioning. Neither officials nor the members themselves were aware of DPC functioning. In Bihar, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, no meetings have been effectively held since their constitution, the survey said. In Rajasthan, the DPCs are more regular with their meetings. However, their role appears focussed on disbursement of untied funds and implementation of a plan scheme.

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

New Delhi