Finance Comm to focus on balance between change, continuity

The efforts of the 14th Finance Commission will be to arrive at a good balance between change and continuity to get optimum benefits, its Chairman Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy said today.
The chairman made the statement after having a series of meetings with Nagaland Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues, bureaucrats, representatives of tribal bodies and industries and commerce in the last two days here.
Later, Commission Secretary A N Jha said in a release that they had the responsibility to handle twin balances of vertical and horizontal devolutions on the one hand and the balance between the General and the Special category States on the other.

The Commission took note of the steady deterioration of the financial position of the state over the past few years, Jha said.
The Commission was requested to look into the special position and needs of the Nagaland, but the intention of the state was not to remain perpetually frozen in the special category bracket, he said.
The Commission was informed that the efforts were being initiated in the form of State Special Development Zones to be further connected by new Railways and super highways to promote the process of urbanisation and industrialisation.
The 16-member Commission will finalise its recommendations by October 2014, he said.