15th Finance Commission: States seek reframing ToR for Commission; say progressive states would lose heavily

Amaravati, May 7 (KNN) Calling for reframing the terms of reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today said progressive states would lose heavily if the 2011 census was taken as the basis for devolution of central funds.

He also demanded that the Centre respect the cooperative federal system.

"It is not right to penalise states that are in the forefront in population control. We will not tolerate this injustice. We will fight till justice is secured," he said..

He was addressing the conclave of finance ministers from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal today in Amaravati to discuss the ToR of the 15th Finance Commission.

Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Finance Minister, Government of Andhra Pradesh said, “The centralising tendency evident from the Terms of Reference (ToR) of 15th Finance Commission gives an impression of an eminent threat to the nation because of which financial autonomy of States is to be Limited.”

However, the growing resource imbalance between the Centre and States, likely to be further accentuated by the contentious Terms of Reference of 15th FC, is a matter of serious concern and counter to the objective of realising the goal of inclusive growth, the Minister noted.

Ramakrishnudu said, “We have gathered here today to deliberate up on the contentious Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Fifteenth Finance Commission. We will also have to discuss the draft common Memorandum, incorporating the common concerns of all participating States, to be submitted to the President of India, urging the President to reframe the ToR in order to prevent a federal imbalance of the country.”

He said the participating states had initiated their unified fight in this regard on 10th April 2018 at Trivandrum at the one-day workshop of Finance Ministers of southern States organised by Government of Kerala.

“We are part of a common struggle today so that we can share the benefits tomorrow,” said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister.

But the centralising tendency evident from the ToR of 15th FC gives an impression of an eminent threat to the nation because of which financial autonomy of States is to be Limited, noted the Minister.

The Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relations in 1988 suggested that decentralisation of real power to States and local self-governing institutions would help defuse the threat of centrifugal forces, broaden the base of our democratic polity, promote administrative efficiency and improve the health and stability of inter-governmental relations.

The report also suggests that undue centralization leads to blood pressure at the centre and anaemia at the periphery, an inevitable result of which is more morbidity and inefficiency. The problem is in fact aggravated by centralization, he highlighted.

The underlying objective of the Finance Commission is to maintain balance of resources in view of responsibilities of Centre and States. It is thus a resort for States to guard against the centralising tendency of the Centre, he said.

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy sought the intervention of the President against the 'unilateral' decision of the Centre.

"The Centre should take decisions in consultation with the states. If not, how can it be called federal spirit?" he asked.

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra and others attended the conclave. (KNN/ ManneSRao)