On the eve of a meeting to discuss the restructuring of the Planning Commission, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the existing body was a well-accepted one and any new set-up should be more effective in further strengthening the Centre-State relations.
Mr. Chandy, who will be attending the meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Sunday to give new shape to the Soviet-era Planning Commission, hoped that the Centre would move ahead with its plan only after reaching a consensus on the issue with the States.
“Planning Commission is a well-accepted system. It is an effective mechanism through which States and the Centre coordinate on financial issues, including resource allocations. If there is any plan to restructure it, States should be taken into confidence,” Mr. Chandy said.
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“If there is a plan to restructure the Planning Commission, the body which is being visualised should be more effective than the existing one. It should be an effective tool to further strengthen relations between the Centre and the States,” the Chief Minister added.
In his Independence Day address, Mr. Modi had announced that a new institution with a new soul would replace the Planning Commission, which was over six decades old.
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In the present system, the Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Planning Commission, which works under the guidance of the National Development Council.
The deputy chairman and the full-time members of the commission provide advice and guidance for the formulation of Five Year Plans, annual Plans, and State Plans and monitor Plan programmes among others.
Mr. Modi had informed the Lok Sabha on Friday that plans were afoot for reshaping of the Planning Commission to make it in sync with the changing times. — PTI