"NITI Aayog has not played much expected role of facilitator"

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Saturday said that NITI Aayog has not "played the much expected role of a facilitator" in the last four years and perhaps was not a substitute for the erstwhile Planning Commission.

Vijayan,in his speech at the 5th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog here, said that after doing away with the plans at the national level, states have lost the Gadgil formula, grants which they used to get asplan assistance earlier.

Besides, states now have also to bear a higher share -- 40 per cent --instead of the earlier average 25 per cent in many centrally sponsored schemes, resulting in shrinking the State governments' fiscal space, he said.

He said transformation of the Planning Commission to NITI Aayog has adversely affected states like Kerala, which had lost a source of funding forits Five Year Plans.

"I hope that my colleague Chief Ministers would agree with me that NITI Aayog in the present form has not played the much expected role of a facilitator in the last four years.

There is growing realisation that it is perhaps not a substitute for the erstwhile Planning Commission," he said.

Vijayan said Kerala wascontinuing with the Five Year Plans and implementing many development programmesthrough its Thirteenth Five Year Plan.

He said the centre has recently been spending onsubjects in the State List, resulting incentralisation in design of welfare schemes,which by economic reasoning, could be effectivelydone by governments at the State and locallevel.

"For astrong nation, a strong Centre, strong states and vibrant local governments are essential pre-requisites."