The Planning Development & Monitoring Department is interdisciplinary in nature and acts as a nodal agency to look after the implementation of planning process in the UT . The main objective of the Planning Department is to redress all inter-regional and inter-district imbalances in developmental process and ensure equitable share of all regions/districts in speedy implementation of various developmental programs. The decentralized planning introduced in the UT as a part of ‘Single Line Administration’ ultimately aims at providing an opportunity to the people of the UT to decide their destiny for economic development. The department is entrusted with very important assignments which mostly comprise of the formulation of annual plans, five year plans, midterm appraisals, project appraisals, conduct of evaluation studies, preparation of monitoring reports on monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, conduct of district developmental board meetings and maintaining active liaison with the Government of India, especially with the Planning Commission. The Planning Development & Monitoring Department through its Directorate of Economics and Statistics is publishing a series of publications like Digest of Statistics (on annual plans), Indicators of Economic Development, Indicators of Regional Development, J&K in Indian Economy, Economic Review etc. These publications contain bulk of information on all the aspects of the UT economy and provide a sound database for the planners, research scholars and the Government. Besides detailed evaluation studies of the works/programmes executed are conducted by the Directorate and also by its regional and district offices. During the year 2006-07, Planning Department introduced “Pre-Budget Economic Survey 2006-07” for the first time which has now become a regular feature. The Department is keeping an account of all the Centrally Sponsored Schemes especially of the ones where the funding pattern is shared between the UT and the Central Government. The Planning Development & Monitoring Department also endeavours to ensure that the UT matching share for all the Centrally Sponsored Schemes is provided in full. All the District Development Board (DDB) meetings are conducted by the Planning Development & Monitoring Department. The implementation of Cabinet cum District Development Board (DDCB)/DDB decisions is also monitored by the Department. The Planning Department has its Planning Cells in all the developmental departments which look after the implementation and monitoring of the plans of the concerned departments. Besides, it has a good network of Planning Officers who are posted in the districts as Chief Planning Officers and District Statistical officers. They are responsible for the entire planning process at the district level. All this makes the planning process very vibrant and enables the Government to have a reliable database right from the grass root level to the UT headquarters, thereby rendering the process of plan formulation, monitoring and its evaluation effective and successful. Moreover, there is a Plan Information and Monitoring Division and a Project Appraisal Division in the Planning Department which also conduct field inspections, appraisals, and evaluation etc. Planning Development & Monitoring Department scrutinizes the schemes, programmes and record its concurrence for accord of Administrative Approvals. Concurrence of Planning Development & Monitoring Department is also indispensable for creation of plan posts.
