Plan & Planning in Iran

The present article studies and analyses plan and planning in Iran with respect to parameters of the idea of formation, birth, objectives, strategy and its functioning. Iran has half-a-century record of planning, and has implemented 7 constructional and developmental plans so far (5 plans before and 2 plans after the Revolution). Right now, Iran is implementing her third developmental plan. Two 7-year first and second plans have not been implemented comprehensively without any objective of quantitative development, but only in the form of a complex projects upon the framework of indices of resource allocation. Before the Revolution the Third, Fourth and Fifth Plans were achieved with an average annual growth of 8.5, 13.1 and 16.3 per cent in gross national product. Following the Revolution, Iran had no planning for 11 years (1978-1989). The First Developmental Plan (1989-1993) which had been prepared and implemented with the objective of reconstruction, water, electricity, gas and service sectors had a considerable growth but the rest of the sectors did not achieve the pre-determined objectives. The Second Developmental Plan was prepared and implemented with the objective of social justice and increase in productivity. The results were a significant growth in building sector but other sectors did not achieve their respective objectives. On one side, regional planning and development appeared from the Second Development Plan onwards in Iran before 1979 and special attention has been paid to the regional development plan in the two plans of the post-revolution. Iranian Development plans before and after the revolution was dependent on oil incomes and couldn’t afford to balance national income among the ten groups of the population.