The Uttarakhand government has replaced the State Planning Commission with SETU. It may be recalled that recently, the cabinet had approved a proposal to replace the planning commission with SETU. In place of the State Planning Commission, the Governor has now approved the formation of a ‘State Institute for Empowering and Transforming Uttarakhand’ (SETU) on the lines of NITI Aayog at the Centre. Orders in this regard were issued yesterday by Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram. This is ostensibly to achieve the goal of Strong Uttarakhand @ 2025.
The Government has claimed that SETU will prepare an agenda to fulfil the social and personal aspirations of the citizens for development and welfare. It will work towards fulfilment of public needs and also ensure greater people’s participation in development. SETU will include representation from all groups and sections of society in order to achieve equality of opportunities for the youth of the state.
The government has further claimed that SETU will also strive to achieve sustainable development while saving the environment and will ensure transparency by using technology to make government accountable. SETU will also lay emphasis on coordination, community participation and networking for efficient and effective utilisation of state resources. SETU will work like a think tank in the policy and planning functions of the state government. Its chairperson will be the chief minister. Along with this, the planning minister will also be appointed as Deputy Chairperson with three advisors.
