Planning Commission Lots Down NDC

Planning Commission Lots Down NDC IN THEORY the National Development Council is the highest policymaking body on planning; in practice its meetings turn out to be sparring sessions between the States and the Centre. For last week's meeting, the setting was particularly inauspicious. Only weeks ago three of the non-Congress Governments formed after the elections had toppled in quick succession. The Chief Minister of Kerala was explicit enough at the NDC meeting to say that the Central Government's political approach had not inspired in non-Congress Governments the confidence that they could expect justice and fairplay from the Centre, but similar doubts could not have been very far from the thoughts of the other non-Congress Chief Minis- sters present in New Delhi.