BHUBANESWAR: After the Southern states, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik today raised concern over the terms of reference (TOR) of the 15th Finance Commission which he said may have adverse impact on horizontal devolution for Odisha as well as vertical devolution for states. He demanded that the population data of 1971 census should be used by the Commission while making its recommendations instead of 2011 census as it will have a huge impact on the Odisha's share in devolution.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief minister said Odisha is already below the population replacement rate of 2.1 indicating that the state has stabilised its population. He said the TOR of the 15th Finance Commission asking the use of 2011 census data is contrary to national population policy statements and the assurances to states which have actively implemented population stabilisation measures. Naveen said on horizontal devolution, the TOR has made a radical departure by mandating the Commission to use population data of 2011 while making its recommendations.
Stating that population criterion is very important factor in determination of share of a state in the divisible pool, the chief minister said in order to encourage states to stabilise population, successive national population policy statements have taken 1971 census population level as the basis for devolution, grant-in-aid as well as other incentives.
Even the number of representatives in the Lok Sabha (on the basis of population) have been frozen at 1971 census level through successive constitutional amendments, the last being the 84th constitutional amendment whereby the freeze was extended till 2026.
Stating that the Presidential order on constitution and TOR of the 15th Finance Commission has made significant departures from the earlier commissions, the chief minister said the main suggestions of the state government during the consultations prior to notification of TOR has also been ignored.
Pointing out that on vertical devolution, the TOR has put fetters on the remit of the Commission, the chief minister said instead of giving freedom to the panel to arrive at its recommendations on resource sharing between the Centre and the states based on the respective needs and after due consultations, there are leading suggestions in the TOR indicating the overriding priorities and concerns of the Union government.
For instance, the chief minister said, the reference to the impact of enhanced devolution recommended by the 14th Finance Commission on the fiscal situation of the Centre and the imperative of New India-2020 seem to nudge the Commission to adopt a particular stance.
Stating that Odisha has been demanding special category status for a long time, the chief minister said this issue needs urgent consideration. Our state has a high percentage of population belonging to scheduled tribes and scheduled castes, he said and added that historically, the physical and social infrastructure in a large number of districts has been inadequate requiring huge resources to plug the gap.
Central schemes such as special plan for KBK, Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for LWE affected districts, Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) have been discontinued, he said and added that repeated request from Odisha for allowing the state to avail sharing pattern in the centrally sponsored schemes at par with north eastern and Himalayan states have also not been accepted.