Deputy Chairman of planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that the commission is not so powerful as to ensure implementation of all the planned programmes and passed the blame on to state governments for the jobs not done.

Montek lamented that the plan expenditure didn't benefit the needy at the end of a two-day national consultation on the “mid-term appraisal of the 11th five-year plan” initiated by the Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) in New Delhi on Friday. “While progress has been made, this is not enough. Growth constitutes just three percent of planning, which should be part of an inclusive process where the voices of many should be heard," he said.

Shifting the blame on the state governments, he said states decide the policies and it was for the local bodies to ensure implementation of the programmes.

The deputy chairman said pressure should be exerted on the state governments to implement planning commission's programmes, especially those relating to the social schemes for dalits, adivasis, women, minorities, children and the differently-abled. Montek said, “We are not unaware of these problems, but the planning commission is not that powerful." He pointed out that the 11th five-year plan focussed on "inclusive growth".

"When the state is governed well, the job is well done", Montek said and insisted that the five-year plan was just an inspirational document.

The consultation programme organised by the WNTA is a first of its kind in which an attempt is being made to give voice to the people in policy planning. Several civil society groups and individuals participated to express their concerns on various issues.