Birth of a new institution - The Hindu

Birth of a new institution - The Hindu

My VIEW:

Perhaps
The Hindu is the only paper that has gone deep into the rationale of the revamp
of Planning Commission, which in reality has come about as part of the reform
process which India is undergoing. But for the change in name and the
announcement in Modi’s maiden Independence speech on August 15, 2014, perhaps
the changes would not have attracted the attention of the mainstream media or
opposition political parties. There were exceptions like The Frontline which
took cognizance and came out with detailed analysis.

After Nehru, planning has
remained an arithmetical exercise factoring in whatever was happening in the
economy without much involvement of, or concern for, those affected by
planning.

The new dispensation which claims
to be a ‘bottom up’ approach, hopefully will allow more participation of
stakeholders at ground level and ensure distributive justice. So far, higher
share of resources are cornered by more developed geographical areas and the
development needs of states which did not have a ‘hold’ at the centre were
neglected. By and large, the change takes care to retain the essential roles
played by the erstwhile Planning Commission while bringing focus on
decentralisation and wider role for states.

The responsible opposition
should, instead of ‘crying foul’, do more homework and suggest corrections
where they feel the revamp goes against the broad interests of the country and
the people.

M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram