Rubbishing the claims of the ruling Congress over “fund cuts” to Uttarakhand from the Central government, former Chief Minister and BJP MP from the Nainital seat Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, on Friday, said the funds allocated to the State had only increased.
Addressing the media, Mr. Koshiyari said, “The Centre has allocated more funds to Uttarakhand than were allocated earlier. In the financial year 2014-15 Rs. 3,792 crore was allocated to the State, whereas the Central government increased it to Rs. 5,526 for the financial year 2015-16.”
Quoting figures from the 13th and 14th Finance Commissions, Mr. Koshiyari said the 13th Finance Commission (2010-15) allocated Rs. 15,965 to the State, whereas the 14th Finance Commission (2015-20) has allocated over 40 crore to Uttarakhand.
“The Central government has provided all possible financial assistance to the State, but the State government lacks the vision [to use the funds effectively],” he said.
Mr. Koshiyari did accept the reduction in certain funds to the State, but he said the State government should have raised the issue of those funds before the NITI Aayog.
