Development Planning: Repeating Mistakes

Many people on the media and elsewhere commented about failure of the 'wada na todo' abhiyan wherein Governement of India aka the Planning Commission took help of civil society in generating the mood of participatory process in planning for the 12th Plan. The activists, intellectuals and organisations who participated in the activities cried foul the way the approach paper dealt with the issues concerning serious for the effective and 'inclusive planning'. Given the election centric planning in India what more could have be apt to follow what politics of the nation dictates. We the people of India were repeatdly promised moon even though we fail to generate enough food and water for our people. India is going to urbanised and industrialised further in the coming periods, we fail to address the need for the food security except the pending bills, the spatial planning through the regional approach takes back seat, where in budgetory planning remains at the peak.

One can only assume the economist centric planning strategies has limitation even though they might claim to have reduced poverty which is statistically remains insignificant given the failure to reduce the income disparity. The HDI report suggest the improvement in the vital indicators but experts have suggested that we might miss most of the Millineum Development Goal (MDG) target set for 2015. The lagging states even though have steamed up their performance much needs to be done to eradicate abjuct state of apathy in many socio-economic indicators. Why developed states like Gujarat performs poorly in education and health where as the lagging state move faster to bridge the difference. The theory taking roots that economic development does not guarentee the social development, then what more the planning approach is going to acheive. The declining small and medium town through out country presents grim picture for the ever increasing urbanisation in the country. The lack of development for the improvement in the quality of life in these urban centres are bringing the investment elsewhere for creating new urban areas adding to the urban chaos.

Planning commission needs to leave certain planning to the state and local bodies let the spatial planning for the regions being made based on the scientific investigation before any investment plan being materialised for the region. The huge program investment in the way of MNREGA or the watershed development cannot happen without specific planning for the region, otherwise planned efforts would have negligible impact.