• Issues and Challenge
  
  • In the NEXT Five Year Plan there has to be rigorous assembling of available data and facilitation of its analysis at the grass root level so that the developmental priorities could be arrived to adopt the best course of action for attaining the developmental objectives. This calls for evolving local norms and best practices for prioritising problems and choosing optional solution from a range of alternatives.
  
  
  • The quality of participation needs to be widened and deepened. Conscious efforts have to be made to ensure that every section of society participates in the Grama Sabhas and Ward Sabhas and takes active part in discussions and dialogues in identifying and prioritising development issues, and in suggesting the optimum solution. Such discussions need to move beyond a neighbourhood or local focus to a local government.
  
  
  • Local Governments must harness the services of best experts available in the plan preparation process. Different development departments of Government and the Local Governments will jointly ensure that every official of deputed to Local Governments plays an active part in the plan preparation process.
  
  
  
  • As regards the type of plans, the focus has to shift to bringing about local economic development and improving the quality of public services with sharp focus on the poor and the marginalized. This calls for avoidance of small, wasteful projects and thin spread of resources and helps in preparation of programmes and projects having significant development impact covering large population and areas. Also careful planning is essential to achieve integration across sectors and along tiers of Local Governments as well as boundaries. This approach implies a common plan preparation process for all and schemes implemented through Local Governments including Central Sector, Centrally Sponsored and State Schemes.
    
    The Plans of individual Local Governments should organically merge into a District Plan emanating from a shared vision of development. This calls for an interactive process under the leadership of the District Planning Unit and State authorities.