Tamil Nadu government mulling over abolition of State Planning Commission
The Tamil Nadu government is considering abolishing the State Planning Commission in favor of using subject-specific expert committees for policy guidance. This move follows a history of administrative restructuring within the state's development advisory bodies.
Why it matters
This shift represents a significant change in how state-level economic and development policies are formulated, moving away from permanent bodies toward flexible, expert-led task forces.
It is likely to be curtains for the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission (SPC), a body formed 55 years ago.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam-led government has not filled the posts of Vice-Chairperson and full-time members of the SPC after the resignation of the team appointed by the previous DMK government. By convention, the incumbent Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay, is the ex-officio Chairperson of the SPC. The Chief Secretary (M. Sai Kumar) and the Finance Secretary (M. A. Siddique) are ex-officio members. At present, the body has only an IAS officer as the Member-Secretary.
The idea is “to abolish” the concept of the Planning Commission, says a senior official. As its “only contribution” is to provide policy inputs, the government is considering subject-specific committees of experts, he says.
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