Convergence Planning is a strategic approach by the government to align various programmes, schemes and departments to achieve a common goal of sustainable development and poverty alleviation. It is a key function of the Planning & Convergence Department of the Odisha government. In fact, Odisha is the first state to have a convergence department, having renamed the Planning & Coordination Department as Planning and Convergence Department a few years ago. It’s not merely a cosmetic change of name, but the priority of the government in achieving convergence in the planning process.
The key aspects of convergence are as follows:
* Inter-departmental collaboration: The main objective is to bring together different government departments, agencies and non-governmental organisations to work in synergy.
* Resource optimisation: The process focuses on the strategic utilisation of human, material and financial resources from various programmes to avoid duplication of efforts and maximise impact.
* Livelihood promotion: A significant focus is on programmes related to poverty alleviation, livelihood promotion, and the development of agriculture, horticulture, and animal resources.
* Decentralised planning: This approach emphasises the preparation of annual action plans at the grassroots level, such as the Gram Panchayat, which are then integrated into plans of the respective line departments.
* Specific policies: The Planning & Convergence Department has issued guidelines for various schemes to facilitate this process, including the MGNREGA, District Mineral Foundation Trust Fund, OMBaDC, MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme), and MLALADS (Members of the Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Scheme) etc.
The basic concept is to pull the existing resources and prepare development plans in such a manner that there will be no scope of overlapping of various schemes intended for the same set of beneficiaries and effective use of the resources.
Convergence can happen in various ways — convergence of funds, convergence of human resources etc. Consider the example of a plantation project in a village. The pits can be dug out of MGNRGA funds, the saplings can be provided by the Horticulture Department or Forest Department, the Gram Panchayat can take up the upkeep and maintenance of the plants. This is how a convergence model works. Since different stakeholders are involved, it will foster transparency and accountability. Each department will have its responsibility to ensure success of the project. If the government departments show interest in implementing convergence model of planning, it will be beneficial for the state.