Larger roles for States and the private sector are what the proposed alternative to the Planning Commission will have, if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brainstorming session with chief ministers on Sunday is any indication.

While a majority of the States favoured a new body replacing the existing Commission, some — mostly Congress-led States — were inclined towards evolving the body into a new structure. Some State leaders like Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee pitched for inter-State councils.

“Every State agreed that there was a need for change with more rights to them. Role of corporate and private sector is important and has to be kept in mind. The Planning Commission has to re-invent itself,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told newspersons.

Asked how Modi’s description of ‘Team India’— the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers, the Union Council of Ministers, and the bureaucracy — fits into the new body, Jaitley said, while the PM and Cabinet Ministers could be representatives, Chief Ministers could get turns in rotation.

Jaitley said that to questions raised by the Planning Commission Secretary, “States responded in writing. Some suggested that the number of central schemes should be brought down. States felt there is a need to decentralise both power and planning. There was a strong argument that not all schemes will fit every State equally, and States know what suits them best. The sum and substance was that States be more empowered.”

All States and Union Territories were represented. Finance Ministers of West Bengal and Mizoram and officials of poll-bound States attended. The Finance Minister declined to give a time frame as to when the new body will be in place.

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