Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's speech at the conference of chairpersons of District Planning Committees

"I am very happy to be here today to inaugurate the First Conference of Chairpersons of District Planning Committees. I am also happy to note that District Panchayat Chairpersons, Mayors of selected municipalities and Chief Executive Members of District and Regional Autonomous Councils are also present here. The distinguished audience present today represents truly the backbone of India's Local Self Government system. I extend to each one of you a very warm welcome.

The Local Governments of India are the unsung heroes of our nation's march forward to development and prosperity. It was Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who spearheaded moves towards evolving a national consensus on revitalizing local governments and repositioning them as vital, integral partners in local development. His efforts bore fruit with the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, which gave a new lease of life to Panchayats and Nagarpalikas.

While the progress on genuine empowerment may have been uneven, and it has been uneven, remarkable success has been achieved in deepening democratic practice by holding regular elections to local governments with reservations provided for women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. At one stroke, panchayat elections combined political empowerment with social empowerment of our people.

The UPA Government established the Ministry of Panchayati Raj at the Centre to translate this silent political and social revolution into concrete task oriented actions for the welfare and well being of our people. We have been able to take several significant steps towards strengthening and improving upon Panchayati Raj.

A national consensus on the road map for the full empowerment of Panchayats was arrived at. 22 States and Union Territories have individually agreed with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on State and UT specific road maps aimed at empowering of Panchayats. At the Central level, we have been able to modify the guidelines of several important Centrally Sponsored Schemes, other programmes and national policies to enunciate a clear role for planning and implementation at the three levels of Panchayats.

In the last four years we have strengthened the district as the unit of planning in almost all our Centrally sponsored programmes. We have consciously structured our flagship programmes in a manner that strengthens decentralized management through local institutions.

In the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the National Rural Health Mission, District level Plans are being prepared and funded. In the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, village panchayat level plans are prepared and aggregated at the District level as a District Plan and funds released to executing agencies which happen to be largely the panchayats. Similarly in the urban areas, under JNNURM, 63 cities have evolved medium term development plans for the cities and have been supported with Central Government funds.

We need to continue this process and programmes and extend it to cover programmes like Rural Water Supply and others.

Almost every State is undertaking one or the other reform for empowerment of Panchayat. And that is a very welcome development. Some states have gone beyond the Constitutional provision to reserve up to 50% seats for women in panchayats.. Fiscal reform, such as matching of the extensive devolution of functions with adequate finances and rapid transfer of funds through electronic means, has taken place. Administrative reforms, such as placement of staff and devolving powers of control and superintendence of staff to Panchayats, have also moved forward. Several states are also engaged in the process of providing connectivity and undertaking e-governance measures at the Panchayat level.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Planning Commission have prepared a blueprint that forms the basis of the guidelines for the Backward Regions Grant Fund that now operates in 250 poorer districts and provides, as Shri Mani Shankar Aiyer mentioned, 15 crores for the development of each district in the form of untied grants. It aims at embedding the participatory planning process and provides untied funds to local governments for filling gaps in flagship programmes based on local needs. The Handbook on District Planning being released today details this process of participatory planning.

Every plan must start with a vision and it is important for us to look at what our collective vision ought to be. To my mind, the most important issues before us are to meet the challenge of reducing inequity and inequality. We should focus on meeting core development needs essential for human growth and well being. These could include combating of disease, eliminating malnutrition, particularly among our women and children, providing safe drinking water, good quality universal education, providing people with skills and employment opportunities and preserving and protecting our environment. Each one of you has a crucial role in building a thoughtful vision for your district through a participative and inclusive process.

Following the envisioning process, a plan will need to emerge from the gram Sabha at village level upwards. When these plans move to the next level of local government, such as the intermediate and district Panchayats, they in turn would add what comes within their purview of responsibility. This is also an appropriate time to fit together priorities that cut across the jurisdictions of Gram Panchayats and municipalities into larger projects. Finally, it is for the District Planning Committees to consolidate the urban and rural plans into draft development plans for the district as a whole.

The next step is to match resources with the plan. Over the past nearly 5 years, Central government transfers to Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) have increased nearly threefold from Rs.36,000 crores in 2004-05 to Rs.1,20,000 crores in 2008-09. The top 15 CSS with the NREGA at the fore front now account for nearly Rs.85,000 crores. Such massive transfers were never a part of our planning process before the last four years. Besides schemes and programmes of the States and the Centre, you could look at what local initiatives can trigger through the Panchayats and municipalities.

Given the immense resources at your command now, the pressure on local governments and administrations to perform is indeed going to be, and rightly so, very high. It is important - and I must say that we have not yet focused adequately on this - that we need to build the capacity of our elected representatives in the local institutions. They need to be equipped through training to discharge their duties effectively and efficiently and assert the authority vested in them in our democracy. For example, if NREGA is largely implemented by Panchayats, capacity building of panchayat functionaries on managing of the programme should be taken up invariably as a major task.

Of all the provisions in the 73rd and 74th Amendments, Article 243 ZD of the Constitution which provides for District Planning Committees has perhaps been the last to be implemented in full measure. Till four years back, only 12 of the 24 States to which the Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika provisions of the Constitution applied, had constituted DPCs. I am happy to note now that 19 States have constituted these Committees and I sincerely appeal to the remaining States to adhere to these mandatory provisions of the Constitution without any further loss of time.

We are a large, young and restless nation. On the move. There is no other way to include the aspirations of all our people to guide our collective destiny other than to develop a strong local government system. Inclusive growth, which is the motto of the 11th five year plan, can be achieved only through inclusive governance. And the key to this is an effective, well functioning system of panchayats. I therefore sincerely hope that interaction of this nature between the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Urban Development becomes an annual feature. I look forward to a creative and constructive debate in this conference and await your deliberations eagerly. I wish your conference all success."