First step taken on power devolution to panchayats: Aiyar

New Delhi, Jan 12 (UNI) Considerable success has been achieved towards taking the first step in the devolution of power to panchayats with the states having nearly completed activity mapping, Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Mani Shankar Aiyar here today said.

Mr Aiyar was talking to newspersons after attending the fifth meeting of the Empowered Sub-Committee of the National Development Council on the financial and administrative empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRIs).

He said the Empowered Sub-Committee had broadly four agendas to discuss, which include the Action Taken Report in respect of decisions taken in the meeting of the NDC Empowered Sub-Committee convened in June 2006 and September 2006.

The other issue discussed was the implementation of the Planning Commission circular on District Planning dated August 25, 2006.

Mr Aiyar said they had completed all the terms of reference relating to the activity mapping wherein a broad decision had been taken that all activity maps should be ready by May 31 this year.

The states which had completed Activity Mapping and notified it were Karnataka, Kerala, Sikkim and West Bengal.

He said some states were ready with the Maps but were yet to issue notificaion. These were Haryana and Orissa. In a large number of states, technical work with regard to Activity Mapping had been completed, but final okay was yet to be given. These states were Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Asom, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

Technical level mapping was still in progress in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh.

''I am satisfied with the progress of work in Activity Mapping,'' Mr Aiyar said and hoped by mid-2007, the notification and implementation part would be over.

UNI