Plan panel to appoint agencies to assess govt's performance

The Planning Commission has decided to rope in outside agencies to assess the performance of the central government-run schemes, including the flagship programmes taken up as part of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12).

"The Planning Commission will soon appoint independent agencies for third party mid-term review of central government-run schemes including National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the ongoing Eleventh plan," sources in the Planning Commission said.

All divisions of the Commission like education, infrastructure and others are ready with reports which would give in depth information about implementation and achievement of various programmes and issues, sources said.

The Commission is also appointing two independent agencies for evaluating the performance of states on two parameters -- performance on monitorable goals of Eleventh Plan including flagship programmes and state' finances.

These agencies would have to submit their reports within 45 days. It is a general practice that the mid-term review is done after completion of three years of a five-year plan. The mid-term review is likely to take place in December this year.

The outgoing Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia had said, "The mid-term appraisal will be done by the commission after the new government takes charge."

"We are putting in place a mechanism that usually put in place for taking a timely mid-term appraisal...The actual evaluation will be done by the new Planning Commission after the new Government takes place," Ahluwalia had said.

"But the decision to start process early and to involve independent agencies is aimed at having a more realistic assessment by the time new government at the Centre is ready to present full budget," he had said.

The Planning Commission has engaged the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy for the purpose. There may be different agencies for all states for reviewing the performance on the two said parameters.