A two-day workshop was organised in Bhopal by the Planning Commission, Madhya Pradesh, in collaboration with NITI Ayog and UNDP. Facilitated by OneWorld Foundation India, an NGO, a workshop for Madhya Pradesh journalists was inaugurated by Babulal Jain, Vice-Chairman, State Planning Commission.
Mangesh Tyagi, Principal Advisor, State Planning Commission and a host of other senior Government officials besides senior journalists and professors from the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication (MCNUJC).
Babulal Jain said that the Government of Madhya Pradesh has made a consistent effort to decentralised policy and planning processes to bring about development and empowerment to the people at the grass roots level. He said that people would have to participate in the development process), otherwise a bottom-up approach will not work.
He added that only decentralisation will work in a country as diverse as India that has States as varied as Jammu & Kashmir to Kerala and Gujarat to the North-East. “No policy that is made at a central level can bring benefits to people across the country because the needs of people are very different and there are many challenges.”
Mangesh Tyagi, Principal Advisor, State Planning Commission, Madhya Pradesh, showed in detail how the Government has given the decision-making power to the people in a steady and planned manner. He said that the key strategies for decentralisation were divided into sectors like education, health, livelihood, infrastructure, energy and social security.
Tyagi said that the intended impacts of decentralisation are allocation of resources, transparency of policies, strengthening of plans, ownership of assets and improved fund utilisation capacity of the state. He added that the people at the grassroots level are being involved in decision-making with the Government and said that the media has an important role in showcasing such positive initiatives.