Highlighting the need for amending the Terms of Reference (ToR) laid down by the 15th Finance Commission as they were against the interests of 11 States, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Sunday said the the special Finance Ministers’ conclave being organised by the State government in Amaravati on Monday would discuss the issue at length.
“We are planning to chalk out a detailed memorandum at the end of the meeting, and submit the same to the President so that the Finance Commission will look into it,” he told the media here.
Puducherry Chief Minister; Delhi Deputy Chief Minister; and Finance Ministers from Punjab and West Bengal; and experts in the field of economics from New Delhi and Hyderabad are expected to take part in the meeting to be inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
‘No political agenda’
“We have also extended invitations to the Finance Ministers of Telangana and Tamil Naidu,” Mr. Ramakrishnudu said, and made it clear that there was no political agenda in hosting the meeting, as it was just a sequel to the Finance Ministers’ meeting organised recently in Thiruvananthapuram.
Stating that Andhra Pradesh had not benefited in any way from the 14th Finance Commission, Mr. Ramakrishnudu said, against the fiscal deficit of ₹16,000 crore the State had to bear following its bifurcation, a mere ₹4,000 crore had been released by the Centre so far.
Finding fault with the Centre for interfering with the functioning of the Finance Commission, an independent constitutional body, he said it should be allowed to function independently.
‘Huge burden’
“The Central government schemes are usually implemented in the 90:10 ratio by the Centre and the State. But now, the ratio has been changed to 60:40, levying an additional 30% financial burden on the States. Similarly, the proposed drop in the subsidies will affect the implementation of welfare programmes in the long run,” Mr. Ramakrishnudu pointed out. “As per a rough estimate, the State governments may have to shoulder the burden of an additional ₹3,000 crore every month due to the ToR, and the same is against the interests of the States,” he asserted.
