The Planning Commission is all set to take the approach paper for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) to the Union Cabinet for its approval later this week. Curiously this is for the first time since the planning process began in the country that the approach paper is being placed before the Cabinet without getting the approval of the full Planning Commission.
The main focus of the next five-year plan is to achieve an average sustainable growth rate of nine to 9.5 per cent annually, and improvement in the governance model. The approach paper had evoked sharp differences among its members at the full commission meeting in April this year. This forced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is ex-officio chairman of the commission, to ask the plan body to rework the approach paper according to the suggestions made at the meeting.
Besides deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other permanent members, there are a few ex-officio members, who include ministers for agriculture, railways, home, finance, rural development and roads and highways. If the full Planning Commission meeting is bypassed, the ministers belonging to coalition parties in the government may not get a chance to express their detailed views on various provisions incorporated in the plan.
Sources said: “In April this year the full plan panel met to approve the approach paper. But since a consensus was elusive, the Prime Minister intervened and suggested that the commission rework the approach paper in the light of suggestions made by members.” The plan panel is now ready with the reworked approach paper after showing it to the Prime Minister, and since he has given his approval, it will be listed at the coming week’s Cabinet meeting, the sources said.
The differences among members at the last meeting of the commission has already caused a substantial delay in finalising the Plan document, which is due to be in operation from April 1, 2012. Therefore, it has now been decided not to call a meeting of the full commission once again, the sources added. “If the Cabinet approves the approach paper, it will be placed before the National Development Council. We are expecting to call the NDC meeting some time in September, after the current session of Parliament ends,” the sources said.