Local Self Governments across the State have been told to assess the progress of the People’s Plan in the past 25 years and come up with a status report ahead of the preparation of the 14th Five-year Plan, which is set to begin from April 1 next year.
The assessment of the People’s Plan experiences are meant to identify the lacunae in preparing the plans for the years ahead.
The planning committees and working groups will be reconstituted as part of the preparatory work for the 14th Five-year Plan. Local bodies have been asked to include experts who are keen to get involved in local development in the planning committees and working groups, which will have to be reconstituted before December 10.
The first job of the reconstituted committees will be to prepare the status report of the People’s Plan in the past 25 years in the respective local body. For this purpose, the local bodies will also have to ensure the participation of former people’s representatives and officials.
The status report will have to identify the issues and possible remedies in each area. It will have to do a comparative study of various developmental indicators in the specific local body in 1996, when the people’s plan was launched, to the present. The development plan made during the 9th Five-year Plan is expected to come in handy for this purpose. The committees will have to study and document the major interventions made in various areas and the changes brought about through these. Gaps in development also have to be identified.
The committees and working groups will also have to revise the developmental plan, to reflect the aspirations for the next five years. The local bodies are expected to include special action plans to tackle natural disasters arising out of climate change. They will also have to focus on creating jobs at the local level, doubling farmers’ income, steps to promote entrepreneurship, improvement of service delivery, poverty alleviation, and waste management. The local bodies have to come up with a plan to increase revenues. The entire process of preparing the status report and the revised development plan is expected to be completed by January 20 next year.
