'This Contributes To Transparency'

Dear Shri Roy,

I have seen the press statement issued by you and three of your associates questioning the inclusion of representatives of multinational agencies/consultancy groups in"committees"’ constituted by the Commission. Allow me to clarify the position.

First, I should emphasise that no such representatives have been included in any "committee" of the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission fully recognises that we are responsible to the Union Government, and also the states, for formulation and implementation of the Plan and I would like to assure you that this function will be performed entirely within the Commission. No outsider is involved in preparing the Commission’s documents.

However, for the limited purpose of undertaking the mid-term appraisal of the Plan, we decided that it is necessary to obtain views and perceptions of the effectiveness of Plan programmes and policies from non-government observers. The Planning Commission cannot do justice to the mid-term appraisal if it relies solely on the work of civil servants in the Commission commenting on the work of other civil servants in the ministries. There is enormous expertise outside the Government, and it is essential for the Commission to make itself aware of these views. To this end, we have set up 19 Consultative Groups (not"committees" but only Consultative Groups) covering different areas of the mid-term appraisal. These groups, chaired by one of the members of the Commission, are expected to provide inputs from outsiders on critical issues which the mid-term appraisal will cover.

The Consultative Groups include academics of different political persuasions, representatives of research institutes, representatives of well-known NGOs such as Sewa, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, trade unions such as INTUC, AITUC and BMS, representatives of industry associations etc. Representatives of the World Bank and ADB have been included in four of these groups which deal with areas in which these agencies are actively involved in supporting Central Government or state government projects.

I would like to assure you that by including individuals from outside the Government in the Consultative Groups, we are not in any way handing over to them the critical decision-making involved in the mid-term appraisal on policies and policy correctives that need to be introduced to achieve the objectives laid out in the National Common Minimum Programme. This will be done by the Commission, taking account of the inputs we receive from the Central Government as well as state governments and also outsiders. We recognise fully that the individuals whom we hear have their own agendas, but I would like to assure you that we will subject the views expressed in our consultative process to careful professional scrutiny.

I would also like to point out that multilateral institutions in any case interact regularly with Central and state government agencies and this has in the past also included the Planning Commission. However, in these interactions, the views of the agencies are expressed in non-public discussions. By including their representatives in a larger public forum, where other views will also be expressed, their views and perspectives can be subjected to wider scrutiny, including critical evaluation by non-government experts. I hope you will agree that this contributes to transparency.

I would be happy to discuss the matter with you further, in case you wish to do so.

With warm regards,

Montek Singh Ahluwalia