Tripura to ask finance panel not to deprive it of dues

The 14th finance commission led by chairman Y V Reddy arrived here Tuesday on a three-day visit

The Left Front government in Tripura will ask the 14th Finance Commission not to deprive it of due financial aid from the Centre as was done by the earlier finance panel, a minister said here Tuesday.

The 14th finance commission (2015-16 to 2019-20) led by chairman Y V Reddy arrived here Tuesday on a three-day visit.

During its stay in Tripura, the commission will meet the council of ministers, officials, leaders of various political parties and elected representatives of local government bodies.

"Like other states, we would also demand that the commission recommend 50% share of central taxes and sufficient funds to give salary and allowances to around two lakh state government employees at par with central government employees," Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury told reporters.

Chowdhury said the 13th Finance Commission had deprived Tripura to a large extent and put the state government in an awkward position in the matter of providing government employees and pension holders their due financial aid.

Tripura has sought around Rs.27,000 crore from the central government. The 13th Finance Commission had recommended the sanctioning of Rs.16,350 crore in 2009.

"As the 13th Finance Commission had under-assessed the salary and pension liabilities of the Tripura government and reduced the non-plan gap grant to below that of the previous 12th Finance Commission's award, the state government has been facing severe financial crisis," Chowdhury said.

The 13-member commission team comprising members and senior officials will also visit some project sites to assess the financial utilisation for the schemes.

The finance panel will go to West Bengal Thursday to undertake a similar exercise there.

The commission, which was constituted in January, shall make recommendations to the Centre by October 2014 regarding the sharing of union taxes, principles governing grants-in-aid to states and transfer of resources to local bodies.

Before submitting its recommendation to the central government, the commission would visit all the states in India.