Is the 12th Plan draft approach old wine in new bottle?

Saturday's full meeting of the Planning Commission to study the draft Approach Paper of the 12th Five-Year Plan was an ongoing exercise to get the views of the key ministers with most of the issues flagged off for the Approach to the Twelfth Plan boiling down to stress “faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth” over 2012-17.

Interestingly, the Eleventh Plan (2007-12) sought to build on the gains of the Tenth Plan and shift the economy to “a path of faster and more inclusive growth”.

In essence, both the current Plan and the Approach to the next one identified inclusiveness issues as an integral part to achieving faster but sustainable growth in the face of wobbly world economic situation. To boot, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said health, education and skill development were key areas of the inclusive growth strategy in the 11th Plan and they would continue to be “focus areas' in the 12th Plan

As the Chairman of the Plan panel, the Prime Minister said, “we should focus on policy and governance reforms, while working towards a growth target of between 9 to 9.05 per cent.” But the draft Approach was more forthright when it broached the “broader issue of how to rid the system of corruption, which is both morally abhorrent and imposes economic costs”. Its call for a spate of initiatives backed by due legislations include, among others, the establishment of an effective Lokpal, introduction of a law on public procurement to transparency and the creation of a legislative framework governing the functioning of regulatory institutions, to ensure both accountability and independence”. This is what the authorities would have done when they introduced the economic reforms two decades ago particularly when allocation of scarce resources are decided by market forces and there had been a greater product and market competition, economists contend.

The draft Approach Paper rightly rued the long delay in the implementation of many infrastructure development projects because of lack of coordination that is in dire need across different agencies to facilitate progress in project execution. The Plan panel hits the nail on the head contending that ‘project implementation' capabilities ought to be improved to obtain better returns from public investment in infrastructure and also in the social sectors such as education and health. It exalts the development experiences of Japan, Korea, Singapore and China, stating that project development, to deliver on time and within cost, is “a learnable capability that can be institutionalised”. The Prime Minister's reference to the major flagship programmes, instrumental for promoting inclusiveness and in which Rs 1, 87,000 crore would be spent this year is a specific case where project implementation capability needs to be nurtured for efficient use of the sunk cost.

A notable admission in the draft is its accent on speedy prosecution and trial in corruption cases as “the long delays in the judicial process are an important factor behind the growing cynicism about the rule of law in our system. Reforms in the legal process need to be put in place without further delays.”

In the crucial domain of energy, it was stated at the Plan panel meet that GDP growth of 9 per cent requires commercial energy growth of 7 per cent, while the likely achievement in the 11th Plan is 5.5 per cent. As ensuring adequate growth in commercial energy availability is obvious, the draft pitches for “rational energy pricing for both effective demand management and a healthy supply response”. So is the case with dwindling water availability across the country that calls for a ‘holistic water management policy aimed at more efficient conservation of water and also in water use efficiency' in agriculture. As the country is faced with resource constraints for mega schemes/projects, the draft's suggestions such as greater amount of freedom for implementing agency, flexibility, promoting convergence between resources from different Plan schemes and the need for greater attention to capacity building, monitoring and accountability” repeats the same old mantra of the past.

Better implementation, accountability are the challenges for 12th Plan

We reproduce here the section on ‘implementation, accountability and governance' in the Approach Paper to the 12th Plan. It clearly spells out what the Planning Commission regards as a necessary condition for achieving 9 per cent growth:

“An over-arching challenge that requires much greater attention in the Twelfth Plan is that of ensuring better implementation and improved accountability. There are four aspects of governance that are important.

“First, better governance is crucial for translating the large outlays of our flagship programmes into enduring outcomes on the ground. Interaction with stakeholders reveals that while there is general appreciation that these programmes have the right objectives, their implementation on the ground is poor. Implementation of programmes can be improved through a multi-faceted approach relying on professionalisation of public service delivery, Total Quality Management, innovative use of IT and other technologies which improve monitoring and supervision. It can also improve through greater emphasis on social mobilisation and capacity building, strengthening of local institutions, and building deeper partnerships with civil society organisations and the community to determine the needs and aspirations of the people.

“Second, implementation in many areas, particularly in infrastructure development, involving large projects, is held up for a variety of reasons. Coordination needed across different agencies to facilitate progress in project implementation is often lacking and can lead to long delays and cost overruns. ‘Project management' capabilities must be improved for the country to get better returns from public investment in infrastructure and also in the social sectors. Project management, to deliver on time and within cost, is a learnable capability that can be institutionalised, as demonstrated by the development experiences of Japan, Korea, Singapore and China. A nationwide drive to improve project management must be an integral part of the Twelfth Five Year Plan.

“Third, is the broader issue of how to rid the system of corruption, which is, morally abhorrent and imposes economic costs. A number of initiatives need to be urgently pursued. Several legislative measures are needed.

“These include the establishment of an effective Lokpal, introduction of a law on public procurement to transparency, and the creation of a legislative framework governing the functioning of regulatory institutions, to ensure both accountability and independence.

“Finally, to combat corruption, it is imperative to ensure speedy prosecution and trial in corruption cases. The long delays in the judicial process are an important factor behind the growing cynicism about the rule of law in our system. Reforms in the legal process need to be put in place without further delays.”

> geeyes@thehindu.co.in

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