G.O.Ms.No.15, Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Tamil Nadu, 2017

What the document does

Government Order G.O.Ms.No.15, dated 21 March 2017, creates an administrative structure for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in Tamil Nadu. The Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Department states that the goals cover 17 goals and 169 targets, with some targets intended for achievement by 2020 and the rest by 2030.

The government had prepared a draft mapping of the goals and targets against State and Central Government schemes. The purpose was to support faster field implementation of programmes and achievement of the related targets.

High Power Committee

The High Power Committee oversees implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Its composition includes:

• The Chief Secretary as Chairman.
• The Principal Secretary of the Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Department as Member-Secretary.
• Principal Secretaries or Secretaries responsible for rural development, health, social welfare, industries, environment, home, agriculture and school education as members.

Working Groups and responsibilities

Eight Working Groups are constituted under the Secretaries of the relevant nodal departments. The annexure assigns groups to subjects including poverty and hunger, health and sanitation, education, women and inequality, industrialisation and sustainable development, sustainable consumption, and environment and climate.

Their main responsibilities include:

• Mapping goals and targets.
• Developing measurable indicators for each target.
• Preparing baseline data using 2015-16 as the reference year.
• Preparing a Vision 2030 document for each goal.
• Building the capacity of implementing departments.
• Collecting data and reviewing progress periodically.
• Coordinating departments and evaluating programmes.
• Meeting once every three months and submitting status reports.
• Preparing an annual progress report.

Secretaries of nodal departments must also send periodic progress reports to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, and the National Institution for Transforming India Aayog.

Relevance to land and property

Government Order G.O.Ms.No.15 does not prescribe procedures for land ownership, transfer, registration or development. The Revenue Department participates in several Working Groups, including those dealing with poverty, inequality, sustainable development, and environment and climate. Property owners and buyers are therefore not given any direct obligation by the document, although future programmes coordinated through these groups could involve revenue, environmental or land administration departments.