Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission

 1. Objectives

      One of the Directive Principles of State Policy as enunciated in the Constitution of India is to promote the welfare of the people. To achieve this, State Governments have to undertake planned development in the State through the various Five Year Plans and Annual Plans. To help the Government to implement its policies effectively by more efficient utilisation of the material, capital and human resources within the State and outside, the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission was constituted on 25^th May 1971 under the chairmanship of the Hon'ble Chief Minister. The State Planning Commission is an Advisory Body and makes recommendations to the Government on various matters pertaining to development of the State. The Commission was last reconstituted on 19.05.2006.

2. Organisational Set Up

     The Vice-Chairman and other Members of the Commission are appointed from elite public personalities. The Commission also includes Secretaries to Government, Finance and Planning and Development Departments as Ex Officio Members. The Member Secretary guides the technical and administrative work.

     Click here for the present composition of the Commission and Terms of Reference.

     The structure of the Commission is as shown below:        

     The Commission’s main thematic areas of focus are :

1.     Agricultural Policy and Planning              

2.     Industries, Power and Transport

3.     Land Use

4.     Rural Development

5.     Health and Social Welfare

6.     Education

7.     District Planning

8.     Plan Co-ordination

      It discharges its responsibilities through technical divisions headed by a senior officer drawn with relevant expertise from the concerned development departments of the State or  Union Governments.    The Head of Division is supported by a small team comprising of a Planning Officer, Technical Assistants and Planning Assistants with a background in  Economics/ Mathematics/ Statistics. The divisions are attached to the Members, to assist them in carrying out the business of the State Planning Commission.

 3. Activities of the Commission

      The Commission provides technical advice to the Government. Its activities include:

1. Analytical work of the technical divisions

2. Preparing the Annual and Five Year Plans

3. Appraising of new schemes

4. Supporting the State Land Use Board for technical inputs

5. Planning for Human Development

6. Knowledge services through studies, seminars and workshops

3.1 Analytical work of the technical divisions

The technical divisions undertake analytical work on contemporary development issues. This analytical work includes data analysis, issue- based notes and briefs,  reports of internal meetings and  committees, analysis for estimating or forecasting the trends of various indicators and indices like Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), Human Development indicators, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Poverty, Employment etc. Besides the above, the divisions also prepare demand-based technical notes on specific issues as and when the Government require. Further in order to keep the Commission upto date on the performance of various socio economic issues, data are analysed regularly and output submitted to the Members as and when required.

3.2 Preparing the Annual and Five Year Plans

Annual Plans

Largely following  the objectives and priorities of the National Plan, the State’s Annual Plans are generally prepared.  While preparing the Annual Plans, adequate provision is made for (i) Ongoing Developmental Schemes, (ii) Externally Aided Projects, (iii) Basic Minimum Services (drinking water, primary health services, primary education, house to shelterless, mid-day meal in primary schools, connectivity of villages and public distribution system), (iv) Special Employment Programmes for poverty alleviation etc. To ensure social justice in the state, the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan are prepared properly and incorporated as a part of the Annual Plans.  Recently the  Annual Plan 2008-09 has been  prepared for an outlay of Rs.16,000 crore.

Five Year Plans

In consonance with the basic principles of planning for development, the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission has been preparing the five year plans from its inception. So far Eleven Five Year Plans have been completed for the State.  The Eleventh Five Year Plan document was then prepared for an outlay of Rs.85,344 crore and released by the Hon'ble Chief Minister on 3.7.2008.

As a prelude to the Eleventh Plan, the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission had earlier released an Approach Paper during November 2006, indicating the broad focus areas and strategies for the Eleventh Plan. 14 Steering Committees and 38 Working Groups for various sectors of the economy were constituted to provide inputs for the preparation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan.  Public opinion was also obtained for the preparation of the plan  through a series of regional meetings with all the Stakeholders consisting of general public, voluntary agencies, members of local bodies and department officers.

3.3 Appraising of New Schemes

As part of the preparation of Annual Plans,  the State Planning Commission has the responsibility of appraising the Government,  of the new schemes.  The Commission  through discussions with different stakeholders identifies and brings out issues as per the contemporary needs of the State and forwards them to the concerned departments for formulation as proposals. After getting proposals for the new schemes from the different Secretariat Departments, the Commission examines them in discussion with the Secretaries and Heads of Departments concerned for inclusion in the Annual Plan and recommends the schemes to the Government for inclusion in the budget. The Commission last recommended the new schemes for the Annual Plan 2008-09.

 3.4  Supporting the State Land Use Board for Technical Inputs

 The Tamil Nadu State Land Use Board (TNSLUB), since the  transfer from the Government to the State Planning Commission in 1981, functions under the chairmanship of the Vice-Chairman, State Planning Commission. Secretaries to Government and Heads of Departments concerned with Land and Water Use are its Members and the Member-Secretary, State Planning Commission is the Co-Chairperson.

The objective of the Board is to ensure that effective measures are taken to protect good agricultural land which is the State’s most precious asset, against depletion by erosion by wind or sea, water logging and salinity or by urbanisation and industrialization, through research studies and surveys.

To achieve the above objective, the TNSLUB supports the following activities:

• Support for special and evaluation studies, research studies

• Support for organizing seminar / workshop / publicity & awareness campaign in the state

• Task Force on Tamil Nadu Geographical Information System (TANGIS) Plan

• Perspective Plan for the development of the Western Ghats region

• Natural Resources Data Management System - Geographical Information System (NRDMS-GIS) projects at Vellore and Pudukottai

3.5 Planning for Human Development

The State Planning Commission is executing a project entitled "Strengthening State Plans for Human Development" under the aegis of the Union Planning Commission and the United Nations Development Programme. Under this project, the State Planning Commission has brought out the first Tamil Nadu State Human Development Report in July 2003 highlighting the status of Human Development in the State. The preparation of second Tamil Nadu State Human Development Report with the theme "Ensuring Equity" is under process. Further, District Human Development Reports (DHDRs) are  being prepared for 5 districts viz., Tiruvannamalai, Sivagangai, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Dindigul. Of these, the reports of Tiruvannamalai, Sivagangai and Cuddalore are completed and will be released shortly, which will provide valuable inputs while planning for local needs.

Advocacy and dissemination of human development concepts among the government departments at the state and sub-state level, Panchayat Raj Institutions, media and civil society; organizing district level training programmes on human development; and studying options to strengthen state plans for Human Development are some of the activities with a special focus on gender.      

 3.6 Knowledge services through studies, seminars and workshops

To march ahead in the growth path, the State Planning Commission identifies key development issues and emerging priorities and facilitates exchange of ideas and expertise through seminars and workshops. Such expert discussions help to guide the government policies and programmes to be better aligned with the objectives of inclusive growth and sustainable human development in this rapidly urbanizing State. Recently, the Commission examined the issues of reiterating the importance of agriculture and rural development, sustainable use of land and water and data related concerns.

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