The Hindu Business Line : `Foreign experts' controversy — Plan panel dismantles consultative groups

IN a face-saving `formula' to put an end to the raging controversy over the inclusion of "foreign experts" into the consultation process for the mid-term appraisal of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, the Planning Commission today announced the dismantling of the 19 consultative groups it had set up earlier for this purpose.

In a terse statement, the Planning Commission said: "The Commission has reviewed the matter and decided to dissolve the consultative groups.

"The Commission will revert to the earlier practice of consulting individuals separately as part of the mid-term appraisal process".

It may be recalled that the Plan panel, as part of the process of conducting the Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Plan had announced the establishment of a number of consultative groups in different areas to provide a forum for outside inputs into the appraisal process.

The decision to include in these groups individuals associated with international multilateral organisations and foreign firms operating in India had been a subject of some discussion.

The Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, was persistently on the defensive, stating that a whiff of eclectic ideas and consultations from outside experts including foreign experts would in no way compromise the ultimate decision-making power of the Plan panel.

The decision to disband the consultative groups in a bid to resolve the controversy over the inclusion of foreign experts into consultative process came after the Dr Ahluwalia, met the Chairman of the Plan panel and Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, twice since last evening.

The ruckus over the foreign experts' inclusion in the Plan panel has been raging for several weeks and the controversy dogged the Prime Minister during his recent visit to the US and London.

From the beginning, the Left parties vehemently opposed the foreign experts inclusion with the experts of the Left parties threatening to resign from the consultative groups if their plea for exclusion of foreign experts was not heeded.

Even as the members of the Plan panel including Mr Anwarul Hoda claimed that there was unanimity within the panel on the issue with all members behind Dr Ahluwalia, the Left parties remained unrelenting in their demand for removing the foreign experts.

However, independent analysts told Business Line that by reverting to the old practice of consulting individuals separately as part of the mid-term appraisal process, the Planning Commission has the elbow-room to rope in the views of foreign consultants or experts too and to this extent the Planning Commission `formula' is a triumph for Dr Ahluwalia.

Hailing it as a triumph for national interest, the RSP leader, Mr Abani Roy, however, said, "good sense prevailed upon the Planning Commission and whatever we said had been heard".

While CPI leader Mr D. Raja sought to know what would be the future course of action, the CPI (M) leaders were not available for comment.