The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Virtual space for Plan monitoring

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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Virtual space for Plan monitoring

P. Venugopal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Planning Board has introduced a web-enabled information system, a virtual space for Plan monitoring, accessible both to those who want to report data on Plan implementation and to those who wish to use such data.

The facility, which has the potential to completely democratise the Plan monitoring mechanism, was formally launched after a meeting of the Planning Board here on Wednesday by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and is expected to be thrown open to public access within two months. The database on Plan implementation with respect to every individual Plan project is proposed to be updated on a continuous basis on this information system. All agencies involved in project implementation may not be prepared for real-time online reporting, since their individual capabilities may vary significantly. Therefore, there will be a provision for different modes of reporting data. Online access for reporting will be through an effective filter of vetting and validation.

The system will give information not only on financial goals of plan implementation, but also on physical goals and achievements. A link too is proposed between treasury data and the database on Plan monitoring. The near real-time nature of the database, which can be ensured by treasury interface and continuous updating, will make course correction interventions possible while the scheme implementations are still in progress, according to an official note on the system.

From lessons learned during the testing of the system at a pilot phase, the designers of the system have settled for a model that is admittedly not very ambitious at the moment. But, even a minimalist model of monitoring, as proposed under this system, will demand some sympathetic changes at all other stages of the project cycle. As the project implementing agencies fall into the groove of the monitoring system, its scope can be expanded.

The Chief Minister said that it was not a matter of contention that Plan implementation in the State needed improvement, although matters had improved quite a lot during the last couple of years. In fact, all sorts of implementation problems such as time overrun, cost overrun, inadequate integration among the departments and different tiers of the government and underutilisation of funds under the State, Central and foreign-aided projects are prevalent in the State.

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