'Don't impose schemes'

The Centre was attacked across the board by opposition party-ruled states today over imposing central schemes without adequate funding. The Right to Education (RTE) Act was the prime target of many in this regard.

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi described the trend as an “attack on the federal structure”, while Bihar’s Nitish Kumar saw it as a ploy “to take credit at the expense of the states”. Kerala’s V S Achuthanandan said that states are not involved in designing the programmes and Karnataka’s B S Yeddyurappa decried the “one-size-fits-all approach to fiscal consolidation” by mandating a three per cent fiscal deficit cap.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh said: “The (RTE) Act has come into force but the Centre did not have formal consultations with the states. If the present funding pattern of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan continues for this Act, the state will have to provide an additional Rs 5,520 crore for the next three years.”

Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik noted implementation of RTE would require an additional fund of Rs 13,500 crore over five years. “The Centre must provide 75 per cent of the resources required,” he said.

West Bengal said, while it was required to improve school infrastructure, no provision for financial empowerment has been made in the Act.

The RTE wasn’t the only issue in this regard. After many CMs slammed the Centre for the oil price rises, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee argued that, when taxes are raised, more than half of the revenue goes to the states but the Centre gets “100 per cent blame”.

Taking a dig at the Opposition who hailed the July 5 strike as a major success, Mukherjee quipped: “If Bharat Bandhs had solved the price rise problem, then I myself would have participated in them!”

Chouhan alleged “centralisation has increased” and states are not consulted, in general, before rolling out important schemes. Referring to the formation of a Bundelkhand Development Authority with central funds, he demanded similar financial packages for the Vindhya and Mahakoshal regions. “And, in case of delay, the escalating costs should be shared by the state and the Centre in the same proportion as devised in the scheme.”

Uttar Pradesh asked for a proper estimate of the below-poverty-line population to ensure none of the poor was left out of government schemes.