Panel to prepare roadmap to end trade barriers

NEW DELHI: AN empowered committee of the National Development Council, chaired by Prime Minister AB Vajpayee, will prepare a roadmap for removal of trade barriers and creation of an integrated economic space in the country.
The 22-member committee of central ministers and chief ministers, one of the four announced by the PM at the NDC meeting on December 21, ‘02, will also consider repealing the Essential Commodities Act 1955 and replacing it with an emergency Act that can be applied by notification for a limited period.
The terms of reference of this committee also include identification and removal of unnecessary restrictions/control orders inhibiting trade in agriculture and retailing, and identification and removal of barriers and restrictions on inter-state as well as intra-state movement of commercial vehicles, including those arising from municipal jurisdictions.
In other words, the committee headed by the PM, will review cascading taxes like octroi that impede efficiency and segment the national market. This would complement the move by states to switch over to value-added taxation.
The empowered committee will also lay down operational modalities for exercise of retained roles by the police, tax authorities and municipal authorities in regulating the flow of goods and vehicles, to ensure that unnecessary impediments do not arise. The committee comprises the Planning Commission deputy chairman, Union ministers of agriculture, commerce and industry, consumer affairs, food and public distribution, finance and company affairs, law and justice, road transport and highways, tourism and culture, urban development and poverty alleviation and the minister of state for home affairs, apart from the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The Planning Commission secretary has been appointed convenor and the revenue secretary as co-convenor of this committee.
Planning Commission deputy chairman KC Pant, briefing reporters on the setting up of the committees, said he expected the decisions taken by these committee would be implemented by the central and state governments to reduce inefficiencies and costs in movement of services.
Mr Pant added that the states’ cooperation was essential for implementation of the decisions of the empowered committee, and with state chief ministers as members, he did not foresee any problems in translating decisions into action on the ground.
The sub-committees are expected to begin work soon, although no time-frame has been fixed for completion of their work. All sub-committees are required to meet at least once every quarter and as often as required.
Another empowered committee chaired by deputy Prime Minister LK Advani will consider issues pertaining to governance reforms, with special reference to e-governance. The committee will conceptualise a strategy to enable government departments to transact their business in a responsive, effective, transparent, accountable and ‘citizen-centric’ manner. The 22-member committee headed by the deputy PM will also consider rationalisation of centrally-sponsored schemes and central sector schemes using zero-based budgeting.
The third committee chaired by commerce and industry minister Arun Jaitley will identify major controls and procedures which discourages investments. It will provide a time-bounded action plan to dismantle such barriers, simplify interface between investors and regulatory agencies. It will also evolve a comprehensive framework of policies, procedures and regulations to facilitate investments, including measures to incentivise the states.
The fourth committee chaired by minister for rural development will review the action taken by the state governments for empowerment of Panchayati Raj institutions as per the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, so that they can function as effective institutions of the local self-government. This committee will also work out modalities for strengthening the financial domain of the PRIs through transfer of resources from the Centre and the state governments.