PM to talk new plan panel, funds with CMs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold an exclusive session with chief ministers on December 7 to discuss the proposed Niti (Policy) Commission to replace the Planning Commission and the future of annual and five-year plans.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold an exclusive session with chief ministers on December 7 to discuss the proposed Niti (Policy) Commission to replace the Planning Commission and the future of annual and five-year plans. The CMs will also be allowed to raise any other issue related to the Centre.

The Prime Minister’s Office communicated to the CMs that PM Modi would like to spend two hours with them to receive feedback on the various initiatives of the Central government and the policies the states would like the Centre to pursue. No officials will be allowed into the meeting.

“The PM wants a freewheeling chat with the CMs and get their feedback to help restructure the Centre-state relations,” a senior government official told HT. Terming the platform between the Centre and state’s ‘cooperative federalism’, the PM has sought to know what the “scope and method” of interaction should be and the strategy, tasks and mechanism” for this interface.

The interaction will take place post-lunch at the PM’s residence at Race Course Road. In the pre-lunch session, the CMs accompanied by chief secretaries will give suggestions on the Niti Commission that will have four divisions --- Unique Identification Authority of India, Direct Benefit Transfer, Inter-State Council and the Plan Evaluation.

PM Modi has also sought suggestion from the CMs on five-year and annual plans. The job of deciding annual plans of states has been given to the finance ministry but the government wants to know if the states would like it to be part of the Niti Commission.

The PM, through a note circulated, also sought to know what the states thought of the five-year plan cycle and to suggest alternatives for it.

He has also asked the CMs their opinion restructuring the fund flow from the Centre to the states. Every year, the government gives over Rs 3,00,000 crore to the states through central schemes and programmes.