Former Plan panel member backs Rahul

Rahul Gandhi's remarks about villagers knowing more than the Planning Commission members were surprisingly supported by Y K Alagh, who was a member of the commission in the late 80’s.

Alagh, now the chairman of Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) said Rahul was conveying to the villagers the need for decentralised planning in their language.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, however, has refused to be drawn into the controversy.

Though most Planning Commission officials declined to come on record on the matter, some officials did support the statement. They said it does prove that in many places governance is detached from the ground realities.

Gandhi’s comment, though quite unassuming, has brought back focus on the debate of governance and how central policies should be framed keeping in mind the interest of the common man.

Alagh, who also served as a minister in the Union Cabinet, termed Gandhi’s remarks as appropriate.

“When you make central plan without taking into account local conditions, you are worried about fiscal deficit, foreign exchange, inflation. But when local bodies are involved, they will take into account local resources lying unutilised,” he said. “Rahul is saying the same thing as his father was trying to put into place by panchayati raj institutions. I don't think the Planning Commission will oppose what he is saying.”

“The accountability of a government is limited, while that of the common man, or for that matter the villager is far more, which gives an impression that plan programmes are framed without keeping in the mind the real interests of the man on the street,” he said.