PATNA, July 6 -- The Bihar government has decided to restructure its long-dormant State Planning Board and replace it with a more dynamic, professional body modelled on the Centre's NITI Aayog. Chief minister Samrat Choudhary has personally directed senior officials to move swiftly on the overhaul, aiming to create a robust institution that can drive evidence-based policymaking and decentralised growth across the state, officials said. The move revives a planning architecture that dates back more than five decades. The Bihar State Planning Board was originally constituted on March 3, 1972, to accelerate planned development, optimise human and material resources and work towards a more equitable social order. Over the years, however, the body had become largely defunct, its role diminished amid shifting governance priorities. Speaking at a high-level review meeting of the planning and development department recently, CM Choudhary made it clear that the new commission would go well beyond drafting schemes. "The commission will prepare a roadmap for Bihar's long-term development, monitor implementation of development schemes, improve inter-departmental coordination and provide policy suggestions from time to time," he said. The proposed body is expected to be chaired by the chief minister himself, with relevant ministers as members, a senior serving officer as member-secretary and domain experts drawn from various fields. It will function under the planning and development department. Additional chief secretary of the department N Vijaya Lakshmi, confirmed that work is already underway on the fundamentals of the new commission. "The existing planning board, which is lying defunct, will be reconstituted on the pattern of NITI Aayog in such a way that it helps the state government strategise developmental initiatives and power its growth," she told HT. "The body will have a dedicated chief executive officer (CEO) and experts drawn from various fields as members to devise ways for pushing development." Vijaya Lakshmi added that once a draft proposal is finalised, it will be placed before the state cabinet for approval. The restructuring also aligns with broader directions from the Central government encouraging states to set up their own planning commissions. At the Centre, NITI Aayog-established in 2015 to replace the erstwhile Planning Commission-has carved out a role as the government's premier policy think tank. It focuses on designing long-term strategic frameworks, fostering cooperative federalism by involving states in national planning, monitoring programme outcomes, promoting innovation and encouraging competitive federalism through state rankings and best-practice sharing. Bihar's new commission is expected to mirror many of these functions at the state level. The new commission will be engaged in crafting district- and block-specific budgets tailored to local needs, ensuring rigorous monitoring and evaluation of schemes and breaking silos between departments. Choudhary emphasised that every district and block should soon have its own budget, reflecting ground realities rather than a one-size-fits-all approach from Patna. He also directed officials to create an online portal for MLAs and MLCs to enhance transparency and oversight of constituency-level works. The chief minister set an ambitious timeline, linking the exercise to Bihar's 125th foundation anniversary in 2037. "We need to prepare a long-term vision of a 'developed Bihar' by 2037," he said, describing it as a historic milestone that demands clear, data-driven planning and quality execution of projects-from the Chief Minister's Rural Development Scheme and MP/MLA local area development funds to panchayati raj institutions and urban missions. Senior officials noted that the new commission would play a pivotal role in weather-related forecasting and disaster preparedness, daily dissemination of information to representatives and ensuring that development benefits reach the last mile. By prioritising quality, timely implementation and inter-departmental synergy, the government hopes to address longstanding challenges of uneven growth and resource leakage....