Seven years after it began, has the People's Plan Campaign turned GPDPs into needs-based plans, or are they still lists of schemes? Critically analyse.

Article 243G empowers Panchayats to prepare plans for economic development and social justice. The People's Plan Campaign (PPC), "Sabki Yojana, Sabka Vikas", has been held every 2 October since 2018 to put this power into practice [2]. The record is mixed. The campaign has built scale and a planning process, but many GPDPs still look like lists of schemes.

Gains: towards needs-based planning

• Scale: 17.73 lakh GPDPs, 35,755 BPDPs and 3,469 DPDPs have been prepared. They cover the 29 Eleventh Schedule subjects [2].
• Participation: SHGs prepare Village Prosperity and Resilience Plans, which are merged into GPDPs. Frontline workers take part in structured Gram Sabhas [2]. The 2021 relaunch focused on inclusive, holistic plans [3].
• Outcome focus: the Panchayat Advancement Index now guides planning. The 17 SDGs are grouped into nine local themes [2].
• Digital review: Gram Sabhas review past plans on eGramSwaraj, Meri Panchayat App and Panchayat NIRNAY [2].

Gaps: why plans still resemble scheme lists

• Persistent drift: the PPC 2026–27 guidance still has to insist that GPDPs reflect people's needs, not just the schemes or funds available. The problem has clearly not gone away [1].
• Execution gap: the 2025–26 campaign had to prioritise unfinished works tied to unspent Central Finance Commission grants [2].
• Fiscal dependence: Panchayats raise little own revenue, so their plans follow tied funds. In 2024, several States still had no rules empowering PRIs to raise revenue [6]. The 16th Finance Commission's Rs 4,35,236 crore award for 2026–31 now links performance grants to OSR [1].
• Federal limits: the Model OSR Rules are only advisory, so whether they are adopted depends on the States [5].
• Capacity deficit: Panchayats lack planning skills and local data. PM VGSY (Rs 7,395.55 crore, 2026–31) now funds capacity building and timely GPDPs [4].

Overall, the PPC has institutionalised the process of participatory planning, but the content of many plans has not caught up. Three steps can turn GPDPs from scheme catalogues into genuine people's plans: OSR-linked grants, State adoption of the Model OSR Rules, and PM VGSY's capacity push. That would fulfil the spirit of the 73rd Amendment and help localise the SDGs.