Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission

The State Planning Commission was constituted in Tamil Nadu on 25th May 1971 under the Chairmanship of the Hon’ble Chief Minister as an Advisory Body to make recommendations to the Government on various matters pertaining to the development of the State. The Additional Chief  Secretary to Government, Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and the Principal Secretary to Government, Finance Department are ex-officio Members.       The Member Secretary is responsible for administration in the Commission. The Commission has been reconstituted on 2.7.2011 and the present composition is as follows :

STATE  PLANNING  COMMISSION

Terms of Reference

The major functions of the State Planning Commission are as follows:

1.    Preparation of Five Year and Annual Plans based on the policies and priorities of the Government;

2.    Undertake Mid Term review of the Five Year Plan, other special reviews on the Economy and advise the Government on appropriate modification and restructuring of the schemes;

3.    Monitor development indicators that influence the Human Development Index, Gender Development Index, etc., at a disaggregated level and suggest correctional measures;

4.    Undertake special studies as required for formulation and implementation of plan projects and programmes;

The Commission has the following technical divisions:

1.    Agricultural Policy and Planning                          

2.    Industries, Power and Transport

3.    Land Use

4.    Education and Employment

5.    Health and Social Welfare

6.    District Planning and Rural Development

7.    Plan Co-ordination

Main activities of SPC:

 (A) Preparation of Five Year Plans and Annual Plans

 In consonance with the basic principles of planning for development, the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission has been preparing the Five Year Plans and the Annual Plans.

  1) Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017)

         The State Planning Commission is currently engaged in the preparation of Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–2017). As a prelude,  the draft  “Approach Paper to the Twelfth Plan  (2012-17) for Tamil Nadu” was prepared and hosted in the website for inviting views and suggestions from all stakeholders. In addition, 15 Steering Committees and 47 Working Groups were constituted covering all sectors comprising of domain experts, Government functionaries, Academicians, Civil Society Organizations to discuss the current status, problems, constraints and suggest suitable strategies.

         To strengthen this process further, Regional Consultation Meetings  were also conducted  at 5 places viz, Coimabtore, Tirunelveli,Madurai, Cuddalore and Trichy and inputs and suggestions were obtained.    Working group reports and other inputs received through various sources are used as inputs for the preparation of sectoral chapters for the Twelfth Five Year Plan. In addition institutional support were also received from Madras School of Economics, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Institute of Financial Management and Resources (IFMR) for preparation of the Twelfth Plan Document.  The first draft Twelfth plan document prepared by State Planning Commission has now been circulated to all Departments for getting their concurrence. The draft  Plan  has been formulated in consonance with the broad objectives  and themes of ‘Vision Tamil Nadu 2023’ document released by the Hon’ble Chief Minister.   This draft Twelfth Five Year document will be placed soon in the Full Commission Meeting to be chaired by the Hon’ble Chief Minister for its approval.

2)  Annual Plans

      By synchronising the objectives of the National Plan and the State priorities, the State’s Annual Plans are 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, mid-day meal in schools, house to the poor, connectivity of villages and public distribution system), (iv) Special Employment Programmes for poverty alleviation etc. In order to ensure social justice, the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan are also incorporated in the Annual Plans.

     The Annual Plan 2011-12  was formulated in consonance with the broad objectives of the Eleventh Five Year Plan and  finalised at Rs.23,535 crores in the high level meeting held at New Delhi on 6.7.2011 between the Hon’ble Chief Minister and the Deputy Chairman, Union Planning Commission.

    The State’s Annual Plan largely follows the objectives and priorities of the Five Year Plan of the State as well as those of the Central plan. The draft Annual Plan 2012-13 has been prepared for an outlay of  Rs. 28,000 crores, which is 18.97% more than the outlay of Annual Plan 2011-12 (Rs. 23,535 crores).

 This will be discussed and approved by the Union Planning Commission in due course.        

3)  Appraisal of New Schemes

As part of the preparation of Annual Plans every year, the State Planning Commission appraises the new schemes of all Secretariat departments. The Commission calls for the Part II proposals (new schemes) from all the Secretariat Departments and holds discussions with the Secretaries and Heads of Departments concerned. Thereafter, the State Planning Commission recommends a list of new schemes within the ceiling limits indicated by the Government.

For Annual Plan 2012-13, Part II discussions were held in December 2011, with all the Secretariat departments and recommendations formulated for Rs. 150.05 crores for consideration by the Government.

(B)  Tamil Nadu State Land Use Research Board

The Government (in the G.O.MS. No: 58, Planning, Development & Special Initiatives (SPC) Dept, dated: 10.02.2011) has created the “Tamil Nadu State Land Use Research Board (TNSLURB)” under the chairmanship of Vice-Chairperson, State Planning Commission as a permanent body in the State Planning Commission. This Board is intended to promote interaction and study in the vital area of land use. The terms of reference of the Board include the need to evolve formal interaction with various stakeholders and to arrive at policy options. The State Planning Commission will also hold seminars/ workshops and commission studies on sustainable management of land and water resources.

         The objectives of the Board are: (a) To assess the land resources; provide advice to Government for policy planning; co-ordination; develop an overview and possible priorities for land use changes, especially in diversion of fertile agriculture lands; development of waste lands and marginal lands for alternative uses; and to promote integrated scientific planning; (b) To review programme implementation, promote formation of a database and utilize the same for integrated and perspective planning; (c) To advise the Government on sound, scientific and policy interventions for changing environmental factors such as pollution and global warming; and (d) To conserve and manage land and water resources.

        The Government in Letter No. 7821/ P.D. & S.I (SPC)/ 2011-1, dated   06-01-2012 has permitted the State Planning Commission to incur an expenditure for Rs. 12.96 lakhs for the year 2011-12 to carry out the activities under TNSLURB. During 2011-2012, the following activities were taken under TNSLURB.

·         A sub Group on ‘Land Use’ was constituted under the Chairmanship of Member (Agriculture & Irrigation), State Planning Commission.  A chapter on ‘Land Use’ was prepared based on the input given by the Sub Group which will be included in the  Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) document. 

·         The First meeting of Tamil Nadu State Land Use Research Board was held on 6th February 2012 under the Chairmanship of Vice Chairman, State Planning Commission and approve the Work Plan for the year  2011-12.

·         A three year research study on “ Development of integrated dry land agro forestry system in Tamil Nadu for enhancing the livelihood opportunities” proposed by the Institute of Forest Genetics & Tree Breeding , Coimbatore has been approved by the Board. The study will be commenced soon. 

·         The study on  “ Wood balance  in Tamil Nadu” undertaken by Tamil Nadu Forest Department was printed and being distributed to the concerned   Departments / Universities/ Select Libraries.

         Proposal for Preparation of Work Plan pertaining to Land Use are invited from the concerned Secretaries to Government for  the year 2012-13.

 (C) Human Development Reports              

      Human Development Reports were planned for preparation in different States with full funding support from UPC/UNDP under the “Strengthening State Plans for Human Development” project. Human Development Reports (HDR) were prepared for Dindigul, Sivaganga, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore,  Nagapattinam, the Nilgiris, Kanyakumari and Dharmapuri districts.   The concept of Human Development has been disseminated to all districts through workshops organized in the concerned districts.  Proposal for preparation of District Human Development Reports (DHDR) for the remaining districts during 2012-13 have been sent to Government.

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