Former Member of Parliament and Puducherry Maanila Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Ramadass has urged the government to press its case for inclusion of Puducherry in the purview of the 16th Central Finance Commission (CFC).
In a statement, Mr. Ramadass said while it was noteworthy that Chief Minister N. Rangasamy had submitted a memorandum to the visiting Home Secretary Govind Mohan seeking Central assistance of ₹5,828 crore for infrastructure development, the interests of the Union Territory would have been better served if the government had made its case for representation in the CFC.
According to Mr. Ramadass, the simultaneous presence of the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Mr. Mohan had presented a golden opportunity to seek a larger remedy for the U.T.’s financial woes.
He suggested seeking an amendment to the Constitution such that the term “state” in Article 280 (3)(i) includes Union Territories with legislature. Alternatively, Government of India could be asked to include a provision in the terms of reference of the commission itself stating that the recommendations of CFC would be applicable to Union Territories with legislature also.
He also pointed to the precedent of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir being included under the recommendations of 15th Finance Commission while Puducherry has been ignored by the successive Commissions.
Entry into the CFC would enable Puducherry to receive a share of resource from tax devolution, grants under Article 275 of the constitution, local body and State-specific grants to revitalise economic growth, employment and livelihoods.
He hoped that the new Lt. Governor K. Kailashnathan would take up this cogent case with the Centre and succeed in securing for Puducherry a place in the 16th Finance Commission.
Published - October 01, 2024 12:11 am IST
