Centre, states likely to lock horns over Centre-sponsored schemes at NDC meet

Ravi Kapoor

New Delhi, Aug 31: The transfer of Centre-sponsored schemes to the states is likely to be a controversial issue at the National Development Council (NDC) meeting here on Saturday.

Planning Commission officials said that the Union ministries are reluctant to transfer these schemes to the states while the states want to directly monitor them.

They pointed out that such a transfer would not only make several Union ministries and departments redundant but would also do away with many posts in rank of joint secretary and above. Citing a couple of examples, the plan panel officials told The Financial Express that the ministry of agriculture would not require more than four or five joint secretaries, if these schemes are transferred to the states, as compared to 21 at present.

There are 17 joint secretaries in the rural development ministry while the requirement would be four in the case of these schemes are transferred to the states.

At the last NDC meet in February ’99, a committee was set up under Planning Commission deputy chairman to identify the schemes for retention by the Centre and those for transfer to the states and Union Territories and to classify them accordingly.

The NDC panel included the ministers of finance, human resources development, consumer affairs and public distribution and agriculture, besides the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Though the committee did not hold any meeting, the Union ministers who were members of the committee met a number of times.
Subsequently, several meetings were held under the chairmanship of the secretary, Planning Commission.

The secretary-level group reviewed the CSS identified for transfer to the states and suggested modalities of transfer.