Talking to mediapersons here on Monday, Mani made it clear that it was essential that a new Planning Board, which would function efficiently and in an unbiased manner, should be constituted forthwith.

There was no point in merely rehashing the panel by including representatives of those who have preferred resent, because the allegations raised by one of the constituent parties of the LDF are so serious.

The Government should hold an impartial inquiry into the affairs of the present panel. The crisis of development in the state had arisen from the bid by the CPM to politicise the Planning Board. The system of panchayati raj and People's Plan had its essence in the form of freedom for the three-tier panchayats to evolve its schemes.

Nowblock-level, district-level and state-level expert committees nominated by the state government are ruling over the elected representatives at various levels.

The CPI has now pointed out that resource persons at the district-level have been selected unilaterally. The resource persons are either the CPM votaries or their pathfollowers. They are all involving themselves in party campaign at the expense of the Plan process. All those resource persons appointed illegally should be terminated.

The amounts for this year's Plan in the three-tier panchayat are about to lapse. The first instalment of the funds was given during the ninth month of the year. The projects to be implemented in one year cannot be commissioned in three months. A Plan holiday is inevitable this year also.

The Planning Board has not been able to approve the proposals put forward by the respective implementation committees. The State Plan could not assume clarity even during the third year of the Ninth Plan.

The Government should callit a day in the wake of the assertion made by the leading partner of the LDF that its Government had lost direction, Mani demanded.