MARGAO: After nearly four years, the South Goa District Planning Committee (DPC) has finally convened its meeting to discuss the District Development Plan (DDPs).
It may be recalled that in the past, concerns were raised about the failure of the DPC to submit the District Development Plan (DDP), which meant local bodies missed out on potential funds it would have received from the government and the fact that DPC has already missed multiple deadlines.
It may be recalled that the last time the DPC had met was four years ago when former South Goa Zilla Panchayat (SGZP) Chairperson Navnath Naik held the post, but that meeting ended abruptly without any outcome. The opposition MLAs had then criticized the State government for not providing the required manpower.
Now, at the meeting, scheduled for December 13 at 11 am at the South Goa District Collectorate, the committee will go over the compilation of Village Development Plans (VDPs) received by the SGZP as well as the development plans of the municipalities in South Goa. All of these will be used to draft and finalize a consolidated DDP, which would then be sent to the government for consideration.
Due to the delay in obtaining the annual plans from the panchayat and municipal bodies located, the DPC will be preparing the DDP for the 2024-25 financial year and not the present financial year.
Incidentally, at the time when notices were being sent to DPC members, only the panchayat bodies had submitted their annual plans to the SGZP, whereas the municipal bodies were yet to send in their plans.
While the municipalities have been urged to expedite this task, in the event they do not send in their plans before the December 13 meeting, the final DDP will only be sent to the government after the plans from the municipalities are received and later incorporated into the DDP.
It is to be noted that the SGZP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the ex-officio member of the DPC, and the MLAs and MPs of South Goa are also part of this committee. Elected representatives such as the chairpersons of the municipalities and SGZP are expected to attend the meeting.
It may be recalled that SGZP Chairperson Suvarna Tendulkar had sent repeated reminders to panchayats to send in their VDPs.
Goa Panchayati Raj Institutions (GPRI) Convenor, J Santan Rodrigues, expressed optimism that the DPC members will attend the meeting and actively participate in formulating the DDP. Emphasizing the constitutional mandate of the DPC and its crucial role in planning, GPRI has consistently urged timely DPC sessions, yet his efforts have faced challenges. Rodrigues added that he hopes the much-delayed DPC meeting will contribute to effective planning as outlined in the constitution and not turn out to be a hollow exercise instead defeating its purpose.
