Most CMs support Plan Panel revamp, Congress ruled states oppose

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi got on board with most chief ministers (CMs) for restructuring the old Soviet-style Planning Commission on Sunday but CMs from Congress-ruled states opposed any drastic changes to a body that is seen as a legacy of first PM Jawaharlal Nehru.

Modi pushed for an effective structure which strengthens cooperative federalism and the concept of 'Team India'.

Indications from the day-long meeting suggested that the government is looking at a structure which will have the PM, some Cabinet ministers and some CMs along with technocrats and experts in various fields as members of the new body. CMs could be included in the new institution on rotation basis and states are  envisaged to have a bigger say and more liberty to spend funds according to their needs.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley while briefing the media said that no timeline has been fixed and the Centre will take a considered view after consultations are over.

However, there were indications that the shape of the new institution could be firmed up as early as January 26.

Modi mentioned that his predecessor Manmohan Singh, who had said on April 30, that Commission in its current form has no futuristic vision in the postreform period. At the meeting, Congress-ruled states supported the idea of revamping the Commission, set up Nehru in 1950, but were against scrapping it as they felt it can be evolved.

However, some National Democratic Alliance-ruled states and those ruled by parties like AIADMK and TRS wanted immediate disbanding of the Commission.

CMs of West Bengal (Mamata Banerjee), Mizoram (Lal Thanhawla) and Jammu and Kashmir (Omar Abdullah) and Jharkhand (Hemant Soren) did not attend the meeting, where Modi sought to give greater role to the states in the new body.

Changes were favoured by almost all. But there was a question whether the present structure should evolve or a new structure should be created, Jaitley said. Three-to-four CMs wanted the current structure to evolve. Asked whether they were from Congress-ruled states, he replied, "You guessed it correctly."

Modi said that the process of policy planning needs to change from top to bottom to bottom to top while emphasising that it is impossible for the country to develop unless states also develop. "The states should have a key role in the new body," the PM added.