21.24 However, the mere disaggregation of funds to the district level and showing 'District Allocations' in the State Plan document will not amount to true decentralisation of the planning process, if the powers to plan for these funds are concentrated at the State level with the various heads of departments. The touchstone of decentralisation would be the freedom available at the district level to plan according to its local needs and local potentials. In this context, much greater stress needs to be placed upon the delegation of powers and to local resources development and the stimulation of local initiatives within the community. Governmental and administrative structures have to be better adapted to these goals.

21.25 The Planning Commission set up a Working Group on District Planning in September 1982. It has advocated a gradual, step-by-step approach towards this goal. It has suggested that Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), wherever they exist, will function as the apex body to approve as well as review the implementation of District Plans. Where the PRIs either do not exist or exist without planning functions, the District Planning Boards/Councils, which already exist or are being constituted, can perform these functions. For this purpose, they will be assisted by a suitable planning machinery at that level and the Centrally-sponsored scheme of strengthening of State-level planning machinery has been extended to district level also, with effect from 1982-83.

21.26 In order to ensure effective horizontal coordination at the district level, the Working Group on District Planning has made a number of recommendations which include:

(a) Strengthening of the position of the District Collector;

(b) Placing departmental functionaries under the direct administrative control of the Collector by deeming their services to be on deputation from their departments; and

(c) Making district officials accountable to the District Planning Body.

21.27 The Working Group has also made several recommendations towards improving administrative decentralization. They bear on the procedures for administrative and technical sanctions, reappropriation measures, etc. The Working Group has recommended a participatory approach to the district planning process, such participation extending through the stages of pre-planning, Plan formulation, post- planning and implementation stages. The Planning methodology for district planning has been outlined, and a massive training programme has been

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envisaged for the purpose. In the `stages approach' advocated by the Working Group, Stage I will be a phases of `initiation', Stage-II will be one of `limited decentralisation', and Stage-III will be the culmination. An illustrative list of the various measures that could be taken during each stage is given in Annexure 21.1. The Working Group on District Planning has envisaged that all States in the country should reach the final phases by the year 2000 AD but as far as possible even earlier by, say, compressing Stages, I and II by the end of the Seventh Plan period itself.

21.28 During the Seventh Plan period, the decentralisation of the planning process and full public participation in development will be pursued on the lines suggested by the Working Group. These steps will seek to ensure the achievement of the twin objectives of effective implementation of the anti-poverty programmes and ensuring a balanced regional development at least in respect of the minimum needs. District Planning, as advocated in the report of the Working Group, should be vigorously pursued. Eventually the decentralisation of planning should be extended further to the block level, particularly for the more effective implementation of anti-poverty programmes.

21.29 The initiatives taken by several States on the Sixth Plan suggest that the initial resistance to decentralisation seems to have been overcome. But since for a majority of the States the decentralisation of the planning process is a new experiment, the Planning Commission propose to play a promotional and guiding role in order to impart momentum to the district planning process. This is proposed to be attempted in the following directions:

(i) Data and information system for district planning: it is proposed to update the natural resources inventory data at the district level through use of remote sensing techniques. About 100 districts in the country are proposed to be selected during the Seventh Plan period to provide a scientific basis for district planning. The institutions to undertake this work will be identified and their efforts will be coordinated,

(ii) Training for district planning: The existing scheme of strengthening the district planning machinery will be countinued during the Seventh Plan period.

(iii Training in district Planning: The task of training district-level personnel is a stupendous one. This is proposed to be achieved through massive training programmes organised by the Centre and the State Governments in selected institutions.

(iv) Technical guidance through Pilot Projects: It is also proposed to initiate a few pilot projects, including action-based research, in different States in the country to improve methodologies and procedures for decentralised district planning. This may be particularly necessary in State which are beginning the district planning exercise for the first time.

Monitoring

21.30 The essence of a good monitoring system is the speed of communication of dependable information on key result areas, the competence of the monitor to interpret the signals and the ability to lead to initervention in a constructive manner. Monitoring is not an end in itself, and, therefore, it has to be suited to the objectives. For instance, in large projects where time is of essence, monitoring has to be intensive at all levels whereas for other projects it may be intensive at the field level but selective at the higher levels. In some other activities monitoring of trends may be of more importance than that of actual details.

21.31 Monitoring has several aspects and it is necessary to identify the scope for monitoring for effective plan implementation. Broadly speaking, monitoring would cover following areas:

(a) Physical progress of implementation of projects involving civil construction, equipment erection and commissioning within time and cost schedules, e.g., irrigation canals and drains, industrial plants, power projects, etc.

(b) Quantitative and qualitative progress of implementation of programmes where physical targets are set, e.g., MNP, IRDP, NREP Hill area programme, etc.

(c) Production, productivity and profitability performance for established public sector unit in the core sector, for which key indicators specific to the units concerned may be identified.

(d) Maintenance of capital assets created to be monitored selectively so that the expenditure earmarked for this purpose in the State and Central budgets (though on the non-Plan side) is in fact utilised for e purpose.

(e) Plan expenditure-to ensure that sectoral outlays are not disturbed and outlays earmarked for specific project are not diverted for other purposes without compelling reasons.

In these areas, it will be necessary to spell out the responsibilities of the concerned enterprises, Ministries and the Planning Commission.

21.32 Monitoring will continue to be undertaken through reports, review meetings and field visits. However, the information content, channels of communication, frequency, presentational formats (including presentation through charts and graphs and other means), etc., will have to be reframed according to the nature, type, size and importance of projects, programmes and levels of

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monitoring, and after taking into consideration the following experience in the past:

(i) The primary responsibility of monitoring lies with the agency entrusted with the execution of the project/programme.

(ii) The farther away the monitoring level from the field, the greater is the need for selectivity in the span and items of monitoring.

(iii) Monitoring should lead to intervention, corrective as well as supportive, for resolving problems arising at site.

(iv) Over-reporting and overlapping at different moni- toring levels can cause confusion and tend to become counter-productive.

(v) Timeliness of reporting is more important than absolute accuracy, especially at higher levels of monitoring.

(vi) Data reporting has to be supplemented by direct discussions and field visits.

21.33 There are many hierarchically linked monitoring agencies and if reporting is channelled through these agencies, not only will it be delayed but the information is also likely to be distorted. There is, therefore, a need for direct communication of key information from the field level direct to each monitoring level, giving the information relevant to it. Such level jumping in monitoring can considerably reduce the time lag in reporting to higher levels.

21.34 As regard the specific steps for strengthening the monitoring and information systems, the following suggestions are made:

(a)Central Level

- Each Ministry/Department should review their existing monitoring system in order to remove the deficiencies and problem areas. For this purpose, small working groups headed by a 'nodal' officer of the Ministary should be set up to review the existing system. The main emphasis should be on simplification and usefulness of the system.

- Establishment of a computerised Data Bank within each Department/Agency should be undertaken on priority basis and the monitoring system should be linked to the Data Bank. Necessary hardware and software should be provided for these Data Banks and monitoring systems.

- It should be ensured that Monitoring Units are established and properly staffed in each Department/Organisation/Project depending on its requirement.

- Monitoring should be recognised as a specialised function requiring necessary professional skills. Intensive training efforts will be needed for this purpose.

- For selected large-scale projects, interministerial groups can be set up in the form of empowered committees with representatives from inter-linked implementation agencies, which could closely monitor the project and also take decisions for corrective action.

- For other major projects, field visits from Ministries and other concerned agencies should be regularly made for monitoring and providing assistance to project authorities.

- Maintenance of records should be improved. Where possible micro-filming should be used.

- Resource-based network systems for implementation planning and monitoring should be extended to all sectors.

(b) State Level

- For the programmes/projects executed by the State Governments (both Centrally-sponsored and State Plan) the monitoring at the Central level cannot be effective unless the basic monitoring facilities are effectively developed at the State, sub-state level on a uniform pattern with modern facilities for communication, processing, storage and retrieval of data.

- While the basic monitoring of the State Plan programmes/schemes has to be undertaken at State and/or sub-State/District level, the Centre may confine itself to monitoring the earmarked projects/programmes which are of vital importance for the country as a whole. These projects will be primarily in the Agriculture and Allied Services, Cooperation, Irrigation and Power and Minimum Needs Programme. In addition, the Central monitoring will cover the Centrally sponsored schemes. It may be helpful if a system of mid-year review of the progress under the approved Plan is introduced, where physical progress and performance under various programmes and projects could be reviewed.

- Monitoring units should be set up in important technical departments, State Public Sector Organisations and important projects. Use of computers and data processing facilities for the monitoring system should be made as widely as possible and computerised data bank and information systems should be developed. The Central scheme of providing 2/3rd assistance should cover all these aspects.

- A list of inventory of all schemes in the State Plan should be developed, sub-divided by sectors and districts. The physical aspects to be monitored in each scheme should be identified.

- Considering the large number of schemes at the State level, there is need for selectivity and differentiation in the intensity of monitoring in terms of

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frequency and degree of detail. The Plan schemes could be divided into, say three categories depending on investment, importance and critical linkages. For the most important category of selected schemes, the monitoring should be more frequent and intensive, while for the less important schemes, which may be large in number, monitoring may be less frequent and in lesser detail.

- The concept of implementation planning with the help of resource-based networks should also be introduced for State projects/programmes in the same manner as it is being used for the major Central Sector projects and some State power projects.

- Monitoring should be linked with the review and problem-solving mechanism so that the results of monitoring are considered by the concerned decision- making levels and used in initiating corrective action. The monitoring system should use modern techniques such as PERT/CPM and the periodical monitoring should be linked to the PERT/CPM analysis at the time of Annual Plan formulation.

- There may be an advantage in developing arrangements which ensure public participation and scrutiny in monitoring of beneficiary-oriented programmes.

- The basic records at the field level should be streamlined and simplified. The example of the Health Information System introduced in 1982 could be considered for other sectors.

(c) District Level

- The monitoring at District level is particularly important for the beneficiary-oriented schemes and those schemes requiring greater efforts at the Block and Field levels. The current scheme for strengthening and Planning machinery at the District level for which 50 per cent Central assistance is provided, covers the monitoring function but does not specify a separate functionary for this purpose. In order to ensure effective monitoring at the District level, it will be necessary to have a small monitoring machinery either in the District Planning Cell or by combining with the District Statistical Organisation. Some monitoring arrangements will also be needed at the Block level.

- There is a need for coordinated monitoring of several similar activities in the same geographical area but falling under different programmes/ schemes.

(d) Project Level

- For each major project/programmes, monitoring mechanism should be inbuilt as a part of the project implementation and specific provision should be made for monitoring unit/staff in the project estimates.

(e) General

- The Integrated Classification for planning, budgeting and accounting which has been developed by an Inter- Departmental Group set up by the Ministry of Finance and is to be introduced during the Seventh Plan, will provide a common list of major, sub-major and minor heads to be used for planning as well as accounting purposes. It will then be easier to monitor the expenditure under each Plan scheme which would be shown at one place in this classification.

- For improving data handling, including processing, storage, retrieval and communication, greater use of computers is envisaged during the Seventh Plan. It is expected that each major organisation such as Ministry/Department/Agency at the Central and State levels would develop and streamline its management information system, including a computerised data bank, located at one place or at various places, but inter- linked in such a manner that data flow is possible from one data bank to another. Later, this should help in replacing the flow of reports from one agency to another by transfer of data on computer lines, provided either by the P & T system or through satellite communication system. This requires considerable efforts in each Department/Agency in streamlining the existing data system and developing a Computerised Data Bank. The National, Regional and State Centres of the National Informatics Centre could be utilised for these data banks. It should be ensured that these data banks are compatible with each other so that the data could be easily transferred.