SFC members confer with Collectors

Commission to submit report to government on local bodies by May 2016

S. Krishnan, Chairman of the Fifth State Finance Commission speaks at the districts level meeting of Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts at the Vellore Collectorate on Tuesday.R. Nanthagopal (left), Vellore Collector and K. Baskaran, Director of Rural Development are in the picture.— Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy

The chairman and members of the 5th State Finance Commission (SFC) heard the views of the Collectors of Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, and representatives of the local bodies of the above districts during its districts’ level session held at the Collectorate here on Tuesday.

According to an official release, the Commission headed by S. Krishnan, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development, and comprising B. Senguttuvan, Vellore MP (non-official member), the Director of Rural Development and Village Panchayats, Director of Town Panchayats and the Commissioner of Municipal Administration as ex-officio members was constituted on December 1, 2014.

The terms of reference of the Commission are to make recommendations on the principles for devolution of funds to the local bodies and suggest measures to improve the financial position of the local bodies and new avenues of resources.

The Commission will review the financial position of the local bodies and submit before May 31, 2016 its report covering five years from April 1, 2017.

During the forenoon session, the Chairman Mr. Krishnan, Director of Rural Development K. Baskaran (ex-officio member) and Mr. Senguttuvan heard the views of the Collectors of the four districts R. Nanthagopal (Vellore), A. Gnanasekaran (Tiruvannamalai), R. Gajalakshmi (Kancheepuram) and K.V. Raghava Rao (Tiruvallur), Additional Director of Municipal Administration V.P. Dhandapani, Vellore Corporation Commissioner Janaki Raveendran and other officials on various problems concerning the local bodies.

Afternoon session

In the afternoon session, the Commission heard the views of the Vellore Corporation Mayor P. Karthiyayini, District Panchayat Chairpersons Leela Subramani (Vellore), S.S. Naina Kannu (Tiruvannamalai), A. Kanchi Panneerselvam (Kancheepuram), and P. Ravichandran (Tiruvallur) besides representatives of panchayat union chairpersons and municipal chairpersons.

Representatives of the industry and non-governmental organisations also submitted their views before the Commission.