The Central government-sponsored schemes such as NREGS are above the Planning Commission, and there is a lot of confusion. Even the consumer does not know how much he or she gets from the Centre.
This observation was made by a professor of Hyderabad Central University J.V.M. Sarma in his keynote address during the inaugural session of a National seminar on ‘Emerging trends in Centre-State relations in India’ at the Department of Economics of Andhra University here on Friday.
‘No coordination’
“There is no coordination between the Finance Commission, the Planning Commission, and the Central schemes, and so the Central government’s interference is obvious,” he said.
Streamlining the process was a Herculean task, and the Finance Commission or the Planning Commission cannot be removed, he felt. The Finance Commission’s approach and methods were questionable. The Planning Commission, which had forgotten its main function, had many formulae, but lacked schematic distribution, he said.
Prof. Sarma felt the need to revamp the Centre-State relations and that the local governments given importance.
Difference between unitary and federal systems had disappeared and what was relevant was the degree of tolerance.
