SHIMLA: The chairman of the 16th Finance Commission of India, Arvind Panagariya, said that the share of a state cannot be looked at in isolation by the Commission. The chairman was addressing the media in Shimla on Monday.
Answering media questions about a green bonus for Himachal Pradesh under the special category, he said that Himachal’s share cannot be seen in isolation. “Himachal Pradesh’s share can’t be seen in isolation. There are 28 states in the country. It is definitely within the purview of the Commission”, Arvind Panagariya said. The green bonus is compensation from the central government for the ‘environmental services’ provided by the state.
He further added, “It is too early in the tenure of the 16th Finance Commission to say anything as this is a very big task which is for five years to make recommendations on, first of all, the total tax revenues of the central government that will be divided between the central government and the states and then how the shares of states, taken together, will be divided among the states”.
The chairman also mentioned that the state government had given a detailed presentation of 90 slides, which lasted for three hours. He said meetings with the state government were cordial. The team of the 16th Finance Commission is in Shimla on its three-day visit, and Himachal Pradesh is the first state that the Commission has started its consultation visit.
During the meeting, the state government also raised its concerns and took up issues with the hope of getting Himachal Pradesh under a special category state. The Chief Minister of the state, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, demanded the state be included in the special category.
He said, “The hill states should be kept under special consideration in 41 per cent taxes share. We have a higher cost of construction; the parameters of the plain will not be applicable in the hills. We have kept our view seriously, we hope the finance commission during the next one and a half years on its recommendations will consider our demands. We have also said that in disaster the NDRF and SDRF parameters can’t be like in plain areas, we have different disaster situations”. (ANI)