Aiyar146;s panchayat roadmap ready

The last consultation with the states ended at Jaipur yesterday and a council of Panchayati Raj ministers has been set up to ensure the implementation of the roadmap agreed on by the states.

The Centre is tougher, as it is not legally bound to implement Panchayati Raj. A group of chief secretaries is working with Panchayati Raj secretary Wajahat Habibullah to talk to the Central ministries.

8216;8216;There is no question of encroachment or ego, Centrally-sponsored schemes are to be retailored to conform to constitutional provisions,8217;8217; said Aiyar. According to him, the idea has been endorsed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself.

This would essentially mean that it is not just the subject, say water, which is transferred to the states, but would also ensure that all the functions related to effective distribution and management of water is left to the panchayats.

For this, the key is to make them financially viable. 8216;8216;The National Common Minimum Programme clearly states that there should be no delay or diversion of funds meant for the Panchayats,8217;8217; said Aiyar.

He is working with a task force to 8216;8216;tag8217;8217; and 8216;8216;track8217;8217; funds that are supposed to go from Delhi to these institutions. The e-tracking system will ensure the flow of money is leakproof and quick.

Another group is working on bunching the myriad schemes that exist in the Central Government for the states. 8216;8216;In a preliminary exercise, we have been able to bunch them in eight groups,8217;8217; said Aiyar. There are more than 300 schemes, sometimes too many for the states to even know that they exist.

According to the newly-formed Ministry, if schemes reach the PRIs on time, it would make Rs 32,000 crore available each year.

Does this mean that the development plans will be made by the PRI and the money will flow directly to the Panchayats? 8216;8216;No, this is a very limited way of looking at it,8217;8217; said Aiyar.

According to the roadmap, the District Planning Committees are supposed to work on activity-mapping for each panchayat after they have sent in their proposals. At the state level, they will be 8216;8216;consolidated8217;8217; and sent to the Planning Commission for approval. This activity-mapping process is already on with the assistance of the state.

After five months of talks in state capitals, the next round of nation-wide consultations are expected to take place in district headquarters.