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On a day the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and People's Democratic Party (PDP) formally announced a coalition to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir, the state got more good news, from the 14th Finance Commission. The state would get Rs 66,000 crore in grant-in-aid by the Centre during 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Comparing the grant-in-aids given for 2010-2015 period, the Y V Reddy-headed Finance Commission gave an increase of 224 per cent to the state for its local and urban bodies and state disaster response fund. The 13th Finance Commission gave an increase of 50 per cent to J&K for the period 2010-15, compared to the previous commission's recommendations. Other states which will see the highest increase in grants are: Kerala (184 per cent), West Bengal (178 per cent) and Mizoram (152 per cent). Andhra Pradesh, even after its bifurcation, saw its share increase by almost 170 per cent - from Rs 13,532 crore to Rs 36,588 crore. On the other hand, Telangana got around Rs 10,000 crore.
Arunachal Pradesh turned out to be the biggest loser, as its grant-in-aids would be reduced by 70 per cent for the coming five years . This is in contrast to the increase of 160 per cent it got for 2010-2015 compared to the previous five years. Other big losers are Sikkim (66 per cent), Meghalaya (52 per cent) and Goa (28 per cent). According to the commission's report, the amount given in grants to the states will be doubled to Rs 5,37,254 crore during 2015-16 to 2019-20.
