Parliamentary panel raps Planning Commission

In a scathing attack on Planning Commission for "going beyond its original mandate", a House panel today asked it to "confine" itself to planning and allocation of funds and refrain from commenting on engineering and technical aspects of projects.
Slamming the Planning Commission for imposing "western models" for concessionaire agreements for road projects, the Parliamentary panel has asked for reformulation of the document to suit the local conditions, in consultations with the
Road Transport and Highways Ministry.
"The model concession agreement (MCA) made by the Planning Commission is not suitable for India. Bidders are not coming to take up projects. There was no response for 13 bids invited by the NHAI last year," Sitaram Yechury, Chairman of Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, said addressing the media here.

"The Committee feels that the Commission's overbearing attitude was causing unease amongst the lines of Ministries/Departments," the report tabled in Parliament said.
To the dismay of the Committee, the Planning Commission, instead of promoting and facilitating highways construction, is "exceeding its brief", the report said.
The panel asked the Commission to examine the documents concerning any project prepared by ministries, just as the Departments of Law and Expenditures do.
The Committee also asked the Commission to "refrain from commenting upon engineering and technical aspects" and "confine itself to planning and allocation/management of resources only.