The gross expenditure for 2009-10 is set to cross INR 100,000 crores or 10,000,000,000,000 rupees. The govt. hopes to spend just 30% of it in Capital or Plan Expenditure. Truely, a mind-boggling sum. I made a ball-park estimate and discovered that the size of the current Budget is twice that of 2003-04. Yet, it is not unusual to read stories like Ministries, Depts and State Governments not using allocated Plan funds year after year. Similar is the case with payment of Commitment Fees to World Bank, ADB, etc., for non-utilization of Project Borrowings.
Under the circumstances, will it not make sense to create a Plan Implementation Monitoring Commission along the lines of Planning Commission? Such a Commission should be obviously under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister with the Cabinet Secretary as ex-officio Administrative Secretary. The Deputy Chairman should be an eminent and apolitical personality like Dr. M.S.Swaminathan, Dr. Abdul Kalam, Dr.Amartiya Sen, Dr. C.Rangarajan just to cite a few names, and should be vested with Cabinet Rank. We can also think of having 4 or more members of the Commission with the same eligibility criteria so that the PIMC will have teeth and can bite when needed. A sinilar structure should be replicated at State level. The stae-level PIMC should be directly accountable to the Union PIMC. The Deputy Chairman and other PIMC members should be constitutional positions so that political pressures on the incumbents can be minimised.
The PIMC should be equipped with a Secretariate with powers to direct, oversee, control and discpline the flow of Plan money along the right channels and without seepages.
The Government of the day has clearly lifted the morale up by appointing Nanadan Nilekani. Hopefully, this idea too may find favor in due course but a lot more wisdom and sagacity added before it kickstarts.