PLAN IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING AND EVALUATION
Successive five year Plans have stressed the importance of strengthening the implementation machinery so that the projects and programmes included in the Plan move according to time schedules and targets. It has also been recognised that implementation needs to be supported by adequate, monitoring and current and post-evaluation of major programmes so that lessons of experience enable in, provements in the design of programmes themselves. There is further indication from experience that deficiencies in implementation may also be due to inadequate planning of projects at the initial stage causing slippages in schedules, cost over-runs and poor performance generally. Thus when one talks of failures of implementation, one should look upon planning, implementation and evaluation as an integral process, each deriving strength from the other (and transmitting its weeknesses all the way through the process). The problems in all these three areas- planning, implementation and evaluation-differ from sector to sector. In the sectors, such as industry, power and transport, project formulation techniques, as well as methods of appraisal, monitoring and evaluation are more advanced than in the poverty removal and social services sectors.
IMPLEMENATION OF PROJECTS/SCHEMES 8.2 In the public sector of the Sixth Plan, the targets in respect of projects/schemes will have to be implemented within the fixed time- frame and with full achievement of the programme, content particularly in such programmes as NREP, IRDP, Minimum Needs, Family Planning, etc.
8.3 To acheive the optimum results out of investment, care has to be taken to ensure that the following points with regard to the implementation of the various schemes/projects etc. included in the Plan are given adequate attention.
(i) The Sixth Five Year Plan like the previous Plans is a plan of action for the national economy which is drawn up after very careful consideration and exhaustive consultations with the State Governments, Central Ministries and various other organisations concerned With the Plan formulation and its implementation. Consultations have also been held with a wide variety of professional organisations as well as individual experts and mass media and trade, union representatives. It may be difficult to include new schemes without sacrificing essential programmes which have been included in the original Plan. It would, therefore, appear desirable that after the Plan has been accepted and approved, no new scheme/ project etc. should be introduced in the Sixth Five Year Plan by any agency unless there are some compelling considerations that such a scheme/project should be introduced during the operation of the Plan; but in that case these new proposals should be very carefully considered by the concerned authority, whether it be the State Government or the Central Ministry and the Planning Commission. This is with a view to ensure that the resources which have been calculated while drawing up of the plan are indeed spent over schemes/projects etc. which are included in the Plan. This, in fact, would ensure that on-going schemes/projects are completed expeditiously and the resources earmarked for them are not spread over a large number of other schemes resulting in neither the on-going schemes being productive, nor the new ones progressing satisfactorily due to subcritical investment.
(ii) It is essential that for each scheme/project included in the Sixth Plan, whether in the State sector or in the Central sector, a firm time-table is drawn up consisting at least of the following major components:
(a) The date on which the project report will be firmed up taking into account various parameters specified in the Plan.
(b) The dates on which the sanctioning authority, whether it is the State Government or the Central Government (as the case may be) will be ready with the formal sanction separately in respect of each of the schemes/ projects, whether it is in the industrial, irrigation, power, education, transport or any other sector of the national economy.
(c) The dates on which different contracts for various schemes/projects will be finalised and the contract documents signed.
After these critical landmarks are determined, which may be called the pre-implementation stages of each of the projects/schemes, the Departments/organisations concerned with the implementation of the Plan should be under an obligation and made responsible
89
90
to adhere to the time table as determined in the above formulations.
(iii) In order to ensure that the time table as mentioned above is strictly adhered to, the delegation of authority for investment decisions, clearance, of contracts etc. should be considerably enhanced, and indeed a good deal of trust be placed on those who are directly responsible for implementing the, schemes/ projects etc. included in the Plan.
(iv) After determining the exact date of physical start-up of the projects, a PERT network should be drawn up for each scheme/project, no matter in what discipline such a scheme or project exists, and the end date of the completion of the scheme be determined. After this end date has been determined, there should be no revision backwards of the end date, and all performance should be judged against the final targets.
(v) Experience gained over the last thirty years has shown that it would be highly desirable that before a project is included in the Plan and later on taken up for implementation, a very detailed examination of the scheme/project be undertaken. Detailed site investigations, geological investigations, testing of raw materials, technology assessment, etc. should be undertaken in all cases. Expenditures on these investigations are very necessary and should be sanctioned liberally.
(vi) With regard to major projects in the field of industry, power, irrigation, etc. a good deal of controversy tends to surround matters like exact location, choice of technology etc. The time taken to resolve these controversies is inordinately long and the economy loses very valuable benefits in the meantime. It is necessary, therefore, that the procedures used for resolving these controversies are simplified and made expeditious.
(vii) Public sector projects funded from the budget have to obtain funds on an annual basis. Under our budgetary procedures, unutilised funds have to lapse towards the end of the financial year. The possibility of funding on a long term basis, at least in critical sectors, will have to be examined as against the present system of annual funding. This will avoid delay in the implementation of projects.
(viii) Persons responsible for the implementation of the Plan should be made to feel a sense of involvement in fulfilling of the Plan targets. Every impediment which thwarts initiative and sense of expedition in operating the Plan schemes ought to be removed. For this purpose, the existing procedure would need a very careful examination so that proper formulations are drawn up quickly, and implemented.
(ix) Experience has shown that when the project is undertaken, and even before the first phase of the project has been completed, expansion schemes have been introduced with the result that neither the objectives of the first phase were achieved, nor the various expansion projects which were loaded on to the original projects were productive. Such arrangements have also resulted in considerable time and cost overruns as also financial resources originally envisaged have seldom been achieved. It has also diluted responsibility. It would, therefore, be imperative that no expansion projects should be, taken up unless the original project is completed, and is fully stabilised, and has given the desired results both in regard to the physical and fiscal performance.
(x) Project consultanty and design engineering organisations in the country would need considerable strengthening in such disciplines and type of projects where such consultancy organisations do not exist. Proper consultancy organisations would need to be developed and, if necessary, financed in the initial stages by the Government. The requisite expertise where it is not available in the country could be drawn from amongst highly experienced and motivated Indians abroad. In fact, such Indians who are abroad and who are capable to set up consultancy organisations in India should be encouraged by way of financial incentive and other measures.
IMPLEMENTATION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME 8.4 While the problems of project preparation and execution in the sectors of industry, power, transport and the like are capable of being dealt with broadly within the present administrative structure i.e. through public sector organisations adopting the methods and practices suggested above, there is need for a major modification of the administrative arrangements for the implementation of rural development and employment programmes. It will be necessary to identify the deficiencies encountered in different States and areas and take corrective action to strengthen the arrangements. Some broad areas of action in this respect are indicated below:
Employment 8.5 Detailed micro-level planning of manpower development and employment generation, to start with at the district level, has been suggested. The District Manpower Planning and Employment Generation Councils mill be effective in discharging their mandate only if adequate professional back-up for making a realistic assessment of the opportunities for salaries, wage and self-employment is available. The cost-return-risk structure of self-employment enterprises will have to be carefully worked out and individual and group self- employment promoted. The Employment Exchanges in the district will have to provide the necessary data input and all the professional and credit institutions in the area will have to be harnessed in finding a meaningful solution to the problem of unemployment both among the educated and illiterate. This will call for non-formal staffing patterns involving the employment of part or full-time consultants drawn from academic and voluntary organisations and other appropriate agencies in the district. The proliferation of formal staff should be kept to the minimum and local people employed to the maximum possible extent in the creation and utilisation of assets of value to the local community.
91
Rural Development 8.6 The rural development programme during the Sixth Plan period will cover all the blocks of the country so that every block can develop its potential for growth according to the genius and efforts of the people and the resources of the block. The IRDP programme envisages a household approach to the alleviation of poverty. This will involve a considerable restructuring of input delivery systems. The "Training and Visit system" of extension already introduced in agriculture provides a methodology for organising visits by extension personnel to all families in the area at least once in a fortnight and for arranging for the timely supply of the needed inputs. Similarly, credit-cum-input supply means can help the economically weaker sec- tions of the rural community to get credit in the form of the inputs for which the credit is intended without bureaucratic delays. Economic emancipation of the family, education of children and the voluntary adoption of the small family norm are the three principal components of the household centred poverty alleviation strategy. This calls for horizontal coordination among the agencies dealing with agriculture and village industries, education and other minimum needs, health and family welfare. The block level administration will have to be so structured that the desired degree of horizontal coordination is achieved. Obviously, this task is a difficult one; fortunately however, the necessary infrastructure for successfully implementing this programme already exists. What is needed is a determined effort to put all the pieces together and to measure the progress made in rural development, among other things by the extent of reduction in poverty and in the drain of resources from the village to the city.
Agriculture. 8.7 Organisations of relevant services which would help small and marginal farmers and sharecroppers to derive economic benefits from new technology and diversification of farm income through mixed farming, agro-industries and small scale industries are two of the major thrusts of the agricultural Plan. The effective implementation of this programme will call for greater efforts in the field of scientific land and water use planning and in linking production with processing storage and marketing Improved management through a flood of cash and non-cash inputs will have to be achieved. Both internal and external markets will have to be properly served through well- planned linkages between co-operative marketing federations, Civil Supplies Corporations and foreign trade agencies. Structured linkages involving forward planning will have to be developed among the concerned agencies. Scientific management of agriculture will require a highly orchestrated effort in policy formulation and implementation on the part of the agencies concerned with the development of packages of technology, services and public policies. Both at the State and national levels, this aspect will have to receive attention if the desired growth rates in agricultural production and exports are to be achieved.
Irrigation 8.8 The maximisation of production and income from every available litre of water will be one of the important objectives of the Plan. This will call for detailed attention to on-farm management of water jointly by the farmers in the command area of an irrigation project and the project authorities. Command area management in irrigated areas, watershed management in unirrigated areas and catchment area management in the catchments of major river systems will all have to be designed in such a manner that the people concerned and the administration can work together as partners in elevating and stabilising yields without damage to the eco-system.
Small and Village Industries 8.9 Next to agriculture, the small and village industries sector provides the major avenue of employment in rural and semi-urban areas. The management of the various enterprises in this sector through detailed attention to (a) the supply of raw material in adequate quantity and of proper quality, (b) design improvement on the basis of analysis of preferences of consumers both in the home and foreign markets, (c) skill upgradation, (d) energy supply and (e) producer- oriented marketing will all demand a much greater management and organisational input into this sector than hitherto. In this sector also, extension and training methods based on the T & V system could be introduced. This sector in particular will provide opportunities for group self-employment and for home employment for women and will hence be vital for improving the income of families without land and/or livestock assets.
Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes 8.10 Since the special Central assistance has been introduced for the first time, concerted efforts will be needed for preparing worthwhile projects. The Development departments and the Scheduled Caste Deve- lopment Corporations need to work closely. Unless the requisite degree of coordinated effort can be generated, it will be difficult to fulfil the objectives of the Special Component Plan.
Tribal Sub-Plans 8.11 Several authorities have adversely commented on the introduction of a complex system of administration and new laws and rules for tribal society which was formerly used to a very simple administration. The present distinction made between regulatory and developmental administration has led to a multiplicity of authorities with whom they have to deal and causes confusion and mistrust among them. These activities need to be combined and brought within the purview of the
92
integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDP) and extended to the village level. The Project Administrator, ITDP should combine in himself the quasijudicial and revenue powers of an additional District Magistrate and the Additional Collector. The relationship between the Block and the ITDP should be clear with the Project Administration having full control over the Block Development Officer, the Block should be an integral part of the commandchair which may be State- Division-District-ITDPBlock-Gram Panchayat-Village. The Public Distribution System should function through LAMPS (Large Area Multipurpose Cooperatives) organised at the village market level and under the supervision and control of the Project Administration. Other appropriate devices like the organisation of mobile fair price shops operating both on a cash and barter basis will have to be introduced to prevent the tribal from being exploited by the traditional market system.
Anti-poverty Programmes 8.12 The organisational framework of anti-poverty programme calls for careful planning on the basis of the socio-cultural and socioeconomic features of each area. If greater decentralisation is to be achieved so that programmes are made responsive to local problems, needs and potentials, district and block level implementing agencies will have to be given much greater flexibility. Greater use of such institutional devices as registered societies or corporations at the district level offer a means of accomplishing this. These agencies should be given greater freedom to reallocate funds in accordance with local priorities and even to innovate new programmes as long as these subserve objectives already agreed upon. Greater flexibility in recruitment will also be required so as to facilitate the induction not only of short-term consultants for specific tasks but of young professionals including social scientists keen to participate in rural development. This will serve to strengthen the analytical capabilities of rural development agencies, an area they tend to be weak at present. The effective organisation of a Rural Resource Corps consisting of professionally qualified youth will also help to bridge the growing gap between professionals in the modern, mostly urban, anti the rural sector. The governing body of these agencies could serve as a forum for the direct representation of target group beneficiaries. Such representation will help to prevent the frustration of the distributional objectives of these programmes. The representation of local credit, educational and voluntary agencies on these bodies would facilitate coordination and encourage wider public participation.
8.13 It should be recognised that anti-poverty programmes need to be projectised to the extent possible. This will facilitate appraisal, phasing coordination, monitoring and all the other com- ponents of successful programme management and implementation. Thus it is not enough to distribute milch cattle without simultaneously organising marketing, providing health cover and artificial insemination services, promoting fodder cultivation and organising fodder and feed banks. Project appraisal techniques, network and survey methods are just a few examples of tools and techniques that need to be simplified in a responsible manner so that they can be placed within the reach of district level planners and managers. They need to be made relevant to the day-to-day experience of district level personnel and to the type of project planning and management tasks our rural development will increasingly throw up. All this calls for a systematic and comprehensive programme of training of district level planners and managers, a task which State Planning machinery and research institutions could undertake.