Preparation for Ias

DECENTRALISED PLANNING
TRAINING MODULE
1.

Introduction:

Decentralisation of the planning process has acquired considerable significance with the passage of the 73rd and 74th
Constitutional Amendment Acts.
Decentralisation through the involvement of local level representative institutions in the formulation of plans for development as well as their implementation is being advocated in the interest of efficient utilisation of resources and for ensuring more equitable sharing of benefit from development.
Decentralisation of the planning process is basically an exercise in multi-level planning. Although multi-level planning and the problems connected with it have only recently been subjected to serious examination in India, the idea of decentralisation as such is not new to
Indian planning. Since 1950-51, when the Planning Commission was established and the first five year plan was launched, the importance of carrying the planning process to lower levels such as the state, district, block, village, etc. has been emphasised. The reasons for the stress on decentralisation are various. In the first place, the Indian planners emphasised decentralised for the obvious reasons that in a democratic framework, unless planning is carried to lower levels, that is to say subnational levels, the process will not be effective. Secondly, the planners also realised that the participation of the people in the planning process is essential if the process is to succeed and the participation of the people can be achieved only if planning is carried to the lower sub-national levels.
It must also be remarked in this context that at least in the earlier years of planning, the influence of Gandhian thought was fairly pronounced, although this should not be taken to mean that Indian planning has much philosophical contact with Gandhian thought. The point is that the Indian plans attempted to adopt some Gandhian techniques, of which decentralised planning was

References: Ahmed, Ehtisham. (1997), “Financing Decentralized Expenditures: An International Comparison of Grants” , (ed.) Cheltenham, Edward Elgar. Bajaj, J.L. (1995), “ Administrative Reforms and Decentralisation”, Report Submitted to Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow. Bennett, Robert J. (1990), “ Decentralisation, Local Governments and Markets: Towards a Post Welfare Agenda”, Oxford, Clarenton Press. Burdhan, Pranab and Dilip Moorkherjee (1998), “ Expenditure Decentralisation and the Delivery of Public Services in Developing Bird, Richard M. (2000a), “ Fiscal Decentralisation and Competitive Governments”, in Gianluigi Galeotti, Pierre Salmon, and Ronald _____________, (2000c) , “ Sub-national Revenues: Realities and Prospects”, in S.J _____________, (2000d). “Rethinking Sub-national Taxes: A New Look at Tax Assignment”, Tax Notes International, May. ____________, ( 1993), “ Threading the Fiscal Labyrinth: Some Issues in Fiscal Decentralisation”, National Tax Journal, 46(June), 207-27. Bird, Richard M. and A. Fiszbein (1998), “ Colombia: The Central Role of Central Government in Fiscal Decentralization, “ in R Barnabas, A. P. and O. P. Bohra, (1995), Finances of Panchayati Raj Institutions - Case Studies (New Delhi: NIPFP, mimeo; May). 219 Bohra, O.P., (2002), “Fiscal Decentralisation-National and State Lucknow, on 19-20 February, 2002. ___________, (2000), “Decentralisation and Devolution of Powers and Functions to Panchayats”, Journal of Rural Development , Vol ___________, (1996a), State-Local Fiscal Relations in India., New Delhi, National Book Shop and Dolphin Publications. ___________, (1996b), "Financial Assignments to Panchayati Raj Institutions", Kurukshetra, Vol ____________, (1996c), " Devolution of Powers and Functions - The State Panchayat Acts- Some Issues", paper presented at the National Bohra, O.P. and A.S. Panth,(1995), "Financing of Grass Roots Level of Governments", in Development and Planning, Vol Chellaih, Raja, (2001), “ A Comment on the Paper entitled – Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers for Equitable In-Country Growth, Dethier, Jean Jacques (2000), “Governance Decentralisation and Reforms in China, India and Russia”, (ed.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Datta, Abhijit, (1995) "Panchayat Finances and the Finance Commissions: A Concept Paper" (submitted at the National Meet on Fishmen, Raymond and Gatti, Roberta (2000), “ Decentralisation and Corruption: Evidence Across Countries”, Washington” World Bank, (World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2290). Gaiha, Raghav, (1996) " Participation or Empowerment of the Rural Poor: The Case of the Panchayat in India", Center for the Advanced Government of India, (2000), Report of the Eleventh Finance Commission, New Delhi. Gulati, I. S., (1994) Panchayati Raj and Development (Muvattupuzha: Msgr Government of Uttar Pradesh (1995), Commission on Administrative Reforms & Decentralization, August. Government of Uttar Pradesh (1996) Uttar Pradesh Mobilisation and Taxation Reforms Committee, September. Musgrave, R.A. (1983), “Who Should Tax, where, What? In C. McLure, Jr Oate, Wallace E. (1999), “AN Essay on Fiscal Federalism”, Journal of