Bihar makes fresh demand for special status before 16th Finance Commission

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Thursday made a fresh demand for special category status before the 16th Finance Commission, members of which are currently on a tour of the state.

This was disclosed by Arvind Pangariya, the renowned economist who is also the chairman of the commission, while interacting with the media after receiving the state government's memorandum. 

"It was a lengthy presentation made in the presence of the chief minister, his deputies and other cabinet colleagues, besides top officials... prior to Bihar, we have covered 20 states. Our tours began in June last year, after the Election Commission lifted the Model Code of Conduct imposed during Lok Sabha polls," Pangariya said.

 

"The demand for a special category status is part of the memorandum of the Bihar government... (but) this is not something that the Finance Commission has jurisdiction over," he said. 

"At the moment, no state has special category status. It used to be under the Planning Commission. States were divided into special and general categories. But that specification went away with the Planning Commission," he pointed out.

Notably, in 2015, months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power, the Planning Commission was replaced with the NITI Aayog with Pangariya as its first vice chairman.

Pangariya said he was aware that special category status for Bihar has been a "long-standing demand" which he encountered even during his stint with the NITI Aayog, but reiterated that "it is not something that the Finance Commission can deliver on".

The chief minister, according to a statement from his office, also said that he had "high hopes" from the commission headed by Pangariya, "who is aware of Bihar's social and economic structure, by virtue of being the chancellor of Nalanda University".