The purpose of the State Planning Board which is modeled along the lines of the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) is to provide a roadmap for development and to initiate policy guidelines for the State Government after making an assessment of all the state resources. The Planning Board, as the name suggests is to formulate plans for the most effective and balanced utilization of the state’s resources. It determines the development priorities of the state within the framework of the priorities of the National Plan. The State Plan is cumulative process of planning at the Block and Districts levels.
The Blocks and Districts are supposed to make their plans after a series of participatory exercises with the people who are the real stakeholders and architects (not beneficiaries) of development. The Plans are based on ground assessment of the needs of each district. Normally, the best way to make district plans is to involve the communities by making a 3-D map of their district and enabling them to think through as to where they might want to invest their resources for maximum impact. The Planning Board is also to identify factors that tend to retard economic and social development of the state and determine the conditions for successful execution of the plans. Finally the Planning Board also reviews the progress of implementation of all the plan programmes and recommends adjustments in policies. It suggests mid-term course correction based on the views and recommendations of a review committee.
Every year states formulate their plans and allocate funds for implementation of those plans. It is on the bases of the state plans that the centre prepares its national plans for over-all allocation of resources to the states.
At the national level, the Planning Commission, now NITI Aayog comprises people with background in economics, statistics, sociology and administration, all of which are necessary to carry out the gigantic task of planning for the entire nation. They also have to test out the plans submitted by the states to make sure that those plans are realistic.
In Meghalaya, the State Planning Board is completely politicized. It is packed with political appointees who have absolutely no idea of their responsibility and what they are supposed to contribute to the planning process. The Chairperson enjoys handsome perks but is not held accountable for the lack of pragmatic planning and implementation of schemes. In fact, we don’t hear of any path-breaking plans and policies submitted by the Planning Board of Meghalaya. It’s time to do a social audit of these institutions that have failed to deliver and reconstitute them in the manner they were first envisaged.