The Congress is naturally upset that the Modi Government is set to scrap its favourite institution, the Pannning Commission, and replace it with a new, more inclusive entity. The plan panel has indeed become a burden
The new Government has etched out a new economic plan with stress on federalism. It is a subtle answer to repeated Congress criticism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been following its agenda during the first 60 days. Mr Modi has given the roadmap to his economic concept in nuances. All the same, despite heaping praise on all previous Prime Ministers, he has junked the very idea of the Congress-led economy and the bureaucratic structure.
Mr Modi has criticised the Planning Commission for being a monolith that did not listen to the aspirations of the people — a severe indictment of the bureaucratic functioning of the commission. The commission was degraded to such functioning since the UPA came to power in 2004.
Mr Modi never had a high opinion of the Planning Commission. As leader of the industrial powerhouse of Gujarat, he stunned the panel in 2013 by turning up at a meeting with a video that accused it of high-handedness and hobbling the States with one-size-fits-all policies. This June, a Government-backed report suggested replacing the Planning Commission with a think-tank more in line with a US-style council of economic advisers. “Since the Planning Commission has defied attempts to reform it to bring it in line with the needs of a modern economy and the trend of empowering the States, it is proposed that the Planning Commission be abolished”, the report said.
Many other serving and former Chief Ministers, including AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa, BSP leader Mayawati, and even from the Congress, had been critical of the way the bureaucrats used to heckle the elected leaders during their interactions. In 1960s, Congress stalwart and the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, CB Gupta, and West Bengal Chief Minister BC Roy, had expressed their unhappiness over the high-handedness of the commission, to Jawaharlal Nehru, the man credited for setting up the panel in March 1950.
The Planning Commission does not derive its creation from the Constitution, but is an arm of the Union Government. Its beginning was in 1938, when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was the Congress president. The plan panel document was drafted by Meghnad Saha.
It has also been observed that the commission, a link between the Centre and the States, functioned in a more congenial manner whenever it was headed by a politician as its Deputy Chairman. In fact, till 2004, except for brief interregnums it was headed by illustrious persons including Gulzarilal Nanda, Ashok Mehta, DR Gadgil, Mohan Dharia, Pranab Mukherjee, PV Narasimha Rao, Madhu Dandavate, Jaswant Singh and KC Pant. Despite some complaints, it was observed that the political personalities used to give a better hearing to the pleas of the Chief Ministers.
The very concept of federalism was virtually given a short shrift by the commission during the last 10 years of Montek Singh Ahluwalia as Deputy Chairman, leading to many complaints by the States.
What Mr Modi said about ‘a new institution’ is to rectify that situation. Now, as per his plans, Chief Ministers will have a stronger voice to decide on their needs. In all probability, some of them will be part of the proposed, new body.
The move is to stop their derision by bureaucrats, who often in the corridors of the Yojana Bhavan, used to make fun of the Chief Ministers. Some of them were even heard saying that certain Chief Ministers were coming with a ‘begging bowl’, as if the States did not have any share in the revenue collected by the Centre.
Even after the new economic order post-1991, the commission’s relevance was questioned, with some suggesting that it be wound up. But it was realised that, despite many failures, it had evolved as an institution to centrally oversee investments and development of the country. So the panel was retained.
Even Mr Modi did not exactly say he would scrap the concept. His stress is on the institution with a new mass-based federal character. Whatever it might have developed, there is one great utility of the plan panel. It remains a ‘think-tank’ for this vast country. Mr Modi realises it. So, he does not say that the planning process would be over. He has indicated that the federal structure would be strengthened so that the tank has enough brains, and there is a holistic approach in the thinking process.
The announcement was received with a positive spirit by the industry. “Creative thinking is required for building a new India with public-private partnership and optimum utilisation of resources and power to the States”, the Confederation of Indian Industry said.
The Congress has certainly not liked the idea, and has slammed the move. It cannot digest the fact that the Government can come out with a new, mass-based policy that junks an inefficient organisation the Congress had created.